RSVora vs Hobnob
Hobnob was one of the first products to treat the text message as the invitation channel rather than an afterthought, and it is still good at it. It is an iOS and Android app, now published as part of Zazzle's events range, and it works on the pattern of a free allowance of invites with in-app purchases beyond it. RSVora runs in a browser, needs no app for the host or the guest, and has no allowance to run out. This page compares the two and is honest about where an app is genuinely the better answer.
Hobnob details checked 2026-08-25. Pricing and plans change, so verify anything that matters to you on their site before deciding.
Side by side
| Feature | RSVora | Hobnob |
|---|---|---|
| Price to send | Free at every guest count | Free to start with in-app purchases; the free tier covers a limited number of invites |
| Host needs an app | No. Works in any browser. There is an optional app if you want one | Yes. Hobnob is an iOS and Android app |
| Guest needs an app | No | No. Guests can reply by text or open the web invite |
| Primary channel | One link, plus optional email or SMS sends | Text message first, email as an alternative |
| Guest cap | No cap | The free allowance is a cap on invites until you purchase |
| Ads shown to your guests | None | None |
| Designs | 1,332 free designs across 22 categories, plus uploads | A good catalogue, with video and photo invitations a particular strength |
| Video invitations | No. Static designs and uploaded images | Yes |
| Automatic reminders | Yes, scheduled and retimable | Yes, 24 hours before and again an hour before |
| Guest chat | Messages to all guests or only non-responders | Yes, a group chat on the event |
| Photo collection | Yes, a photo album on the event | Yes, including QR code photo collection in the Zazzle Events version |
| Languages | 99 | Not published |
| Adults and children counted separately | Yes | Not published |
| Headcount cap with automatic cut-off | Yes, per event and per invitation | Not published |
| Desktop hosting | Full product in a browser on any device | App-first; the host experience is designed for a phone |
| Matching printed party goods | No | Yes through Zazzle |
Where RSVora is different
- Hobnob is an app you install. The host experience lives on a phone, where RSVora's host experience is a web page that works on a phone, a tablet or a laptop with nothing installed. (source, checked 2026-08-25)
- Hobnob is free to download with in-app purchases, and reviewers describe the paid tier as worth it once your guest list outgrows the free number of invites. RSVora has no free number of invites because it has no paid tier. (source, checked 2026-08-25)
- Hobnob is now published within Zazzle's events range, which pairs digital invitations with matching printed party goods. RSVora sells nothing at all. (source, checked 2026-08-25)
- Hobnob sends automatic reminders 24 hours before an event and again an hour before. RSVora schedules a reminder when you create the event and lets you change the timing or add more. (source, checked 2026-08-25)
- Neither product asks your guests to install anything. Hobnob guests can reply to the text or open the web invite; RSVora guests open a link in whatever browser they already have. (source, checked 2026-08-25)
When Hobnob is the better choice
They genuinely do these better
- Text message delivery done properly, with a decade of refinement behind it. If your guests do not read email, this is a real advantage.
- Video and photo invitations, which RSVora does not do at all.
- A group chat attached to the event, which is often where the actual coordination happens.
- Being part of Zazzle means digital invitations can be matched to real printed party supplies and decor in the same design language.
- The app format gives a genuinely fast phone experience, including push notifications when someone replies.
Choose Hobnob if you want a video invitation, if you host entirely from your phone and like having an app for it, or if you want the invitation to match printed party goods from Zazzle. Choose RSVora if you would rather not install anything, if you want to build the invitation on a laptop, if your guest list is large enough that a free invite allowance becomes a purchase, or if you want the RSVP itself to carry adult and child counts and a headcount cap.
Try it without signing up
Pick a design and customize it first. You only make an account when you are ready to send.
Browse 1,332 free designsApp-first versus link-first
The deepest difference between these two products is not price, it is where the host stands. Hobnob asks you to install an app and does most of its work there. RSVora is a web page: you open it, you build the invitation, you share a link.
