Both are free Secret Santa generators. Here is an honest breakdown of what each does, where they differ, and which might work better for your group.
Quick overview
🎲 DrawNames
🎅 SecretSantaMatch New 2026
Feature by feature
| Feature | SecretSantaMatch | DrawNames |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Ads | Ad-supported | No ads |
| Email required | Not required at all | Invitations sent by email, text, or WhatsApp |
| Account required | No account for anyone | No registration required |
| Data storage | Encoded in link URL | Stored on DrawNames servers |
| Organizer sees assignments | No. Organizer is anonymous too | Organizer can see who drew whom |
| Exclusions | Yes, unlimited | Yes |
| Wishlists | Yes, no login needed | Yes, with or without account |
| Anonymous Q&A | No | Yes |
| Gift finder / suggestions | Via gift ideas page (200+ ideas) | Yes, gift finder built in |
| Purchase tracking | No | Yes |
| Reminder emails | Pro feature | Yes |
| Mobile app | Web-based, mobile-friendly | Yes (iOS + Android) |
| Card customization | Themes, custom text, photo upload | Basic theming |
| White Elephant tool | Yes, free separate tool | No |
| Gift Survey / questionnaire | Yes, chip/tag UI + PDF | No |
| Icebreaker Generator | Yes, 675+ questions | No |
| Scheduled reveal | Pro feature | No |
| Participant limit | None | None |
The real differences
Both tools run a free Secret Santa draw with wishlists and exclusions. The differences come down to philosophy and workflow.
DrawNames is invitation-based: the organizer creates the group and invitations go out by email, text, or WhatsApp. Participants can access the platform without registering, manage a wishlist, and use the built-in gift finder. It also has anonymous Q&A between draw partners, purchase tracking so Santas can see what has already been bought, and automatic email reminders.
SecretSantaMatch is link-based: the organizer generates the draw and each participant gets a private URL. No server stores anything. Nobody creates an account at any point. The reason this matters more than it might sound: in any group above 10 or 15 people, at least a few participants will not bother completing a sign-up flow. A link they click and it works means everyone participates. The trade-off is real: no purchase tracking, no anonymous Q&A, no dedicated mobile app. But for most groups, the exchange just needs to run cleanly and anonymously, and for that SecretSantaMatch is faster and simpler.
Which fits your group
DrawNames might suit you if:
SecretSantaMatch might suit you if:
Where SecretSantaMatch fits best
Some colleagues will engage enthusiastically. Others will ignore the email. In an invitation-based system, the non-responders create a hole you have to chase. With SecretSantaMatch, you paste one shortened link into Slack. They click it. Done. No account, no follow-up email asking someone to complete their profile.
Some companies have policies about collecting employee data on external platforms. Some family members simply don't want to hand their email to a third-party service. SecretSantaMatch collects zero personal data. Your exchange lives inside the link URL, not on a server.
The White Elephant Generator handles live steal tracking, turn order, freeze rules, and the final round for Yankee Swap and Dirty Santa. DrawNames has no equivalent. If your event has both a Secret Santa draw and a White Elephant game, SecretSantaMatch covers both from one place.
Set up a Secret Santa in under 5 minutes. No email, no account, no data stored. Free for any group size.
Questions
DrawNames is an established gift exchange platform with wishlists, a gift finder, anonymous Q&A, and a mobile app. SecretSantaMatch focuses on privacy and zero friction: no email addresses are collected from anyone, data lives in the link, and the organizer never sees individual assignments. SecretSantaMatch also includes a White Elephant Generator and Gift Survey that DrawNames does not have.
DrawNames sends invitations via email, text, or WhatsApp and does not require account creation. The workflow is invitation-based rather than purely link-based. SecretSantaMatch requires zero email addresses from anyone. Share assignments by link alone.
Yes. Both are free. SecretSantaMatch's core generator has no participant limits and no exchange limits. Optional Pro features are available for organizers who want scheduled reveals, password protection, or bulk email sending.
If your draw is already done, there is no need to switch. Let it run. For your next exchange, SecretSantaMatch takes under 5 minutes to set up. You can add previous-year pairings as exclusions to avoid repeat matches.
SecretSantaMatch is web-based and works on any mobile browser without installing anything. There is no dedicated app. Participants tap their link on their phone, see the reveal, and update their wishlist through the browser. DrawNames has dedicated iOS and Android apps if a native app experience matters to your group.
DrawNames stores your exchange data on their servers. SecretSantaMatch encodes exchange data into the shareable link URL itself rather than storing it on servers. Neither platform sells user data. The difference is that SecretSantaMatch never receives personal data in the first place: not names, not emails, not preferences.