# Santa Tracker vs Elf Studio®

The clearest difference is ads: Elf Studio® at none against Santa Tracker's shown. Elf Studio® also leads on update cadence (every 6 days vs every 3 months). Santa Tracker's advantage is review sentiment (71% vs 45%) and ratings volume (106K vs 3.8K). On price, rating, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Santa Tracker sells 12 one-off in-app purchases and Elf Studio® sells 15 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.6 for Santa Tracker against 4.6 for Elf Studio®. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Santa Tracker has 106K ratings behind it against 3.8K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 71% of Santa Tracker's written reviews are positive against 45% of Elf Studio®'s.

Santa Tracker ships an update every 3 months, Elf Studio® every 6 days. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and October 27, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Santa Tracker | Elf Studio® |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.6 (106K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/santa-tracker-track-santa/id1059325444/reviews) | **[4.6 (3.8K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/elf-studio/id6443879616/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **106K** | 3.8K |
| Positive reviews | **71.1% of reviews** | 45.5% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | Yes | **No** |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | **Every 6 days** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 373 MB | 343 MB |
| Requires iOS | **12.0** | 17.0 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Dualverse, Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/1145696722) | [North Pole Command Centre Limited](https://appshunter.io/developer/976131058) |

## What reviewers say

### Santa Tracker

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/santa-tracker-track-santa/id1059325444)

Follow Santa's journey on Christmas Eve with real-time updates on his location and activities. Discover what Santa is doing, see your house on the map, and count down the minutes until he arrives.

**Highlights:** Track Santa's current location, See Santa's current activities, Locate your house on the map, Countdown to Santa's arrival, View Santa's journey progress

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (12)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Credit 50 | $3.99 | one-time |
| Advent Calendar Package | $3.99 | one-time |
| Personalization Pack | $3.99 | one-time |
| North Pole Peek Package | $3.99 | one-time |
| Santa's Mailbox Package | $3.99 | one-time |
| Santa in Action Package | $3.99 | one-time |
| All-in-One Package | $4.99 | one-time |
| All-in-One Package | $8.99 | one-time |
| Credit 500 | $9.99 | one-time |
| All-in-One Package | $12.99 | one-time |
| All-in-One Package | $14.99 | one-time |
| Credit 5000 | $19.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🎅 Tracks Santa's location
- ⏱️ Countdown to Christmas
- 🎥 Fun animations and videos
- 👍 Easy to use
- 🎄 Captures Christmas spirit

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🤔 Accuracy concerns with Santa's location
- 🙅‍♀️ Privacy issues with requesting personal information
- 💤 Lack of updates/movement in Santa's location
- 🛑 Excessive ads and paywalls
- 🤯 Confusing or misleading information

**Reported bugs**

- Santa's location jumping between random places
- App crashes or freezes frequently
- Countdown timer not updating correctly
- Animations and videos not loading properly

**Requested features**

- Add more interactive games and activities
- Improve accuracy of Santa's location tracking
- Provide option to disable location sharing
- Enhance customization options for user profiles
- Introduce a pause/play feature for animations


### Elf Studio®

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/elf-studio/id6443879616)

Create magical videos and photos of Santa and his elves visiting your home using augmented reality. Place characters in any environment, customize their appearance and animations, and record your own festive scenes.

**Highlights:** Add Santa Claus and elves, Unlimited elves and recording time, Create custom elves with Elf Workshop, Customize elf outfits and accessories, Elves with walking and dancing animations, Pre-plan or perform animations, Customize lighting, shadows, and camera filters

**Features:** Family Sharing, iMessage stickers

**In-app purchases (15)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Unlock Elf Studio | $1.99 | per month |
| Elf Studio™ - Monthly | $2.99 | per month |
| Unlock Elf Studio | $3.99 | per year |
| Elf Studio™ - Annual | $6.99 | per year |
| Elf Studio Pro - Annual | $9.99 | per year |
| 50+ Elf Dance Animations | $0.99 | one-time |
| 1 Elf Video Credit | $1.99 | one-time |
| 1 Credit - Pro Price | $1.99 | one-time |
| 5 Credits - Pro Price | $5.99 | one-time |
| 5 Elf Video Credits | $7.99 | one-time |
| 10 Credits - Pro Price | $9.99 | one-time |
| Elf Studio - Lifetime Pass | $19.99 | one-time |
| 25 Credits - Pro Price | $22.99 | one-time |
| 50 Credits - Pro Price | $34.99 | one-time |
| 50 Credits | $39.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🎅 Elf-themed game
- 👍 Fun for kids
- 💡 Ability to create elf scenes

**What reviewers complain about**

- 💰 Many features locked behind paywall
- 🐛 Glitchy performance
- 🚫 Limited free functionality

**Reported bugs**

- Unable to scan surfaces for elf placement
- Crashes and freezes when trying to use app

**Requested features**

- More free customization options
- Ability to save and share created scenes
- Improved surface detection for elf placement


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Santa Tracker free?

Santa Tracker is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is Elf Studio® free?

Elf Studio® is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Santa Tracker or Elf Studio®?

Elf Studio® is rated higher. Santa Tracker averages 4.6 out of 5 from 106K ratings, while Elf Studio® averages 4.6 from 3.8K ratings.

### Do Santa Tracker or Elf Studio® have ads?

Santa Tracker shows ads; Elf Studio® does not.

### Which is updated more often, Santa Tracker or Elf Studio®?

Santa Tracker ships an update every 3 months, and Elf Studio® every 6 days. Most recently, Santa Tracker was updated on November 1, 2026 and Elf Studio® on October 27, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*