Cvent vs Luma
Short answer: pick Cvent for enterprise and association event teams running large, compliance-sensitive event programmes with dedicated planners. Pick Luma for community, meetup, and startup organizers who want a fast, free event page with invites and light ticketing.
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 Luma is mostly a pricing decision. They overlap heavily on what they do; they differ on what they charge you to do it.
Cvent and Luma 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 pages and calendars with RSVP, invites, ticketing, and check-in, popular with tech meetups and community organizers. 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 | Luma | 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 events and guests, 500 invites or newsletters per week once verified, check-in, up to 3 admins. | Everything except Signature: all card designs, party pages, unlimited guests, sends, RSVP tracking and analytics. |
| Cost for 100 guests | Unknown | Free (RSVP event); $125 platform fee on 100 paid $25 tickets | Free |
| Cost for 250 guests | Unknown | Free (RSVP event); $312.50 platform fee on 250 paid $25 tickets | Free |
| Charges per recipient | Not published | No | No |
| Guests need an account | Not published | No | No |
| Ads shown to guests | Not published | No | 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. Luma supports sending invitations without paying. Cvent does not publish whether it does, so treat it as unavailable until you have confirmed it.
- Per-guest fees. Luma does not do this. Cvent does not publish whether it does, so it is worth checking before you send.
- Unlimited guests. Luma supports an uncapped guest list. Cvent does not publish whether it does, so treat it as unavailable until you have confirmed it.
- Custom RSVP questions. Luma supports asking your own questions. Cvent does not publish whether it does, so treat it as unavailable until you have confirmed it.
- SMS or WhatsApp. Luma supports sending by text or WhatsApp. Cvent does not publish whether it does, so treat it as unavailable until you have confirmed it.
- Guest account required. Luma does not do this. Cvent does not publish whether it does, so it is worth checking before you send.
- Ads shown to guests. Luma does not do this. Cvent does not publish whether it does, so it is worth checking before you send.
- Calendar file. Luma 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 Luma is the better choice
Community, meetup, and startup organizers who want a fast, free event page with invites and light ticketing.
- Free plan covers unlimited events and unlimited guests per event
- Guests do not need a Luma account or sign-in to register
- Invites go out by email plus SMS, WhatsApp, and push
- CSV or paste-in guest import with automatic de-duplication
- Luma Plus removes the platform fee entirely on paid events
Where it costs you:
- Free plan takes a 5% platform fee on paid events
- Free plan capped at 500 invites or newsletters per week
- Private events are unlisted links, not a locked per-guest invitation
- Stripe processing fees apply on top of the platform fee
- Free plan limited to three calendar admins
What each one costs, in dollars
Neither Cvent nor Luma 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 | Luma | Dawat | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Subscription | Free tier, paid upgrades | Free |
| 100 guests | Unknown | Free (RSVP event); $125 platform fee on 100 paid $25 tickets | Free |
| 250 guests | Unknown | Free (RSVP event); $312.50 platform fee on 250 paid $25 tickets | Free |
| How that is worked out | Cvent does not publish list prices or per-registration fees; all pricing requires a sales quote. | Free-plan 5% platform fee applied to $25 tickets; Stripe processing (about 2.9% + $0.30) is charged on top. | 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 forever plan with unlimited events and guests and a 5% platform fee on paid events; Luma Plus is $59/month billed annually and drops the platform fee to 0%.
The third option: something that feels like an invitation
Neither Cvent nor Luma 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 Luma 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 | Luma | Dawat |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free to send | Not published | Yes | Yes |
| Per-guest fees | Not published | No | No |
| Unlimited guests | Not published | Yes | Yes |
| RSVP tracking | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Custom RSVP questions | Not published | Yes | 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 | Not published | Yes |
| Animated envelope | No | No | Yes |
| Printed cards | Not published | No | No |
| Guest account required | Not published | No | No |
| Ads shown to guests | Not published | No | 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 | 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 | Luma | Dawat |
|---|---|---|---|
| Guests need an account | Not published | No | No |
| Ads shown to guests | Not published | No | No |
| Animated opening | No | No | 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 Luma 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. Luma works out to Free (RSVP event); $125 platform fee on 100 paid $25 tickets for 100 guests and Free (RSVP event); $312.50 platform fee on 250 paid $25 tickets 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 Luma?
Cvent suits enterprise and association event teams running large, compliance-sensitive event programmes with dedicated planners. Luma suits community, meetup, and startup organizers who want a fast, free event page with invites and light ticketing. 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 Luma?
Cvent does not publish whether guests need an account. Luma 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 Luma?
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 Luma free?
Yes. Luma publishes a 'Free, forever' plan with unlimited events and unlimited guests per event. Free events cost nothing. Paid events on the free plan carry a 5% platform fee, and Stripe processing fees apply separately.
How current is this comparison?
Cvent's published pricing was checked on 2026-09-16 and Luma'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 Luma
The full head-to-head, including where Luma is genuinely better.
Cvent alternatives
Eight products that do what Cvent does, ranked.
Luma alternatives
Eight products that do what Luma does, ranked.
More head-to-heads:
How these figures were checked
Every figure above was read from Cvent and Luma'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
- Luma pricing — checked 2026-09-16
- Luma Plus overview — checked 2026-09-16
- Event registration process — checked 2026-09-16
- Setting your event visibility — checked 2026-09-16
- Inviting and adding guests to your event — checked 2026-09-16