Minted vs Punchbowl
Short answer: Punchbowl is the cheaper of the two. Punchbowl works out to $59.88/year (Premium, billed annually) for 100 guests and $71.88/year (Platinum, billed annually) for 250. 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 Punchbowl 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.
Minted and Punchbowl pricing checked 2026-09-16 against their own published pages. Sources · Method
On this page
Side by side
Design-marketplace stationery printer selling independent-artist wedding invitations, plus free wedding websites and free online invitations. 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 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.
| Minted | Punchbowl | Dawat | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Priced per printed card | Subscription | Free |
| What the free tier gives you | Free wedding website with online RSVP, free online invitations sent by text or email, free recipient addressing and free samples. | 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 | $234 (100 Classic 7x5 cards at $2.34 each) | $59.88/year (Premium, billed annually) | Free |
| Cost for 250 guests | ~$585 (250 Classic 7x5 cards at the published 100-qty rate) | $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, letting guests reply without an account and linking a gift registry, so those are not the thing to decide on.
- Per-guest fees. Minted does this; Punchbowl does not. If no per-recipient charge matters to you, that is a point for Punchbowl.
- Printed cards. Minted supports ordering printed stationery; Punchbowl does not.
- Event website. Minted supports a full event website. Punchbowl 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. Minted does not publish whether it does, so treat it as unavailable until you have confirmed it.
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
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
Minted 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.
| Minted | Punchbowl | Dawat | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Priced per printed card | Subscription | Free |
| 100 guests | $234 (100 Classic 7x5 cards at $2.34 each) | $59.88/year (Premium, billed annually) | Free |
| 250 guests | ~$585 (250 Classic 7x5 cards at the published 100-qty rate) | $71.88/year (Platinum, billed annually) | Free |
| How that is worked out | Based on Minted's published Classic 7x5 per-card price at quantity 100; Minted publishes no 250-qty rate. Postage is extra. | 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: 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. 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 Minted 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 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 | Minted | Punchbowl | Dawat |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free to send | Partial | 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 | Partial | Partial | Partial |
| Per-guest personal links | Not published | Not published | Yes |
| Open tracking | Not published | Not published | Yes |
| Animated envelope | No | Not published | Yes |
| Printed cards | Yes | No | No |
| Guest account required | No | No | No |
| Ads shown to guests | Not published | Partial | No |
| Event website | Yes | Not published | Partial |
| Registry links | Yes | 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
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 | Minted | Punchbowl | Dawat |
|---|---|---|---|
| Guests need an account | No | No | No |
| Ads shown to guests | Not published | Partial | No |
| Animated opening | No | 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 Minted or Punchbowl cheaper?
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. 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, Minted or Punchbowl?
Minted suits couples who want distinctive designer paper invitations and will use the free matching wedding website for RSVPs. 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 Minted or Punchbowl?
Minted 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 Minted 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.
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.
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?
Minted'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 Minted
The full head-to-head, including where Minted is genuinely better.
Dawat vs Punchbowl
The full head-to-head, including where Punchbowl is genuinely better.
Minted alternatives
Eight products that do what Minted 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 Minted and Punchbowl'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. Minted does not publish one.
Sources
- 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
- 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