Guest List Software Comparison
GuestlistOnline vs Zkipster
Enterprise guest management for luxury events vs an organiser platform priced for everyone else.
Free up to 50 guests · Free plan: no credit card · Free events: no fees
Short answer
Zkipster is the gold standard for high-profile door operations: seating charts, badge printing, kiosk mode and a true offline check-in app used at Cannes and MoMA, from $500 a month with no free plan, and invitations and RSVP forms only from $850 a month. GuestlistOnline covers the guest list, RSVP pages, offline QR check-in, ticketing and promoter tracking from €0 to €29 a month. Different budgets, overlapping jobs.
Side by side
Feature comparison
An honest look at how the two platforms compare.
| Feature | GuestlistOnline | Zkipster |
|---|---|---|
| Costs & payouts | ||
| Free plan | Free: 1 event, 50 guests, guest list, RSVP page and manual check-in, no credit card | None. The Test Drive was discontinued in May 2025 and the smallest purchase is one month of Essentials at $500 |
| Entry price | €0 free, €19.99 for a single event, €29/month or €249/year on Pro | Essentials $500/month or $2,950/year; Professional $850/month or $4,900/year; Enterprise on a custom annual quote |
| What the entry plan leaves out | Registration pages and QR check-in on every paid plan; the free plan has the guest list, RSVP page and manual check-in | Essentials is check-in only. Invitations, RSVP forms, QR generation, seating, badges and email, SMS or WhatsApp all start at Professional, $850/month |
| Selling tickets | Built in: no fees on free events; paid tickets 5% + €0.25 per ticket, payment processing included | No ticketing. Zkipster Payments takes RSVP charges (Professional and up) and Tap to Pay through your own Stripe account; Stripe charges its own rates and Zkipster publishes none of its own |
| Guest list & RSVP | ||
| Promoter tracking | Promoter links with commissions and per-promoter reporting | Not available, a "Creation Source" column and Stripe promo codes are the nearest equivalents |
| Guest import | CSV import with names, email addresses and mapped columns | XLSX or CSV import from a template, with up to 10 custom fields (20 with the add-on); entries from public forms are not de-duplicated automatically |
| Plus-ones | Plus-ones with names and your own wording on the registration page | Relationships link guests into parties, but the standard RSVP form collects a "Total Guests" number rather than the names |
| Waitlist | Capacity limit that closes registration when full, plus guest approval | No waitlist feature; Zkipster documents a manual workaround using a second list |
| Seating charts | Not offered, tags group guests by table, but there is no floorplan and no auto-seating | Floorplans, auto-seating, table-share links and printable seating PDFs, from Professional |
| Check-in & door | ||
| Offline check-in | PWA scanner on iOS and Android, installed without an app store, scans with no signal and syncs afterwards | iOS and Android apps with a real offline mode: the list is stored on the device and resynced, with a warning not to log out while offline |
| Several devices at once | Multiple scanner devices on the same guest list, synced live, with door-staff access tokens | Unlimited devices with real-time sync, continuous scanning and a kiosk mode |
| Badge printing | Not offered | Wireless badge printing at the door, with Wallet passes and consent forms, from Professional; the check-in app also takes guest photos |
| Branding & communication | ||
| SMS and WhatsApp | Email invitations, reminders and templates, no SMS blasts | Email campaigns, SMS and WhatsApp through Twilio on credits (100 on Professional, packs at $150 per 500); WhatsApp is not delivered to the US, and Essentials has no messaging tools at all |
| Platform | ||
| Languages | 7 languages across the dashboard and the guest pages | Interface in English only; form and email text can be written in any language, including right-to-left |
| Data location | Hosted in the EU | Swiss company hosting in Swiss and EU Azure data centres, ISO 27001 certified; the DPA is Enterprise-only and the policy notes US transfers under standard contractual clauses |
| Team access | 6 roles, up to 5 team members on Per Event and 50 on Pro | Six event-level permission schemes, but only the Owner account below Enterprise; unlimited admins, SSO, MFA, audit logs and custom schemes on Enterprise |
| API & webhooks | REST API and webhooks on Enterprise | REST API and webhooks as a paid add-on, on annual Professional and Enterprise; Zapier from Professional |
| Export | CSV export of guests, RSVPs, answers and check-in status | Excel and CSV exports at event and account level, including check-in times, answers, sessions and consent, plus seating PDFs |
| Best for | Organisers, venues, clubs and small teams who need a guest list, tickets and a door without a five-figure budget | Agencies, luxury brands, museums and corporate teams running many invite-only events a year with seating, badges and procurement requirements |
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.
Zkipster
- Essentials $500/month or $2,950/year
10 events a month, 5 seats, check-in with scanning; no invitations or RSVP forms
- Professional $850/month or $4,900/year
Invitations, RSVP forms, QR generation, seating, badges, SMS and WhatsApp credits, Zapier
- Enterprise Custom, annual
SSO, MFA, audit logs, custom domains, unlimited admins
Prices from zkipster.com/pricing, shown per currency behind "Get in touch", 17 Sep 2026. No free plan since May 2025.
Key differences
What sets them apart
The details that matter when choosing between the two.
