Luma vs Posh
Short answer: pick Luma for community, meetup, and startup organizers who want a fast, free event page with invites and light ticketing. Pick Posh for nightlife, party, and club promoters who want fast payouts, sms reach, and a promoter-driven ticket flow.
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 Luma and Posh is mostly a pricing decision. They overlap heavily on what they do; they differ on what they charge you to do it.
Luma and Posh pricing checked 2026-09-16 against their own published pages. Sources · Method
On this page
Side by side
Event pages and calendars with RSVP, invites, ticketing, and check-in, popular with tech meetups and community organizers. Social event platform for nightlife and IRL experiences, with ticket sales, promoter kickbacks, SMS, and instant payouts. 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.
| Luma | Posh | Dawat | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Free tier, paid upgrades | Fee per ticket or registration | Free |
| What the free tier gives you | Unlimited events and guests, 500 invites or newsletters per week once verified, check-in, up to 3 admins. | Free events cost nothing: Posh states a $0 fee on free events, with unlimited SMS to attendees. | Everything except Signature: all card designs, party pages, unlimited guests, sends, RSVP tracking and analytics. |
| Cost for 100 guests | Free (RSVP event); $125 platform fee on 100 paid $25 tickets | Free (free event); ~$349 in buyer-paid fees on 100 $25 tickets | Free |
| Cost for 250 guests | Free (RSVP event); $312.50 platform fee on 250 paid $25 tickets | Free (free event); ~$872.50 in buyer-paid fees on 250 $25 tickets | Free |
| Charges per recipient | No | Partial | No |
| Guests need an account | No | Yes | No |
| Ads shown to guests | No | 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 sending invitations without paying, tracking who has replied, sending by email and a full event website, so those are not the thing to decide on.
- Per-guest fees. Posh does this in some cases; Luma does not. If no per-recipient charge matters to you, that is a point for Luma.
- Unlimited guests. Luma supports an uncapped guest list. Posh does not publish whether it does, so treat it as unavailable until you have confirmed it.
- Custom RSVP questions. Luma supports asking your own questions. Posh does not publish whether it does, so treat it as unavailable until you have confirmed it.
- SMS or WhatsApp. Luma includes sending by text or WhatsApp outright; on Posh it is limited or tied to a paid tier.
- Guest account required. Posh does this; Luma does not. If letting guests reply without an account matters to you, that is a point for Luma.
- Ads shown to guests. Posh does this in some cases; Luma does not. If an ad-free guest experience matters to you, that is a point for Luma.
- Calendar file. Luma supports adding the event to a calendar. Posh does not publish whether it does, so treat it as unavailable until you have confirmed it.
When Luma is the better choice
Community, meetup, and startup organizers who want a fast, free event page with invites and light ticketing.
- Free plan covers unlimited events and unlimited guests per event
- Guests do not need a Luma account or sign-in to register
- Invites go out by email plus SMS, WhatsApp, and push
- CSV or paste-in guest import with automatic de-duplication
- Luma Plus removes the platform fee entirely on paid events
Where it costs you:
- Free plan takes a 5% platform fee on paid events
- Free plan capped at 500 invites or newsletters per week
- Private events are unlisted links, not a locked per-guest invitation
- Stripe processing fees apply on top of the platform fee
- Free plan limited to three calendar admins
When Posh is the better choice
Nightlife, party, and club promoters who want fast payouts, SMS reach, and a promoter-driven ticket flow.
- Free events cost the organiser nothing
- Fee is charged to the buyer and displayed all-in, so organisers keep face value
- Same-night payouts from the first ticket sale
- Free unlimited SMS to past and present attendees
- Built-in promoter Kickback program for nightlife-style promotion
Where it costs you:
- Paid tickets carry a 10% + $0.99 fee, high relative to flat-fee competitors
- Buyers are prompted to log in and need a Posh account
- Each account must have both an email and a non-VOIP phone number
- Kickback promoter payouts are reduced by a 20% Kickback fee
- Accounts are passwordless: every login needs a one-time code
What each one costs, in dollars
Neither Luma nor Posh 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.
