Cvent vs Eventzilla
Short answer: pick Cvent for enterprise and association event teams running large, compliance-sensitive event programmes with dedicated planners. Pick Eventzilla for conference, workshop, and training organisers who want low flat per-registration pricing and detailed registration forms.
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 Cvent and Eventzilla is mostly a pricing decision. They overlap heavily on what they do; they differ on what they charge you to do it.
Cvent and Eventzilla pricing checked 2026-09-16 against their own published pages. Sources · Method
On this page
Side by side
Enterprise event management platform covering registration, attendee engagement, check-in and badging, and event reporting. Event registration and ticketing platform with forms, agendas, seating, check-in, and email invitations for conferences and classes. Dawat is shown as a third column for the guest-list half of the job. It does not sell tickets or take payment from guests, so for a paid public event it is not a substitute.
| Cvent | Eventzilla | Dawat | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Subscription | Fee per ticket or registration | Free |
| What the free tier gives you | None published. Cvent's site offers a demo and quote request rather than a free plan. | Completely free for events that charge attendees nothing, with unlimited free registration types. | Everything except Signature: all card designs, party pages, unlimited guests, sends, RSVP tracking and analytics. |
| Cost for 100 guests | Unknown | Free (free event); $150 for 100 paid registrations on Basic | Free |
| Cost for 250 guests | Unknown | Free (free event); $375 for 250 paid registrations on Basic | Free |
| Charges per recipient | Not published | Partial | No |
| Guests need an account | Not published | 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 and sending by email, so those are not the thing to decide on.
- Free to send. Eventzilla supports sending invitations without paying. Cvent does not publish whether it does, so treat it as unavailable until you have confirmed it.
- Unlimited guests. Eventzilla supports an uncapped guest list. Cvent does not publish whether it does, so treat it as unavailable until you have confirmed it.
- Event website. Cvent includes a full event website outright; on Eventzilla it is limited or tied to a paid tier.
When Cvent is the better choice
Enterprise and association event teams running large, compliance-sensitive event programmes with dedicated planners.
- Deep enterprise feature set: registration, attendee hub, check-in, badging, reporting
- Enterprise tier includes API access, SSO, MFA, and budget management
- Unlimited user logins on Enterprise; Professional includes 15 logins
- Special rates extended to non-profit organisations
- Handles in-person, virtual, and hybrid event formats
Where it costs you:
- No published pricing; every price requires a sales quote
- No free plan advertised on the pricing page
- Solutions are licensed separately on the Professional tier
- Implementation and consulting are sold as paid add-ons
- Aimed at event programmes, not one-off personal invitations
When Eventzilla is the better choice
Conference, workshop, and training organisers who want low flat per-registration pricing and detailed registration forms.
- Free events are explicitly free, with no setup or monthly fee
- Flat $1.50 per registration on Basic does not scale with price
- Email invitations to imported contact lists with personalised placeholders
- Seating designer, discount codes, and custom forms on paid tiers
- Supports USD, GBP, AUD, CAD, and EUR
Where it costs you:
- Basic plan allows only one paid ticket type
- Payment processing fees are charged separately on top of platform fees
- White-labelled registration requires the higher-priced Plus plan
- Per-registration pricing means costs grow with attendee count
- The $1,999/year plan includes only 500 registrations before extra cost
What each one costs, in dollars
Neither Cvent nor Eventzilla bills by guest count, which puts them among the 26 platforms in this dataset that do 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.
| Cvent | Eventzilla | Dawat | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Subscription | Fee per ticket or registration | Free |
| 100 guests | Unknown | Free (free event); $150 for 100 paid registrations on Basic | Free |
| 250 guests | Unknown | Free (free event); $375 for 250 paid registrations on Basic | Free |
| How that is worked out | Cvent does not publish list prices or per-registration fees; all pricing requires a sales quote. | Basic plan's published $1.50 per paid registration multiplied by volume; payment processing is billed separately by the provider. | Dawat has no per-guest or per-send charge, so the guest count does not change the price. |
As of September 2026: Unknown. Cvent publishes no prices: its pricing page lists Professional and Enterprise tiers and a 'Get a free quote' form, with special rates for non-profits. Free events are free. Paid registrations cost $1.50 each on Basic, 1.9% + $1.50 on Pro, and 2.9% + $1.50 on Plus; an annual plan is $1,999/year including 500 registrations.
