--- title: "Giftster Alternative With No Sign-Up" description: "Compare GiftMyCrew and Giftster for family wishlists and Secret Santa: accounts, apps, ads and draws. Sourced, dated, and clear on where Giftster wins." url: "https://www.giftmycrew.com/guides/giftster-alternative" published: 2026-10-21 updated: 2026-10-21 --- # A Giftster alternative where nobody needs an account GiftMyCrew is a free group wishlist and Secret Santa tool that runs from one link, with no accounts, emails or ads. Giftster is a long-running free family wishlist service with phone apps, a browser extension and groups that last year to year, but joining a group needs a Giftster account. Choose by which matters more to your family. ## GiftMyCrew and Giftster compared | | GiftMyCrew | Giftster | | --- | --- | --- | | Account needed to join a group | No: open the group link and tap your name | Yes: you need your own Giftster account to join a group | | Shopping a list without an account | Yes, from the group link or a view-only friends' link | Public lists only, as a guest on the website, which asks for your name and email | | Price | Free | Free | | Ads | None | No display ads | | How it pays for itself | Our tag on some Amazon links | Commission on purchases through its store links | | Phone apps | No, runs in the browser | iOS and Android, plus the website | | Adding ideas | Paste a link from any store, or type it | Paste a link, a browser extension, or the phone's share sheet | | Bought marks hidden from the list's owner | Yes | Yes (a parent sees them on a child's lists) | | Secret Santa draw | Yes, 2 to 100 people | Yes, with at least three approved members | | Exclusions | Block any pair, both ways or one way | One way; add two to keep a pair apart | | Lists from year to year | No: deleted after 90 days without activity, or 30 days after the event date, if that's later | Yes: groups are kept year-round | | Personal details asked for | Only the names you type | Name and email; birthday and mailing address optional | Competitor details checked on 2026-10-21 from: [Giftster Help: Find public lists and groups](https://help.giftster.com/article/94-find-public-lists-and-groups); [Giftster Help: Account email address questions](https://help.giftster.com/article/110-account-email-address-questions); [Giftster Help: Register to use Giftster (guest shopping)](https://help.giftster.com/article/42-register-to-use-giftster); [Giftster Help: How to share a wish list](https://help.giftster.com/article/40-how-to-share-a-wish-list); [Giftster Help: Does Giftster cost anything?](https://help.giftster.com/article/41-does-giftster-cost-anything); [Giftster: Why is Giftster free?](https://www.giftster.com/free/); [Giftster: Advertising](https://www.giftster.com/advertising/); [Giftster: Add to Giftster button](https://www.giftster.com/add-to-giftster-button/); [Giftster Help: Browser extension](https://help.giftster.com/article/56-browser-extension); [Giftster Help: Will I see an item reserved or purchased on my list?](https://help.giftster.com/article/64-see-item-reserved-or-purchased-on-my-list); [Giftster Help: How child accounts work](https://help.giftster.com/article/66-how-child-accounts-work); [Giftster Help: Getting started with groups](https://help.giftster.com/article/87-getting-started-groups); [Giftster Help: Start a Secret Santa draw](https://help.giftster.com/article/4-secret-santa-draw); [Giftster Help: Draw and gift exchange manager questions](https://help.giftster.com/article/8-draw-gift-exchange-manager-questions); [Giftster: Secret Santa](https://www.giftster.com/secret-santa/); [Giftster Help: Email notification settings](https://help.giftster.com/article/129-update-email-notification-settings); [Giftster: Privacy Policy](https://www.giftster.com/privacy/). GiftMyCrew is independent and not affiliated with Giftster or MyGiftster Corporation. ## When is Giftster the better choice? Giftster is built for families who keep the same lists going all year. You set up a group once, and it stays for birthdays, holidays and next Christmas, with no new links to send each time. It also does more around the lists themselves. If your family would rather use a phone app, wants to add ideas from a browser extension or the phone's share sheet, or likes an email reminder to update your list before your birthday, Giftster covers those and we don't. Children can have their own lists inside a parent's account. ## When is GiftMyCrew the better choice? When getting everyone signed up is the hard part. In a big family, someone always lags behind: the cousin who never checks email, the grandparent who won't make another password. With a link there's nothing to chase. People tap their name, set a PIN and start adding ideas. It's also the better fit when you'd rather not hand over contact details for a one-off occasion, or when you want the group gone once the holiday is over. There are no ads, no emails are