Google Forms vs Smilebox
Short answer: Google Forms is the cheaper of the two. Google Forms is free to send. Smilebox works out to $6.99 (one month) or $47.88/year at both 100 and 250 guests. Smilebox earns the difference if you need built-in rsvp tracking: see who replied, send reminders and follow-ups.
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.
Google Forms and Smilebox are built for different jobs, so the comparison is less about features and more about which job you are actually doing.
Google Forms and Smilebox pricing checked 2026-09-16 against their own published pages. Sources · Method
On this page
Side by side
Free Google survey and form builder that collects responses into Sheets, available with any Google account and bundled in Google Workspace. Long-running template-based maker for invitations, slideshows and greeting cards, with email invitations and built-in RSVP tracking. Dawat is shown as a third column for the part these two share with it: getting the invitation to people and getting an answer back. It does not print, so on the physical card it is not a substitute.
| Google Forms | Smilebox | Dawat | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Free | Subscription | Free |
| What the free tier gives you | The whole product: unlimited forms, responses stored in Google Sheets, no ads, no branding fee. | Free invitation maker with free templates; Smilebox does not publish exactly which features are gated. | Everything except Signature: all card designs, party pages, unlimited guests, sends, RSVP tracking and analytics. |
| Cost for 100 guests | Free | $6.99 (one month) or $47.88/year | Free |
| Cost for 250 guests | Free | $6.99 (one month) or $47.88/year | Free |
| Charges per recipient | No | No | No |
| Guests need an account | Partial | Not published | No |
| Ads shown to guests | No | 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 no per-recipient charge, so those are not the thing to decide on.
- Free to send. Google Forms includes sending invitations without paying outright; on Smilebox it is limited or tied to a paid tier.
- RSVP tracking. Smilebox includes tracking who has replied outright; on Google Forms it is limited or tied to a paid tier.
- Custom RSVP questions. Google Forms supports asking your own questions. Smilebox does not publish whether it does, so treat it as unavailable until you have confirmed it.
- Email delivery. Smilebox includes sending by email outright; on Google Forms it is limited or tied to a paid tier.
- Printed cards. Smilebox supports ordering printed stationery; Google Forms does not.
- Ads shown to guests. Google Forms does not do this. Smilebox does not publish whether it does, so it is worth checking before you send.
When Google Forms is the better choice
Anyone who needs to collect answers at zero cost and does not care how the invitation looks.
- Completely free with no response charge, no ads and no upsell
- Unlimited custom questions with logic, sections and validation
- Responses flow straight into Google Sheets for sorting and analysis
- Familiar to almost every respondent; nothing to learn or install
Where it costs you:
- No invitation design, envelope animation or card rendering of any kind
- No guest list: it collects responses, not RSVP status per invited person
- Sign-in is forced for file upload questions, verified email collection, response editing or one-response limits
- No SMS or WhatsApp delivery and no per-guest personal links
- Bare, uniform form styling that does not read as a celebration invitation
When Smilebox is the better choice
Hosts who want a low-cost, all-purpose card and slideshow maker with basic RSVP tracking and a print option.
- Built-in RSVP tracking: see who replied, send reminders and follow-ups
- Both digital and printed output: print at home or use professional printing
- Invitations can carry music and photos, with unlimited storage for creations
- Guest email addresses are stored in the account and kept private
- Covers invitations, slideshows, collages and cards in a single subscription
Where it costs you:
- No public pricing page comparing the Basic, Premium, Pro and Business plans
- Which features are free versus paid is not documented on Smilebox's own pages
- Subscriptions auto-renew unless cancelled before the renewal date
- Terms of use state fees are payable in advance and are not refundable
- Desktop 'Club Smilebox' and the paid web version are billed separately
What each one costs, in dollars
Neither Google Forms nor Smilebox 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.
| Google Forms | Smilebox | Dawat | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Free | Subscription | Free |
| 100 guests | Free | $6.99 (one month) or $47.88/year | Free |
| 250 guests | Free | $6.99 (one month) or $47.88/year | Free |
| How that is worked out | Forms is included at no cost with any Google account and Google publishes no per-response charge or response cap for it. | Pricing is a flat subscription rather than per recipient, so the number does not change with guest count. | Dawat has no per-guest or per-send charge, so the guest count does not change the price. |
As of September 2026: Free with a personal Google account. Bundled in Google Workspace at $7 (Starter), $14 (Standard) and $22 (Plus) per user per month, with Enterprise quoted by sales. Smilebox's own subscription feed lists $6.99/month or $47.88/year, each with a 7-day trial; Smilebox does not publish a per-tier pricing page.
