Dawat vs Smilebox
Short answer: Smilebox's own subscription feed lists $6.99/month or $47.88/year, each with a 7-day trial; Smilebox does not publish a per-tier pricing page. Dawat's core product is free at every guest count. Smilebox is the better pick if you need built-in rsvp tracking: see who replied, send reminders and follow-ups.
Dawat is free at every guest count: 53 card designs, unlimited guests, unlimited sends, RSVP tracking with your own questions, and a personally addressed link for each guest. The only paid item is a Dawat Signature cinematic experience at $89 once per event.
Long-running template-based maker for invitations, slideshows and greeting cards, with email invitations and built-in RSVP tracking. This page compares it with Dawat on the three things that decide the choice between two invitation products: what it costs once the guest list is real, what your guests see when they tap the link, and what each product will not do.
Smilebox pricing checked 2026-09-17 against its own published pages. Sources · Method
On this page
Side by side
| Dawat | Smilebox | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Free | Subscription |
| What the free tier gives you | Everything except Signature: all card designs, party pages, unlimited guests, sends, RSVP tracking and analytics. | Free invitation maker with free templates; Smilebox does not publish exactly which features are gated. |
| Cost for 100 guests | Free | $6.99 (one month) or $47.88/year |
| Cost for 250 guests | Free | $6.99 (one month) or $47.88/year |
| Charges per recipient | No | No |
| Guests need an account | No | Not published |
| Ads shown to guests | No | Not published |
Where Dawat is different
- What it costs to send. Smilebox's own subscription feed lists $6.99/month or $47.88/year, each with a 7-day trial; Smilebox does not publish a per-tier pricing page. Dawat's core product is free, and no card is required to create or send.
- Free to send. Dawat includes sending invitations without paying in the free product. On Smilebox it is limited or sits behind a paid tier.
- Unlimited guests. Dawat includes an uncapped guest list. Smilebox does not publish whether it supports this.
- Custom RSVP questions. Dawat includes asking your own questions. Smilebox does not publish whether it supports this.
- Per-guest personal links. Dawat includes a personally addressed link per guest. Smilebox does not publish whether it supports this.
- Open tracking. Dawat includes seeing who opened the invitation. Smilebox does not publish whether it supports this.
- Animated envelope. Dawat includes an animated envelope opening in the free product. On Smilebox it is limited or sits behind a paid tier.
- Guest account required. Dawat never does this. Smilebox does not publish whether it does.
Create your invitation — free →No card required. Unlimited guests. 53 designs.
When Smilebox is the better choice
A comparison published by one of the two products is worth nothing unless it can say this part plainly, so here it is: Hosts who want a low-cost, all-purpose card and slideshow maker with basic RSVP tracking and a print option.
- Built-in RSVP tracking: see who replied, send reminders and follow-ups
- Both digital and printed output: print at home or use professional printing
- Invitations can carry music and photos, with unlimited storage for creations
- Guest email addresses are stored in the account and kept private
- Covers invitations, slideshows, collages and cards in a single subscription
Where Dawat does not compete with it:
- Digital only: Dawat does not print or mail paper stationery
- A smaller design catalogue than the largest stationery marketplaces
And where Smilebox will cost you something:
- No public pricing page comparing the Basic, Premium, Pro and Business plans
- Which features are free versus paid is not documented on Smilebox's own pages
- Subscriptions auto-renew unless cancelled before the renewal date
- Terms of use state fees are payable in advance and are not refundable
- Desktop 'Club Smilebox' and the paid web version are billed separately
What Smilebox costs, in dollars
As of September 2026: Smilebox's own subscription feed lists $6.99/month or $47.88/year, each with a 7-day trial; Smilebox does not publish a per-tier pricing page.
18 of the 33 platforms tracked here can send an invitation without payment. Smilebox is one of them, and Dawat is another.
| Dawat | Smilebox | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Free | Subscription |
| 100 guests | Free | $6.99 (one month) or $47.88/year |
| 250 guests | Free | $6.99 (one month) or $47.88/year |
| How that is worked out | Dawat has no per-guest or per-send charge, so the guest count does not change the price. | Pricing is a flat subscription rather than per recipient, so the number does not change with guest count. |
Dawat is free to send. Smilebox has no equivalent free path at a real guest count.
The guest experience compared
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.
| Feature | Dawat | Smilebox |
|---|---|---|
| Guest account required | No | Not published |
| Ads shown to guests | No | Not published |
| Animated envelope | Yes | Partial |
| Per-guest personal links | Yes | Not published |
| Open tracking | Yes | Not published |
| Calendar file | Yes | Not published |
| Multilingual & right-to-left | Yes | Not published |
On Dawat, the link is addressed to the person holding it. The envelope opens with their name on it, their RSVP is already prefilled, and answering is one tap. Smilebox does not publish whether it addresses each guest individually.
