# GiftPlanner vs Santa Tracker

The clearest difference is rating: GiftPlanner at 4.6 against Santa Tracker's 4.0. GiftPlanner also leads on ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 10 months). Santa Tracker's advantage is review sentiment (65% vs 52%) and iOS requirement (11.0 vs 15.5). On price, in-app purchases, monetization model and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. GiftPlanner sells 5 one-off in-app purchases and Santa Tracker sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

GiftPlanner holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: GiftPlanner has 775 ratings behind it against 81, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 52% of GiftPlanner's written reviews are positive against 65% of Santa Tracker's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

GiftPlanner ships an update every 3 weeks, Santa Tracker every 10 months. The most recent releases landed on July 5, 2026 and September 29, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | GiftPlanner | Santa Tracker |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.6 (775 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/giftplanner/id479882306/reviews)** | [4.0 (81 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/santa-tracker-countdown-2023/id1535905936/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **775** | 81 |
| Positive reviews | 51.8% of reviews | **65.2% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | **No** | Yes |
| Update frequency | **Every 3 weeks** | Every 10 months |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 29 MB | 14 MB |
| Requires iOS | 15.5 | **11.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | **iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Andrew Milham](https://appshunter.io/developer/392508546) | [Aamir Elahi](https://appshunter.io/developer/975019159) |

## What reviewers say

### GiftPlanner

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/giftplanner/id479882306)

Organize all your gift-giving details in one place. Track gift ideas, stores, prices, order numbers, and even photos. Share wish lists, manage budgets, and get reminders for upcoming events.

**Highlights:** Track gift ideas, stores, prices, and order numbers, Manage budgets for events and people, Scan barcodes and import gifts from the web, Track contacts' wish lists and interests, Export printable gift lists and reports, Secure with passcode, Touch ID, or Face ID

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases (5)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Small Tip | $0.99 | one-time |
| Medium Tip | $1.99 | one-time |
| Large Tip | $4.99 | one-time |
| GiftPlanner Plus | $6.99 | one-time |
| Huge Tip | $19.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 💻 Comprehensive gift tracking
- 📅 Organizes events and birthdays
- 🤖 Automatic gift idea import
- 📸 Ability to add gift photos
- 💰 Budgeting and spending tracking

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Frequent crashes and glitches
- 🔄 Sync issues between devices
- 🔍 Difficult to navigate and find information
- 🕰️ Outdated interface and design
- 🔒 Account registration and login problems

**Reported bugs**

- Gifts disappearing or not saving properly
- Duplicate events and contacts created
- Barcode scanning feature not working
- Uneditable store information
- Incompatibility with newer iOS versions

**Requested features**

- Ability to revert gifts to ideas
- Better budgeting and spending reports
- Family/group sharing capabilities
- Improved search and filtering options
- Print/export gift list functionality


### Santa Tracker

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/santa-tracker-countdown-2023/id1535905936)

Discover how many days, minutes, hours, and seconds remain until Christmas. This app allows you to track Santa's current location around the world and provides a countdown to the festive holiday.

**Highlights:** Christmas countdown, Track Santa's location, Count days, minutes, hours, seconds, Real-time Santa tracking, Festive holiday app

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Remove ADS | $2.99 | one-time |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is GiftPlanner free?

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

### Is Santa Tracker free?

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

### Which has better reviews, GiftPlanner or Santa Tracker?

GiftPlanner is rated higher. GiftPlanner averages 4.6 out of 5 from 775 ratings, while Santa Tracker averages 4.0 from 81 ratings.

### Do GiftPlanner or Santa Tracker have ads?

Santa Tracker shows ads; GiftPlanner does not.

### Which is updated more often, GiftPlanner or Santa Tracker?

GiftPlanner ships an update every 3 weeks, and Santa Tracker every 10 months. Most recently, GiftPlanner was updated on July 5, 2026 and Santa Tracker on September 29, 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.*