Cvent vs Evite
Short answer: pick Cvent for enterprise and association event teams running large, compliance-sensitive event programmes with dedicated planners. Pick Evite for hosts of large casual gatherings who want a free, high-capacity invitation and can tolerate advertising beside their event details.
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.
Cvent and Evite are built for different jobs, so the comparison is less about features and more about which job you are actually doing.
Cvent and Evite 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. Long-running digital invitation service offering free ad-supported invitations plus paid Premium packages priced by guest count. 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 | Evite | Dawat | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Subscription | Free tier, paid upgrades | Free |
| What the free tier gives you | None published. Cvent's site offers a demo and quote request rather than a free plan. | Free designs, up to 750 guests, RSVP tracking, read receipts and shareable link, with third-party ads shown. | Everything except Signature: all card designs, party pages, unlimited guests, sends, RSVP tracking and analytics. |
| Cost for 100 guests | Unknown | $0 free with ads, or $99.99 Premium | Free |
| Cost for 250 guests | Unknown | $0 free with ads, or $99.99 Premium | Free |
| Charges per recipient | Not published | Partial | No |
| Guests need an account | Not published | No | No |
| Ads shown to guests | Not published | Partial | 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. Evite supports sending invitations without paying. Cvent does not publish whether it does, so treat it as unavailable until you have confirmed it.
- Open tracking. Evite supports seeing who opened the invitation. Cvent does not publish whether it does, so treat it as unavailable until you have confirmed it.
- Guest account required. Evite does not do this. Cvent does not publish whether it does, so it is worth checking before you send.
- Event website. Cvent includes a full event website outright; on Evite it is limited or tied to a paid tier.
- Registry links. Evite supports linking a gift registry. Cvent does not publish whether it does, so treat it as unavailable until you have confirmed it.
- Calendar file. Evite supports adding the event to a calendar. Cvent does not publish whether it does, so treat it as unavailable until you have confirmed it.
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 Evite is the better choice
Hosts of large casual gatherings who want a free, high-capacity invitation and can tolerate advertising beside their event details.
- Free tier sends to up to 750 guests with no per-recipient charge
- Read receipts and shareable links are available on the free tier
- Delivery by email, text message or shareable link
- Gift registry and website links can be added to the invitation
- Evite Pro covers unlimited invitations up to 2,500 guests for $249.99/year
Where it costs you:
- Free invitations display third-party ads to guests
- Removing ads requires a paid Premium package
- Premium packages are single-event; each new event is charged again
- Animated effects, envelopes and exclusive designs are Premium-only
- No printed or hard-copy option; Evite is digital only
What each one costs, in dollars
Neither Cvent nor Evite 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 | Evite | Dawat | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Subscription | Free tier, paid upgrades | Free |
| 100 guests | Unknown | $0 free with ads, or $99.99 Premium | Free |
| 250 guests | Unknown | $0 free with ads, or $99.99 Premium | Free |
| How that is worked out | Cvent does not publish list prices or per-registration fees; all pricing requires a sales quote. | Premium is banded by guest count; both 100 and 250 guests fall in the $99.99 Diamond band (up to 750 guests), charged per event. | 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 invitations carry ads and support up to 750 guests; Premium packages are $17.99 (12 guests), $36.99 (30), $68.99 (75) and $99.99 (750) per event. Evite Pro is $249.99/year.
The third option: something that feels like an invitation
Neither Cvent nor Evite 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 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 | Evite | Dawat |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free to send | Not published | Yes | Yes |
| Per-guest fees | Not published | Partial | No |
| Unlimited guests | Not published | Partial | Yes |
| RSVP tracking | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Custom RSVP questions | Not published | Partial | Yes |
| Email delivery | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| SMS or WhatsApp | Not published | Partial | Partial |
| Per-guest personal links | Not published | Not published | Yes |
| Open tracking | Not published | Yes | Yes |
| Animated envelope | No | Partial | Yes |
| Printed cards | Not published | No | No |
| Guest account required | Not published | No | No |
| Ads shown to guests | Not published | Partial | No |
| Event website | Yes | Partial | Partial |
| Registry links | Not published | Yes | Yes |
| Meal choice or seating | Not published | Partial | Partial |
| Calendar file | Not published | Yes | 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 | Evite | Dawat |
|---|---|---|---|
| Guests need an account | Not published | No | No |
| Ads shown to guests | Not published | Partial | No |
| Animated opening | No | Partial | Yes |
| Personally addressed link | Not published | Not published | Yes |
| Add to calendar | Not published | Yes | Yes |
| Right-to-left and multilingual | Not published | Not published | Yes |
Questions
Is Cvent or Evite 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. Evite works out to $0 free with ads, or $99.99 Premium at both 100 and 250 guests. 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 Evite?
Cvent suits enterprise and association event teams running large, compliance-sensitive event programmes with dedicated planners. Evite suits hosts of large casual gatherings who want a free, high-capacity invitation and can tolerate advertising beside their event details. 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 Evite?
Cvent does not publish whether guests need an account. Evite 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 Cvent and Evite?
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 Evite free?
Yes. Evite publishes free designs that cost nothing to send, and free invitations support up to 750 guests. The trade-off is that free invitations display third-party ads to your guests. Removing ads, or adding envelopes, stickers, backgrounds or animated effects, converts the invitation to a paid Premium send.
How current is this comparison?
Cvent's published pricing was checked on 2026-09-16 and Evite'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 Evite
The full head-to-head, including where Evite is genuinely better.
Cvent alternatives
Eight products that do what Cvent does, ranked.
Evite alternatives
Eight products that do what Evite does, ranked.
More head-to-heads:
How these figures were checked
Every figure above was read from Cvent and Evite'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
- Evite Premium Pricing — checked 2026-09-16
- Evite Premium vs. Free — checked 2026-09-16
- Evite Invitation Pricing — checked 2026-09-16
- Evite Guest List Limit — checked 2026-09-16
- Evite Pro — checked 2026-09-16