Basic Invite vs Zola
Short answer: Zola is the cheaper of the two. Zola does not charge by guest count. 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. Basic Invite earns the difference if you need among the lowest advertised per-card rates, from 72 cents for wedding invitations.
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.
Basic Invite and Zola are not really competitors: one puts a card in someone's hand, the other puts a link in their phone. The question is which medium your event needs, and whether you need a live guest list.
Basic Invite and Zola 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. Wedding planning suite with free websites, RSVP and guest list tools, a universal registry, and paid printed stationery. 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 | Zola | Dawat | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Priced per printed card | Free tier, paid upgrades | Free |
| What the free tier gives you | Free wedding website that collects mailing addresses and manages RSVPs, plus 150+ free custom colours on designs. | Wedding website, RSVP collection, guest list manager, registry, password protection, and digital save the dates. | 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) | Free | Free |
| Cost for 250 guests | $180 (250 cards at the published 72-cent starting rate) | Free | Free |
| Charges per recipient | Yes | No | No |
| Guests need an account | No | Not published | 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 and a full event website, so those are not the thing to decide on.
- Free to send. Zola supports sending invitations without paying; Basic Invite does not.
- Per-guest fees. Basic Invite does this; Zola does not. If no per-recipient charge matters to you, that is a point for Zola.
- Custom RSVP questions. Zola supports asking your own questions. Basic Invite does not publish whether it does, so treat it as unavailable until you have confirmed it.
- Guest account required. Basic Invite does not do this. Zola does not publish whether it does, so it is worth checking before you send.
- Registry links. Zola 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 Zola is the better choice
US couples who want a free website, registry and RSVP tracking in one place and will buy printed paper.
- Website, RSVP tracking and guest list manager are free with no guest-count charge
- Custom RSVP questions including meal choice and song requests on the free tier
- Universal registry and cash funds integrate directly into the website
- Printed stationery from $0.99 per save the date with free envelope addressing
- Free digital save the dates shareable by email, text or DM
Where it costs you:
- Does not offer digital invitations; only digital save the dates
- Digital save the dates are shared as a link or image, not sent by Zola
- Custom domain is a paid add-on starting at $17.99
- Business model depends on registry and print revenue from your guests
- Published guest-count limits for the free website are not stated
What each one costs, in dollars
Basic Invite is one of the 7 platforms in this dataset that charge per guest or per printed card. Zola is not.
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 | Zola | Dawat | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Priced per printed card | Free tier, paid upgrades | Free |
| 100 guests | $72 (100 cards at the published 72-cent starting rate) | Free | Free |
| 250 guests | $180 (250 cards at the published 72-cent starting rate) | Free | 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. | Website, RSVP and digital save the dates are free at any guest count; only a custom URL or printed paper adds cost. | 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. Website, RSVP, guest list and registry are free; a custom URL starts at $17.99, printed save the dates from $0.99 each and invitations from $1.79 each.
The third option: something that feels like an invitation
Neither Basic Invite nor Zola is trying to make the moment of opening feel like anything. They collect the answer. For a birthday drinks thread that is exactly right; for a wedding, a nikkah or a milestone, the invitation is part of the event.
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.
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 | Zola | Dawat |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free to send | No | Yes | Yes |
| Per-guest fees | Yes | No | No |
| Unlimited guests | Partial | Not published | Yes |
| RSVP tracking | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Custom RSVP questions | Not published | Yes | Yes |
| Email delivery | Not published | Partial | 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 | Not published | Yes |
| Printed cards | Yes | Yes | No |
| Guest account required | No | Not published | 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 | Partial | 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 | Zola | Dawat |
|---|---|---|---|
| Guests need an account | No | Not published | No |
| Ads shown to guests | Not published | Not published | No |
| Animated opening | No | Not published | 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 Zola 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. Zola does not charge by guest count. 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 Zola?
Basic Invite suits budget-conscious hosts who want printed invitations matched to exact wedding colours, with a free website for online RSVPs. Zola suits uS couples who want a free website, registry and RSVP tracking in one place and will buy printed paper. 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 Zola?
Basic Invite does not require guests to have an account. Zola does not publish whether guests need 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 Zola?
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.
Is Zola's wedding website free?
Yes. Zola states its wedding websites are free to create and publish, with no fee for RSVP collection, the guest list manager, registry or password protection. The only website-related upsell is a custom URL, which starts at $17.99. Zola earns revenue from registry purchases and printed stationery.
How current is this comparison?
Basic Invite's published pricing was checked on 2026-09-16 and Zola'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 Zola
The full head-to-head, including where Zola is genuinely better.
Basic Invite alternatives
Eight products that do what Basic Invite does, ranked.
Zola alternatives
Eight products that do what Zola does, ranked.
More head-to-heads:
How these figures were checked
Every figure above was read from Basic Invite and Zola's own published pricing or help pages on 16 September 2026, and each source is linked below. Coins, credits and per-card rates are converted into dollars at a real guest count, because that is the number you are deciding with. 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
- Zola wedding websites (pricing and custom URL) — checked 2026-09-16
- Zola wedding paper (per-card prices) — checked 2026-09-16
- Zola help: Does Zola offer digital invitations? — checked 2026-09-16
- Zola help: Can I send digital save the dates through Zola? — checked 2026-09-16
- Zola help: How do I edit or add questions to RSVPs? — checked 2026-09-16