Giftster vs Elfster: Which Gift List App Fits Your Family, and What Neither Watches
Giftster vs Elfster: both are free. Giftster fits a family that shares wish lists all year in one private group. Elfster fits a group that runs a Secret Santa or White Elephant exchange and wants wish lists alongside it.
Giftster and Elfster are both free, and both let people share wish lists and draw names for Secret Santa. The difference is the center of gravity. Giftster is built around a private family group that uses the same lists year after year, for birthdays, holidays and showers. Elfster is built around the gift exchange itself: Secret Santa, White Elephant and other formats for families, friends and offices, with wish lists attached. Pick by how your group gives gifts. Then plan for the part neither app's own pages talk about: once someone chooses a gift, who watches the price and orders it in time?
Giftster vs Elfster at a glance
Both apps describe themselves on their own pages, and that is what this comparison uses: Giftster's App Store listing and Elfster's about page and wishlist page, checked on October 16, 2026.
| Giftster | Elfster | |
|---|---|---|
| Built around | A private family group with shared wish lists | Gift exchanges, with wish lists attached |
| Cost | Free | Free, "no premium plan or credit card required" for wishlists |
| Size and age | 3.7 million members, since 2008 | 47 million+ gift givers, 50+ countries, founded 2000 |
| Add gifts from any store | Yes, fetches details from a web link | Yes, with a browser extension |
| Hidden claims | Yes, the list owner never sees what was reserved | Not described on the pages we checked |
| Secret Santa draw with exclusions | Yes | Yes |
| Other exchange formats | Not listed | White Elephant, Yankee Swap and more |
| Kids' lists | Create and manage lists for children | Family accounts |
| Price-drop alerts on a chosen gift | Not mentioned | Not mentioned |
Features change, so check each app before your group signs up.
Giftster: for a family that gives all year
Giftster calls itself "the original family wish list app". You create one private group, everyone keeps a list in it, and the same group works for every birthday, holiday, wedding and baby shower after that. Its App Store listing describes:
- Reserved and purchased marks. When you shop someone's list, you mark an item as reserved or purchased so others know it is taken. The person who made the list never sees what has been claimed.
- Lists from any store. Paste a link and Giftster fetches the item details. You can add notes, sizes, colors and images.
- Kids' lists. Parents can create and manage lists for children, and others can collaborate on a child's list.
- Secret suggestions. You can quietly suggest a gift for someone else's list.
- A record of gifts. It tracks gifts you have purchased or received.
- Secret Santa. You can add a drawing to the group, set exclusions and keep picks secret, even from the organizer.
Giftster's advantage is that the group lasts. Set it up once in October, and Grandma's list is still there for her birthday in March. If your family already uses a shared spreadsheet, our guide to making a shared gift list shows how the two approaches compare.
Elfster: for the exchange itself
Elfster's about page describes it as a free way for friends, families and coworkers to organize Secret Santa and other gift exchanges, and to build wish lists everyone can shop from. It started in 2000 to keep one family's Secret Santa fair.
- Exchange generators. A Secret Santa generator and a gift exchange generator for White Elephant, Yankee Swap and other formats.
- Exclusions. Elfster's guide to exclusions covers keeping couples, siblings and last year's pairs apart.
- Wish lists. Free to create and share, private by default, with a browser extension to add items from any website.
- Family accounts. You can manage lists for others in the family.
Elfster is strongest around one event. An office party of 35 people, a friend group's White Elephant, a cousins' draw with a $25 limit: Elfster is set up for exactly that. For budget ideas, see our Secret Santa ideas by budget.
Which one should your family use?
- One extended family, gifts all year: Giftster. The group and lists carry over, and hidden claims prevent two aunts buying the same sweater.
- A once-a-year draw with a budget: Elfster. It is built for the draw, the rules and the reveal.
- An office or friend group exchange: Elfster, for the formats and invites.
- Both: some families use Giftster for lists all year and an Elfster exchange in December. Nothing stops you, but it means two places to look.
What neither app watches
Both apps are good at the "what" of gifting: what someone wants, who is buying it. The step after that is yours. Neither Giftster's listing nor Elfster's pages that we checked mention price-drop alerts on a chosen item or reminders tied to when you need to order.
That matters in November and December. Prices on the same item can move between early November, Black Friday and mid-December, and shipping cutoffs arrive before most people expect. Once you have reserved a gift on someone's list, two questions are left:
- Is it cheaper this week than last?
- What is the last day I can order it and still have it in time?
For the second, carriers publish their own holiday cutoffs; our holiday shipping deadlines 2026 guide gathers them. For the first, see how to track price drops on gifts.
Where Tracy fits
Tracy, the assistant in dEssence, is not a third gift list app, and she does not connect to Giftster or Elfster. Keep the lists where your family already keeps them. Tracy handles what happens after you pick.
When you reserve a gift, send Tracy the product link from Chrome, Telegram or the web. Ask her to watch the price and stock, and she comes back when the price drops or the item is available again. Tell her when you need to order by, and she reminds you before that date. Ask "which gifts have I still not ordered?" and she answers from the links you have sent.
Frequently asked questions
Is Giftster or Elfster better?
It depends on how your group gives. Giftster suits a family sharing wish lists all year in one private group. Elfster suits a group running a Secret Santa, White Elephant or office exchange.
Are Giftster and Elfster free?
Yes. Giftster's App Store listing calls it free. Elfster says its gift exchanges and wish lists are free, with no premium plan or credit card required for wishlists.
Can you do Secret Santa on Giftster?
Yes. Giftster lets you add a Secret Santa drawing to your group, set exclusions and keep picks secret, even from the organizer.
Can the list owner see what was bought on Giftster?
No. Giftster says the person who made the list never sees what has been reserved or purchased.
Do Giftster or Elfster track prices?
Neither Giftster's App Store listing nor Elfster's pages that we checked mention price-drop alerts. To watch a gift's price, use a separate tool on the product link.