Paperless Post makes genuinely nice invitations. The designer templates look good, the branded emails feel polished, and for a wedding or a formal party, that matters.
But the coin system trips people up. You buy coins in packages, premium cards cost coins per recipient, and it's easy to lose track of what you're actually spending until you're mid-checkout for a 60-person guest list. If you've ever landed on this page because you did that math and want a simpler or cheaper option, you're not alone.
I've tested most of the major RSVP and invitation tools for my own events. Here's an honest breakdown of what to use instead of Paperless Post, depending on what you actually need.
In this article, you'll learn:
- What to use instead of Paperless Post for casual parties, weddings, kids' parties, and bigger events
- What each alternative is actually good at, and where it falls short
- When it still makes sense to just stick with Paperless Post
- My recommendation by use case
How I Picked These
I'm not ranking these by feature count. I'm ranking them by what actually matters when you're planning a real event:
- Does it get opened? A beautiful invitation that lands in spam is worse than a plain one that gets read.
- Is the RSVP tracking clear? You should be able to see who's coming without digging through email threads.
- Is the pricing predictable? Coin systems and per-event tiers aren't bad, but you should know what you're paying before you commit.
- Does it fit the event? A kids' birthday party and a wedding need different tools. I've tried to be specific about that instead of naming one "best" platform for everything.
The Best Paperless Post Alternatives
Mixily: best free option with no guest hassle
Mixily is the RSVP and invitation platform I built my own events around, and it's now mine to run. I'm including it here because it solves the exact problem Paperless Post's coin system creates: you never have to think about cost per guest.
What it's good at. Guests click a link, type their name, and RSVP. No app to download, no account to create. The event page is clean, with no ads for your guests to scroll past. You get RSVP tracking, guest messaging, and the option to add custom questions (meal choice, plus-ones, whatever you need to know).
Ideal use case. Casual parties, dinners, recurring get-togethers, and anyone who wants RSVP tracking without paying per invitation.
Tradeoff. Mixily doesn't try to compete with Paperless Post on design. There's no library of designer envelopes or animated cards. If the visual presentation of the invitation is the whole point (a wedding save-the-date, for example), that's not what Mixily is for.
I have a full breakdown of how I set up my own Mixily pages on party.pro/mixily.
If your main complaint about Paperless Post is "I don't want to think about coins," Mixily is the most direct fix. It's built around the opposite idea: set it up once and stop thinking about cost per guest.
Partiful: best for a younger, casual crowd
Partiful has become the default for a lot of 20s-and-30s social crowds, and for good reason.
What it's good at. Fun, animated invite designs that don't feel corporate. A single shareable link instead of an email blast. Built-in date polling, custom RSVP questions, group photo albums after the event, and text-based reminders that people actually see (a real advantage over email, which plenty of people ignore).
Ideal use case. Birthdays, house parties, and any casual event where your guest list skews younger and lives on their phone more than in their inbox.
Tradeoff. The vibe is casual by design. If you're planning something more formal, Partiful's playful style works against you.
I wrote more about getting the most out of it in my Partiful review.
Greenvelope: best if design is still the priority
If the reason you're on Paperless Post in the first place is the design quality, and you're not ready to give that up, Greenvelope is the closest comparison. It's a premium digital invitation platform built around animated envelopes, custom liners, and a similarly polished feel.
What it's good at. Strong RSVP tracking with open rates, custom survey questions (meal choice, song requests), and delivery over email, text, or a shareable link.
Ideal use case. Weddings and upscale events where you want a branded, cohesive digital experience and you're going to pay for design either way.
Tradeoff. This isn't the "cheaper" alternative. It's the "different premium option" alternative. Flag for fact-check: confirm current Greenvelope pricing structure before publishing, since per-person and membership pricing both appear in different sources.
Canva: best if you want full design control
Canva isn't a dedicated invitation platform, but a lot of hosts use it as one. You design the invitation exactly the way you want, then send it however you like: text, email, or a shared link to a PDF or image.
What it's good at. Total creative control. Thousands of templates, and no coin system standing between you and a finished design.
Ideal use case. Hosts who want to design the invitation themselves and don't need built-in RSVP tracking, or who plan to pair it with a separate RSVP tool (Mixily, for instance) for tracking replies.
Tradeoff. No native RSVP collection. You're designing the invite, not managing the guest list. You'll need a second tool for tracking who's coming.
Punchbowl: best for kids' parties
Punchbowl leans into character licensing (Disney, PAW Patrol, and similar) in a way none of the other tools here do.
What it's good at. A large library of themed designs built specifically for kids' birthdays and family occasions, plus straightforward RSVP tracking.
Ideal use case. Kids' birthday parties, baby showers, and family events where a character theme matters more than a minimalist design.
Tradeoff. Flag for fact-check: Punchbowl's current membership pricing isn't clearly published; confirm the actual plan structure and cost at punchbowl.com before this figure goes live. Access beyond a free trial period appears to require a paid membership.
RSVPify: best for structured or ticketed events
RSVPify is less about pretty invitations and more about event logistics: registration questions, guest-list management, seating charts, and ticketing with payment processing built in.
What it's good at. Custom registration forms, QR-code check-in, and support for paid tickets, which none of the design-focused tools here really handle well.
Ideal use case. Corporate events, fundraisers, or any event where you need more than an RSVP, like collecting registration details or charging admission.
Tradeoff. It's a logistics tool first and a design tool second. For a casual party, it's overkill.
Evite: the familiar option, with caveats
I've written a full comparison of Evite vs. Paperless Post, so I'll keep this short: Evite is the most recognizable name in the category, with a large free plan and a big template library. The tradeoffs are real, though. The free tier shows your guests ads, and Evite invitations have a track record of landing in spam.
If cost and recognition matter more to you than design, it's worth a look. For most of the use cases below, I'd pick something else first.
Grab the free 2-page party checklist.
What If You Just Want to Stick With Paperless Post?
There's a version of Paperless Post that solves most of the coin-pricing frustration: Paperless Post Flyer, a free product for a limited guest count with clean design and no ads. If you like Paperless Post's design language and just want to avoid the coin math for a smaller, casual event, that's the option to check first before switching platforms entirely.
For formal events and weddings, Paperless Post's premium designer templates are still genuinely strong. The coin cost is worth it if the invitation itself is part of setting the tone for the event.
Before you buy a coin package, add up your actual guest count and multiply by roughly 2 coins per premium card. That's the number that should determine which coin package you buy, not a round number that feels safe.
My Recommendation by Use Case
- Casual party, any budget: Mixily. No cost per guest, no ads for your guests to deal with.
- Younger, social crowd: Partiful. Text-based delivery beats email for this group.
- Wedding or formal event where design matters: Paperless Post premium cards or Greenvelope. Budget for it and treat it as part of the event design, not an afterthought.
- Kids' birthday party: Punchbowl, for the character themes, or Paperless Post Flyer if you'd rather skip the fee entirely.
- You want to design it yourself: Canva for the invitation, paired with Mixily for tracking RSVPs.
- Registration, tickets, or larger structured events: RSVPify.
Conclusion
Bottom line: Paperless Post is still a strong choice for formal events where the design carries real weight. But if the coin math is the reason you're reading this, you don't need to keep doing that math. For most casual events, a free tool that just handles RSVPs cleanly is enough.
That's the whole idea behind Mixily: guests click a link, RSVP, and you're done. No coins, no ads, no account required. If you want to see how I set mine up, here's my Mixily walkthrough, or you can just go make a free event page and try it for your next one.
