I get asked which invitation app to use more than almost anything else.
Usually it's some version of the same question. Evite feels old, Paperless Post looks expensive, and somebody's cousin swears by Punchbowl. So here's my honest read on all three, and the one I actually use.
Short version. I use Mixily, and I'll explain why at the end. If you want one of these three, pick Paperless Post Flyer.
The quick answer
Platform | Free plan | Ads on invites | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
Evite | Yes, up to 750 guests | Yes, on the free tier | Casual events where design doesn't matter |
Paperless Post | Flyer is free up to 50 guests | No | Weddings and formal parties |
Punchbowl | No, new events need a paid plan | Yes, below the top tier | Kids' parties with licensed characters |
Punchbowl
Punchbowl's pitch is licensed designs. Disney, PAW Patrol, Bluey. If you're throwing a party for a six-year-old who has strong opinions about Bluey, that library is genuinely hard to beat.
Here's the part that surprised me. Punchbowl is not free any more. Their own help center says it plainly:
"For new events, you must have a paid membership."
Their homepage still leads with "Make & Send Free Online Invitations with RSVP." Both of those things are on their website right now. I don't love that.
Memberships start at a few dollars a month, in their words, and they offer a 30-day refund. But ads still show on invitations below the top tier. So on the cheaper plans you're paying and your guests still see ads.
Warning: Punchbowl's plans renew as a subscription, not per event. If you're hosting one birthday party, set a reminder to cancel before it renews.
Best for: kids' birthday parties where the character design is the whole point.
Evite
Evite has been around since 1998. My mom used it for her parents' parties. It's that old and that familiar, and familiarity is most of what it has left.
I don't use Evite and I don't recommend it. Three reasons.
Your guests see banner ads and pop-ups when they open your invitation. Evite invitations also land in spam constantly, which is the failure that actually costs you. A guest who never sees the invite never RSVPs, and you never find out why. And Evite collects your guests' email addresses to market to them, which is worth knowing before you upload your contact list.
What it does well: the free tier handles up to 750 guests, RSVP tracking is fine, and the mobile app works.
Paid invitations run $15.99 for up to 15 guests, $32.99 for 40, $64.99 for 100, and $99.99 for up to 750. Evite Pro is $249.99 a year.
Best for: casual events on a budget, where you can live with ads.
Paperless Post
Paperless Post was founded in 2008 by siblings James and Alexa Hirschfield. Their idea was that digital invitations didn't have to look cheap. They partnered with Kate Spade and Rifle Paper Co., and the design quality is genuinely better than the other two.
Pricing works on coins. Free cards and Flyer cards cost nothing. Premium cards cost coins per recipient, usually around 2 coins a guest.
One thing to know before you redesign anything. If you change your invitation after sending it, guests see the new version, not the one you sent. The invitation pulls from a live URL instead of being a fixed snapshot.
Paperless Post Flyer is the free product I point people to. Cleaner design, no ads, free up to 50 guests. For most house parties that's the whole job done.
Best for: weddings, formal parties, and anything where the invitation itself is part of the event.
Grab the free 2-page party checklist.
Which one should you actually pick?
Here's how I'd decide.
- Kids' party with a character theme: Punchbowl, and cancel the subscription after.
- Formal party or wedding: Paperless Post.
- Casual house party, free: Paperless Post Flyer.
- You want no ads and no account for guests: Mixily.
I use Mixily for my own parties. Guests don't need an account to RSVP, which removes the single most common reason people drop off before they finish. There are no ads on your invitation, ever.
Fair disclosure: I'm involved with Mixily, so treat that as a biased recommendation and go test the free tiers yourself.
The part that matters more than the platform
I'll be honest with you. The platform is not what determines whether people show up.
What determines it is how many people you invite, whether you invited them individually, and whether you sent reminder messages. I've watched hosts agonize over template design and then send one group blast three days out and wonder why eleven people came.
Pick whichever of these is cheapest for your situation. Then go spend that energy on collecting the RSVPs properly.
FAQ
Is Punchbowl still free?
No. Punchbowl's help center says new events require a paid membership, though their homepage still advertises free invitations. Plans start at a few dollars a month with a 30-day refund window.
Which one has the fewest deliverability problems?
Paperless Post, in my experience. Evite's spam problem is the most common complaint I hear from hosts, and it's the one that actually costs you guests.
Can I charge guests for tickets?
Paperless Post supports charging guests. Evite does not. For ticketed events I'd use Eventbrite instead of any of these three.
What's the cheapest way to send a good-looking invitation?
Paperless Post Flyer, free up to 50 guests, no ads. That covers most parties.
Where to go next
If you want the deeper look at two of these, I wrote a full Evite vs Paperless Post comparison. If you'd rather see everything at once, here are 14 Evite alternatives.
Then pick a date and start inviting people. That's the part that matters.
