Comparison

Advent App vs Christmas Elf Diaries

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Advent App

Create and share personalized digital Advent calendars. Add videos, songs, vouchers, or quotes to each door. Fill and update your calendar at your own pace, with optional reminders to keep you on track.

Highlights
  • Personalize doors with video, song, or quotes
  • Digital calendar, fill and update anytime
  • Optional daily fill reminders
  • No account creation needed
  • Share via custom link (WhatsApp, SMS, mail)
  • Share with unlimited recipients
Read full description

Create a personal Advent calendar and gift it to someone you love: 24 doors filled with photos, videos, voice messages and little surprises, opening one by one in December. Newly redesigned for 2026: fresh calendar designs, a warmer, calmer look, voice messages behind any door, and full iPad support with iCloud sync — in 20 languages. Why you'll love the Advent App Doors made for your loved one Fill every door with your favorite photos and videos, a special song, a voucher, a funny quote, or a little memory you know they'll smile about. Fill it your way, not all at once Because the calendar is digital, you don't need to finish everything by December 1. Add doors as you go and update them whenever you like. Gentle reminders so you never miss a day If you enable notifications, we'll send you a little reminder the day before each door opens. No account needed When you create your calendar, we generate a custom link you can send to your loved ones via WhatsApp, SMS or email. No sign-up for anyone — they simply download the free Advent App, tap your link, and their calendar is ready. Share with as many people as you like One calendar, one link — send it to one special person or the whole family. Gift it ad-free — or send it for free Sending an ad-free calendar is a one-time purchase per calendar — no subscription. And if you'd rather not pay, there's a free option too: your loved one simply watches a short ad before opening each door. Have fun creating and gifting, and have a tree-mendous holiday season! Your Advent App Team

About

Christmas Elf Diaries

Features
Read full description

The kids are asleep, the day is done, and a tiny door in the hallway is waiting for tonight's prank. The Christmas Elf Diaries app takes the evening work off your hands: the whole elf season planned in seconds, idea, materials and letter ready. Every evening until Christmas. KNOW THE 10 PM SHIFT? Second week of December, and you're scrolling through Pinterest and Instagram again while yesterday's toothpaste idea is still stuck to the mirror. The letter for tomorrow morning? Unwritten. The flour footprints? No flour in the house. A German newspaper put it dryly: "Our elf does nothing, except make work." That is exactly why we built this app. HOW IT WORKS 1. Choose an elf character, set the name and the arrival day, enter your children's ages and your budget. 2. Tap "Let the elf plan": the app fills every elf day with ideas that fit. 3. Swipe away what doesn't suit you: left clears a day, right brings another idea, press and drag reorders. 4. Apply the plan. From now on, every evening you know what the elf gets up to tonight and what you need for it. ONE STORY, NOT A PILE OF NOTES First the construction site in front of the door, then moving-in day with moving boxes and a welcome letter, weeks of antics, and the farewell at the end. Every story day has its own picture, and your children experience the elf season as a story with a beginning and an end. MORE THAN 60 IDEAS THAT ACTUALLY WORK The toilet-paper maze. The sneaky cookie thief. The frozen toothbrush. The blue milk. The growing candy cane. The ghost hallway. Every idea comes with step-by-step instructions, a materials checklist, age, duration (5 to 15 minutes) and cost, usually free or a couple of dollars. Filter by type, age, time and cost, save favorites, search. Plus two printable notes: the elf's morning note that explains the prank and, for small tasks, the instructions for the children. LETTERS THAT AREN'T WRITTEN AT MIDNIGHT Arrival, first-snow surprise, break, thank-you, farewell: five occasions, pre-written, with your child's name and your elf's name, in handwriting fonts. "Another version" at the tap of a button, print or share as a PDF. One minute, and the letter is lying in front of the door. YOUR PRIVACY Works offline, no account, no ads. Your plans, names and notes stay on your device. Anonymous usage statistics only if you switch them on. WHO IT'S FOR For parents whose elf arrives the day after Thanksgiving, on December 1, or whenever your family's elf shows up, and who want the magic without the night shift. For families with children from about 2 to 12. WHAT IS AN ELF DOOR? A tiny door on the baseboard, and behind it a little house elf who moves in for the holidays. You never see him: at night he gets up to mischief, works a little magic, writes letters and leaves traces. In the morning the children discover what happened. He never watches anyone and never reports to anyone; he is simply there. On Christmas Eve he moves out again, until next year. The tradition comes from Scandinavia and has long been at home in Germany. A project by K2 Solutions, Erlangen, Germany. Questions and suggestions: hallo@k2-solutions.io

Screenshots

Advent App4 screens
Christmas Elf Diaries4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Christmas Elf Diaries at none against Advent App's shown. Christmas Elf Diaries also leads on update cadence (daily vs every 10 days) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.6). On price, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Advent App sells 2 one-off in-app purchases and Christmas Elf Diaries sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Advent App ships an update every 10 days, Christmas Elf Diaries daily. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and November 6, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Advent App versus Christmas Elf Diaries: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterAdvent AppChristmas Elf Diaries
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (226 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews75.2% of reviews—
Number of ratings226 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 10 daysDaily — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPod
Requires iOS17.615.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size82 MB50 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperPINTUMO UG (haftungsbeschraenkt)Klotzbuecher & Klumpe

Bugs and requests

Advent App

Reported bugs

14 issues
  • Internal service error screen
  • Calendar not working on Facebook groups
  • App won't open
  • Link doesn't work when posted in Facebook groups
  • Days not opening even after the date has passed
Show 9 more
  • YouTube not working on the app
  • App crashes
  • App doesn't save work when not on the app
  • YouTube feature stopped working
  • Cannot add videos from phone
  • Pictures lose detail when enlarged
  • Cannot send to multiple people after paying
  • Code not provided for download
  • Older phone versions incompatible

Requested features

7 requests
  • Landscape version for iPad
  • Ability to add videos from phone
  • Change number patterns/designs
  • Allow calendars for other months/year-round use
  • Save work when not on the app
Show 2 more
  • Add videos to the calendar
  • Allow adding videos from phone, even if limited length

Christmas Elf Diaries

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Advent App

One-time2
  • 1 Ad-Free Calendar$2.99
  • 1 Pro Calendar$7.99
1 purchases

Christmas Elf Diaries

One-time1
  • Elf Magic 2026$3.99

Questions

Is Advent App free?
Advent App is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Christmas Elf Diaries free?
Christmas Elf Diaries is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Advent App or Christmas Elf Diaries have ads?
Advent App shows ads; Christmas Elf Diaries does not.
Which is updated more often, Advent App or Christmas Elf Diaries?
Advent App ships an update every 10 days, and Christmas Elf Diaries daily. Most recently, Advent App was updated on November 1, 2026 and Christmas Elf Diaries on November 6, 2026.

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