Hobnob vs Punchbowl
Short answer: Hobnob is the cheaper of the two. Hobnob does not charge by guest count. Punchbowl works out to $59.88/year (Premium, billed annually) for 100 guests and $71.88/year (Platinum, billed annually) for 250. Punchbowl earns the difference if you need unlimited events on every paid plan, with no per-recipient charge.
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 Hobnob and Punchbowl is mostly a pricing decision. They overlap heavily on what they do; they differ on what they charge you to do it.
Hobnob and Punchbowl 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. Subscription invitation and digital greeting card service with licensed character designs and per-event guest caps by plan. Dawat is shown as a third column because it answers the same question at no cost, which is the relevant fact for most people reading this page.
| Hobnob | Punchbowl | Dawat | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Free tier, paid upgrades | Subscription | Free |
| What the free tier gives you | Unlimited email invites (no credit cost), free social/link sharing, and 10 text-invite credits per month. | A 7-day free trial only; after the trial a paid membership is required to send. | 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 | $59.88/year (Premium, billed annually) | Free |
| Cost for 250 guests | Free by email; $59.99/year if sent by text | $71.88/year (Platinum, billed annually) | Free |
| Charges per recipient | Yes | No | No |
| Guests need an account | No | No | No |
| Ads shown to guests | Not published | Partial | 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 letting guests reply without an account, so those are not the thing to decide on.
- Free to send. Hobnob includes sending invitations without paying outright; on Punchbowl it is limited or tied to a paid tier.
- Per-guest fees. Hobnob does this; Punchbowl does not. If no per-recipient charge matters to you, that is a point for Punchbowl.
- SMS or WhatsApp. Hobnob includes sending by text or WhatsApp outright; on Punchbowl it is limited or tied to a paid tier.
- Open tracking. Hobnob supports seeing who opened the invitation. Punchbowl does not publish whether it does, so treat it as unavailable until you have confirmed it.
- Event website. Hobnob supports a full event website. Punchbowl does not publish whether it does, so treat it as unavailable until you have confirmed it.
- Registry links. Punchbowl supports linking a gift registry. Hobnob does not publish whether it does, so treat it as unavailable until you have confirmed it.
- Calendar file. Punchbowl supports adding the event to a calendar. 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 Punchbowl is the better choice
Frequent hosts who want licensed character designs and unlimited events for a flat annual fee rather than per-event charges.
- Unlimited events on every paid plan, with no per-recipient charge
- Licensed designs including Disney and Dr. Seuss characters
- Delivery by both text message and email with RSVP tracking
- Potluck lists and gift registries can be added to any invitation
- 7-day free trial and a published 30-day money-back guarantee
Where it costs you:
- No permanent free tier; sending requires a paid membership after the trial
- Ads are shown unless you subscribe to the Platinum plan or above
- Each plan caps guests per event, from 50 on Plus to 5,000 on Business
- Co-hosts and guest polling require Premium or higher
- Custom event links require the Platinum plan
What each one costs, in dollars
Hobnob is one of the 7 platforms in this dataset that charge per guest or per printed card. Punchbowl 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.
| Hobnob | Punchbowl | Dawat | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Free tier, paid upgrades | Subscription | Free |
| 100 guests | Free by email; $59.99/year if sent by text | $59.88/year (Premium, billed annually) | Free |
| 250 guests | Free by email; $59.99/year if sent by text | $71.88/year (Platinum, billed annually) | 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. | Cheapest plan whose per-event guest cap covers the headcount, at Punchbowl's advertised annual rate ($4.99 and $5.99 per month) multiplied by twelve. | 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). Four plans billed monthly or annually: Plus from $2.99/mo (50 guests), Premium from $4.99/mo (100), Platinum from $5.99/mo (500), Business from $39.99/mo (5,000), all annual-billed rates after a 7-day free trial.
The third option: something that feels like an invitation
Neither Hobnob nor Punchbowl 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 | Hobnob | Punchbowl | Dawat |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free to send | Yes | Partial | Yes |
| Per-guest fees | Yes | No | No |
| Unlimited guests | Partial | Partial | Yes |
| RSVP tracking | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Custom RSVP questions | Not published | Partial | 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 | Not published | Yes |
| Printed cards | Not published | No | No |
| Guest account required | No | No | No |
| Ads shown to guests | Not published | Partial | No |
| Event website | Yes | Not published | Partial |
| Registry links | Not published | Yes | Yes |
| Meal choice or seating | Not published | Partial | 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
Hosts compare dashboards. Guests get one link, once, usually on a phone, often while doing something else. Everything standing between that tap and an answer costs you replies.
| What your guest gets | Hobnob | Punchbowl | Dawat |
|---|---|---|---|
| Guests need an account | No | No | No |
| Ads shown to guests | Not published | Partial | No |
| Animated opening | Not published | Not published | 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 Hobnob or Punchbowl cheaper?
Hobnob does not charge by guest count. Punchbowl works out to $59.88/year (Premium, billed annually) for 100 guests and $71.88/year (Platinum, billed annually) 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 Punchbowl?
Hobnob suits hosts who want text-message invites and fast mobile RSVPs for casual gatherings and can live with credit limits. Punchbowl suits frequent hosts who want licensed character designs and unlimited events for a flat annual fee rather than per-event charges. 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 Punchbowl?
Hobnob does not require guests to have an account. Punchbowl 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 Punchbowl?
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.
Is Punchbowl free?
Not permanently. Punchbowl's help centre says new customers can send invitations free during a trial period and cancel any time; after the 7-day trial a paid membership is required. Returning customers are offered a special membership rate when they sign in.
How current is this comparison?
Hobnob's published pricing was checked on 2026-09-16 and Punchbowl'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 Punchbowl
The full head-to-head, including where Punchbowl is genuinely better.
Hobnob alternatives
Eight products that do what Hobnob does, ranked.
Punchbowl alternatives
Eight products that do what Punchbowl does, ranked.
More head-to-heads:
How these figures were checked
Every figure above was read from Hobnob and Punchbowl'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. 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
- Punchbowl upgrade and plans — checked 2026-09-16
- Is Punchbowl Free? — checked 2026-09-16
- Will My Guests Need to Create An Account to RSVP? — checked 2026-09-16
- Can I Add A Gift Registry to My Invitation? — checked 2026-09-16
- How Can I Add A Potluck List to My Invitation? — checked 2026-09-16