In a nutshell
Three kinds of advent calendar can be made by a person this year: an online calendar that opens from a link, an app, or a printable image or PDF. They differ on four things you can check before you start: whether anything must be installed, whether doors open on their date, whether the recipient needs an account, and what it costs.
- An online maker opens from a link; on this site’s maker that means no install and no account for the recipient, with scheduled opening listed in a review.
- Advent App on iOS is free with in-app purchases of $2.99 for an ad-free calendar and $7.99 for a pro calendar (US App Store, read October 2026); on the free tier recipients watch a short ad before opening each door.
- MyAdvent’s free plan covers photos, text, voice and YouTube; its one-time Pro is 5.99 euro and Pro+ 11.99 euro per calendar, valid three months, read October 2026.
- A printable is an image or PDF: Kapwing’s template is free to publish and download, and every door is visible at once.
If you are choosing how to make a calendar before December, this page puts the three routes side by side and says what each one’s own page does and does not state, including the limits of the maker on this site. It is the companion to the cluster’s practical page, how to make a digital advent calendar, which walks through the steps of each route; this page is for choosing between them.
The comparison, read October 25, 2026
| Route | Needs an install? | Doors open on their date? | Recipient needs an account? | Cost (read October 25, 2026) | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Online maker: this site’s | No; it opens from a link in the browser | Yes; a review lists scheduled opening | No | Free | |
| Online maker: MyAdvent | The page’s main action is “Create free calendar”; it also shows App Store and Google Play badges and does not say an app is required | The page sets a start and end date of up to 90 days and does not say doors unlock on the day | No: “No account needed” | Free plan; Pro 5.99 euro, Pro+ 11.99 euro, one-time per calendar, valid three months | |
| Online maker: Advientos | The page mentions none | The page lets you choose the number of windows and the date, and does not say how the date affects access | The sender signs up; the page does not say a recipient must | Free | |
| App: Advent App (iOS) | Yes; the recipient downloads the free app and opens the link | The listing does not say | No: “No sign-up for anyone” | Free; in-app $2.99 ad-free calendar, $7.99 pro calendar (US App Store); free-tier recipients watch a short ad per door | |
| Printable: a designed image or PDF (Canva, Kapwing) | No; it is a file | No; every door is visible at once | No | Kapwing’s template is free to publish and download; no Canva price was read | |
| Printable: a teacher platform (Teach Starter) | No; a resource to print or show | Not stated | Not stated | No price read |
The column that separates the routes is the second. A maker and an app are built around a date; an image or a printed sheet shows everything at once, so the surprise depends on the person not looking ahead.
Online: a maker that opens from a link
A web maker produces a link and nothing else to install. On this site’s maker the steps are a background (six are offered), an email address used once for the secret edit link, 24 doors holding a text and an image, a YouTube video, a GIF or a link, and one link sent by WhatsApp, email or social media; the recipient needs no account. A review lists scheduled opening, so a door opens on its date.
MyAdvent’s page lists a free plan with photos, text, voice messages up to 20 seconds, YouTube videos, AI texts and up to 30 AI images, a start and end date of up to 90 days, and embedding in your own website. The paid tiers are one payment per calendar with no subscription, valid three months: Pro at 5.99 euro adds, among other things, password protection and music from Spotify, Apple Music or Deezer; Pro+ at 11.99 euro adds illustrated door designs, opening animations and visitor comments. Advientos says to sign up, upload photos and write a message for each window, and offers a PDF for printing a copy.
Limits of the maker here. Videos are links to YouTube, not uploads, so a video door shows what the platform shows, ads included; see YouTube in an advent calendar. The calendar link is the lock, so it goes to one person. Calendars stay online at least through January and can be deleted at any time with the edit link, so a calendar is not an archive. MyAdvent’s Pro and 24 Moments’ optional password close a door that a forwarded link opens; this maker does not.
