Cvent vs Hobnob
Short answer: pick Cvent for enterprise and association event teams running large, compliance-sensitive event programmes with dedicated planners. Pick Hobnob for hosts who want text-message invites and fast mobile rsvps for casual gatherings and can live with credit limits.
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 Hobnob are built for different jobs, so the comparison is less about features and more about which job you are actually doing.
Cvent and Hobnob 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. Mobile-first invitation app, now Zazzle Events, that sends photo or video invites by text or email and tracks RSVPs. 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 | Hobnob | 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. | Unlimited email invites (no credit cost), free social/link sharing, and 10 text-invite credits per month. | Everything except Signature: all card designs, party pages, unlimited guests, sends, RSVP tracking and analytics. |
| Cost for 100 guests | Unknown | Free by email; $59.99/year if sent by text | Free |
| Cost for 250 guests | Unknown | Free by email; $59.99/year if sent by text | Free |
| Charges per recipient | Not published | Yes | No |
| Guests need an account | Not published | 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, sending by email and a full event website, so those are not the thing to decide on.
- Free to send. Hobnob supports sending invitations without paying. Cvent does not publish whether it does, so treat it as unavailable until you have confirmed it.
- SMS or WhatsApp. Hobnob supports sending by text or WhatsApp. Cvent does not publish whether it does, so treat it as unavailable until you have confirmed it.
- Open tracking. Hobnob 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. Hobnob does not do this. Cvent does not publish whether it does, so it is worth checking before you send.
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 Hobnob is the better choice
Hosts who want text-message invites and fast mobile RSVPs for casual gatherings and can live with credit limits.
- Email invites cost no credits, so email-only sends are free at any guest count
- Sends real SMS invitations; guests reply by text with no app download
- Delivery and viewed-status tracking plus automated RSVP reminders on paid plans
- Paid plans include event ticketing and payment collection, polls and sign-up lists
- Annual pricing is low: $19.99 or $59.99 a year rather than per event
Where it costs you:
- Text invites are metered per recipient as credits, not unlimited
- Free members get only 10 text-invite credits per month
- Premium's 310 credits per year cap how many texts you can send annually
- Premium designs, reminders and ticketing require a paid membership
- Primarily a phone app; there is no full desktop invitation editor documented
What each one costs, in dollars
Hobnob is one of the 7 platforms in this dataset that charge per guest or per printed card. Cvent 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.
| Cvent | Hobnob | Dawat | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Subscription | Free tier, paid upgrades | Free |
| 100 guests | Unknown | Free by email; $59.99/year if sent by text | Free |
| 250 guests | Unknown | Free by email; $59.99/year if sent by text | Free |
| How that is worked out | Cvent does not publish list prices or per-registration fees; all pricing requires a sales quote. | Email invites consume no credits at any guest count; text invites consume one credit each, and Premium's 310 credits cover 250 texts. | 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 members get 10 text-invite credits a month and unlimited email invites; Essentials is $19.99/year (70 credits) and Premium $59.99/year (310 credits).
The third option: something that feels like an invitation
Neither Cvent nor Hobnob 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 | Hobnob | Dawat |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free to send | Not published | Yes | Yes |
| Per-guest fees | Not published | Yes | No |
| Unlimited guests | Not published | Partial | Yes |
| RSVP tracking | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Custom RSVP questions | Not published | Not published | Yes |
| Email delivery | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| SMS or WhatsApp | Not published | Yes | Partial |
| Per-guest personal links | Not published | Not published | Yes |
| Open tracking | Not published | Yes | Yes |
| Animated envelope | No | Not published | Yes |
| Printed cards | Not published | Not published | No |
| Guest account required | Not published | No | No |
| Ads shown to guests | Not published | Not published | No |
| Event website | Yes | Yes | Partial |
| Registry links | Not published | Not published | 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
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 | Hobnob | Dawat |
|---|---|---|---|
| Guests need an account | Not published | No | 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 Cvent or Hobnob 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. Hobnob 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, Cvent or Hobnob?
Cvent suits enterprise and association event teams running large, compliance-sensitive event programmes with dedicated planners. Hobnob suits hosts who want text-message invites and fast mobile RSVPs for casual gatherings and can live with credit limits. 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 Hobnob?
Cvent does not publish whether guests need an account. Hobnob 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 Hobnob?
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 Hobnob free?
Partly. Hobnob's help centre states that email invites do not cost a credit to send and that sharing an event link on social media is free. Free members also receive 10 text-invite credits a month. Text invites beyond that, premium designs and RSVP reminders require a paid membership.
How current is this comparison?
Cvent's published pricing was checked on 2026-09-16 and Hobnob'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 Hobnob
The full head-to-head, including where Hobnob is genuinely better.
Cvent alternatives
Eight products that do what Cvent does, ranked.
Hobnob alternatives
Eight products that do what Hobnob does, ranked.
More head-to-heads:
How these figures were checked
Every figure above was read from Cvent and Hobnob'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
- Hobnob memberships: Essentials vs Premium — checked 2026-09-16
- How can I send invites for free? (credit rules) — checked 2026-09-16
- Zazzle Events product page — checked 2026-09-16
- Hobnob homepage — checked 2026-09-16