Basic Invite vs Minted
Short answer: Basic Invite is the cheaper of the two. Basic Invite works out to $72 (100 cards at the published 72-cent starting rate) for 100 guests and $180 (250 cards at the published 72-cent starting rate) for 250. Minted works out to $234 (100 Classic 7x5 cards at $2.34 each) for 100 guests and ~$585 (250 Classic 7x5 cards at the published 100-qty rate) for 250. Minted earns the difference if you need large juried design library from independent artists, not generic templates.
If neither answer fits, Dawat does the same job free at any guest count: 53 card designs, unlimited guests, per-guest personal links and RSVP tracking, with no per-recipient charge.
The decision between Basic Invite and Minted is mostly a pricing decision. They overlap heavily on what they do; they differ on what they charge you to do it.
Basic Invite and Minted pricing checked 2026-09-16 against their own published pages. Sources · Method
On this page
Side by side
Online stationery printer offering customisable invitations with extensive colour control, plus a free wedding website with RSVP management. Design-marketplace stationery printer selling independent-artist wedding invitations, plus free wedding websites and free online invitations. Dawat is shown as a third column for the part these two share with it: getting the invitation to people and getting an answer back. It does not print, so on the physical card it is not a substitute.
| Basic Invite | Minted | Dawat | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Priced per printed card | Priced per printed card | Free |
| What the free tier gives you | Free wedding website that collects mailing addresses and manages RSVPs, plus 150+ free custom colours on designs. | Free wedding website with online RSVP, free online invitations sent by text or email, free recipient addressing and free samples. | Everything except Signature: all card designs, party pages, unlimited guests, sends, RSVP tracking and analytics. |
| Cost for 100 guests | $72 (100 cards at the published 72-cent starting rate) | $234 (100 Classic 7x5 cards at $2.34 each) | Free |
| Cost for 250 guests | $180 (250 cards at the published 72-cent starting rate) | ~$585 (250 Classic 7x5 cards at the published 100-qty rate) | Free |
| Charges per recipient | Yes | Yes | No |
| Guests need an account | No | No | No |
| Ads shown to guests | Not published | Not published | No |
"Not published" means no vendor documentation could be found either way, not that the feature is missing. How this grid is built →
Where they actually differ
Both give you tracking who has replied, ordering printed stationery, letting guests reply without an account and a full event website, so those are not the thing to decide on.
- Email delivery. Minted supports sending by email. Basic Invite does not publish whether it does, so treat it as unavailable until you have confirmed it.
- Registry links. Minted supports linking a gift registry. Basic Invite does not publish whether it does, so treat it as unavailable until you have confirmed it.
When Basic Invite is the better choice
Budget-conscious hosts who want printed invitations matched to exact wedding colours, with a free website for online RSVPs.
- Among the lowest advertised per-card rates, from 72 cents for wedding invitations
- 150+ free custom colours, with colour control on nearly every design element
- Custom printed sample of your actual design available before ordering
- Free wedding website collects mailing addresses and manages RSVPs online
- Over 1,000 wedding designs customisable instantly in the browser
Where it costs you:
- Priced per printed card, so cost rises directly with guest count
- Postage is not included and is paid separately
- Advertised 72-cent rate is a starting price; upgrades and finishes cost more
- Envelope and enclosure-card options such as RSVP cards are priced separately
- Quantity price breaks are not published as a public table
When Minted is the better choice
Couples who want distinctive designer paper invitations and will use the free matching wedding website for RSVPs.
- Large juried design library from independent artists, not generic templates
- Free recipient addressing and coordinating printed envelopes included on orders
- Free wedding website with online RSVP and registry links, matching the paper design
- Free online invitations can be sent by text or email at no cost
- Free paper samples before committing to a full order
Where it costs you:
- Priced per printed card, so cost scales directly with guest count
- Postage is not included and is paid separately
- Premium formats such as letterpress cost substantially more, from $485 per 100
- Per-card price at quantities above 100 is not published on the site
- Discount programs require a paid Minted More membership
What each one costs, in dollars
7 of the 33 platforms tracked in this dataset charge per guest or per printed card. Basic Invite and Minted are both among them.
