RSVora vs Luma
Luma is the event platform that the tech and creative worlds moved to, and it is very good: fast, clean, free for free events, with calendars that let a community follow everything an organiser runs. It charges a 5% platform fee plus Stripe processing on paid tickets, waived on its paid plan. Where it differs from RSVora is intent. Luma is built for recurring public or semi-public events with an audience that subscribes. RSVora is built for one private occasion and the people you specifically want at it. This page compares them properly.
Luma 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 | Luma |
|---|---|---|
| Price for a free event | Free at every guest count | Free. Unlimited events and guests for free events |
| Price for a paid event | Not applicable. RSVora does not sell tickets | 5% platform fee plus Stripe processing of 2.9% and 30 cents |
| Paid plan | None | Luma Plus, around $59 a month billed annually or $69 monthly, which removes the 5% platform fee |
| What the paid plan adds | Not applicable | Zero platform fee, API and Zapier access, higher send limits and custom branded URLs |
| Event is public and discoverable | No. Private links only | Optional. Public events and subscribable calendars are a core feature |
| Recurring event calendars | No | Yes, and this is Luma's best idea |
| Guest needs an account | No | Registration is normal, and an account or email is required |
| Designs | 1,332 free invitation designs across 22 categories | A clean, consistent house style rather than an invitation catalogue |
| Envelope and opening animation | Yes, 20 effects | No |
| Check-in at the door | No | Yes |
| Adults and children counted separately | Yes, on every reply | No |
| Headcount cap with automatic cut-off | Yes, per event and per invitation | Yes, capacity with a waitlist |
| Automatic reminders | Yes, by email or text | Yes |
| Languages | 99 | Not published |
| Right shape for a family party | Yes | Workable but impersonal |
| Right shape for a monthly meetup | Workable but you rebuild the list each time | Yes, clearly |
Where RSVora is different
- Luma is free for free events with unlimited events and guests, so for an unpaid gathering the cost comparison with RSVora is a draw. (source, checked 2026-08-25)
- Paid Luma tickets carry a 5% platform fee plus Stripe processing of 2.9% and 30 cents. On a $20 ticket that is $1.88, or $0.88 on the Luma Plus plan where the platform fee is waived. (source, checked 2026-08-25)
- Luma Plus is around $59 a month billed annually, or $69 monthly, which is a subscription aimed at organisers who run events constantly rather than at someone throwing a party. (source, checked 2026-08-25)
- Luma's calendars let people subscribe to everything an organiser runs. That is a community-building feature with no equivalent in an invitation product, and RSVora has nothing like it. (source, checked 2026-08-25)
- Luma registrations collect an email address and typically an account. RSVora guests reply on a private link and are never asked for anything. (source, checked 2026-08-25)
When Luma is the better choice
They genuinely do these better
- Subscribable calendars, so an audience can follow an organiser rather than being re-invited every month. This is the best feature in the category and nothing in this comparison matches it.
- Free for free events with unlimited guests, and a clean, fast interface that people genuinely enjoy using.
- Proper ticketing with Stripe, capacity limits, waitlists, approval flows and check-in at the door.
- An API and Zapier integration on the paid plan, which makes it viable as part of a real operational stack.
- It has become a default in several communities, which means guests already know what a Luma link is.
Choose Luma if you run events regularly and want an audience that can subscribe to them, if you sell tickets, or if you need approvals, waitlists and door check-in. For a monthly meetup, a workshop series or a community calendar it is the right tool and RSVora is not. Choose RSVora for a specific private occasion with a specific guest list: a birthday, a christening, a family reunion, a dinner. For those, an invitation with a design and a one-tap reply beats a registration page, and adults and children counted separately beats a list of email addresses.
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 designsAudience products and guest-list products
The clearest way to think about Luma is that it builds an audience. Its calendars let people subscribe to an organiser, so the next event does not require finding everybody again. Registrations accumulate into something you own.
