Advent Calendar Apps Compared 2026: Advent App, MyAdvent, Türchen.com, AdventMyFriend and Advientos

You want to fill a digital advent calendar yourself and send it to someone, and you are wondering which tool to use. This comparison comes from Advent App itself, so read it as what it is: a comparison written by one of the vendors. In return, we checked every claim about the other four on their own websites on 1 November 2026, dated every number, and say plainly where the others are better.

We compare the five options that come up most often when people search for an online advent calendar maker or the best app to make a digital advent calendar: Advent App (app for iPhone, iPad and Android, since 2013), MyAdvent (web calendar with apps for making it), AdventMyFriend (free web calendar from the US), Türchen.com (web calendar with games, mainly for companies) and Advientos (web classic since 2007).

In short: which tool for whom

• The calendar should arrive as a real app, with animated door-opening, video and voice messages for free and reactions back: Advent App.
• The calendar should open in the browser with nothing to install, and €5.99 for ad-free is fine: MyAdvent.
• Completely free, no ads inside the doors, nothing to install, but no video or audio uploads: AdventMyFriend.
• Games, giveaways, company calendars to embed: Türchen.com.
• Photos and messages with an account, plus a printable version: Advientos.

The five at a glance

All details come from the vendors' websites, checked on 1 November 2026. "n/s" means the vendor does not state it on its site. Prices are for Germany and can change; store prices differ by country.

Ratings in the app stores

Only two of the five have an app, so only two have star ratings. Read in the stores on 1 November 2026; the number in brackets is the number of ratings. Where a store counts fewer than ten ratings the average says little, so it is left out.

• App Store Germany: Advent App 4.5 out of 5 (1,420 ratings), MyAdvent 3.6 (27).
• App Store USA: Advent App 4.6 (226), MyAdvent 3.8 (10).
• App Store UK: Advent App 4.6 (189); MyAdvent fewer than ten ratings.
• App Store France: Advent App 4.3 (175); MyAdvent fewer than ten ratings.
• Google Play: MyAdvent 4.1 (about 1,260 reviews). Advent App has only been on Google Play since August 2026 and shows no rating there yet.

AdventMyFriend, Türchen.com and Advientos are websites without an app and have no store rating.

What fits in a door

This is where the paths diverge most. A web calendar is a web page: photos, text and embedded YouTube videos work everywhere. Besides us, only MyAdvent (from Pro) and Türchen.com take your own video uploads, and only MyAdvent records voice messages.

Where Advent App wins

• The opening itself. A door in Advent App opens with animation and sound, in one of nine calendar designs. A web calendar shows a web page. To see what that feels like: the designs and their doors.
• Video and voice for free. A video of up to 60 seconds and a voice message work in the free calendar. With MyAdvent your own video uploads are Pro and voice messages are free up to 20 seconds; AdventMyFriend has neither.
• Reactions back. With Pro you see which doors were opened and get reactions and short notes back, if the recipient agrees. With the other four, no private sender sees which doors were opened; visitor comments exist at MyAdvent from Pro+ (€11.99).
• The calendar stays. No three or six months: the calendar stays in the app with everything in it, next year included. Missed doors can be caught up, and every door opens at midnight in the recipient's own time zone without you setting anything.
• Pay once, done. Ad-free is €2.99 per calendar, Pro €8.49, both one-time, no subscription, no expiry.
• Nobody needs an account, not even an e-mail address. Neither you nor the recipient.
• 20 languages, iPhone and iPad with iCloud sync, Android. A new version every year since 2013.

Where the others win

• Nothing to install. MyAdvent, AdventMyFriend, Türchen.com and Advientos open from a link in the browser, on a desktop too. With Advent App the recipient needs the free app on their phone or iPad. For someone who only sits at a PC or refuses to install anything, a web calendar is the better choice.
• Free and ad-free. AdventMyFriend costs nothing and, according to its own terms, shows no ads inside the doors. With us, the recipient of a free calendar sees a short ad before each door; ad-free costs €2.99.
• Games, giveaways, embedding. Türchen.com is built for that: games and giveaways come with Pro (€30) or the business plans. MyAdvent can be embedded in your own website even on the free plan. Advent App can do neither.
• More or fewer than 24 doors. AdventMyFriend allows 1 to 31 doors, Advientos 5 to 25 with any end date, MyAdvent your own start and end date. Advent App always has 24 doors, December 1 to 24.
• Very long voice messages. MyAdvent Pro+ allows up to 60 minutes.
• A printable version. Advientos offers an A4 PDF to build the calendar on paper as well; one of its pages reserves it for "Advientos' Friend" users.

Prices in detail

As of 1 November 2026, prices for Germany as shown on the vendors' sites and in the German App Store. Check with the vendor before buying; store prices differ by country.