Published prices, converted into what you would actually pay for a real guest list. Credits, coins and per-card pricing are translated into dollars because that is the number you are deciding with.
| Basic Invite | Minted | Dawat | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Priced per printed card | Priced per printed card | Free |
| 100 guests | $72 (100 cards at the published 72-cent starting rate) | $234 (100 Classic 7x5 cards at $2.34 each) | Free |
| 250 guests | $180 (250 cards at the published 72-cent starting rate) | ~$585 (250 Classic 7x5 cards at the published 100-qty rate) | Free |
| How that is worked out | Based on Basic Invite's advertised starting rate for its wedding invitation line; envelopes, upgrades and postage are extra. | Based on Minted's published Classic 7x5 per-card price at quantity 100; Minted publishes no 250-qty rate. Postage is extra. | Dawat has no per-guest or per-send charge, so the guest count does not change the price. |
As of September 2026: Printed wedding invitations advertised as low as 72 cents per card, with save-the-dates as low as 45 cents per card; custom printed samples available per design. Printed wedding invitations start as low as $2.34 per card in Classic 7x5 and $2.00 per card in Petite 6x4.25 at quantity 100; letterpress from $485 per 100.
The third option: neither of them is free at 250 guests
Both Basic Invite and Minted price by the head, which means the number that decides your bill is the one thing you cannot control: how many people you love. Basic Invite works out to $72 (100 cards at the published 72-cent starting rate) for 100 guests and $180 (250 cards at the published 72-cent starting rate) for 250. Minted works out to $234 (100 Classic 7x5 cards at $2.34 each) for 100 guests and ~$585 (250 Classic 7x5 cards at the published 100-qty rate) for 250.
Dawat tracks replies the same way both of these do, and costs nothing to do it. All 53 card designs, unlimited guests and unlimited sends are free, with no card required. What the other two do not do is address each guest personally: the envelope opens with that guest's name on it and their reply is one tap. It also covers an animated envelope opening — which neither Basic Invite nor Minted does.
The practical difference shows up the week before the event. Instead of counting replies across a group chat, you open one page and see who was sent it, who opened it, and who answered.
The honest caveats: Dawat is digital only, so it will not print and mail stationery, and it does not sell tickets. The optional Dawat Signature experiences are $89 once per event, and they are labelled as paid before you publish — nothing else is.
Create your invitation — free →No card required. Unlimited guests. 53 designs.
Feature by feature
| Feature | Basic Invite | Minted | Dawat |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free to send | No | Partial | Yes |
| Per-guest fees | Yes | Yes | No |
| Unlimited guests | Partial | Partial | Yes |
| RSVP tracking | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Custom RSVP questions | Not published | Not published | Yes |
| Email delivery | Not published | Yes | Yes |
| SMS or WhatsApp | Not published | Partial | Partial |
| Per-guest personal links | Not published | Not published | Yes |
| Open tracking | Not published | Not published | Yes |
| Animated envelope | No | No | Yes |
| Printed cards | Yes | Yes | No |
| Guest account required | No | No | No |
| Ads shown to guests | Not published | Not published | No |
| Event website | Yes | Yes | Partial |
| Registry links | Not published | Yes | Yes |
| Meal choice or seating | Not published | Not published | Partial |
| Calendar file | Not published | Not published | Yes |
| AI wording help | Not published | Not published | Yes |
| Works inside ChatGPT / Claude | Not published | Not published | Yes |
| Multilingual & right-to-left | Not published | Not published | Yes |
"Not published" means no vendor documentation could be found either way, not that the feature is missing. How this grid is built →
What your guests experience
A printed card is a wonderful thing to receive and a terrible thing to reply to. Whatever the envelope looks like, the reply has to happen somewhere, and that somewhere is what this section is about.
| What your guest gets | Basic Invite | Minted | Dawat |
|---|---|---|---|
| Guests need an account | No | No | No |
| Ads shown to guests | Not published | Not published | No |
| Animated opening | No | No | Yes |
| Personally addressed link | Not published | Not published | Yes |
| Add to calendar | Not published | Not published | Yes |
| Right-to-left and multilingual | Not published | Not published | Yes |
Questions
Is Basic Invite or Minted cheaper?
