The Best Secret Santa Apps and Websites in 2026

The group chat agreed on a Secret Santa in about four minutes. Then someone asked "so which app are we using?", and the thread went quiet, because nobody wants to pick the one that makes Grandma create an account.

The good news is that you can't pick badly. Every tool below draws the names, and most will also hold a wishlist. They differ in the details that decide whether your group actually uses it: who has to sign up, whether couples can be kept apart, and how each person finds out who they drew. This is an honest comparison of the ways to run a Secret Santa online in 2026, including ours, with every competitor fact taken from its own site or app listing.

The short answer

• Elfster: best for a group that wants the full package, with exclusion rules, an email to each person, anonymous questions and a phone app.
• DrawNames: best for a group that wants exclusions and wishlists with no registration at all.
• Giftster: best for a family that will keep one private group for every birthday and Christmas from now on.
• Secret Santa Organizer: best for a big or multilingual group where everyone should get their match by email and nobody makes an account.
• Sneaky Santa: best for a group that wants one invite link and exclusions, and an organizer who can check the draw.
• Secret Santa with wishlists on Wishes: best for a simple exchange where everyone joins from one link and gets a wishlist their Santa can book from.
• The Wishes Secret Santa generator: best when you just need names drawn right now, with no sign-up, no emails and couples kept apart.
• A hat or a spreadsheet: best for a small group in one room, or an organizer who doesn't mind seeing every match.

Secret Santa apps compared

What each option says about itself, checked on its own site or app store listing in September 2026.

The rest of this page is what sits behind each row, including the places where a competitor does something better than we do.

Elfster

Elfster is the name most people mean when they say "Secret Santa app," and it is built around the draw. Its App Store listing describes it as "100% FREE: No hidden fees, subscriptions, or premium upgrades," and it carries more than 300,000 ratings there.

What it does well is everything around the exchange. The listing says you can "set exclusions so couples don't draw each other," "prevent kids from being paired with adults" and "exclude last year's matches for variety," for groups "from 3 to 300+ people." Its how-it-works page says it "notifies each person of their assignment via email," and its help center explains that messages to the person you drew are sent anonymously by default. Wishlists take items from "any online store, just paste the link."

Worth knowing: everyone in the exchange signs up. The same how-it-works page says players "receive an email inviting them to join in the Secret Santa game and sign up on Elfster." For a group that is happy to do that, it is the most complete tool here. For how it compares with Giftster in detail, see our Elfster and Giftster comparison.

DrawNames

DrawNames is the one to look at if the words "create an account" would lose you half the group. Its how-to page sums it up as "Fast, fun and free. No registration required. No ads and no selling of personal data either."

It still covers the essentials. You can set "who can't draw whom," send invitations "via email, text message, Facebook messenger or any other apps," "ask your giftee questions anonymously" and add wishlists. Its homepage adds two nice touches: you can watch the drawing live "so that everyone sees whose name they've drawn at the same time," and you can "set up a group just to share wish lists." There's a DrawNames app for iPhone and Android, and the site runs in English, Spanish, French and Portuguese.

Lost links are covered too. If someone loses their email link, the how-to page says they can retrieve it, and "the organizer can also resend someone's drawn name to them via the group page."

Giftster

Giftster is a family wishlist app first and a Secret Santa tool second. Its App Store listing describes a way to "make and share wish lists in a private family group," and the draw lives inside that group: you "add a draw to any existing Giftster.com group with 3+ members."

The draw is well thought out. "Picks remain a secret for everyone, including the organizer," and you can "exclude picks and reuse a previous draw, too, on giftster.com." The wishlists are the strongest part: items "from any store in the world," and "the list maker cannot see the status of items on their own lists," so bought gifts stay a surprise. It's on the App Store and Google Play, and on the web at giftster.com.

Worth knowing: the value comes from everyone joining. The listing says "each family member logs in to update and view their own universal wishlist registry," and the listing points to giftster.com for exclusions. That's a great fit for a family that will use it all year, and more setup than an office exchange needs.

Secret Santa Organizer

Secret Santa Organizer is the email-first option with no accounts. Its homepage says: "Draw the names online, let everyone fill in a wishlist, exclude couples if you want, and send the invites by email. No account needed. You need at least 3 people."

Its FAQ says it "sends a private email invite to each participant," has "no app and no account," and is "completely and permanently free," with "no premium plan." It is open about how it pays for that: "The service is supported by non-intrusive advertising." It also runs in 17 languages, lets you reuse last year's group, and lets participants tick off gifts on a wishlist "so nobody buys the same thing twice."

Worth knowing: there's no phone app, and assignments go out by email, so you'll want everyone's address. For an office or a family spread across countries, that's often exactly what you want.

Sneaky Santa

Sneaky Santa is a web-only tool that says it has been "helping people draw names for Christmas for over twenty years." You create a group, share one invite link, and "when you are ready, you hit the draw names button." It promises "no app to install, no spam or junk email, and human customer support."

Exclusions are flexible: for each person, you "uncheck any names that you don't want that person to be able to pick," and the organizer can leave themselves out of the draw. Members can send an anonymous "Sneaky Message" to the person they picked, and wishlists hold anything, from a product link to a favorite snack.

Worth knowing: the group leader gets "built-in tools to check who picked who." That's handy when someone forgets, but it means the organizer can see the matches, so it suits groups where the organizer isn't playing, or is trusted not to peek.

Wishes: Secret Santa with wishlists

This is ours, so here is exactly what it does and doesn't do. Secret Santa on Wishes is free. The organizer starts a group, with a date and a budget if you like, and shares one invite link. Everyone joins with an Apple or Google sign-in and gets a wishlist for the group, with gifts from any store.

