Eventzilla vs Hobnob
Short answer: pick Eventzilla for conference, workshop, and training organisers who want low flat per-registration pricing and detailed registration forms. 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.
Eventzilla and Hobnob are built for different jobs, so the comparison is less about features and more about which job you are actually doing.
Eventzilla and Hobnob pricing checked 2026-09-16 against their own published pages. Sources · Method
On this page
Side by side
Event registration and ticketing platform with forms, agendas, seating, check-in, and email invitations for conferences and classes. 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.
| Eventzilla | Hobnob | Dawat | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Fee per ticket or registration | Free tier, paid upgrades | Free |
| What the free tier gives you | Completely free for events that charge attendees nothing, with unlimited free registration types. | 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 | Free (free event); $150 for 100 paid registrations on Basic | Free by email; $59.99/year if sent by text | Free |
| Cost for 250 guests | Free (free event); $375 for 250 paid registrations on Basic | Free by email; $59.99/year if sent by text | Free |
| Charges per recipient | Partial | 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 sending invitations without paying, tracking who has replied and sending by email, so those are not the thing to decide on.
- Unlimited guests. Eventzilla includes an uncapped guest list outright; on Hobnob it is limited or tied to a paid tier.
- SMS or WhatsApp. Hobnob supports sending by text or WhatsApp. Eventzilla 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. Eventzilla does not publish whether it does, so treat it as unavailable until you have confirmed it.
- Guest account required. Hobnob does not do this. Eventzilla does not publish whether it does, so it is worth checking before you send.
- Event website. Hobnob includes a full event website outright; on Eventzilla it is limited or tied to a paid tier.
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
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. Eventzilla 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.
| Eventzilla | Hobnob | Dawat | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Fee per ticket or registration | Free tier, paid upgrades | Free |
| 100 guests | Free (free event); $150 for 100 paid registrations on Basic | Free by email; $59.99/year if sent by text | Free |
| 250 guests | Free (free event); $375 for 250 paid registrations on Basic | Free by email; $59.99/year if sent by text | Free |
| How that is worked out | Basic plan's published $1.50 per paid registration multiplied by volume; payment processing is billed separately by the provider. | 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: 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. 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 Eventzilla 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 | Eventzilla | Hobnob | Dawat |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free to send | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Per-guest fees | Partial | Yes | No |
| Unlimited guests | Yes | Partial | Yes |
| RSVP tracking | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Custom RSVP questions | Partial | 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 | No | Not published | No |
| Guest account required | Not published | No | No |
| Ads shown to guests | Not published | Not published | No |
| Event website | Partial | Yes | Partial |
| Registry links | Not published | Not published | Yes |
| Meal choice or seating | Partial | 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 | Eventzilla | 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 Eventzilla or Hobnob cheaper?
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. 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, Eventzilla or Hobnob?
Eventzilla suits conference, workshop, and training organisers who want low flat per-registration pricing and detailed registration forms. 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 Eventzilla or Hobnob?
Eventzilla 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 Eventzilla 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.
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.
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?
Eventzilla'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 Eventzilla
The full head-to-head, including where Eventzilla is genuinely better.
Dawat vs Hobnob
The full head-to-head, including where Hobnob is genuinely better.
Eventzilla alternatives
Eight products that do what Eventzilla 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 Eventzilla and Hobnob'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. Eventzilla does not publish one.
Sources
- 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
- 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