Invitation App Comparison
GuestlistOnline vs Evite
The original online invitation, ads included, vs an ad-free guest list and check-in platform.
Free up to 50 guests · Free plan: no credit card · Free events: no fees
Short answer
Evite gives you the biggest free allowance in the category, 750 guests per invitation and thousands of designs, and pays for it with ads on your invitation and RSVP pages; removing them costs $17.99 to $99.99 per event or $249.99 a year. It has no ticketing, no QR check-in, no waitlist and stores data in the US. GuestlistOnline has no ads on any plan, adds QR check-in, ticketing and promoter tracking, and is free up to 50 guests.
Side by side
Feature comparison
An honest look at how the two platforms compare.
| Feature | GuestlistOnline | Evite |
|---|---|---|
| Costs & payouts | ||
| Free guest limit | Free: 1 event, 50 guests. Per Event €19.99 lifts it to unlimited guests for that event | Up to 750 guests on a free invitation, for as many events as you like |
| Cost to remove the ads | Nothing to remove, the free plan is already ad-free | $17.99 (Silver, 12 guests) to $99.99 (Diamond, 750 guests) per event, or $249.99 a year for Evite Pro |
| Selling tickets | Built in: no fees on free events; paid tickets 5% + €0.25 per ticket, processing included | Not available, Evite has no ticketing |
| Collecting money from guests | Gift fund for weddings and celebrations, paid out through your own Stripe account | Charitable donations through Pledgeling (Pledgeling charges 5% + 2.9% + $0.30), US only; PayPal or Venmo links in the host message |
| Branding & communication | ||
| Ads on your invitation | None, on any plan, including the free one | Ads and gift guides on the invitation and the RSVP page of every free invitation |
| Text messages | Email invitations, reminders and templates, no SMS blasts | Text invitations from a short code, but only to US and Canadian numbers |
| Guest list & RSVP | ||
| Guest import | CSV import with names, email addresses and mapped columns | Excel or CSV upload with name, email address and phone number |
| Plus-ones | Plus-ones with names and your own wording on the registration page | Up to nine extra guests per invitee, counted as adults and children |
| Dietary requirements | Dedicated dietary field on the guest list, filterable and exportable | Only as the single poll question, or a what-to-bring list |
| Waitlist & approval | Capacity limit that closes registration when full, plus guest approval | RSVP limit only, no waitlist and no guest approval |
| Check-in & door | ||
| QR check-in | QR code per guest, scanned in the browser or the offline PWA scanner, on every paid plan | Not available, Evite has no ticket QR codes and no scanner |
| Platform | ||
| Team access | 6 roles, up to 5 team members on Per Event and 50 on Pro | One co-host per event |
| Languages | 7 languages across the dashboard and the guest pages | English, with a few Spanish designs |
| Data location | Hosted in the EU | Hosted in the US; the privacy policy (8 Sep 2026) says disclosures to advertising partners may be considered a sale, and has no GDPR section |
| API & webhooks | REST API and webhooks on Enterprise | Not available |
| Export | CSV export of guests, RSVPs, answers and check-in status | Guest list download with name, email or phone, RSVP status, party size and comment |
| Best for | Private events, clubs, weddings and anything with a door | US birthdays, showers and school events with hundreds of guests and no door |
Facts verified on 2026-09-17. Sources are listed at the bottom of this page.
Pricing
What each one costs
GuestlistOnline
- Free €0
1 event, 50 guests, guest list, RSVP page, manual check-in
- Per Event €19.99 one-off
Unlimited guests for one event, QR check-in, templates, branding, gift fund, 5 team members
- Pro €29/month or €249/year
Unlimited events and guests, analytics, organisation settings, 50 team members, 7-day trial
- Enterprise Custom
White-label, API and webhooks, dedicated support and SLA
Free events: no fees. Paid tickets: 5% + 0.25 per ticket in the ticket currency, payment processing included.
Evite
- Free $0
Up to 750 guests, ads and gift guides on invitation and RSVP pages
- Premium (per event) $17.99 – $99.99
Silver 12 guests to Diamond 750 guests, ad-free, extra designs
- Evite Pro $249.99/year
Unlimited premium invitations, 2,500 guests each, logo
No ticketing. Donations run through Pledgeling (5% + 2.9% + $0.30). Prices from support.evite.com, 17 Sep 2026.
Key differences
What sets them apart
The details that matter when choosing between the two.
