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Event Platforms: Pros, Cons, and My Favorites

Last updated: September 25, 2024

There are many different platforms you can use to share the details of your party.

These include Facebook, Paperless Post, Splash, Evite, Mixily, and more. They all make it easy to create an attractive information page about your event.

As of February 2023, my favorite service and the one I recommend to my friends is Mixily. See an actual event invite I've used here. The Mixily home page features virtual events, but don't be deterred: the have a completely free product which works great and has zero ads or spam. My second favorite recommendation is Partiful and this is what Gen Z is mostly using now in New York City.

Comparison Table

PLATFORMPROCON
MixilySuper simple setup
No ads, no spam
Works great on mobile
Less custom and fancy designs
Smallest of all listed services. Most have never heard of it
FacebookEasiest to set up and RSVP
Easy to share reminders
Guests can connect with each other
Less attendance as guests might not see your event and reminder messages
Too informal for work events
Some people don’t use Facebook
Paperless PostVariety of fun party templates
New free Flyer product is fast and easy
Good mobile app
Sometimes invitations and messages go to spam
Certain features require a paid account
EviteWell-known, established brand for events
Good for families. Allows RSVPs with number of adults, children
Tons of advertisements on your RSVP page
Sometimes invitations and messages go to spam
PartifulTons of theme and effects to choose from
Easy to set up
Covid-19 Safety Settings
Send guests auto-reminders
You have to create an
account and enter your phone
number to RSVP which might
cause less attendance

New and Other RSVP Platforms

These are new platforms which I haven’t reviewed yet, but have heard great things about:

  • Luma: Free forever plan, supposedly a great UI. Referred to me by Alex Zub (this guy). He said: “I like it 10X better than Mixily.”
  • Partiful: People in their early 20s like this! Partiful focuses on text message communication. I found the design distracting, but loved how they hide the details until you RSVP. I don’t like text messages for my style of longer reminder messages (with Guest Bios).
  • Hobnob: My friend Sean Oliver likes Hobnob a lot. I wrote a brief comparison article: Evite vs Hobnob.

Best Practices for Each Platform

Mixily

See my full list of Mixily settings here.

Partiful

See my full list of Partiful settings here.

Featured Images

Check out these great featured images that you can use when you create your own RSVP page to get your guests excited!

Eventbrite

One of the many reasons that I don’t like Eventbrite are the automated emails. For example, 48 hours after your party, Eventbrite will send a survey like this to all of your registered guests:

Screenshot of an automated email Nick received from Eventbrite
Sample post-event survey email that Eventbrite will send unless you disable it.

I’ve found that the engagement rates on these default emails are very low and they are rather annoying to guests. Be sure to disable it! If you want to send a post-event survey, read my advice here.


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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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2 thoughts on “Event Platforms: Pros, Cons, and My Favorites”

  1. Loved this post! I’m currently in the process of choosing an event platform for our company’s annual conference and this breakdown was super helpful. I particularly appreciated the pros and cons of each platform, it really helped me to visualize the trade-offs. Has anyone used Unbounce? I’ve heard great things about it but I’m also considering other options like Eventbrite and Whova.

    Reply
  2. Great insights on event platforms! I particularly appreciate your breakdown of the pros and cons. It’s always a challenge to choose the right one. Your favorites section gave me some new options to consider, especially for my upcoming conference. Thanks for sharing!

    Reply

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