Making a wishlist should be easy. Whether it’s for Christmas, a birthday, a baby shower, or simply a place to save ideas for later, the right app can keep you organized and make gifting much simpler for everyone around you.

There are many wishlist apps available today, each created with a slightly different purpose in mind. This guide compares the most popular options in 2025 so you can choose the one that fits your style, your shopping habits, and your celebrations.

Wishes

Wishes is a great choice for anyone who wants a clean, intuitive wishlist experience without complicated steps. You can save gift ideas from any store, add notes like sizes or colors, and share your list with friends or family in seconds. Wishes is free to use, with an optional Wishes Plus subscription for unlimited wishlists, collaborative lists, and other premium features.

One of the best things about Wishes is how quickly you can start. You can open the app and begin creating your wishlist right away, no long registration process. And sharing is just as simple: send someone a link, and they can view your wishlist instantly, even without an account.

What Wishes Offers

• Save items from any store or website — paste a link or use the Wishes extension while you shop

• Organize gifts into personal, public, or secret lists

• Share a link with anyone, no account needed to view

• Avoid duplicate gifts with the “book a gift” feature

• Choose from clean, festive themes to personalize your list

• Available on iOS and Android, with web previews for shared lists

• Create collaborative lists for couples, families, or events

Considerations

• Wishes doesn’t offer a full web version for creating lists, you’ll need the mobile app to build your wishlist

• There is no built-in price tracking

Wishes works beautifully year-round, but it becomes especially helpful during the holidays. You can create your Christmas wishlist, track ideas for kids or relatives, or simply save things you discover throughout the season.

Amazon Wishlist

Amazon Wishlist is simple and familiar. If most of your shopping already happens on Amazon, adding items to your wishlist is very quick.

What Amazon Wishlist Offers

• Easy to add items while browsing on Amazon

• Sharing options through email or link

• Works well if you want everything stored in one Amazon-based list

Considerations

• Best suited only for Amazon products

• Adding items from other stores is harder

• Limited personalization

• Less flexibility when creating multiple lists for different events

Amazon Wishlist is convenient for Amazon-heavy shoppers, but many people still choose a second wishlist app for gifts outside of Amazon.

Elfster

Elfster is a well-known tool for holiday gift exchanges. If your main goal is running a Secret Santa, Elfster makes the process much easier.

What Elfster Includes

• Secret Santa name draw

• Group lists for events

• Basic wishlist features

Considerations

• Designed mainly for holiday gift exchanges

• Wishlists are simple and less customizable

• Not ideal for keeping year-round lists

Elfster works well for one-time events but is less suited for everyday gift planning.

Listery

Listery is a lightweight wishlist tool focused on simple lists and basic link saving.

What Listery Offers

• Minimal, clean interface

• Easy to create straightforward lists

Considerations

• Fewer features

• No collaboration options

• Limited customization

Listery is helpful if you want a very simple notes-style wishlist, but it may feel limited for holiday planning or family gifting.

Giftster

Giftster is one of the older wishlist apps and is commonly used by families who want to see each other’s lists in a shared space.

What Giftster Offers

• Group gifting tools

• Family list visibility

• Gift reservation features

Considerations

• Interface feels a bit outdated compared to newer apps

• No option to customize your wishlist

• Less convenient for personal, private wishlists

• Designed more for traditional family groups than individual use

Giftster works well if your entire family chooses to use it together, but for personal wishlists, many people prefer a more modern, flexible app.

Which Wishlist App Is Right for You?

Every wishlist app works a little differently, so the best choice depends on what you need.

• Want a modern, visually clean design and a simple setup? Wishes is a great place to start.

• Planning a Secret Santa? Elfster is built exactly for that.

• Shopping mostly on Amazon? Amazon Wishlist will feel the most familiar.

No matter which app you choose, having a wishlist makes the holiday season much calmer. You can enjoy the meaningful moments with the people you love without constantly wondering what to buy or dealing with long lines of returns after the holidays.

A little preparation goes a long way, and a good wishlist helps make gifting something joyful to look forward to! 💜