Best Elfster Alternatives
Elfster is the long-standing leader for Secret Santa and organised gift exchanges. It is a good answer to one specific question — drawing names for a group exchange with rules and a budget — and if that is your situation, it may be all you need.
This page is for the people it does not fit: those who want a list anyone can open from a link, without being asked to create an account first. It compares Elfster with Things To Have on the eight things that decide whether a wishlist actually gets used, and lists the alternatives worth considering alongside it.
Short version: if you want a free, calm wishlist app for you and your friends — no ads, no account needed to view, and reservations your family can use without spoiling the surprise — Things To Have is the closest fit. If you need drawing names for a group exchange with rules and a budget, Elfster is probably still the right tool.
What Elfster does well
- name draws with exclusion rules, so partners cannot draw each other
- budget limits and anonymous Q&A for the exchange
- more than 47 million people have used it since 2004, across 50+ countries
- a dedicated app on iOS, Android and the web
Why people look for an alternative to Elfster
Everyone has to create an account. Participation means joining, and joining means a signup — so the relative who only wants to check one link is out.
The owner can see reservation activity. Reviewers describe this as the app failing to protect the surprise: if your list tells you two items are already taken, your birthday is partly spoiled in advance.
It is built for occasions, not for the year. The interface assumes an exchange with a start and an end date, which feels clunky for a list you keep all year round.
Reports of spammy email and an AI feature that added items to people's lists without being asked.
A paid tier sits on top of the free exchange.
Elfster vs Things To Have
| App | View without an account | Reservations keep the surprise | Free, no paywall | No ads | Any store + autofill | Works on any device | Sort & filter | Export your data |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Things To Have | Yes | Yes — anonymous even to the owner | Yes — everything free | Yes | Yes — autofill without an extension | Yes — web/PWA, nothing to install | Yes | Yes — JSON |
| Elfster | No — everyone needs an account | No — owners can see activity | Partly — paid tier | Partly | Yes | Yes | Partly | — |
“—” means we could not confirm it from the app’s own documentation.
The best alternatives, compared
| App | View without an account | Reservations keep the surprise | Free, no paywall | No ads | Any store + autofill | Works on any device | Sort & filter | Export your data |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Things To Have | Yes | Yes — anonymous even to the owner | Yes — everything free | Yes | Yes — autofill without an extension | Yes — web/PWA, nothing to install | Yes | Yes — JSON |
| Giftster | No — you join a group | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Partly | — |
| GoWish | Partly | Yes | Yes | No — ad-supported | Yes | Yes | Partly | — |
| GiftList | Yes | Yes | Yes | Partly | Yes | Yes | Partly | — |
| Wishes | Yes | Yes | Partly — 3 lists free, $9.99/yr | Yes | Yes | Yes | — | — |
“—” means we could not confirm it from the app’s own documentation.
How the two compare, criterion by criterion
Against the eight criteria, Elfster falls short on 5 of them. The two apps are level on 2 others.
- View without an account
- Elfster: no — everyone needs an account. Things To Have: yes.
- Reservations keep the surprise
- Elfster: no — owners can see activity. Things To Have: yes — anonymous even to the owner.
- Free, no paywall
- Elfster: partly — paid tier. Things To Have: yes — everything free.
- No ads
- Elfster: partly. Things To Have: yes.
- Sort & filter
- Elfster: partly. Things To Have: yes.
One column is left blank above — Export your data. Elfster's own documentation does not answer it, and a guess in a comparison table is worse than a blank.
Giving up: Elfster's specific strengths, listed above. If those matter more than the criteria in the table — and for some people they genuinely do — staying is the right call.
Which should you choose?
- You want a free list to send to family who will not sign up: Things To Have.
- You want what Elfster is best at (drawing names for a group exchange with rules and a budget): stay with Elfster.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a free alternative to Elfster?
Yes — Things To Have has no paywall and no list limits. Elfster is only partly free (paid tier).
Do my friends need an account to open the list?
Not on Things To Have — viewing never requires a signup. Elfster requires one (everyone needs an account). This is the criterion that decides how many people actually see your list.
Can I move my list out of Elfster?
Elfster publishes no export we could confirm, so copy what matters before you stop using it. Either way, a pasted list of links is enough to rebuild it here — importing shows a preview before anything is written, and the way back out is an export in JSON.
Keep comparing
- Best wishlist apps — all of them, ranked against the same eight criteria
- Every comparison — one page per app