Evite vs Paperless Post: which is better for a wedding?
Written by the Wedvite foundersPrices checked 15 September 2026
Paperless Post is the better wedding invitation: it animates an envelope, shows no ads, and the first 50 invitations are free. Evite is cheaper for a long list: one $99.99 Diamond package covers 750 guests, though free designs show ads. Wedvite undercuts Evite's Diamond at 100 guests: $89 flat for unlimited guests, with a smaller catalogue.
How do Evite, Paperless Post and Punchbowl compare?
| Service | Price model | Cost for 100 guests | Free tier | RSVP | Animated envelope | WhatsApp / text delivery | Wedding website | Ads shown to guests |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Evite | Free designs with ads, or one Premium package from $17.99 (12 guests) to $99.99 (750 guests) | $99.99 (Diamond) — or $0 on a free design with ads | Yes — up to 750 guests, ads shown | Yes | Partly — Premium packages only | Yes — SMS in the US and Canada; WhatsApp by shareable link | No — no wedding-website product | Yes — on free designs |
| Paperless Post | Coins per recipient, $0.50 to $1.44 per guest by feature set; first 50 invitations free | ≤ $105 Premium (≤ $50 Basic, ≤ $144 All Access) — upper bounds, not a checkout total | Yes — first 50 invitations, plain card | Yes | Yes — Premium set and above | Partly — text in the US and Canada; WhatsApp sending not yet available | Partly — an Event Page, not a standalone site | No |
| Punchbowl | Subscription by guest cap, from $3.99/month (50 guests) up to $39.99/month (5,000 guests); 7-day trial, no free tier | From $5.99/month (Premium, the lowest tier covering 100 guests); from $7.99/month ad-free (Platinum) | Partly — 7-day trial only, card on file | Yes | Yes | Yes — email, text and WhatsApp | No — the link opens the invitation | Yes — unless Platinum or Business |
| Wedvite | $89 flat, paid once, unlimited guests, no per-guest fee | $89 | Partly — design free, share with your first 10 guests, pay once to publish | Yes — with a guest-messages dashboard | Yes — on every design | Yes — one link for WhatsApp, text or email | Partly — the invitation page carries map, schedule, RSVP and guest messages; no registry, no custom domain | No |
Competitor prices and features were read from the official pages on 15 September 2026: Evite, Paperless Post, Punchbowl. A cell reading "not verified on 15 September 2026" means the vendor's page did not state that figure on that date, so we leave it out rather than guess. Competitor prices are in US dollars; Wedvite's row is our own price in your currency. Prices change; confirm on the vendor's page before you buy.
Who should pick which?
Pick Evite if
you are inviting a long list and want one flat package: $99.99 covers up to 750 guests, and the free designs cost nothing at all if you can accept ads beside your invitation. Its RSVP tracking works on every tier.
Pick Paperless Post if
the look of the card matters more than the total. Its envelope animation, liner and stamp are included from the Premium set, guests see no ads, and a 50-person send is $52.50. It is the natural pick for a shorter, more formal list.
Pick Wedvite if
you want the animated envelope and no ads without paying per guest. Wedvite is $89 once for unlimited guests, with RSVP, a venue map and music on one link you send over WhatsApp, text or email, and you can edit it after sending. The catalogue is smaller: more than 30 designs.
Is Evite free?
Yes. Evite's free-labelled designs cost nothing and support up to 750 guests, and Evite's own words are that free invitations show ads to guests. Free events also miss the Premium extras: envelopes with colour, stamp and liner, animated reveal effects and an RSVP-by deadline all convert a free design to Premium the moment you add them.
Premium is a one-off package chosen by guest count: Silver $17.99 for up to 12 guests, Gold $36.99 for up to 30, Platinum $68.99 for up to 75 and Diamond $99.99 for up to 750. Each is single-event and non-transferable, and there is no pay-the-difference upgrade, so a list that outgrows Platinum means buying Diamond outright. Evite Pro is $249.99 a year for unlimited Premium invitations. See Evite alternatives for the full picture.
Is Paperless Post free?
