Hobnob vs Zola
Short answer: price will not decide this one — both can be used without paying. Choose Hobnob if hosts who want text-message invites and fast mobile RSVPs for casual gatherings and can live with credit limits. Choose Zola if 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.
Hobnob and Zola are built for different jobs, so the comparison is less about features and more about which job you are actually doing.
Hobnob and Zola 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. 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 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 | Zola | Dawat | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Free tier, paid upgrades | Free tier, paid upgrades | Free |
| What the free tier gives you | Unlimited email invites (no credit cost), free social/link sharing, and 10 text-invite credits per month. | 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 by email; $59.99/year if sent by text | Free | Free |
| Cost for 250 guests | Free by email; $59.99/year if sent by text | Free | Free |
| Charges per recipient | Yes | No | No |
| Guests need an account | No | 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, tracking who has replied and a full event website, so those are not the thing to decide on.
- Per-guest fees. Hobnob does this; Zola does not. If no per-recipient charge matters to you, that is a point for Zola.
- Custom RSVP questions. Zola supports asking your own questions. Hobnob does not publish whether it does, so treat it as unavailable until you have confirmed it.
- Email delivery. Hobnob includes sending by email outright; on Zola it is limited or tied to a paid tier.
- SMS or WhatsApp. Hobnob includes sending by text or WhatsApp outright; on Zola it is limited or tied to a paid tier.
- Open tracking. Hobnob supports seeing who opened the invitation. Zola does not publish whether it does, so treat it as unavailable until you have confirmed it.
- Printed cards. Zola supports ordering printed stationery. Hobnob does not publish whether it does, so treat it as unavailable until you have confirmed it.
- Guest account required. Hobnob does not do this. Zola does not publish whether it does, so it is worth checking before you send.
- Registry links. Zola 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 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
Hobnob is one of the 7 platforms in this dataset that charge per guest or per printed card. Zola 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 | Zola | Dawat | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Free tier, paid upgrades | Free tier, paid upgrades | Free |
| 100 guests | Free by email; $59.99/year if sent by text | Free | Free |
| 250 guests | Free by email; $59.99/year if sent by text | Free | 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. | 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 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). 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 Hobnob 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 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 | Zola | Dawat |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free to send | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Per-guest fees | Yes | No | No |
| Unlimited guests | Partial | Not published | Yes |
| RSVP tracking | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Custom RSVP questions | Not published | Yes | Yes |
| Email delivery | Yes | Partial | 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 | Yes | No |
| Guest account required | No | Not published | 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 | 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
A wedding guest is usually being asked to do three things at once: read the details, reply, and find the registry. How many taps that takes is the difference between a finished guest list and six weeks of chasing.
| What your guest gets | Hobnob | Zola | Dawat |
|---|---|---|---|
| Guests need an account | No | Not published | No |
| Ads shown to guests | Not published | Not published | No |
| Animated opening | Not published | 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 Hobnob or Zola cheaper?
Hobnob does not charge by guest count. Zola 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, Hobnob or Zola?
Hobnob suits hosts who want text-message invites and fast mobile RSVPs for casual gatherings and can live with credit limits. 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 Hobnob or Zola?
Hobnob does not require guests to have 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 Hobnob 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 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 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?
Hobnob'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 Hobnob
The full head-to-head, including where Hobnob is genuinely better.
Dawat vs Zola
The full head-to-head, including where Zola is genuinely better.
Hobnob alternatives
Eight products that do what Hobnob 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 Hobnob 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. 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
- 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