CheckedTwice has run a closed family gift registry since 2009. This comparison checks how that walled-garden approach holds up against WishApp on apps, open sharing, and the gifting features that decide which one your family keeps.
Last updated: June 2026
CheckedTwice is a free, invite-only family registry with a clever closed-group view. Its apps, though, have been frozen since 2014, and every viewer has to create an account first. WishApp stays free, runs on current phones and desktops, and lets friends reserve gifts from a single link. It's the CheckedTwice alternative we'd pick.
Each row describes the apps as they are today. CheckedTwice's closed-family model wins it a few, and those are marked too.
| Feature | CheckedTwice | WishApp |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing & value | ||
| Free forever, no subscription | Always free | Always free |
| Unlimited lists and items | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| No ads | No ads | No ads |
| Platforms & devices | ||
| Current iPhone and Android apps | Frozen since 2014 | iOS + Android |
| macOS desktop app | None | Yes |
| Browser extension | Bookmarklet only | Six browsers |
| Raycast quick-add | No | Yes |
| Sharing & privacy | ||
| Friends view without an account | Account required | Open link |
| Closed family group dashboard | Yes | Follow each list |
| QR code for any list | No | Yes |
| Multiple currencies | Not documented | All currencies |
| Gifting features | ||
| Hidden reservations (owner cannot see) | Yes | Yes |
| Surprise gifts added by others | Yes | Collaborators only |
| Dependent accounts for kids | Yes | No |
| Self-service Secret Santa | Email support | Built in |
| Reserved and received tracking | No | Yes |
| Ease of use | ||
| Add from any store by pasting a link | Unreliable scraper | Auto-fills |
| Save a product in one click while browsing | 2013 bookmarklet | Yes |
| Modern, actively maintained interface | 2013-era design | Yes |
Both apps are free, with no premium tier, no paywall and no ads. CheckedTwice has promised 'Always free' since 2009 and kept to it. WishApp is the same, with unlimited lists and items paid for by affiliate links rather than your wallet. So price won't decide this. What each one gives you for free will.
Apps are where the gap matters most. CheckedTwice is a website plus two mobile apps stuck at version 1.0.8 since August 2014, rated close to one star. On a modern phone they barely work. WishApp has current apps for iPhone, iPad, Android phones and tablets and macOS, plus extensions for Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Opera, Safari and Brave and a Raycast add-on. It's the same list on every device, and all of it is maintained.
The two apps go opposite ways here. CheckedTwice is a walled garden. Every family member has to create an account and accept an email invite before they can see a single list. That does give it one real strength, a shared dashboard with everyone's lists under one login. WishApp flips it around. You share one link, anyone can open it without signing up, and gifts can be reserved in secret. Both hide reservations from the recipient, so the surprise survives either way.
CheckedTwice has some clever family mechanics that WishApp doesn't copy. Any member can put a 'surprise gift' on someone else's list, hidden from that person, and a parent can run dependent sub-accounts for kids or grandparents. For a tight family where everyone's enrolled, those are real wins. WishApp has collaborative lists, a reserved-and-received archive that remembers who gave what, and Secret Santa built in. CheckedTwice has Secret Santa too, but you have to email support to switch it on.
CheckedTwice relies on Amazon keyword search for adding items. Paste a link from anywhere else and it goes through a scraper that has been missing images since at least 2013. Its one-click tool is a bookmarklet from 2013, not a real extension, and the whole site looks its age. WishApp takes any product link and fills in the title, image and price, or saves it in one click from the browser extension. Its interface is current and still being updated.
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