App-first has real advantages. Push notifications when someone replies, access to your phone's contacts and camera roll, a smoother feel than any browser can manage. If you plan parties from your phone in the gaps of the day, that is the better ergonomics.
Link-first has different advantages. Nothing to install for you, nothing to install for anyone helping you host, and the full product available on a laptop when you sit down to do the fiddly part. RSVora does publish an app, but it is optional and the web version is not a cut-down sibling.
For the guest the two converge: neither product makes a guest install anything.
The free allowance, and what it means in practice
Hobnob is free to download and works on in-app purchases. Reviewers describe the free tier as fine until your guest list outgrows the included number of invites, at which point you buy more.
That model is honest and it suits small events. It also means the cost of your party is a function of how many people you invite, which is the same pattern as the per-guest models elsewhere in this category, just packaged as an app purchase rather than a coin or a plan.
RSVora does not meter invites. There is no allowance, no purchase, and no point at which adding the twenty-first person changes anything about what you pay.
Video invitations, which we do not have
Hobnob's video invitations are a genuine feature and worth naming clearly, because RSVora has nothing equivalent.
A short clip of the birthday child, or of you actually asking people to come, lands differently from a card. For some events that is the whole idea, and no amount of typography competes with it.
What RSVora offers instead is a still invitation you can make your own: 1,332 designs across 22 categories, a studio for fonts and text layers, 20 opening effects for the moment the envelope tears, and the option to upload your own photograph or artwork as the invitation itself. If a photo will do the job, that path is free and quick. If it has to move, use Hobnob.
After the invitation goes out
Both products keep working after the send, and they do it slightly differently.
Hobnob attaches a group chat to the event, sends automatic reminders 24 hours and one hour before, and collects photos afterwards. The chat in particular is where a lot of the real coordination happens, and it is a good fit for a casual event.
RSVora schedules a reminder automatically when you create the event and lets you retime it or add more, sends messages to everyone or only to the people who have not replied yet, and keeps a photo album on the event page. The reply data is more structured: adults and children as separate numbers, a running headcount, and a cap that stops accepting yeses when the event is full.
Chat is better for conversation. Structured replies are better for catering. Most events want a bit of both, and it is fair to pick whichever half you actually use.
The Zazzle connection
Hobnob is now published as part of Zazzle's events range, which is worth understanding because it changes what the product is for. Zazzle's business is printed and customised goods, and the events product is a front door to it: digital invitations that can be matched with printed party supplies, decorations and thank-you cards.
If you want that coherence, one design across the invitation, the napkins and the banner, that is a real offer and nobody else in this comparison makes it.
RSVora sells nothing. There is no shop, no upsell and no matching product range, which is either a limitation or the point depending on what you came for.
Questions
Is Hobnob free?
Free to download, with in-app purchases. The free tier includes a limited number of invites, and larger guest lists require a purchase. Checked 2026-08-25.
Do my guests need the Hobnob app?
No. Guests can reply to the text or email, or open the web invite. Neither Hobnob nor RSVora requires a guest to install anything.
Do I need an app to use RSVora?
No. The full product runs in any browser on any device. There is an optional app, but nothing is missing from the web version.
Can RSVora send video invitations?
No. RSVora invitations are still designs or an image you upload. Hobnob does video and that is a genuine reason to choose it.
Is Hobnob the same as Zazzle Events?
They are the same lineage. Hobnob is now published within Zazzle's events range, which pairs the digital invitation with matching printed party goods.
Which is better for a large guest list?
RSVora, because there is no invite allowance to exhaust and no per-guest purchase. Hobnob's free tier is designed for smaller lists.
Can I host from a laptop?
On RSVora, yes, fully. Hobnob's host experience is app-first and designed for a phone.
How current is this comparison?
Hobnob's app listing, feature pages and its place in the Zazzle events range were checked on 2026-08-25. In-app purchase pricing changes, so verify in the App Store or Play Store before buying.