Paperless Post vs Riley & Grey
Short answer: Paperless Post is the cheaper of the two. Paperless Post works out to $105 (Premium feature set) for 100 guests and $263 (Premium feature set) for 250. Riley & Grey works out to $299 (12-month membership) at both 100 and 250 guests. Riley & Grey earns the difference if you need custom domain is included in the membership rather than an extra 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.
Paperless Post and Riley & Grey are built for different jobs, so the comparison is less about features and more about which job you are actually doing.
Paperless Post and Riley & Grey pricing checked 2026-09-16 against their own published pages. Sources · Method
On this page
- Side by side
- Where they actually differ
- When Paperless Post is the better choice
- When Riley & Grey is the better choice
- What each one costs, in dollars
- The third option: something that feels like an invitation
- Feature by feature
- What your guests experience
- Questions
- Other comparisons
- How these figures were checked
Side by side
Design-led online invitation and card service that charges virtual Coins per recipient for premium designs and features. Premium subscription wedding website platform with designer templates, custom domain, digital invitations, RSVP modes and cash registry. 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.
| Paperless Post | Riley & Grey | Dawat | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Charged per recipient | Subscription | Free |
| What the free tier gives you | Free-feature-set designs sent to your first 50 recipients, plus unlimited distribution by shareable link. | Build a site, pick a design, draft invitations and set up a registry; publishing requires a paid membership. | Everything except Signature: all card designs, party pages, unlimited guests, sends, RSVP tracking and analytics. |
| Cost for 100 guests | $105 (Premium feature set) | $299 (12-month membership) | Free |
| Cost for 250 guests | $263 (Premium feature set) | $299 (12-month membership) | Free |
| Charges per recipient | Yes | No | No |
| Guests need an account | Not published | 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, a full event website and linking a gift registry, so those are not the thing to decide on.
- Per-guest fees. Paperless Post does this; Riley & Grey does not. If no per-recipient charge matters to you, that is a point for Riley & Grey.
- Custom RSVP questions. Paperless Post supports asking your own questions. Riley & Grey does not publish whether it does, so treat it as unavailable until you have confirmed it.
- Open tracking. Paperless Post supports seeing who opened the invitation. Riley & Grey does not publish whether it does, so treat it as unavailable until you have confirmed it.
- Guest account required. Riley & Grey does not do this. Paperless Post does not publish whether it does, so it is worth checking before you send.
- Calendar file. Paperless Post supports adding the event to a calendar. Riley & Grey does not publish whether it does, so treat it as unavailable until you have confirmed it.
When Paperless Post is the better choice
Hosts of formal or design-sensitive events with modest guest lists who will pay per recipient for a polished, ad-free invitation.
- Large free design library sendable to the first 50 recipients at no cost
- Unlimited free distribution of free-feature-set designs via shareable link
- Custom RSVP questions: open-ended, multiple-choice, checkbox and mailing-address formats
- Delivery and open-rate tracking plus RSVP tracking on the guest list
- 25% discount published for nonprofits, charities, schools and universities
Where it costs you:
- Charges Coins per recipient, so cost scales directly with guest count
- Envelopes, liners, backgrounds, stamps and logos convert a free design to a paid send
- The free allowance covers 50 recipients, not an unlimited guest list
- An account is required to create and send
- Paid designs start at 2 Coins per recipient before any premium features
When Riley & Grey is the better choice
Design-led couples wanting a premium, ad-free site with an included custom domain and unlimited digital invitations.
- Custom domain is included in the membership rather than an extra charge
- Unlimited digital invitation sending with no per-recipient fee
- Free to build and preview; payment only required to publish
- Simple and Advanced RSVP modes, with guest email addresses optional
- Print-ready high-resolution invitation files can be exported for outside printing
Where it costs you:
- No free publishing tier; the site stays unpublished until you pay
- $39 per month or $299 per year is materially above free competitors
- Monetary gifts carry a 2.95% transaction fee, paid by giver or couple
- Post-wedding PDF archive of the site is a separate $39 purchase
- Does not print or mail physical stationery; you export files and print elsewhere
What each one costs, in dollars
Paperless Post is one of the 7 platforms in this dataset that charge per guest or per printed card. Riley & Grey 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.