What happens as the list grows
Guest count is not the axis here — Smilebox does not bill per recipient. The thing that changes as the list grows is administration: chasing replies, keeping a headcount honest, and knowing who never opened the thing. Dawat gives every guest their own link, so the dashboard shows sent, opened and answered per person instead of a pile of replies you have to reconcile.
Switching, or running both
Most people pick one. If you are mid-way through a guest list on Smilebox, the sensible split is to leave the people who have already replied where they are and send Dawat invitations to the ones who have not.
If you are moving across, the fastest route is Dawat's import: paste the link to your existing invitation and Dawat reads the wording, date, venue and colour mood off the page and rebuilds it as a prefilled draft you can edit. Guest lists come in from your phone's contacts, a .vcf file, or pasted text.
What does not come across: Smilebox's designs, and any replies already collected there. Export your RSVPs before you switch, and send the Dawat invitation only to the people who have not answered.
Feature by feature
| Feature | Dawat | Smilebox |
|---|---|---|
| Free to send | Yes | Partial |
| Per-guest fees | No | No |
| Unlimited guests | Yes | Not published |
| RSVP tracking | Yes | Yes |
| Custom RSVP questions | Yes | Not published |
| Email delivery | Yes | Yes |
| SMS or WhatsApp | Partial | Partial |
| Per-guest personal links | Yes | Not published |
| Open tracking | Yes | Not published |
| Animated envelope | Yes | Partial |
| Printed cards | No | Yes |
| Guest account required | No | Not published |
| Ads shown to guests | No | Not published |
| Event website | Partial | Not published |
| Registry links | Yes | Not published |
| Meal choice or seating | Partial | Not published |
| Calendar file | Yes | Not published |
| AI wording help | Yes | Not published |
| Works inside ChatGPT / Claude | Yes | Not published |
| Multilingual & right-to-left | Yes | Not published |
"Not published" means no vendor documentation could be found either way, not that the feature is missing. How this grid is built →
Questions
Is Smilebox free?
Smilebox advertises a free invitation maker with free templates, but it is a subscription product. Smilebox's own subscription feed lists $6.99/month or $47.88/year with a 7-day trial. Smilebox does not publish a page stating which features are limited on the free tier.
How much does a Smilebox subscription cost?
Smilebox's own subscription data lists a monthly plan at $6.99 and an annual plan at $47.88, both with a 7-day trial, plus a gift subscription at $47.88. Smilebox's terms of use name Basic, Premium, Pro and Business plans but publish no prices for them.
Does Smilebox track RSVPs?
Yes. Smilebox's invitation maker pages describe a built-in RSVP feature that lets you track who is attending, instantly view who has and hasn't replied, and send reminders and follow-ups. Guest email addresses are stored in your account.
Can you print Smilebox invitations?
Yes. Smilebox lets you print at home or order through professional print services, choosing paper type, finish and envelope options. You can also share digitally by text message, social media or email.
Is Dawat free?
Yes. All 53 card designs and every party-page theme, unlimited guests, unlimited sends, RSVP tracking, custom questions and the per-guest analytics cost nothing, and no card is required. The only paid item is a Dawat Signature cinematic experience at $89 once for that event, and it is labelled as paid before you publish.
Does Dawat have designs as good as Smilebox?
Dawat's 53 designs are animated card experiences with an envelope opening, plus 8 long-scroll Signature experiences. Whether that beats Smilebox depends on whether you want a designed occasion or a quick notice.
Can I send printed invitations from Dawat?
No. Dawat is digital only. Smilebox does print and mail stationery, and if a physical card matters to you that is a genuine reason to use it.
Create your invitation — free →Takes about ten minutes. Sign in only when you publish.
Other comparisons
Smilebox alternatives
Eight products that do what Smilebox does, ranked and priced.
Online invitation makers
Every product in Smilebox's category, side by side.
Smilebox against the rest:
Dawat against the rest:
How these figures were checked
Every figure above was read from Smilebox's own published pricing or help pages on 17 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. Smilebox does not publish one.
Sources
- Smilebox invitation maker (RSVP, printing, sharing) — checked 2026-09-17
- Smilebox email invitations (delivery, reminders, guest emails) — checked 2026-09-17
- Smilebox subscription feed (prices and trial length) — checked 2026-09-17
- Smilebox terms of service (plan names, ownership) — checked 2026-09-17
- Smilebox terms of use (Club Smilebox vs web subscription, trials) — checked 2026-09-17