Wishlist apps compared: Melchor, Giftster, Elfster, MyRegistry, Amazon, DrawNames

There is no single best wishlist app. There is the right one for the job in front of you: a solo birthday list, a family Christmas, an office Secret Santa, a wedding registry. Here is an honest read on the main options, including where each one, Melchor included, is not the right pick.

How we compare them

Five things decide it for most people:

• Stores: can you add gifts from anywhere, or only one shop?
• The draw: does it run a Secret Santa, and can it exclude certain pairings?
• Privacy of reservations: when a gift is claimed, does the recipient stay in the dark?
• Friction: do guests need an account to view or reserve?
• Data: where does it live, and is it ad-supported?

Melchor

Free, private, and made in the EU under GDPR. You create your own list with no signup, add gifts from across the web by pasting a link, and share with one link. For a Secret Santa, you set a draw date and Melchor draws the names automatically and tells each person privately who they got. Reservations hide from the recipient, so nobody buys the same gift twice and the surprise survives. No ads, no trackers.

Two honest limits: lists are viewed and reserved in the iOS and Android app, not a web browser, and the draw has no exclusions yet, so you cannot block specific pairings.

Best for: everyday group gifting and Secret Santa, for people who want privacy and a free start without an account.

Giftster

The closest all-rounder. Giftster keeps multi-store family wish lists, marks items as purchased so the recipient stays surprised, and can add an automatic name draw to a group. It runs on web and app and is free, supported by affiliate commissions. It is US-based.

Best for: large extended families who want one year-round place for everyone lists.

Elfster

One of the oldest Secret Santa organizers, US-focused, with wishlists and, usefully, draw exclusions and restrictions. Free, on web and app, built around an account.

Best for: a classic Secret Santa where you need to control who can draw whom.

DrawNames

A focused, web-first Secret Santa generator. You can draw names with no registration, set exclusions, and each person can add a simple wishlist their Santa sees. It states no ads and no selling of data, and it is based in Europe.

Best for: a quick, no-install web draw with exclusions.

MyRegistry

A universal registry built for the formal occasions. Add items from any store with a browser button or a barcode scanner, collect cash funds, and track purchases across stores. Free to run a registry, with a small fee on cash gifts.

Best for: weddings, baby showers, and other registries where cash funds and store integrations matter.

Amazon Wishlist

The simplest option, and the most limited. It is free and built in, but it only holds Amazon items and has no Secret Santa draw.

Best for: people who genuinely only shop on Amazon.

Where Melchor is not the right pick

Honesty keeps this useful:

• You need draw exclusions. Giftster, Elfster, MyRegistry and DrawNames have them. Melchor does not yet, so never assume it can block a pairing.
• You want to view and reserve in a browser. Melchor is app-only. Giftster, MyRegistry and DrawNames all work on the web.
• You are running a formal registry with cash funds. MyRegistry is purpose-built for that.
• You only ever buy on Amazon. Amazon Wishlist is one less app.

The short version

For a free, private, no-signup-to-start way to run real-life group gifting and Secret Santa, with a multi-store list, an automatic draw and reservations the recipient cannot see, Melchor is the pick, as long as you do not need exclusions or a browser version. For formal registries, MyRegistry. For draw exclusions, most of the others have them and Melchor does not yet. For Amazon-only shopping, Amazon's own list.