SimpleInvite and Punchbowl
SimpleInvite needs no membership: an event up to 30 guests is free, and no guest ever sees an advertisement. Punchbowl is the better pick for a child's party with licensed characters on the invite.
Which one to pick
Pick SimpleInvite if
- You don't want a membership.Punchbowl sends free only during a 7-day trial, then the membership begins. SimpleInvite is free to 30 guests with no trial, and $5 for one bigger event.
- Your guests see no advertising.Punchbowl's Plus and Premium plans show ads to you and your guests; removing them takes Platinum. No SimpleInvite event shows an advertisement.
- You'd rather pay once.The year is $39, paid once, for every event up to 150 guests, and it doesn't renew on its own. After its trial, Punchbowl is a subscription.
- You invite families.A household gets one invite and counts as one guest. Punchbowl counts each partner and child toward the plan's limit.
Pick Punchbowl if
- The characters matter.Punchbowl has licensed designs, Disney among them. For a child who wants their favourite character on the invite, it is the one to pick.
- Large events.Punchbowl's Business plan takes up to 5,000 guests an event. We stop at 150.
- You want to choose when the reminder goes.Punchbowl's automatic reminder goes when you set it, 1 to 10 days before, to the guests you pick. Our automatic nudge keeps a set schedule; the two more are yours to send.
A seventh birthday for 20
Twenty families from the class, invited through the parents' email addresses.
On SimpleInvite
- Make the invite, add a photo and pick one of the eight looks.
- Add the parents. Each family gets one invite and sets how many are coming.
- The page the parents open has no advertising.
- Families still pending get a nudge on their own, and the families coming get a reminder on the morning of the party.
What it costsFree. Twenty families is under 30.
On Punchbowl
- Start the 7-day trial and pick a design. The licensed characters are here.
- Send by email, or by text from Punchbowl's number, which parents can't reply to.
- On Plus, the invite the parents open carries advertising. Platinum removes it.
- Set the automatic reminder for 1 to 10 days before.
What it costsFree during the trial, then from $3.99 a month with advertising, or from $7.99 without.
Side by side
Their prices and limits are from their own pages, checked October 4, 2026.
| For the host | SimpleInvite | Punchbowl |
|---|---|---|
| What it costs | SimpleInviteFree to 30 guests, $5 an event to 150, or $39 for a year, paid once | PunchbowlA membership after a 7-day free trial. Plans start at $3.99 a month, for up to 50 guests |
| An event for 30 guests, without ads | SimpleInviteFree | PunchbowlPlatinum, from $7.99 a month |
| Advertising on the guest's page | SimpleInviteNever, on any event | PunchbowlOn Plus and Premium. Platinum and Business remove it |
| How the invite reaches people | SimpleInviteWe email it. Anyone without an email gets their own link from you, texted from your phone with one tap each | PunchbowlBy email, or by text from Punchbowl's number. Guests can't reply to the texts |
| Reminders | SimpleInviteA nudge on its own to everyone pending, two more you can send, and a reminder at 9 am on the day to the people coming | PunchbowlOne automatic reminder, 1 to 10 days before, to the guests you choose |
| Households | SimpleInviteOne invite per household, with one answer that counts everyone coming | PunchbowlPartners and children count as guests |
| Most guests on one event | SimpleInvite150 | Punchbowl50 on Plus, 100 on Premium, 500 on Platinum, 5,000 on Business |
| Designs | SimpleInviteEight looks, and your own photo | PunchbowlA catalogue that includes licensed characters |
Sources
Every claim on this page about another product comes from one of these pages.
- Punchbowl, Membership plansChecked October 4, 2026
- Punchbowl, Removing adsChecked October 4, 2026
- Punchbowl, Invitation sendersChecked October 4, 2026
- Punchbowl, Event remindersChecked October 4, 2026