The third option: something that feels like an invitation
Neither Cvent nor Eventzilla 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. It also covers an animated envelope opening — which neither Cvent nor Eventzilla 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 | Cvent | Eventzilla | Dawat |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free to send | Not published | Yes | Yes |
| Per-guest fees | Not published | Partial | No |
| Unlimited guests | Not published | Yes | Yes |
| RSVP tracking | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Custom RSVP questions | Not published | Partial | Yes |
| Email delivery | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| SMS or WhatsApp | Not published | Not published | Partial |
| Per-guest personal links | Not published | Not published | Yes |
| Open tracking | Not published | Not published | Yes |
| Animated envelope | No | No | Yes |
| Printed cards | Not published | No | No |
| Guest account required | Not published | Not published | No |
| Ads shown to guests | Not published | Not published | No |
| Event website | Yes | Partial | Partial |
| Registry links | Not published | Not published | 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
Ticketing platforms are built around a stranger buying entry. A guest you already know is a different person with a different tolerance, and an account-creation screen is where that difference shows up.
| What your guest gets | Cvent | Eventzilla | Dawat |
|---|---|---|---|
| Guests need an account | Not published | Not published | 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 Cvent or Eventzilla cheaper?
Cvent does not publish a price you can check before you commit: unknown. Cvent publishes no prices: its pricing page lists Professional and Enterprise tiers and a 'Get a free quote' form, with special rates for non-profits. Eventzilla works out to Free (free event); $150 for 100 paid registrations on Basic for 100 guests and Free (free event); $375 for 250 paid registrations on Basic for 250. Neither charges by guest count, so the difference does not grow with the list. Both were checked on 2026-09-16.
Which is better for a wedding, Cvent or Eventzilla?
Cvent suits enterprise and association event teams running large, compliance-sensitive event programmes with dedicated planners. Eventzilla suits conference, workshop, and training organisers who want low flat per-registration pricing and detailed registration forms. 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 Cvent or Eventzilla?
Cvent does not publish whether guests need an account. Eventzilla 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 Cvent and Eventzilla?
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 does Cvent cost?
Cvent does not publish prices. Its pricing page describes Professional and Enterprise tiers and asks visitors to 'Get a free quote' by submitting business details. Cvent also says it extends special rates to non-profit organisations.
Is Eventzilla free?
For free events, yes. Eventzilla's support documentation says it is completely free for simple events such as social gatherings and meetups where attendees are not charged. Paid events are billed per registration according to the plan you choose.
How current is this comparison?
Cvent's published pricing was checked on 2026-09-16 and Eventzilla'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 Cvent
The full head-to-head, including where Cvent is genuinely better.
Dawat vs Eventzilla
The full head-to-head, including where Eventzilla is genuinely better.
Cvent alternatives
Eight products that do what Cvent does, ranked.
Eventzilla alternatives
Eight products that do what Eventzilla does, ranked.
More head-to-heads:
How these figures were checked
Every figure above was read from Cvent and Eventzilla's own published pricing or help pages on 16 September 2026, and each source is linked below. Cvent publishes no checkable price, so this page says so rather than estimating one. 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. Cvent does not publish one.
Sources
- Cvent pricing — checked 2026-09-16
- Cvent event management software — checked 2026-09-16
- Cvent event management software pricing overview — checked 2026-09-16
- Eventzilla pricing — checked 2026-09-16
- How does the ticket fee work? (Eventzilla Support) — checked 2026-09-16
- How to send customized invitation emails (Eventzilla Support) — checked 2026-09-16