OpenApps Santa

Free alternative to Elfster

Free Secret Santa generator. No ads, no sign-up.

Santa is a free Secret Santa generator and a free alternative to Elfster with no ads. It draws names with exclusions so couples never get each other, keeps wish lists, and gives each person a private link that shows only who they are buying for. Not even the organizer sees the full list.

  • Keep couples and last year's pairs apart
  • Private links: nobody sees the full list, not even you
  • Wish lists, anonymous questions and a reveal day

How it works

  1. Make the exchange

    Name it, set a budget and a gift day, and add names. Or share one join link so people add themselves. No account for anyone.

  2. Draw names

    Keep couples apart, choose who can see the list, and draw. If your rules leave someone with nobody to give to, Santa says who is stuck.

  3. Send the links

    Copy each person's message with their private link and send it by text, chat or email. Their page shows who they are buying for and that person's wish list.

Everything a Secret Santa needs

  • Keep people apart

    Couples, roommates, last year's pairs. A pair never draws each other, either way round, and only the organizer sees the pairs.

  • Private by default

    Each private link shows one match. Nobody sees the full list unless the organizer chooses to before the draw, and then everyone is told. Every device that opens a page is listed on it.

  • Wish lists

    Everyone writes theirs, with links. Only they and their Secret Santa see it, so the hints stay between the two of them.

  • Anonymous questions

    Ask your giftee their size or their favorite color. They answer on their page without learning who asked.

  • One join link

    Drop the link in the family or team chat. People add themselves and their wish list, and their private page stays on their own phone.

  • Reveal day and reminders

    Pick a day to reveal who gave to whom. Add the gift day to your calendar with a reminder a week before.

Santa compared with Elfster, DrawNames and Sneaky Santa

All four are free to use. The difference is ads and privacy: Santa has no ads, no account and no paid plan, and by default nobody can see the full list, the organizer included. As reported in 2026, Elfster is free but ad-supported.

SantaElfsterDrawNamesSneaky Santa
PriceFree, no paid planFree; no paid plan foundFreeFree; no paid plan found
AdsNoneReported as ad-supported; its App Store age rating lists advertisingSays no ads; its App Store privacy section lists advertising dataNot stated; it has a gift shop and gift idea pages
Account to draw namesNoNot checkedNoNot checked
Keep pairs apartYesNot checkedNot checkedYes
Wish listsYesYesYesYes
Organizer kept from seeing the listYes, by default, enforced by the data rulesNot checkedNot checkedNot checked
API for AI assistantsYes, no keyNot checkedNot checkedNot checked

Updated October 2026. Other apps as reported in 2026 on elfster.com and its US App Store listing, drawnames.com and its US App Store listing, and sneakysanta.com. They change, so check before you choose. "Not checked" means we did not confirm it either way.

What Santa does not do

  • It sends no emails or texts. It writes the messages, and you send them.
  • No gift shop, no buying and no shipping addresses.
  • No accounts: a person's page lives in their private link and on their device.
  • Up to 99 people in one exchange. Split bigger groups into two.

Good for

  • Family Secret Santa, with couples kept apart.
  • Office and remote team gift exchanges, with the link in the team chat.
  • Friends, roommates, clubs and classes.
  • Book swaps and cookie swaps that work like Secret Santa.

For AI assistants

Your assistant can run the office Secret Santa.

Santa has a public API with no key and no account. One call makes the exchange with everyone's names and the pairs to keep apart, draws names, and hands back each person's private link and a message to send.

Full reference: llms.txt and openapi.json. The answer holds every private link, so an assistant should send each person only their own and keep the admin link for the organizer.

# Make the exchange and draw names in one call
curl -X POST https://functions.bounded.sh/apps/c7891873549c9ca1004894b3/api/exchanges \
  -H 'content-type: application/json' \
  -d '{"name": "Office Secret Santa", "budget": "$25",
       "date": "2026-12-18",
       "people": ["Ana", "Ben", "Cy", "Dee", "Eli"],
       "keepApart": [["Ana", "Ben"]]}'
# Each person's private url and message, plus adminUrl

# Who does Ben give to, and what do they want?
# (the key is the part after #k= in Ben's url)
curl https://functions.bounded.sh/apps/c7891873549c9ca1004894b3/api/people/PERSON_ID \
  -H 'x-person-key: PERSON_KEY'

Questions

Is there a free alternative to Elfster without ads?
Yes. Santa is a free Secret Santa generator with no ads, no sign-up and no paid plan. It draws names with exclusions, keeps wish lists, and gives each person a private link that shows only who they are buying for. As reported in 2026, Elfster is free but ad-supported.
Is there a free Secret Santa generator that keeps couples apart?
Yes. Santa lets you keep any two people apart, so couples or last year's pairs never draw each other, either way round. It is free and needs no account. If your rules leave someone with nobody to give to, Santa says who is stuck instead of drawing.
Can the organizer see who has who?
Not unless they choose to before the draw. By default nobody, including the organizer, can see the full list: each private link shows one match, and the app's data rules refuse everyone else. If the organizer picks "I want to see it", everyone is told on their page. Every device that opens a private page is listed on that page, so peeking shows.
Is Santa really free?
Yes. There is no paid plan and no limit on exchanges. There are no ads and no third-party trackers, and nothing is sold. The hosting counts visits. Each exchange is a handful of small records, and OpenApps pays for them.
Does everyone need an account or an app?
No. Everything works in a browser on any phone or computer. The organizer makes the exchange without signing up, and each person opens their private link or joins with the group link.
Does Santa send emails to the people in the exchange?
No. Santa sends no emails or texts. After the draw, the organizer copies a ready-made message for each person, with their private link, and sends it by text, chat or email. People who joined with the group link open it again on the same phone to see their match.
How do I run a free online gift exchange for a remote team?
Make an exchange in Santa, set a budget and a gift day, and share the join link in your team chat. People add themselves and write wish lists. Keep apart anyone who should be, then draw names. Each person's page shows who to send a gift to, with a calendar reminder a week before.
What if no draw can follow the exclusions I set?
Santa checks before it draws. If the pairs you keep apart make a draw impossible, it names the people who are stuck and asks you to remove a pair or add someone. Nothing is drawn until every rule can be followed.
How do wish lists and anonymous questions work?
Each person writes a wish list on their page, and only they and their Secret Santa see it. A Secret Santa can ask their giftee questions, like a size or a favorite color. The giftee answers on their page without learning who asked.
Can I reveal who gave to whom at the end?
Yes. Pick a reveal day and time before the draw. From then on, everyone in the exchange sees the full list and who their own Secret Santa was. Once names are drawn, the reveal can only move later or be turned off, so nobody learns the list early. Once it passes, the draw is final.
Someone dropped out after the draw. What now?
Undo the draw, remove or add people, and draw again. Everyone gets a new match, and every page says names were drawn again.
Can my AI assistant run our office Secret Santa?
Yes. Santa has a public API with no key. An assistant can create the exchange with everyone's names and the pairs to keep apart, draw names, and hand back each person's private link with a message to send. See santa-free.openapps.xyz/llms.txt.

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