Where the price starts
Zkipster starts at $500 a month, or $2,950 a year, and the smallest thing you can buy is one month of Essentials. There is no free plan, the Test Drive ended in May 2025, and no per-event price, so a single gala carries a subscription. GuestlistOnline is free for one event with 50 guests, €19.99 for a single event of any size, and €29 a month or €249 a year for unlimited events, bought with a card and no sales call.
Where Zkipster wins: seating and badges
From Professional upwards Zkipster gives you floorplans, auto-seating, table-share links and printable seating PDFs, and consent forms with e-signatures, badge printing and Wallet passes come with Professional too; the check-in app itself adds guest photos, a kiosk mode, vCard walk-ins and session check-in, with ISO 27001 certification behind it and SSO, MFA and audit logs on Enterprise. GuestlistOnline offers none of that: there is no badge printing and no seating chart, only tags to group guests by table.
Where GuestlistOnline wins: tickets and promoters
Zkipster does not sell tickets. Zkipster Payments is a thin layer over your own Stripe account for RSVP charges on Professional and up, and it tracks no promoters, the closest thing is a "Creation Source" column. GuestlistOnline sells paid tickets at 5% + €0.25 per ticket with payment processing included and no fees on free events, pays out through Stripe Connect including iDEAL, and tracks promoters with commissions.
Both of them work offline
This is the one place where the $500-a-month tool and the free one land in the same spot. Zkipster stores the list on the device and resyncs, with unlimited devices in real time, continuous scanning and a kiosk mode. GuestlistOnline runs a PWA scanner you install on any iPhone or Android phone without an app store, which caches the list, scans with no signal and syncs when the connection returns. Basements are solved on both sides.
Fair is fair
When Zkipster is the better choice
If you run invite-only events where the seating chart and the badge printer matter as much as the list, Zkipster earns its price.
- Galas, fashion shows, museum openings and diplomatic events
- You need floorplans, auto-seating and printable table charts
- Badge printing, guest photos and consent forms at the door
- SSO, audit logs and custom permission schemes are procurement requirements
Migration
Switching from Zkipster
Zkipster exports to Excel or CSV at event and account level, including check-in times, form answers, session attendance and consent records. Import that file into GuestlistOnline and map the columns you want to keep.
- Guest names, email addresses and phone numbers
- RSVP status and the custom field answers you map on import
- Check-in history, as the exported record of who arrived and when
- Floorplans, seating assignments and table-share links
- Badge templates, guest photos and signed consent forms
- Wallet passes, Zapier connections and unused SMS or WhatsApp credits
Common questions
Frequently asked questions about GuestlistOnline vs Zkipster.
How much does Zkipster cost?
Essentials is $500 a month or $2,950 a year, Professional is $850 a month or $4,900 a year, and Enterprise is a custom annual quote. Those figures come from the price table on zkipster.com/pricing, checked on 17 September 2026, the page is official but shows the numbers behind a "Get in touch" form, and the same table is published in seven currencies, euros and pounds among them. Add-ons cost extra: more seats, ten more custom fields, the API, and SMS or WhatsApp packs at $150 per 500 credits.
Does Zkipster have a free plan or a trial?
Not any more. The Test Drive was discontinued in May 2025, and the minimum purchase is one month of Essentials at $500. There is no per-event price either, so a one-off gala means buying a subscription. GuestlistOnline has a free plan with one event and up to 50 guests and no credit card, a €19.99 one-off price for a single event with unlimited guests, and Pro at €29 a month or €249 a year with a 7-day trial.
Does Zkipster work offline at the door?
Yes, and this is one of its strengths. The iOS and Android apps keep the guest list on the device and resync when the connection returns, unlimited devices stay in sync in real time, and there is continuous scanning, a kiosk mode, vCard walk-ins and session check-in. Zkipster warns you not to log out while offline. GuestlistOnline does the same job with a PWA scanner you install straight from the browser on any phone, with no app store involved, which caches the list, scans without signal and syncs afterwards.
Can Zkipster sell tickets or track promoters?
No to both. Zkipster is a guest list and invitation platform, not a ticketing platform: Zkipster Payments is a layer over your own Stripe account that takes RSVP charges on Professional and above and Tap to Pay on all plans, Stripe charges its usual rates and Zkipster publishes no rate of its own. There is no promoter tracking, a "Creation Source" column and Stripe promo codes are the closest you get. GuestlistOnline sells tickets at 5% + €0.25 each with processing included, and gives promoters their own links, commissions and reporting.
What does Zkipster do better than GuestlistOnline?
Seating, badges and enterprise governance. Floorplans with auto-seating, table-share links and printable seating PDFs have no equivalent here, GuestlistOnline has tags for grouping guests by table and nothing more. Wireless badge printing, guest photos and consent forms at the door are not offered at all. Nor are SSO, MFA, audit logs, custom permission schemes or a DPA on a self-service plan. For a museum opening or a diplomatic reception, those are the features you are buying.
Sources
Where these facts come from
- zkipster.com Zkipster pricing
- support.zkipster.com Zkipster support, subscription plans, offline mode, waitlists and payments
- zkipster.com Zkipster GDPR statement
- zkipster.com Zkipster security
Spotted something out of date? Email go@guestlistonline.com and we will correct it.
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