The three shapes
Greenvelope, Paperless Post, and Evite send a designed card to a guest list, usually by email, with RSVP tracking attached. Enormous design libraries, fast, and inexpensive — Evite has a free ad-supported tier, Paperless Post mixes free designs with per-send pricing ("Coins"), and Greenvelope sells paid plans. The card is the product: polished, but fundamentally a flat image with buttons.
Zola and Joy bundle invitations into a larger free wedding toolkit — website, registry, guest list, and RSVP in one account. The invitations exist to feed the ecosystem (and, at Zola, the registry and paper-goods business). If you're planning a full wedding and want everything in one login, the bundle logic is genuinely strong.
Life Invites builds the invitation as its own destination: a single page guests open like a film — a wax-sealed envelope they tap to break, motion and music, a live countdown, venue map, schedule, and a working RSVP. Published at its own address, with your own photos and films (or AI-generated venue film) depending on tier. One-time pricing from $169 to $1,335; hosting free for 90 days, then $15/month if you keep it live.
Side by side
| Greenvelope | Paperless Post | Zola / Joy | Life Invites | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| What guests receive | Animated e-card, usually by email | Designed e-card, email or link | Card + wedding website | A cinematic page: envelope, film, music, countdown |
| Motion & film | Envelope-opening animation | Card animations, designer collabs | Mostly static designs | Full-screen films; AI venue film on higher tiers |
| Pricing model | Paid plans (see their site) | Free designs + per-send Coins | Free core suite | One-time $169–$1,335 · hosting free 90 days, then $15/mo |
| RSVP | Tracking + guest messaging | Tracking + replies | Full wedding guest manager | Built-in form; dashboard with meals & plus-ones on $449+ |
| Your own address | No | No | Site on their domain | Yes — your-names.lifeinvites.com |
| Best for | Polished corporate & formal e-vites | Stylish parties at volume | Full wedding planning in one place | Milestone events where the invitation is part of the gift |
Where each one genuinely wins
Pick Greenvelope or Paperless Post when…
- You're inviting a large list and cost-per-guest matters
- You want a huge, proven design library to browse
- The event is lovely but doesn't need a production — a shower, an office party, a casual milestone
- Email is genuinely how your guest list communicates
Pick Zola or Joy when…
- You're planning a full wedding and want registry, website, guest list, and invites in one free account
- You'd rather manage one tool than several
- Matching paper goods from the same vendor matters to you
Pick Evite when…
- Free is the priority and ads are acceptable
- It's a casual gathering — game night, a kid's party, a potluck
Pick Life Invites when…
- The invitation itself should feel like an event — a wedding, a 40th, a graduation worth staging
- You want film and music, not a card: a venue film, a sealed envelope, a reveal
- You want it at its own address, shareable as one link in a group chat or on a printed QR card
- You prefer one-time pricing over per-send or subscription math
The honest summary: for volume and price, the e-card senders win. For all-in-one wedding logistics, the suites win. Life Invites wins when the moment itself is the point — when you want guests to put the phone down for a second because an envelope just opened into a film with their name on it.