Ads on your invitation, or none
A free Evite carries advertising and gift guides on the invitation itself and on the RSVP page your guests land on. Taking them off is a purchase: $17.99 for a 12-guest Silver invitation up to $99.99 for a 750-guest Diamond one, or $249.99 a year for Evite Pro. GuestlistOnline never puts advertising on an invitation, an RSVP page or an email, on any plan, and the free plan is ad-free too.
A door, or no door
Evite stops when the RSVP arrives: there is no ticketing, no QR code per guest and no scanner, so the door is a printed list and a pen. GuestlistOnline issues a QR code to every guest, scans it in the browser or in an offline PWA scanner that works without signal, and shows you arrivals in real time, plus plus-ones, a capacity limit, guest approval and promoter links behind it.
Where the data lives
Evite hosts guest data in the US. Its privacy policy of 8 September 2026 says that its disclosures of personal information to advertising partners may be considered a sale under some privacy laws, and the policy has no GDPR section. GuestlistOnline is hosted in the EU and does not run advertising, so the guest list is only ever used to run your event.
Where Evite wins: designs and scale
Nobody in this category matches the free allowance: 750 guests on an invitation that costs nothing, plus thousands of designs including licensed and themed ones, greeting cards, sign-up sheets, what-to-bring lists and 25 years of a brand your guests already recognise. For a school fundraiser or a baby shower with 300 invitees, that is a real advantage.
Fair is fair
When Evite is the better choice
If you are a US host who wants a familiar brand and a huge template catalogue, Evite still does that job well.
- Birthdays, showers and school events with hundreds of guests and no door
- You want licensed and themed designs and greeting cards in one place
- Ads on the invitation are acceptable, or a per-event fee is
- Charitable giving through Pledgeling matters to you
Migration
Switching from Evite
Evite lets you download the guest list, name, email address or phone number, RSVP status, party size and comment. Import that file with the guest import and map the columns you want to keep.
- Guest names, email addresses and phone numbers
- RSVP status and party size if you map the columns on import
- Comments guests left with their RSVP, as a note
- The Evite design or a premium template you paid for
- Sign-up sheets and what-to-bring lists
- Pledgeling donation pages and the totals raised
Common questions
Frequently asked questions about GuestlistOnline vs Evite.
Is Evite free?
The free tier is real and generous: up to 750 guests on an invitation, RSVP tracking, one automatic reminder, messaging, a photo album, a poll, sign-up lists and text invitations to US and Canadian numbers. It is paid for with advertising: ads and gift guides appear on the invitation and on the RSVP page your guests see. Any extra design, or removing the advertising, moves you to Premium at $17.99 to $99.99 per event or Evite Pro at $249.99 a year.
Can I remove ads from Evite?
Yes, by paying per event or per year. Premium is priced by guest count, $17.99 for Silver up to 12 guests, $36.99 for Gold up to 30, $68.99 for Platinum up to 75 and $99.99 for Diamond up to 750, and it removes the advertising and unlocks extra designs. Evite Pro is $249.99 a year for unlimited premium invitations with 2,500 guests each and your logo. GuestlistOnline has nothing to remove: no advertising appears on any plan, including the free one.
Can Evite check guests in at the door?
No. Evite has no ticketing and no scanner: guests get an invitation and RSVP, and the QR code Evite prints is for opening the invitation, not for a ticket. At the door you are reading a list. GuestlistOnline gives every guest a QR code, and check-in runs either in the browser or in a PWA scanner you install on any phone without an app store. That scanner caches the list, works with no signal at all, and syncs when the connection comes back.
Is my guest data sold?
Read the policy and decide for yourself. Evite's privacy policy, last updated 8 September 2026, states that its disclosures of personal information to advertising partners may be considered a sale under certain privacy laws. The policy has no GDPR section and the data is hosted in the US. That is Evite's own wording, not our characterisation, the link is in the sources below. GuestlistOnline runs no advertising business, hosts in the EU, and uses your guest list only to run your event.
How do I move my Evite guest list?
Download the guest list from your Evite event, it contains names, email addresses or phone numbers, RSVP status, party size and any comment, and import that file into GuestlistOnline, mapping the columns you want. Names, contact details, RSVP status and party size carry over. The Evite design, sign-up sheets, what-to-bring lists and Pledgeling donation pages do not; those are Evite features rather than data.
Sources
Where these facts come from
- support.evite.com Evite Premium pricing (support.evite.com)
- evite.com Evite Pro
- evite.com Evite privacy policy (8 September 2026)
Spotted something out of date? Email go@guestlistonline.com and we will correct it.
Your next event, sorted.
Create an event, add ten guests and send the first invite. You will know within five minutes if this is for you.