Partly. Paperless Post's pricing page says the first 50 invitations sent by email or phone number through its site can be sent without purchase, and its Free feature set is priced at $0.00 per guest. The catch is design: a free Paperless Post invitation is a plain card, because the envelope animation is a paid element gated at the Premium set and above.
Beyond that, you buy Coins and spend them per recipient. The pricing page shows the Basic set at $0.50 per guest (no envelope), Premium at $1.05 per guest (envelope, liner and stamp) and All Access at $1.44 per guest, with the note that the per-guest price falls as the guest count rises. A Paperless Pro subscription is $250/year for 250 annual guests or $400/year for 500. Our Paperless Post alternatives page walks through the Coins maths.
How much does Paperless Post cost for 100 guests?
Paperless Post's pricing page does not print a 100-guest total, so the honest answer is a ceiling: at most $105 on the Premium set, at most $50 on Basic and at most $144 on All Access. Those figures are 100 times the per-guest rates the page demonstrates at 50 guests, and because the rate falls as the list grows, your checkout total will be lower. The one worked example the page gives is 50 guests on Premium for $52.50.
Evite for the same 100 guests is $99.99: 100 is over Platinum's 75-guest cap, so Diamond is the cheapest package that covers the list, or nothing on a free design with ads. Wedvite is $89 flat whether you invite 100 guests or 400, with the envelope, RSVP and delivery included; see pricing.
Which one looks better for a wedding?
Both animate an envelope, but only on paid tiers. Paperless Post's envelope, liner and stamp arrive with the Premium set; Evite's envelopes with colour, stamp and liner and its reveal effects are Premium-only, and guest names appear on the envelope only on Premium. Neither shows an envelope on a free design.
The difference guests notice is advertising. Paperless Post shows no ads. Evite shows ads beside a free invitation and removes them on Premium. For a wedding, most couples find the ad-free page worth paying for, which is why the free tier rarely settles this comparison.
Which delivers by WhatsApp or text?
Evite sends by email, by native SMS to US and Canadian numbers, and by a shareable link that Evite's help centre explicitly says covers WhatsApp. The link route has a cost: link guests do not appear on your guest list until they RSVP, and you lose read receipts.
Paperless Post sends by email, by text to US and Canadian numbers, and by shareable link. A WhatsApp integration exists for guests outside the US and Canada to RSVP and receive host messages, but Paperless Post states that sending invitations via WhatsApp is not yet available. If most of your guests live on WhatsApp, that is the deciding line; our WhatsApp wedding invitations page explains how a link-first invitation behaves in a chat.
Punchbowl vs Evite: what is the difference?
Punchbowl is the third name people search alongside Evite, and it works differently: it is a subscription with no per-invitation purchase. The live pricing page on 15 September 2026 showed Plus from $3.99/month for up to 50 guests per event, Premium from $5.99/month for up to 100, Platinum from $7.99/month for up to 500 and Business from $39.99/month for up to 5,000, each beside a struck-through anchor roughly double. Punchbowl serves more than one test cell, so you may see different figures, and the billing term behind the monthly price is not published on the page.
Feature-wise Punchbowl is closer to Paperless Post than to Evite: the envelope-opening animation plays once per guest, delivery covers email, text and WhatsApp, and RSVP is included. Two cautions: ads are shown to hosts and guests unless the tier is Platinum or Business, and there is no permanent free tier, only a 7-day trial that takes payment details up front.
Which other comparisons are worth reading?
- All platform comparisons
- Best digital wedding invitations (round-up)
- Best wedding websites with RSVP (round-up)
- Evite alternatives
- Paperless Post alternatives
- Wedvite pricing
Wedvite wrote this page and sells one of the products compared. Every competitor figure links to the official page it was read from.
The questions everyone asks.
Is Evite free for wedding invitations?+
Is Paperless Post free?+
Which is cheaper for 100 guests, Evite or Paperless Post?+
Does Paperless Post show ads to guests?+
Which is better for a wedding, Evite or Paperless Post?+
Is there an alternative with one flat price?+
One link. Every guest.
Design free, share with your first guests, pay $89 once for unlimited guests — RSVP, envelope and WhatsApp delivery included.
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