Hobnob vs Minted
Short answer: Hobnob is the cheaper of the two. Hobnob does not charge by guest count. Minted works out to $234 (100 Classic 7x5 cards at $2.34 each) for 100 guests and ~$585 (250 Classic 7x5 cards at the published 100-qty rate) for 250. Minted earns the difference if you need large juried design library from independent artists, not generic templates.
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.
Minted and Hobnob are not really competitors: one puts a card in someone's hand, the other puts a link in their phone. The question is which medium your event needs, and whether you need a live guest list.
Hobnob and Minted pricing checked 2026-09-16 against their own published pages. Sources · Method
On this page
Side by side
Mobile-first invitation app, now Zazzle Events, that sends photo or video invites by text or email and tracks RSVPs. Design-marketplace stationery printer selling independent-artist wedding invitations, plus free wedding websites and free online invitations. 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.
| Hobnob | Minted | Dawat | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Free tier, paid upgrades | Priced per printed card | Free |
| What the free tier gives you | Unlimited email invites (no credit cost), free social/link sharing, and 10 text-invite credits per month. | Free wedding website with online RSVP, free online invitations sent by text or email, free recipient addressing and free samples. | Everything except Signature: all card designs, party pages, unlimited guests, sends, RSVP tracking and analytics. |
| Cost for 100 guests | Free by email; $59.99/year if sent by text | $234 (100 Classic 7x5 cards at $2.34 each) | Free |
| Cost for 250 guests | Free by email; $59.99/year if sent by text | ~$585 (250 Classic 7x5 cards at the published 100-qty rate) | Free |
| Charges per recipient | Yes | Yes | No |
| Guests need an account | No | 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, letting guests reply without an account and a full event website, so those are not the thing to decide on.
- Free to send. Hobnob includes sending invitations without paying outright; on Minted it is limited or tied to a paid tier.
- SMS or WhatsApp. Hobnob includes sending by text or WhatsApp outright; on Minted it is limited or tied to a paid tier.
- Open tracking. Hobnob supports seeing who opened the invitation. Minted does not publish whether it does, so treat it as unavailable until you have confirmed it.
- Printed cards. Minted supports ordering printed stationery. Hobnob does not publish whether it does, so treat it as unavailable until you have confirmed it.
- Registry links. Minted supports linking a gift registry. Hobnob does not publish whether it does, so treat it as unavailable until you have confirmed it.
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
When Minted is the better choice
Couples who want distinctive designer paper invitations and will use the free matching wedding website for RSVPs.
- Large juried design library from independent artists, not generic templates
- Free recipient addressing and coordinating printed envelopes included on orders
- Free wedding website with online RSVP and registry links, matching the paper design
- Free online invitations can be sent by text or email at no cost
- Free paper samples before committing to a full order
Where it costs you:
- Priced per printed card, so cost scales directly with guest count
- Postage is not included and is paid separately
- Premium formats such as letterpress cost substantially more, from $485 per 100
- Per-card price at quantities above 100 is not published on the site
- Discount programs require a paid Minted More membership
What each one costs, in dollars
7 of the 33 platforms tracked in this dataset charge per guest or per printed card. Hobnob and Minted are both among them.
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.
| Hobnob | Minted | Dawat | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Free tier, paid upgrades | Priced per printed card | Free |
| 100 guests | Free by email; $59.99/year if sent by text | $234 (100 Classic 7x5 cards at $2.34 each) | Free |
| 250 guests | Free by email; $59.99/year if sent by text | ~$585 (250 Classic 7x5 cards at the published 100-qty rate) | Free |
| How that is worked out | Email invites consume no credits at any guest count; text invites consume one credit each, and Premium's 310 credits cover 250 texts. | Based on Minted's published Classic 7x5 per-card price at quantity 100; Minted publishes no 250-qty rate. Postage is extra. | Dawat has no per-guest or per-send charge, so the guest count does not change the price. |
As of September 2026: 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). Printed wedding invitations start as low as $2.34 per card in Classic 7x5 and $2.00 per card in Petite 6x4.25 at quantity 100; letterpress from $485 per 100.
The third option: neither of them is free at 250 guests
Both Hobnob and Minted price by the head, which means the number that decides your bill is the one thing you cannot control: how many people you love. Hobnob does not charge by guest count. Minted works out to $234 (100 Classic 7x5 cards at $2.34 each) for 100 guests and ~$585 (250 Classic 7x5 cards at the published 100-qty rate) for 250.
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 | Hobnob | Minted | Dawat |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free to send | Yes | Partial | Yes |
| Per-guest fees | Yes | Yes | No |
| Unlimited guests | Partial | Partial | Yes |
| RSVP tracking | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Custom RSVP questions | Not published | Not published | Yes |
| Email delivery | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| SMS or WhatsApp | Yes | Partial | Partial |
| Per-guest personal links | Not published | Not published | Yes |
| Open tracking | Yes | Not published | Yes |
| Animated envelope | Not published | No | Yes |
| Printed cards | Not published | Yes | No |
| Guest account required | No | No | No |
| Ads shown to guests | Not published | Not published | No |
| Event website | Yes | Yes | Partial |
| Registry links | Not published | Yes | 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
A printed card is a wonderful thing to receive and a terrible thing to reply to. Whatever the envelope looks like, the reply has to happen somewhere, and that somewhere is what this section is about.
| What your guest gets | Hobnob | Minted | Dawat |
|---|---|---|---|
| Guests need an account | No | No | No |
| Ads shown to guests | Not published | Not published | No |
| Animated opening | Not published | No | 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 Hobnob or Minted cheaper?
Hobnob does not charge by guest count. Minted works out to $234 (100 Classic 7x5 cards at $2.34 each) for 100 guests and ~$585 (250 Classic 7x5 cards at the published 100-qty rate) for 250. 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, Hobnob or Minted?
Hobnob suits hosts who want text-message invites and fast mobile RSVPs for casual gatherings and can live with credit limits. Minted suits couples who want distinctive designer paper invitations and will use the free matching wedding website for RSVPs. 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 Hobnob or Minted?
Hobnob does not require guests to have an account. Minted 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 Hobnob and Minted?
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 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 much do Minted wedding invitations cost for 100?
Minted publishes a starting price of $2.34 per invitation for the Classic 7x5 size at quantity 100, and $2.00 per invitation for the Petite 6x4.25 size. That works out to roughly $234 or $200 for 100 cards before postage. Letterpress is far higher, starting at $485 for 100 one-colour invitations.
How current is this comparison?
Hobnob's published pricing was checked on 2026-09-16 and Minted'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 Hobnob
The full head-to-head, including where Hobnob is genuinely better.
Dawat vs Minted
The full head-to-head, including where Minted is genuinely better.
Hobnob alternatives
Eight products that do what Hobnob does, ranked.
Minted alternatives
Eight products that do what Minted does, ranked.
More head-to-heads:
How these figures were checked
Every figure above was read from Hobnob and Minted's own published pricing or help pages on 16 September 2026, and each source is linked below. Where a vendor publishes a rate at one quantity and not another, the published rate is multiplied out and marked as an upper bound rather than presented as a quote. 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. Hobnob does not publish one.
Sources
- 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
- Minted: How much do wedding invitations cost — checked 2026-09-16
- Minted wedding invitations — checked 2026-09-16
- Minted free online invitations — checked 2026-09-16
- Minted wedding websites (free with online RSVP) — checked 2026-09-16
- Minted letterpress wedding invitations — checked 2026-09-16