Elfster alternatives for a family Secret Santa: a 2026 comparison

There is no single best Secret Santa app. The right one depends on your group. For a quick draw with friends or colleagues, DrawNames needs no account. For a family that shares wishlists all year, Giftster or Elfster fit well. For a family with young children who should take part without an email address or account, check how each tool handles children before you invite anyone.

We make SantaTogether, so read this comparison with that in mind. We built it for one case: a family exchange where parents add their children, adults agree who buys any extra gifts, and no participant, including the organizer, can see everyone’s matches. If that is not your situation, one of the other tools may suit you better, and this page says so.

We read each tool’s own website, help pages and app store listings on 4 October 2026. We did not create accounts or run test draws in the other tools. Where a tool’s pages say nothing about a feature, the table says “Not stated”. That does not mean the feature is missing; it means you should check before you rely on it.

Apps change before every Christmas. Prices, adverts and features may be different when you read this. Open the tool’s own pages to confirm anything that matters to your family, especially price and how children are handled.

The table covers the questions families ask most often. “Children without own email” means a parent can add a child who has no email address of their own.

Elfster runs on the web and as iOS and Android apps. Its App Store listing describes it as fully free with no premium upgrades, and the same listing is labelled as containing advertising. It supports exclusions for couples, keeping children from drawing adults, and avoiding last year’s matches. Wishlists can include items from any store.

For children, Elfster’s help centre describes a Family Manager: a parent adds a child with a name, username and password, and the parent’s email is used. Its quick “Draw Now” option can add people without email, but those people get no account or wishlist and cannot see their own draw. Invitations go by email, a copyable link, text or messaging apps.

DrawNames works on the web and in iPhone and Android apps. It says drawing names needs no account and is free; its Spanish site says it has no adverts and does not sell personal data. The organizer types in the names, and each person gets a wishlist. You can set who should not draw whom in groups of four or more.

DrawNames can share invitations by email, text message, WhatsApp and other messaging apps. Its website offers English, Spanish, French and Portuguese, and its app lists ten languages. Its help page says people without email can take part through the app, or share one email address on the website. A separate children’s wishlist, linked to a parent’s email, is for children who are not in the draw.

Secret Santa 22 is a mobile app for iOS and Android, made by a Spanish company and known in Spanish as Amigo Invisible 22. Its Google Play listing says it contains ads and in-app purchases. A paid premium group removes ads and adds exclusions, so exclusions are not part of the free version. Its website does not give the premium price; on 4 October 2026 its App Store listing showed a premium group at US$1.99 in the US and €1.99 in Spain.

People join by email or with a group code you can share on WhatsApp, Messenger, Instagram, email or SMS. Results arrive by email or app notification. Its pages do not say how to add someone without an email address.

Giftster is a family wishlist service on the web, iOS and Android. Its help centre says it is free, and its website says it does not allow display advertising. Secret Santa draws can only be created on the website, not in the apps. A draw needs at least three members, supports exclusions, and can avoid repeating a past draw. Giftster says not even the organizer knows who drew whom.

A Giftster child account sits inside the parent’s account and uses the parent’s email. It has no separate login, and the parent manages it. This suits families who keep wishlists all year, not only at Christmas. Its iOS listing says English only, and we found no Spanish version.

SantaTogether is a web app in English and Spanish. Adults sign in with Google. A parent adds each child as a profile inside the exchange, so children never sign in and need no email or phone. Each child either receives only, or gives one gift with the parent’s help. When a child receives only, an adult must explicitly accept the extra gift before the draw can run.

The draw checks gift commitments and exclusions together, and it refuses to run if a complete draw is impossible instead of quietly dropping a rule. Matches stay private, also from the organizer, who sees only their own recipients and those of children they manage. The core exchange, child wishlists and the draw are free, with no display adverts. Gift idea pages can include Amazon affiliate links, and the site says so in its footer. You can share the private invitation on WhatsApp or by copying the link.

There are real limits. There is no iOS or Android app, so everyone uses a browser. Adults need a Google account to sign in. An exchange can have up to 50 participants. SantaTogether does not collect shipping addresses or send gifts. For a one-off office draw with no children, a no-sign-up tool may be simpler. If SantaTogether fits your family, create a family exchange and send the private invitation to the adults.

• How children join without accounts

Answer these before you invite anyone. Changing tools after people have joined is harder than choosing well at the start.

1. Do young children take part? Check exactly how the tool adds a child without an email address.
2. Should the organizer be able to see every match? If not, choose a tool that says matches are hidden from the organizer too.
3. Do you need exclusions, such as couples or a parent and their own child? Check whether they are free or part of a paid tier.
4. Will everyone use the same language? Check the language of the app, not only of the website.
5. Are adverts or in-app purchases a problem for your family? Check the store listing: the App Store and Google Play both label apps that contain them.