What is the difference between a public and a private event?
Short answer
A public event has a registration link anyone can use to sign up. A private event has no public link: only guests you add yourself, or import, can RSVP through their personal link. Switch between the two under Edit Event with the registration setting; approval lets you keep a public link while still deciding who gets in.
Public event
- Registration is on. Share the link or the QR code anywhere; people register themselves and receive a QR ticket.
- Good for launches, club nights, meetups, open days: anything where you do not know the list in advance.
- Control with a guest limit, manual approval and custom questions.
Private event
- Registration is off. The registration page says the event is invitation only.
- You add guests by hand or by import and send each a personal RSVP link by email.
- Good for weddings, dinners, corporate events with a fixed list.
Mixing both
Many events use both: a private list of invited guests, plus a public link for a "friends of" segment with approval on. Tags tell the two groups apart on the guest list and at the door.
Switching
- Open the event, click Edit and go to the registration options.
- Turn public registration on or off. Existing guests and their RSVP links are not affected.
Questions about this
- Can I close registration when the list is full?
- Set a guest limit and the page closes itself with Guestlist full. Or switch registration off by hand at any time.
- Do private events still get a page?
- Yes. Each invited guest has a personal RSVP page from their link. Only the public registration form is hidden.
- Is a private event visible anywhere?
- No. Events are never listed publicly. Both public and private events are reachable only through their links.