Four ways to invite your guests and what each really costs
A printed invitation, a site built to order, a plain image, or a platform that carries the invitation and the whole organization with it. Here is what each of them gives you, and what each of them leaves out.
Everything side by side
On a narrow screen, swipe the table sideways. The amounts are typical ranges, not a quote from any one supplier.
| Feature | Say Yes$49 – $149 one-off | Made to ordersomeone builds the site for you | Printed invitationsthe classic card in an envelope | An image or PDFthe invitation as a file |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Typical cost for 100 guests | $49 – $149 in total | $150 – $400 | from $500 with envelopes and postage | $15 – $40 |
| Cost of each extra guest | $0 | $0 | Every card is paid for separately | $0 |
| How long until it is finished | About fifteen minutes | Days, depending on the designer's schedule | Weeks (proofing, then the printer) | A day or two |
| Do you see it before you pay | Yes, you pay only when you publish | No, paid up front | No, printing is paid up front | No |
| Ready-made designs to choose from | 35 | Whatever you agree with the designer | The printer's catalog | Depends on the template |
| Online RSVP | ✓ | On the pricier packages | A reply card back in the mail | ✕ |
| Guest names, allergies and dietary needs | ✓ | Rarely | ✕ | ✕ |
| A guest list that fills itself | ✓ | Rarely | You copy it out by hand | You copy it out by hand |
| Reminders to whoever has not replied | ✓ | ✕ | You ring round | You ring round |
| Seating chart | ✓ | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ |
| Budget calculator | ✓ | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ |
| Song requests and a message book | ✓ | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ |
| Data export for the caterer and the DJ | ✓ | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ |
| Your own song on the invitation | ✓ | If the designer builds it in | ✕ | ✕ |
| A QR code for anything printed | ✓ | Usually to a separate RSVP form | Only if you add one yourself | Only if you add one yourself |
| Digital thank-you cards | From Premium | ✕ | A new order and a new print run | ✕ |
| A design drawn to your wishes | Included in the Luxury plan | Yes, but that is the whole service and it is priced as such | Yes, at extra cost and a new print run for every change | ✕ |
| QR seating chart at the entrance | Luxury plan | ✕ | A board with every name, reprinted for every change | ✕ |
| QR photo album for your guests | Luxury plan | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ |
| Calendar and maps with directions | ✓ | Sometimes | An address printed on paper | ✕ |
| Changing the details after sending | Yourselves, in seconds | Through the designer | Impossible without reprinting | You send a new file to everyone |
| Does it reach the guest reliably | A link in a message, instantly | A link in a message, instantly | By mail, with the risk of a lost envelope | A file in a message |
| Does it survive as a keepsake | A live page for 12 to 36 months | As long as the platform runs | Paper in a drawer | A file lost in a camera roll |
The price ranges are gathered from publicly published price lists, last reviewed in September 2026. Treat them as an order of magnitude, because the final price depends on the supplier, the quantity and what you ask for.
Where a printed invitation quietly takes your money
The price per card looks harmless until you add up everything that goes with it. For a hundred guests the bill usually looks like this:
Six things you actually feel
The table shows ticks, but in day-to-day planning the difference comes down to these.
You see it before you pay
Almost everywhere you pay up front and then wait for a first draft. Here you build the whole invitation with your names, your date and your design, look at it live exactly as your guests will, and only then decide whether to pay anything at all.
Done the same day, not next week
When someone else builds your invitation, emails, revisions and their schedule stand between you and a link you can send. The wizard takes you through five steps to a finished invitation in about fifteen minutes, at any hour.
Not just an invitation, but the planning too
The invitation is the beginning. The same dashboard gives you a guest list with dietary needs, an interactive floor plan, a budget calculator with a chart and a data export for the caterer and the DJ, with no spreadsheets and no scraps of paper.
Changes without a middleman
If a time moves or the venue changes, you fix it yourselves and the link stays the same, and every guest sees the new version immediately. A printed invitation cannot be recalled, and a file has to be sent to everyone all over again.
A hundred guests cost what ten do
With printing, every extra guest means another card, another envelope and another stamp. Here you invite as many people as you like without a cent of difference, because the price is tied to the plan, not to the head count.
You do not have to chase anyone
Everyone who has not replied gets a reminder from one place, instead of you ringing round the family asking whether they are coming. The replies land live on your dashboard.
The fastest way to decide
No table replaces the feeling of seeing your own names on an invitation. So here you do not have to take our word for it. Build it and look.
- Enter your names, the date and the venues (it takes a few minutes)
- Flip through all 35 designs with your real details in them
- Open the invitation on your phone, exactly as your guests will see it
- If you do not like it, close the page, since you have paid nothing
Before you choose
Is a digital invitation cheaper than a printed one?
For an average wedding it is, and noticeably so. Printing a hundred invitations with envelopes, reply cards and postage comfortably passes $500, and every extra guest is another cost. A digital invitation is paid for once, from $49, whether you are inviting fifty people or three hundred.
Why do some digital invitations cost $20 and others over $100?
Because they are not the same thing. The cheapest offers are an image or a PDF you send to your guests: pretty, but with no RSVP and no way of tracking who is coming. An invitation with an RSVP form, a guest list, maps and a seating chart is a platform that works for months, so the price is different.
What do we get here that is usually missing elsewhere?
Alongside the invitation itself you get an RSVP form with guest names and dietary needs, a guest list that fills itself, reminders for anyone still silent, an interactive floor plan, a budget calculator with a chart, song requests, guest messages and a data export for the caterer and the DJ, all in the basic plan. The higher plans add unlimited guests and digital thank-you cards, and Luxury adds a design drawn to your wishes, a QR seating chart for the entrance and a QR photo album for your guests.
Do we need both a digital and a printed invitation?
Plenty of couples do both: they send the digital invitation to everyone, because it carries the RSVP and the maps, and have a handful of printed cards made for grandparents, the wedding party and as a keepsake. Your dashboard gives you the invitation's QR code, so even a printed card leads to the RSVP.
Will older guests manage?
They will. A guest gets a link in a message, taps it, and the invitation opens in their browser, with no app, no sign-up and no password. The RSVP is two taps. For anyone who would rather ring you, you enter their reply into the guest list yourself.
Where do the figures in the table come from?
The ranges are gathered from publicly published price lists for services and printers, last reviewed in September 2026. We deliberately name no companies: the comparison is between ways of doing it, not between businesses. Prices move, so treat them as an order of magnitude rather than a quote.
See it before you pay a thing
Build the invitation with your names and your date, flip through 35 designs and decide in your own time. You pay only when you publish it.
Create your invitation →