RSVora builds nothing. Each event is its own thing with its own guest list, and when it is over, it is over. That is a limitation for a meetup organiser and a feature for a person throwing a party, who does not want a subscriber base, they want their cousins to say whether they are coming.
If you find yourself running the fourth event of the year for roughly the same people, Luma is the better tool and you should switch. If each event is a different set of people gathered for a different reason, an invitation is the right unit.
The money, when there is money
Free events on Luma are free, with unlimited events and unlimited guests. That is a strong offer and it deserves to be said before the fees.
Paid tickets carry 5% to Luma plus Stripe's 2.9% and 30 cents. Their own example is a $20 ticket costing $1.88 in total fees, dropping to $0.88 on Luma Plus where the platform fee is waived. Luma Plus is around $59 a month annually or $69 monthly.
The arithmetic on Plus is straightforward: it pays for itself once your 5% exceeds the subscription, which is roughly $1,180 of ticket sales a month. Below that, stay on free.
RSVora has no ticketing and therefore no fees, no Stripe connection and no payouts. If your event needs money to change hands, this comparison ends here and you want Luma.
What the guest is asked to do
On Luma a guest registers with an email address, usually creating a lightweight account, and receives a confirmation. That is a small ask and most people complete it without complaint.
On RSVora a guest is asked for nothing. The private link they received is the credential. They open it, the envelope opens, they tap yes, no or maybe, enter how many adults and children, and that is the whole interaction.
The gap matters more the further your guest list is from the tech-literate default. A room of designers will register on Luma without thinking. A family spread across three generations will not all get through an email confirmation, and the ones who do not will simply be absent from your count.
The invitation itself
Luma pages look good and they all look the same, which is deliberate: a consistent house style makes the platform legible and gets out of the way.
RSVora treats the invitation as part of the occasion. There are 1,332 designs across 22 categories, a studio for fonts, colour and movable text layers, an envelope the invitation comes out of, and 20 opening effects for that moment. You can also upload your own artwork.
For a meetup, house style is correct and decoration would be noise. For a fiftieth birthday, a page that looks like every other page is a missed opportunity.
Capacity, waitlists and headcounts
Luma does capacity properly, with a waitlist that promotes people automatically as spaces open, plus approval flows for events where you vet attendees.
RSVora has caps but not queues. A headcount cap on the event stops accepting further yeses once you are full, and a cap on an individual invitation stops one invitation returning more people than intended. Nobody waits in line behind it.
Where RSVora is ahead is the shape of the count. Luma counts registrations. RSVora counts adults and children separately on every reply and totals them, which is what you need when you are ordering food rather than checking a room limit.
Questions
Is Luma free?
Yes for free events, with unlimited events and guests. Paid tickets carry a 5% platform fee plus Stripe processing of 2.9% and 30 cents. Checked 2026-08-25.
How much is Luma Plus?
Around $59 a month billed annually or $69 monthly. It removes the 5% platform fee and adds API and Zapier access, higher send limits and custom branded URLs.
Can RSVora sell tickets?
No. There is no payment handling at all. If your event is paid, use Luma or another ticketing platform.
Does RSVora have subscribable calendars?
No. Luma's calendars are its best feature and RSVora has no equivalent. If you run recurring events for a following, use Luma.
Do guests need an account on Luma?
Registration collects an email address and typically creates a lightweight account. On RSVora a guest is asked for nothing and simply opens a link.
Which handles capacity better?
Luma, for queueing: it has a waitlist that promotes people automatically. RSVora has a hard headcount cap per event and per invitation but no waitlist.
Which is better for a private family event?
RSVora. An invitation design, a one-tap reply, separate adult and child counts, reminders by email or text, and nothing public or discoverable anywhere.
How current is this comparison?
Luma's fees and plan pricing were checked on 2026-08-25 against their own help centre. Verify on lu.ma before relying on any figure.