• Advent App: making, sending and receiving is free. "1 Ad-Free Calendar" €2.99, "1 Pro Calendar" €8.49 (ad-free, plus seeing opened doors, reactions and notes back). One-time per calendar, no subscription, no expiry.
• MyAdvent: free plan €0. Pro €5.99 (voice messages up to 10 minutes, own videos 50 MB and audio 20 MB, up to 100 AI images, no promotions in the calendar). Pro+ €11.99 (voice messages up to 60 minutes, videos 250 MB, audio 50 MB). Each one-time per calendar, valid three months, after which the calendar goes offline, incl. VAT; the vendor says prices vary by country and app store.
• AdventMyFriend: free, no paid tier. Advertising and affiliate links on the editorial pages; never inside the doors according to its terms, while its privacy policy says Google ads may appear on calendar pages.
• Türchen.com: private: Basic free (50 MB, ad-funded), ad-free €5, Pro €30 (games, giveaways, 250 MB), each per calendar for six months; games (€25) and giveaways (€80) also come as add-ons. Business: Business €295, Premium €680, Enterprise €2,250, each plus VAT, per calendar for six months, with a ten-day trial.
• Advientos: "send it for free"; the site lists no prices and asks for donations.

Which app to make a digital advent calendar? Three typical cases

For your partner, your best friend, your parents

What counts here is how the opening feels, and that voice and video messages are in. That is the case Advent App is built for: the recipient gets the free app, taps your link, and from December 1 a door opens every day. Ideas for the 24 doors: for a boyfriend or girlfriend, for a long-distance relationship, for grandparents.

For someone who will not install anything or only uses a PC

Then a web calendar. MyAdvent if €5.99 for an ad-free calendar is fine. AdventMyFriend if it should cost nothing, show no ads, and photos, text, GIFs and YouTube links are enough.

For the company, the club, the class

For quizzes, games and embedding in your own website there are business plans: Türchen.com from €295, MyAdvent from €299, each plus VAT per calendar; giveaways are included in every Türchen.com business plan. For a team of ten without games, a personal calendar does the job: in Advent App you send the same calendar to several people with "Duplicate calendar"; ideas in the guide for coworkers and teams.

Looking for a MyAdvent alternative?

People looking for an alternative to MyAdvent usually miss one of three things. The experience of opening: then Advent App is the alternative, with animated doors in nine designs, video and voice for free and reactions back. Zero cost and no ads inside the doors: then AdventMyFriend, with the limitation that your own videos and voice messages are not possible. Games and giveaways in a private calendar: then Türchen.com Pro. And if the three-month validity of the Pro features bothers you, Advent App keeps the calendar in the app with no expiry.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best app to make a digital advent calendar?

It depends on what the recipient should get. As a real app with animated doors, voice and video messages and reactions back: Advent App. In the browser with nothing to install: MyAdvent or the free AdventMyFriend. For games and company calendars: Türchen.com. With an account and a printable version: Advientos.

Advent App vs MyAdvent: what is the difference?

Advent App is a native app: the recipient opens the doors in the app, with animation and sound, in their time zone, and the calendar stays for good. Video up to 60 seconds and voice messages are free; ad-free costs €2.99 one-time, Pro €8.49. MyAdvent is a web calendar from a link; the free plan has photos, text, voice messages up to 20 seconds and YouTube videos, with your own video uploads and an ad-free calendar from Pro at €5.99, valid three months.

Is there a MyAdvent alternative?

Yes: Advent App if the calendar should arrive as an app with real door-opening. AdventMyFriend if it should be completely free, with no ads inside the doors. Türchen.com for games and companies. Advientos with an account and a printable version.

Does the recipient need an account or an app?

An account with none of the five. With Advent App the recipient needs the free app and taps the link. With the four web calendars the link opens in the browser. Only someone entering a Türchen.com giveaway signs in with their e-mail address.

How much does a digital advent calendar cost?

Making and sending is free everywhere. Ad-free: Advent App €2.99 one-time per calendar (Pro €8.49), MyAdvent from €5.99 (three months), Türchen.com from €5 (six months). AdventMyFriend costs nothing and, according to the vendor, shows no ads inside the doors. Advientos lists no prices. As of 1 November 2026, Germany.

How long has Advent App existed?

On the App Store since 2013, made by Pintumo UG in Berlin. A new version every year since, available for Android since 2026, in 20 languages.

Which advent calendar app has the best ratings?

In the German App Store: Advent App 4.5 out of 5 from 1,420 ratings, MyAdvent 3.6 from 27. In the US 4.6 (226) versus 3.8 (10). On Google Play MyAdvent has 4.1 from about 1,260 reviews; Advent App has only been there since August 2026 and shows no rating yet. The three web tools have no app and therefore no store rating. As of 1 November 2026.

Does the calendar stay after Christmas?

In Advent App yes, for good and with all its content. MyAdvent: start and end date up to 90 days; a paid calendar goes offline after three months. Türchen.com: six months, then offline. AdventMyFriend: until 1 March of the following year, then deleted. Advientos states no limit.

The bottom line

Four of the five paths lead to a web page with 24 boxes, and for many purposes that is exactly right, especially when the recipient should not install anything. Advent App is the one path where the calendar arrives as an app: with a door that really opens, with your voice and your video already in the free calendar, with reactions back and no expiry date. Since 2013, new every year.

This comparison was written by Advent App. All details about MyAdvent, AdventMyFriend, Türchen.com and Advientos come from their websites, editors and store listings, checked on 1 November 2026, without guarantee. The brands named belong to their respective owners. If you spot a mistake: support@advent-app.com, we will correct it.