Best Giftster Alternatives
Giftster is a family wish-list registry built around private groups. It is a good answer to one specific question — a closed family circle that gifts together every year — 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 Giftster 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 a closed family circle that gifts together every year, Giftster is probably still the right tool.
What Giftster does well
- private family groups with child and pet accounts
- a solid Secret Santa generator
- 3 million-plus members and running since 2008
- apps for iOS, Android and the web
Why people look for an alternative to Giftster
You have to join a group to see a list. That is right for a tight family and a wall for the cousin who just wants to check one link.
It is group-shaped rather than link-shaped. There is no lightweight way to send a list to someone who is not in your circle.
Setup is heavier than the job. A wishlist is used a few times a year; a group with invitations is a lot of ceremony for that.
Giftster 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 |
| Giftster | No — you join a group | Yes | Yes | Yes | 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 |
| Elfster | No — everyone needs an account | No — owners can see activity | Partly — paid tier | Partly | Yes | Yes | Partly | — |
| Giftwhale | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Partly — no Android app | — | — |
| Wishlist (wishlistapp.io) | Partly | Yes | Yes | Partly | Yes | Yes — iOS, Android and web | Partly | — |
| GoWish | Partly | Yes | Yes | No — ad-supported | Yes | Yes | Partly | — |
“—” means we could not confirm it from the app’s own documentation.
How the two compare, criterion by criterion
Against the eight criteria, Giftster falls short on 2 of them. The two apps are level on 5 others.
- View without an account
- Giftster: no — you join a group. Things To Have: yes.
- Sort & filter
- Giftster: partly. Things To Have: yes.
One column is left blank above — Export your data. Giftster's own documentation does not answer it, and a guess in a comparison table is worse than a blank.
Giving up: Giftster'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 Giftster is best at (a closed family circle that gifts together every year): stay with Giftster.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a free alternative to Giftster?
Yes — Things To Have has no paywall and no list limits. Giftster is free too, so cost is not the reason to switch — the rest of the table is.
Do my friends need an account to open the list?
Not on Things To Have — viewing never requires a signup. Giftster requires one (you join a group). This is the criterion that decides how many people actually see your list.
Can I move my list out of Giftster?
Giftster 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