| Luma | Posh | Dawat | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Free tier, paid upgrades | Fee per ticket or registration | Free |
| 100 guests | Free (RSVP event); $125 platform fee on 100 paid $25 tickets | Free (free event); ~$349 in buyer-paid fees on 100 $25 tickets | Free |
| 250 guests | Free (RSVP event); $312.50 platform fee on 250 paid $25 tickets | Free (free event); ~$872.50 in buyer-paid fees on 250 $25 tickets | Free |
| How that is worked out | Free-plan 5% platform fee applied to $25 tickets; Stripe processing (about 2.9% + $0.30) is charged on top. | Posh's published 10% + $0.99 applied to a $25 ticket; the fee is billed to the buyer, so the organiser keeps face value. | Dawat has no per-guest or per-send charge, so the guest count does not change the price. |
As of September 2026: Free forever plan with unlimited events and guests and a 5% platform fee on paid events; Luma Plus is $59/month billed annually and drops the platform fee to 0%. Free events carry a $0 fee. Paid tickets carry a 10% + $0.99 platform fee, charged to the buyer and shown all-in; a $30 ticket carries a $3.99 fee.
The third option: something that feels like an invitation
Neither Luma nor Posh 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. It also covers an animated envelope opening — which neither Luma nor Posh does.
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 | Luma | Posh | Dawat |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free to send | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Per-guest fees | No | Partial | No |
| Unlimited guests | Yes | Not published | Yes |
| RSVP tracking | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Custom RSVP questions | Yes | 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 | Not published | Not published | Yes |
| Animated envelope | No | No | Yes |
| Printed cards | No | No | No |
| Guest account required | No | Yes | No |
| Ads shown to guests | No | Partial | No |
| Event website | Yes | Yes | Partial |
| Registry links | Not published | No | Yes |
| Meal choice or seating | Not published | Not published | Partial |
| Calendar file | Yes | 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 | Luma | Posh | Dawat |
|---|---|---|---|
| Guests need an account | No | Yes | No |
| Ads shown to guests | No | Partial | No |
| Animated opening | No | No | Yes |
| Personally addressed link | Not published | Not published | Yes |
| Add to calendar | Yes | Not published | Yes |
| Right-to-left and multilingual | Not published | Not published | Yes |
Questions
Is Luma or Posh cheaper?
Luma works out to Free (RSVP event); $125 platform fee on 100 paid $25 tickets for 100 guests and Free (RSVP event); $312.50 platform fee on 250 paid $25 tickets for 250. Posh works out to Free (free event); ~$349 in buyer-paid fees on 100 $25 tickets for 100 guests and Free (free event); ~$872.50 in buyer-paid fees on 250 $25 tickets for 250. 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, Luma or Posh?
Luma suits community, meetup, and startup organizers who want a fast, free event page with invites and light ticketing. Posh suits nightlife, party, and club promoters who want fast payouts, SMS reach, and a promoter-driven ticket flow. 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 Luma or Posh?
Luma does not require guests to have an account. Posh requires 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 Luma and Posh?
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 Luma free?
Yes. Luma publishes a 'Free, forever' plan with unlimited events and unlimited guests per event. Free events cost nothing. Paid events on the free plan carry a 5% platform fee, and Stripe processing fees apply separately.
What fees does Posh charge organizers?
Posh's published fee is 10% + $0.99 per paid ticket, with payment processing bundled in and the fee billed to the buyer. Posh's own example shows a $30 ticket carrying a $3.99 fee, leaving the organiser $26.01.
How current is this comparison?
Luma's published pricing was checked on 2026-09-16 and Posh'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 Luma
The full head-to-head, including where Luma is genuinely better.
Dawat vs Posh
The full head-to-head, including where Posh is genuinely better.
Luma alternatives
Eight products that do what Luma does, ranked.
Posh alternatives
Eight products that do what Posh does, ranked.
More head-to-heads:
How these figures were checked
Every figure above was read from Luma and Posh'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. Luma does not publish one.
Sources
- Luma pricing — checked 2026-09-16
- Luma Plus overview — checked 2026-09-16
- Event registration process — checked 2026-09-16
- Setting your event visibility — checked 2026-09-16
- Inviting and adding guests to your event — checked 2026-09-16
- Posh University: what first-time organizers need to know — checked 2026-09-16
- Posh University: Posh vs Shotgun comparison — checked 2026-09-16
- Posh Knowledge Base: how to purchase tickets with Posh — checked 2026-09-16
- Posh Knowledge Base: getting started, create an account and log in — checked 2026-09-16
- Posh Knowledge Base: Kickback program — checked 2026-09-16