An app from the store
Advent App is by PINTUMO UG and is free to download, with in-app purchases listed at $2.99 for one ad-free calendar and $7.99 for one pro calendar in the US App Store; the listing does not say what the pro calendar adds. It is described as available in 20 languages. The sender gets a custom link to send by WhatsApp, SMS or email, and nobody signs up; the recipient downloads the free app and opens the link. On the free tier the recipient watches a short ad before opening each door, and the ad-free calendar is a one-time purchase per calendar.
24 Moments is a second iOS app: free to download, with in-app purchases listed at $2.99, $3.99, $11.99 and $34.99, sending by WhatsApp, iMessage or email, a share-by-link option with “no account needed to receive”, and optional password protection; its listing carries an advertising label.
An app makes sense where the surprise needs a phone-native feel; it costs the recipient an install, and on one listing an ad per door, which the web route does not. Prices and plans on a store listing change; read the listing on the day.
A printable: an image or a PDF
A printable is a designed picture: 24 numbered squares, each with a message, a photo or a QR code pointing to a link. Kapwing’s guide of November 2018 describes its template: replace the wrapped gifts with your own images, publish, and download. A French teachers’ tools site describes Canva as thousands of templates for printable calendars and QR codes, and suggests that each pupil prepares one box of a class calendar. Teacher platforms are the printable field for classrooms: Teach Starter, for one, publishes a classroom advent calendar countdown post; its page states no price.
The limit of a printable is stated in its form. Nothing opens on a date; a QR code per square points to a link hosted elsewhere, and each link is open from the first day. What a printable gives is a design you control and a sheet that needs no screen. For a calendar to hang on a wall or sit in a card, that is the right shape; for a calendar where door 14 must stay shut until December 14, it is not.
If you want…
| If you… | Route | Why |
|---|---|---|
| want 24 doors that open on their date, with nothing to install and no account for the recipient | An online maker | The link is the calendar; this maker states no install and no account |
| want a password on the calendar | MyAdvent Pro or an app with a password option | Both pages list one |
| want the person to open it inside an app on their phone | An app | Advent App’s recipients download the free app; on the free tier they watch an ad per door |
| want a sheet to print, post or put in a card | A printable | An image or PDF shows every door at once; Kapwing’s template is free to publish and download |
| are a teacher who needs worksheets behind the doors | A teacher platform’s printable, or an online maker for the doors | Teach Starter publishes a classroom countdown; the maker holds the dates |
This page does not pick one for you. The choice turns on whether the date lock, the password or the printed sheet matters more to the person you are making it for.
In the tool The maker’s doors hold text and one of an image, a YouTube video, a GIF or a link; videos are links, not uploads. It needs no install and no account on either side, the link goes out by WhatsApp or email. Calendars stay online at least through January and can be deleted at any time.
Put it in a calendar
Start from a finished one: a partner, a child or a class. Copy it, change the doors, and Create your calendar. When it is done, send it by WhatsApp, email or QR code.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there a digital advent calendar available?
Yes, in three forms: an online maker that sends a link, an app, and a printable image or PDF. They differ on install, date lock, account and cost, as the table above shows.
What is the best online advent calendar?
This page names none, because the pages read disagree on what matters: a password is a paid option on one maker, and a date lock is stated on one page and left unsaid on others. Pick by the four columns above.
Is there a free advent calendar app?
Advent App is free to download with in-app purchases of $2.99 and $7.99 in the US App Store, and recipients on the free tier watch a short ad per door. 24 Moments is also free to download with in-app purchases.
Do I need an app to make an advent calendar?
No. A web maker needs none for you or the recipient, and a printable is a file. MyAdvent’s page shows app badges but its main action is “Create free calendar”.
Can I print an online advent calendar?
Advientos says it offers a PDF for printing a copy. A printable made in Kapwing or Canva is a file to print from the start.
How can I make my own advent calendar online?
Choose a background, enter an email address once for the edit link, fill 24 doors, and send the link. The steps are on how to make a digital advent calendar.
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