Best WishList.com Alternatives
WishList.com is a long-running web wishlist with a save button for any site. It is a good answer to one specific question — a plain web list with a save button — 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 WishList.com 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 plain web list with a save button, WishList.com is probably still the right tool.
What WishList.com does well
- an extension that adds wishes from any website
- web-based, so it opens anywhere
- established domain and simple model
Why people look for an alternative to WishList.com
Bare-bones compared with modern alternatives.
No mobile apps, no reminders, no export documented.
Little public detail on privacy or reservation handling.
WishList.com 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 |
| WishList.com | Partly | Partly | Yes | Partly | Yes | Yes — web | — | — |
“—” 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 |
| My Wishlist | Partly | Yes | Yes | Partly | Yes | Yes — web only | — | — |
| Wishr | Yes — public profile | Partly | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes — web | — | — |
| WishApp | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | — | — |
| GiftList | Yes | Yes | Yes | Partly | 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, WishList.com falls short on 3 of them. The two apps are level on 3 others.
- View without an account
- WishList.com: partly. Things To Have: yes.
- Reservations keep the surprise
- WishList.com: partly. Things To Have: yes — anonymous even to the owner.
- No ads
- WishList.com: partly. Things To Have: yes.
2 columns are left blank above — Sort & filter and Export your data. WishList.com's own documentation does not answer them, and a guess in a comparison table is worse than a blank.
Giving up: WishList.com'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 WishList.com is best at (a plain web list with a save button): stay with WishList.com.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a free alternative to WishList.com?
Yes — Things To Have has no paywall and no list limits. WishList.com 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. WishList.com lets them some of the time, depending on how the list is shared. This is the criterion that decides how many people actually see your list.
Can I move my list out of WishList.com?
WishList.com 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