collected, and each group deletes itself after it goes quiet. ## What does joining look like in each? In GiftMyCrew, the organizer sends one group link to the family chat. Each person opens it, taps their name, sets a 4-digit PIN and adds up to 30 ideas, pasted from any store or typed in. Shopping from someone else's list works from that same link, with nothing else to set up. In Giftster, according to its own help center, you first need your own Giftster account to join a group, and each account needs its own email address. Someone without an account can still shop a public list from the website as a guest, which asks for their name and email; that guest option isn't in the phone apps. Neither approach is wrong. An account keeps your lists and groups ready for every occasion. A link gets a whole family in within minutes, and nobody needs to sign up to take part. ## What do you give up without accounts? Going account-free has real trade-offs for a family that gifts all year, and it's worth knowing them before you choose. - No year-round lists: a group is deleted after 90 days without activity (or 30 days after the event date, if that's later), so next year you start a fresh one. - No phone app, browser extension or share-sheet button: you paste links or type ideas in the browser. - No birthday reminders or emails of any kind, because we never ask for an email address. - Your links are your access. The browser you used remembers them, but on a new device you'll need your link again. - Each list holds up to 30 ideas, and a group holds up to 100 people. ## How do their Secret Santa draws compare? Both run a draw inside the group. Giftster needs at least three approved members, and its exclusions work one way, so keeping a couple apart takes two exclusions. You can also set exclusions so nobody gets last year's pick. Its help center says not even the organizer knows who drew whom. In GiftMyCrew, a draw works from 2 people up, and blocking a pair works both ways by default, with an option to block one direction only. If someone drops out, they're removed and the draw is repaired without redrawing everyone, where the rules allow. Giftster is stronger on one point: our share page doesn't show who drew whom, but the organizer holds everyone's private link, so if that matters, ask someone outside the exchange to set it up. ## How do I move my family from Giftster to GiftMyCrew? There's no import, so it's a fresh start. Create a group wishlist with everyone's names and share the group link. Each person adds their ideas again by pasting the product links from their Giftster list, which takes a few minutes per list. If you also want a draw, set up a Secret Santa; it includes a wishlist for everyone. ## Frequently asked questions ### Is GiftMyCrew part of Giftster? No. GiftMyCrew is an independent tool with no connection to Giftster or MyGiftster Corporation. ### Is Giftster free? Yes. Its help center says Giftster is free, and its advertising page says it doesn't allow display ads. It earns a small commission when members buy through its links to stores. ### Does my family need accounts to use GiftMyCrew? No. Nobody needs an account or an email address. Everyone joins from the same group link and adds their list in the browser. ### Can GiftMyCrew keep our lists for next year? Only while the group is in use: it's deleted after 90 days without activity, or 30 days after the event date, if that's later. If your family wants the same lists all year, Giftster's year-round groups are the better fit. ### Can the person whose list it is see what's been bought? Not in either. Both hide bought marks from the list's owner. In Giftster, a parent can see them on a child's lists; in GiftMyCrew, a parent added as their own person in the group sees what's been bought from their child's list. ## Related guides - [Group wishlist maker](https://www.giftmycrew.com/guides/group-wishlist-maker): Create a shared group wishlist and send one link. Everyone adds gift ideas and can mark items purchased. No accounts, no emails, no ads. - [Family wishlist](https://www.giftmycrew.com/guides/family-wishlist): Put the whole family's wishlists behind one link. Everyone adds ideas from any store and marks what they've bought. No app, no accounts, no emails. - [Elfster alternative](https://www.giftmycrew.com/guides/elfster-alternative): Compare GiftMyCrew and Elfster for Secret Santa: accounts, ads, wishlists, group size and apps. Sourced, dated, and clear about where Elfster is stronger. - [DrawNames alternative](https://www.giftmycrew.com/guides/drawnames-alternative): Compare GiftMyCrew and DrawNames for Secret Santa: email, accounts, who can see the draw, wishlists and apps. Sourced, dated, and clear on where DrawNames wins. --- Start a group wishlist: https://www.giftmycrew.com/?mode=group#create Source: https://www.giftmycrew.com/guides/giftster-alternative Published by GiftMyCrew (https://www.giftmycrew.com/).