Basic Invite works out to $72 (100 cards at the published 72-cent starting rate) for 100 guests and $180 (250 cards at the published 72-cent starting rate) for 250. Minted works out to $234 (100 Classic 7x5 cards at $2.34 each) for 100 guests and ~$585 (250 Classic 7x5 cards at the published 100-qty rate) for 250. Because at least one of them bills per recipient, the gap widens as the guest list grows: what looks like a few dollars at 20 guests is a real decision at 250. Both were checked on 2026-09-16.
Which is better for a wedding, Basic Invite or Minted?
Basic Invite suits budget-conscious hosts who want printed invitations matched to exact wedding colours, with a free website for online RSVPs. Minted suits couples who want distinctive designer paper invitations and will use the free matching wedding website for RSVPs. For a wedding specifically, the questions that matter are whether the invitation feels like an occasion, whether you can collect meal choices, and whether the price moves with the guest list.
Do guests need an account to reply on Basic Invite or Minted?
Basic Invite does not require guests to have an account. Minted does not require guests to have an account. Anything that makes a guest sign up before replying costs you responses, particularly from older relatives.
Is there a free alternative to Basic Invite and Minted?
Yes. Dawat is free at every guest count: all 53 card designs, unlimited guests, unlimited sends, RSVP tracking with your own questions, and a personally addressed link for each guest. There is no per-recipient charge and no card required to send. The only paid item is a Dawat Signature cinematic experience at $89 once per event.
How much are Basic Invite wedding invitations?
Basic Invite advertises wedding invitations as low as 72 cents per card, and save-the-dates as low as 45 cents per card. At that starting rate 100 invitations is about $72 and 250 is about $180, before envelopes, upgrades and postage.
How much do Minted wedding invitations cost for 100?
Minted publishes a starting price of $2.34 per invitation for the Classic 7x5 size at quantity 100, and $2.00 per invitation for the Petite 6x4.25 size. That works out to roughly $234 or $200 for 100 cards before postage. Letterpress is far higher, starting at $485 for 100 one-colour invitations.
How current is this comparison?
Basic Invite's published pricing was checked on 2026-09-16 and Minted's on 2026-09-16. Every figure on this page links to the vendor page it came from, so you can verify it yourself rather than trusting a comparison written by one of the competitors.
Other comparisons
Every comparison below is built from the same checked pricing data.
Dawat vs Basic Invite
The full head-to-head, including where Basic Invite is genuinely better.
Dawat vs Minted
The full head-to-head, including where Minted is genuinely better.
Basic Invite alternatives
Eight products that do what Basic Invite does, ranked.
Minted alternatives
Eight products that do what Minted does, ranked.
More head-to-heads:
How these figures were checked
Every figure above was read from Basic Invite and Minted's own published pricing or help pages on 16 September 2026, and each source is linked below. Where a vendor publishes a rate at one quantity and not another, the published rate is multiplied out and marked as an upper bound rather than presented as a quote. Full methodology and the open dataset →
Reading this through an AI assistant? Dawat runs an MCP server, so ChatGPT or Claude can choose the design, write the wording, add your guest list, publish the invitation and send it without you leaving the conversation. Basic Invite does not publish one.
Sources
- Basic Invite wedding invitations — checked 2026-09-16
- Basic Invite save the dates — checked 2026-09-16
- Basic Invite custom sample — checked 2026-09-16
- Basic Invite affordable wedding invitations — checked 2026-09-16
- Minted: How much do wedding invitations cost — checked 2026-09-16
- Minted wedding invitations — checked 2026-09-16
- Minted free online invitations — checked 2026-09-16
- Minted wedding websites (free with online RSVP) — checked 2026-09-16
- Minted letterpress wedding invitations — checked 2026-09-16