Once at least three people are in, the organizer draws names with one tap. Nobody draws themselves, and nobody sees who drew them, the organizer included, so the organizer can play too. Each Santa sees one name and that person's wishlist, and can book a gift from it so it shows as taken and nobody buys it twice.

Worth knowing: it's the simple version, on purpose. There are no exclusion rules, no emails or reminders and no anonymous questions, so the organizer shares the link in the group chat and people check back themselves. It runs on the web, and the Wishes apps open the same page.

The person you drew will see that something on their list was booked, but no Wishes app or page shows them who booked it. If you need couples kept apart or matches emailed out, Elfster, DrawNames or Secret Santa Organizer will serve you better.

Wishes: the free Secret Santa generator

For the "just draw the names" job, the Wishes Secret Santa generator needs no sign-up and no email addresses. You type 3 to 50 names, add a budget and a date if you like, and pick pairs to keep apart, like partners or siblings. If the pairs leave someone with no one to draw, it tells you who.

The draw runs in your browser, and nothing you type is sent to Wishes. You get one private link per person, which shows only who they drew, and you send each link yourself by text, WhatsApp or email. You see the links, not the matches, so you can take part as long as you open only your own link.

Worth knowing: the generator sends no emails and keeps nothing on a server, so it can't send reminders, and once you close the page the draw is gone from it. If you draw again, everyone needs their new link. And it has no wishlists of its own, so ask everyone to share a list link, or send the free Secret Santa questionnaire if people would rather answer a few questions.

A hat, or a spreadsheet

The oldest method still works. Names on slips of paper, into a hat, pass it around: if everyone is in the same room and you're happy to redraw whenever someone pulls their own name or their partner's, you don't need an app at all.

A spreadsheet is the remote version. Put the names in a column, sort them into a random order, and have each person give to the name below theirs, with the last person giving to the first. Nobody draws themselves, but you, as the organizer, see every match, and you have to message each person their name by hand. For anything beyond a handful of people, one of the free tools above saves you the evening.

How to choose

Four questions settle it for most groups:

• Will everyone make an account? If not, use DrawNames, Secret Santa Organizer or the Wishes generator, none of which ask for one.
• Do couples or households need to be kept apart? Every tool here except Wishes Secret Santa groups can do it. On Wishes, use the generator.
• Should each person get their match by email? Elfster and Secret Santa Organizer email every participant. With Wishes, the match waits on the group page or in the link you send.
• Do you want wishlists attached to the draw? Elfster, DrawNames, Giftster, Secret Santa Organizer, Sneaky Santa and Wishes groups all have them. What differs is whether bookings are hidden from the list owner: Giftster says they are, and on Wishes a booked gift shows as taken to everyone, the owner included.

For a virtual Secret Santa, add one more: whatever you choose, collect each person's mailing address privately and set a buy-by date a week or two before the exchange. How Secret Santa works covers the rules, the budget and the online version step by step, and once the names are drawn, our Secret Santa gift ideas by budget help with the shopping.

Secret Santa app questions

What is the best Secret Santa app?

It depends on your group. Elfster is the fullest package, with exclusions, emailed assignments, anonymous messages and apps for iPhone and Android. DrawNames does exclusions and wishlists with no registration. Giftster suits a family that keeps one group year-round, and Wishes is the simple version where everyone joins from one link and gets a wishlist.

Is there a free Secret Santa app?

Yes, several. Elfster's App Store listing says it has no fees, subscriptions or premium upgrades, DrawNames says it's free with no ads, and Secret Santa Organizer is free and supported by ads. Both Secret Santa tools on Wishes, the group draw and the generator, are free too.

Can you do Secret Santa online without signing up?

Yes. DrawNames says no registration is required, Secret Santa Organizer says no account is needed, and the Wishes Secret Santa generator needs no sign-up and no email addresses. Elfster and Giftster ask each participant to sign up, and Wishes Secret Santa groups ask for an Apple or Google sign-in.

How do you do a virtual Secret Santa?

Draw names with an online tool, share wishlists as links, and ship each gift straight to the person you drew. Set a buy-by date a week or two before the exchange, then open the gifts together on a video call. How Secret Santa works walks through the online version step by step.

Which Secret Santa apps can keep couples apart?

Elfster, DrawNames, Secret Santa Organizer and Sneaky Santa all let you set who can't draw whom, and Giftster does it on giftster.com. On Wishes, the Secret Santa generator keeps pairs apart; Wishes Secret Santa groups don't support exclusions.

Can the organizer see who drew who?

It depends on the tool. Giftster says picks stay secret from everyone, the organizer included, and so do Wishes Secret Santa groups. The Wishes generator shows the organizer one link per person rather than the matches, but whoever holds a link can open it, so an organizer who plays should open only their own. Sneaky Santa gives the group leader tools to check who picked who, and a paper draw or a spreadsheet run by one person shows that person every match.

Does Wishes have a Secret Santa app?

Wishes runs Secret Santa with wishlists on the web, and the Wishes apps for iPhone and Android open the same page. It's free: the organizer shares one link, everyone joins with an Apple or Google sign-in and gets a wishlist, and each Santa sees their person's list. It doesn't send emails or support exclusions, so for those, use the Wishes generator or Elfster.

The draw is the easy part

Any of these will draw the names. What makes a Secret Santa good is what happens after: the Santa who knew exactly what to get, because somebody told them.

The book they mentioned in July. The mug in the right color. The one thing they'd never buy for themselves.

Pick the tool that fits your group, then make sure your own Santa isn't guessing. Start a Secret Santa with wishlists, or draw names with the free generator and share a list link with the group.