The third option: something that feels like an invitation
Neither Google Forms nor Smilebox 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 is free at every guest count. All 53 card designs, unlimited guests, unlimited sends, RSVP tracking and the per-guest analytics cost nothing, and no card is required to create or send. Each guest gets their own link, the envelope opens addressed to them by name, 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 | Google Forms | Smilebox | Dawat |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free to send | Yes | Partial | Yes |
| Per-guest fees | No | No | No |
| Unlimited guests | Not published | Not published | Yes |
| RSVP tracking | Partial | Yes | Yes |
| Custom RSVP questions | Yes | Not published | Yes |
| Email delivery | Partial | Yes | Yes |
| SMS or WhatsApp | No | Partial | Partial |
| Per-guest personal links | No | Not published | Yes |
| Open tracking | No | Not published | Yes |
| Animated envelope | No | Partial | Yes |
| Printed cards | No | Yes | No |
| Guest account required | Partial | Not published | No |
| Ads shown to guests | No | Not published | No |
| Event website | No | Not published | Partial |
| Registry links | No | Not published | Yes |
| Meal choice or seating | No | Not published | Partial |
| Calendar file | No | 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
A form asks a question. An invitation makes someone want to answer it. Your guest experiences whichever one you sent, and the response rate follows.
| What your guest gets | Google Forms | Smilebox | Dawat |
|---|---|---|---|
| Guests need an account | Partial | Not published | No |
| Ads shown to guests | No | Not published | No |
| Animated opening | No | Partial | Yes |
| Personally addressed link | No | Not published | Yes |
| Add to calendar | No | Not published | Yes |
| Right-to-left and multilingual | Not published | Not published | Yes |
Questions
Is Google Forms or Smilebox cheaper?
Google Forms is free to send. Smilebox works out to $6.99 (one month) or $47.88/year 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, Google Forms or Smilebox?
Google Forms suits anyone who needs to collect answers at zero cost and does not care how the invitation looks. Smilebox suits hosts who want a low-cost, all-purpose card and slideshow maker with basic RSVP tracking and a print option. 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 Google Forms or Smilebox?
Google Forms requires an account from guests in some cases. Smilebox 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 Google Forms and Smilebox?
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 Google Forms free?
Yes. Google Forms is free with any personal Google account, with no charge per response and no ads shown to respondents. It is also included in every Google Workspace tier, from Business Starter at $7 per user per month to Plus at $22.
Is Smilebox free?
Smilebox advertises a free invitation maker with free templates, but it is a subscription product. Smilebox's own subscription feed lists $6.99/month or $47.88/year with a 7-day trial. Smilebox does not publish a page stating which features are limited on the free tier.
How current is this comparison?
Google Forms's published pricing was checked on 2026-09-16 and Smilebox's on 2026-09-17. 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 Google Forms
The full head-to-head, including where Google Forms is genuinely better.
Dawat vs Smilebox
The full head-to-head, including where Smilebox is genuinely better.
Google Forms alternatives
Eight products that do what Google Forms does, ranked.
Smilebox alternatives
Eight products that do what Smilebox does, ranked.
More head-to-heads:
How these figures were checked
Every figure above was read from Google Forms and Smilebox'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. Google Forms does not publish one.
Sources
- Google Workspace pricing — checked 2026-09-16
- Google Docs Editors Help — publish and share your form — checked 2026-09-16
- Google Docs Editors Community — why respondents are forced to log in — checked 2026-09-16
- Smilebox invitation maker (RSVP, printing, sharing) — checked 2026-09-17
- Smilebox email invitations (delivery, reminders, guest emails) — checked 2026-09-17
- Smilebox subscription feed (prices and trial length) — checked 2026-09-17
- Smilebox terms of service (plan names, ownership) — checked 2026-09-17
- Smilebox terms of use (Club Smilebox vs web subscription, trials) — checked 2026-09-17