| Paperless Post | Riley & Grey | Dawat | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Charged per recipient | Subscription | Free |
| 100 guests | $105 (Premium feature set) | $299 (12-month membership) | Free |
| 250 guests | $263 (Premium feature set) | $299 (12-month membership) | Free |
| How that is worked out | Guest count multiplied by the published $1.05 Premium per-guest rate; Paperless Post states the per-guest price falls at higher volumes, so treat these as upper bounds. | Membership price is flat and Riley & Grey states there is no cost to send as many invitations as you like. | Dawat has no per-guest or per-send charge, so the guest count does not change the price. |
As of September 2026: Paperless Post publishes per-guest rates of $0.00 (Free), $0.50 (Basic), $1.05 (Premium) and $1.44 (All Access), charged in Coins. Paperless Pro subscriptions start at $250/year for 250 annual guests. Free to design; publishing costs $39 per month or $299 for twelve months, including a custom domain and unlimited invitation sending. Optional $39 domain reserve and $39 post-wedding PDF archive.
The third option: something that feels like an invitation
Neither Paperless Post nor Riley & Grey 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 | Paperless Post | Riley & Grey | Dawat |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free to send | Partial | No | Yes |
| Per-guest fees | Yes | No | No |
| Unlimited guests | Partial | Not published | Yes |
| RSVP tracking | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Custom RSVP questions | Yes | Not published | Yes |
| Email delivery | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| SMS or WhatsApp | Partial | Not published | Partial |
| Per-guest personal links | Not published | Partial | Yes |
| Open tracking | Yes | Not published | Yes |
| Animated envelope | Partial | Not published | Yes |
| Printed cards | Partial | No | No |
| Guest account required | Not published | No | No |
| Ads shown to guests | Not published | Not published | No |
| Event website | Yes | Yes | Partial |
| Registry links | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Meal choice or seating | Partial | Not published | Partial |
| Calendar file | Yes | Not published | Yes |
| AI wording help | Partial | 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 | Paperless Post | Riley & Grey | Dawat |
|---|---|---|---|
| Guests need an account | Not published | No | No |
| Ads shown to guests | Not published | Not published | No |
| Animated opening | Partial | Not published | Yes |
| Personally addressed link | Not published | Partial | Yes |
| Add to calendar | Yes | Not published | Yes |
| Right-to-left and multilingual | Not published | Not published | Yes |
Questions
Is Paperless Post or Riley & Grey cheaper?
Paperless Post works out to $105 (Premium feature set) for 100 guests and $263 (Premium feature set) for 250. Riley & Grey works out to $299 (12-month membership) at both 100 and 250 guests. 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, Paperless Post or Riley & Grey?
Paperless Post suits hosts of formal or design-sensitive events with modest guest lists who will pay per recipient for a polished, ad-free invitation. Riley & Grey suits design-led couples wanting a premium, ad-free site with an included custom domain and unlimited digital invitations. 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 Paperless Post or Riley & Grey?
Paperless Post does not publish whether guests need an account. Riley & Grey 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 Paperless Post and Riley & Grey?
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 Paperless Post free?
Partly. Designs on the Free feature set can be sent to your first 50 recipients at no charge, and can be distributed to unlimited people via a shareable link. Adding envelopes, liners, backgrounds, stamps or logos moves the design to a paid feature set. Paid card designs start at 2 Coins per recipient.
How much does Riley & Grey cost?
Signing up and building a site is free; publishing costs $39 per month or $299 for a twelve-month package, which Riley & Grey describes as 36% savings. A $39 reserve option holds your domain and design, and that $39 is credited toward your future publishing cost.
How current is this comparison?
Paperless Post's published pricing was checked on 2026-09-16 and Riley & Grey'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 Paperless Post
The full head-to-head, including where Paperless Post is genuinely better.
Dawat vs Riley & Grey
The full head-to-head, including where Riley & Grey is genuinely better.
Paperless Post alternatives
Eight products that do what Paperless Post does, ranked.
Riley & Grey alternatives
Eight products that do what Riley & Grey does, ranked.
More head-to-heads:
How these figures were checked
Every figure above was read from Paperless Post and Riley & Grey'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. Paperless Post does not publish one.
Sources
- Paperless Post pricing — checked 2026-09-16
- Paperless Post features — checked 2026-09-16
- Is Paperless Post free? Can I send for free? — checked 2026-09-16
- Card and Flyer Pricing — checked 2026-09-16
- How to Add Questions for Guests and Recipients — checked 2026-09-16
- Riley & Grey pricing and plans — checked 2026-09-16
- Riley & Grey FAQ — checked 2026-09-16
- Riley & Grey homepage — checked 2026-09-16