Eventzilla vs Zola
Short answer: pick Eventzilla for conference, workshop, and training organisers who want low flat per-registration pricing and detailed registration forms. Pick Zola for us couples who want a free website, registry and rsvp tracking in one place and will buy printed paper.
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 Zola are built for different jobs, so the comparison is less about features and more about which job you are actually doing.
Eventzilla and Zola 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. Wedding planning suite with free websites, RSVP and guest list tools, a universal registry, and paid printed stationery. 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 | Zola | 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. | Wedding website, RSVP collection, guest list manager, registry, password protection, and digital save the dates. | 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 | Free |
| Cost for 250 guests | Free (free event); $375 for 250 paid registrations on Basic | Free | Free |
| Charges per recipient | Partial | No | 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 sending invitations without paying and tracking who has replied, so those are not the thing to decide on.
- Per-guest fees. Eventzilla does this in some cases; Zola does not. If no per-recipient charge matters to you, that is a point for Zola.
- Unlimited guests. Eventzilla supports an uncapped guest list. Zola does not publish whether it does, so treat it as unavailable until you have confirmed it.
- Custom RSVP questions. Zola includes asking your own questions outright; on Eventzilla it is limited or tied to a paid tier.
- Email delivery. Eventzilla includes sending by email outright; on Zola it is limited or tied to a paid tier.
- Printed cards. Zola supports ordering printed stationery; Eventzilla does not.
- Event website. Zola includes a full event website outright; on Eventzilla it is limited or tied to a paid tier.
- Registry links. Zola supports linking a gift registry. Eventzilla does not publish whether it does, so treat it as unavailable until you have confirmed it.
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 Zola is the better choice
US couples who want a free website, registry and RSVP tracking in one place and will buy printed paper.
- Website, RSVP tracking and guest list manager are free with no guest-count charge
- Custom RSVP questions including meal choice and song requests on the free tier
- Universal registry and cash funds integrate directly into the website
- Printed stationery from $0.99 per save the date with free envelope addressing
- Free digital save the dates shareable by email, text or DM
Where it costs you:
- Does not offer digital invitations; only digital save the dates
- Digital save the dates are shared as a link or image, not sent by Zola
- Custom domain is a paid add-on starting at $17.99
- Business model depends on registry and print revenue from your guests
- Published guest-count limits for the free website are not stated
What each one costs, in dollars
Neither Eventzilla nor Zola 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.
| Eventzilla | Zola | 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 | Free |
| 250 guests | Free (free event); $375 for 250 paid registrations on Basic | Free | 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. | Website, RSVP and digital save the dates are free at any guest count; only a custom URL or printed paper adds cost. | 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. Website, RSVP, guest list and registry are free; a custom URL starts at $17.99, printed save the dates from $0.99 each and invitations from $1.79 each.
The third option: something that feels like an invitation
Neither Eventzilla nor Zola 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 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 | Eventzilla | Zola | Dawat |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free to send | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Per-guest fees | Partial | No | No |
| Unlimited guests | Yes | Not published | Yes |
| RSVP tracking | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Custom RSVP questions | Partial | Yes | Yes |
| Email delivery | Yes | Partial | Yes |
| SMS or WhatsApp | Not published | Partial | Partial |
| Per-guest personal links | Not published | Not published | Yes |
| Open tracking | Not published | Not published | Yes |
| Animated envelope | No | Not published | Yes |
| Printed cards | No | Yes | No |
| Guest account required | Not published | Not published | No |
| Ads shown to guests | Not published | Not published | No |
| Event website | Partial | Yes | Partial |
| Registry links | Not published | Yes | Yes |
| Meal choice or seating | Partial | 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 | Eventzilla | Zola | Dawat |
|---|---|---|---|
| Guests need an account | Not published | Not published | 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 Zola 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. Zola does not charge by guest count. 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, Eventzilla or Zola?
Eventzilla suits conference, workshop, and training organisers who want low flat per-registration pricing and detailed registration forms. Zola suits uS couples who want a free website, registry and RSVP tracking in one place and will buy printed paper. 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 Zola?
Eventzilla does not publish whether guests need an account. Zola 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 Eventzilla and Zola?
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 Zola's wedding website free?
Yes. Zola states its wedding websites are free to create and publish, with no fee for RSVP collection, the guest list manager, registry or password protection. The only website-related upsell is a custom URL, which starts at $17.99. Zola earns revenue from registry purchases and printed stationery.
How current is this comparison?
Eventzilla's published pricing was checked on 2026-09-16 and Zola'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 Zola
The full head-to-head, including where Zola is genuinely better.
Eventzilla alternatives
Eight products that do what Eventzilla does, ranked.
Zola alternatives
Eight products that do what Zola does, ranked.
More head-to-heads:
How these figures were checked
Every figure above was read from Eventzilla and Zola'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
- Zola wedding websites (pricing and custom URL) — checked 2026-09-16
- Zola wedding paper (per-card prices) — checked 2026-09-16
- Zola help: Does Zola offer digital invitations? — checked 2026-09-16
- Zola help: Can I send digital save the dates through Zola? — checked 2026-09-16
- Zola help: How do I edit or add questions to RSVPs? — checked 2026-09-16