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Evite vs Hobnob

Last updated: September 25, 2024

Since the launch of Evite in 1998, online invitations have come a long way. 

Online invitation services have had to adapt. New ones are popping up all the time, like Hobnob and Partiful.

Several Evite rivals are emerging and making their own impact. I’ve listed my current favorite event platforms in this article, but people keep asking me about Hobnob.

So I’ll compare the two: we’ll look at Evite versus Hobnob, compare their features, and see which one you should use.

Read on to learn more and know which platform to use for your next party.

What is Evite?

Evite is one of the world’s leading event management digital platforms. It enables event planners to send online invitations, host virtual events, track attendance, and a ton more random features.

Photo of Evite logo

Personally, I don’t like Evite. The site has too many ads, and they always spam me whenever I use it.

But they do have a TON of features, like these:

  • Free RSVP tracking
  • Customization options
  • Invitations and greeting cards for every occasion
  • Free invitation templates
  • Premium invitations that offer an ad-free experience for guests and include envelopes, liners, stamps and event performance analytics
  • “What to Bring” sign-up lists
  • Email, text and social media delivery
  • Hand-illustrated, designer and animated templates
  • Gifting suggestions from Evite’s editors
  • Donation options via Evite Donations™ (powered by Pledge)
  • Cryptocurrency gifts (Bitcoin) and eGift cards
  • Evite app, available on the App Store and Google Play
  • Subscription options, including Evite Pro
  • Party ideas, artist spotlights, recipes and more on their blog

What Evite lacks

This review article has enumerated the cons of using Evite.

“Worse, Evite hasn’t really embraced the social networking space–there’s no Evite app on Facebook nor Twitter integration. And the closest it comes to going mobile is sending SMS invites and offering a mobile site.”

Evite Alternative: Hobnob

Hobnob, unlike the other Evite alternatives, abandons the desktop platform in preference of an easy-to-use app-based invitation service.

My friend Sean Oliver uses Hobnob for all of his cocktail parties.

hobnob

How it works

Invitations are issued by text message to individuals who do not have the app on their phones, and invitees can also RSVP via text. 

The Hobnob application prioritizes high-quality, small-group interactions with peers over large-scale meets, ranging from pleasant meals to networking events and meetings.

But why not Hobnob?

Call me old-fashioned, but I still like email invitations the best. It might be hard to invite some of our less-tech-savvy guests, such as our grandparents or parents, using a platform like Hobnob. Reviews on Hobnob are also mixed.

September 2023 Update: A Hobnob representative reached out to me with the following information—

“Wanted to flag that we do send invites via email.  We know that mobile apps aren’t for everyone so we releasing a desktop module to create & manage your invites on the web. This is coming soon, and we’ll reach out when it’s ready. Here are some more of our features that are currently available.”

Conclusion

If you want to focus on text message invites for your party, then use Hobnob or Partiful.

If you want to focus on email, then look at my list of suggested party RSVP platforms. I like Mixily, and others like Paperless Post. 

Was this review helpful? Have questions or suggestions? Email me to [email protected] and I’ll update this with your comments.

Leave a comment on this article here.

About the author

Nick Gray is the author of The 2-Hour Cocktail Party. He’s been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and in a popular TEDx talk. He sold his last company Museum Hack in 2019. Today he’s an expert on networking events, small parties, and creating relationships. Read more about Nick Gray here.

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