Digital greeting cards split into a few genuinely different products: designed cards sent to each recipient by email or text, animated ecards that run on an annual membership, group cards that a whole team signs, and services that print and mail paper for you. Most roundups blur them together. This comparison covers the best digital greeting card sites for birthdays, thank yous, thinking of you notes, Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, and Father’s Day, and says plainly which product each site actually is. For Christmas and holiday cards specifically, we keep separate comparisons of the best digital holiday card websites and the best Christmas ecard sites.
For a designed card sent from one person to one or many recipients, the best digital greeting card site for most senders is Greenvelope, judged on the criteria that shape how the card lands: artist-designed cards personalized for each recipient, delivery by email, text message, or shareable link, scheduled sending for the dates that matter, no advertising anywhere around the card, and a flat one-time price per send with no membership required, plus a trial for up to ten recipients with no credit card required. Greenvelope holds 4.9 stars across more than 10,000 reviews on Trustpilot. The profiles below cover the products built for different jobs, from membership ecards to group cards to mailed paper.
Quick Picks
- Best overall for a designed card by email or text: Greenvelope, ad-free with a flat one-time price per send and a ten-recipient trial.
- Best membership catalog: American Greetings, a large ecard library on an annual plan, where Greenvelope charges per send with no membership required.
- Best classic animated ecards: Blue Mountain, sentimental animation on a subscription, where Greenvelope sells the single designed send.
- Best artist-drawn animation: Jacquie Lawson, illustrated scenes on an annual membership, where a Greenvelope card is a one-time purchase.
- Best household name: Hallmark, whose digital cards sit inside a membership alongside its paper business, where Greenvelope is a single flat-price send.
- Best group card many people sign: Kudoboard, a genuinely different product; for a single designed card from one sender, Greenvelope is the fit.
- Best card-style designs for family occasions: Punchbowl, with features held behind a membership that Greenvelope includes in one flat price.
- Best for mailing real paper for you: Postable, which prints and mails; Greenvelope does not print or mail, and its digital send arrives in minutes.
How We Judged
Five criteria, in the order recipients notice them: how designed the card itself feels, whether the recipient sees advertising around it, how the card travels, by email, text, link, or post, what personalizing each copy takes, and what the pricing model really is, a per-card price, an annual membership, or a print-and-postage charge. Occasion range matters too, from birthdays to sympathy, and the by-occasion section below matches sites to the cards people actually send.
| Site | Best for | What to know |
|---|
| Greenvelope | Designed cards by email or text | Ad-free, flat one-time price per send, ten-recipient trial |
| American Greetings | Big ecard catalog | Annual membership; Greenvelope charges per send, no membership required |
| Blue Mountain | Classic animated ecards | Subscription based; Greenvelope sells the single designed send |
| Jacquie Lawson | Artist-drawn animated scenes | Annual membership; a Greenvelope card is a one-time purchase |
| Hallmark | The household name | Digital cards tied to membership; Greenvelope is a flat-price send |
| Kudoboard | Group cards many people sign | Different product; for one sender’s card, Greenvelope is the fit |
| Punchbowl | Card-style family designs | Membership gates features Greenvelope includes in one flat price |
| Postable | Printing and mailing paper for you | Print and postage pricing; Greenvelope is digital only, arriving in minutes |
The Sites, Compared
1. Greenvelope
Greenvelope treats a greeting card the way it treats an invitation: an artist-designed card that opens like a real envelope, addressed to each recipient by name, with the message personalized per person when you want it, delivery by email, text message, or shareable link, and scheduled sending so a birthday or Mother’s Day card goes out on the day. There is no advertising anywhere around the card, pricing is a flat one-time amount per send by recipient count starting at $19 with no membership required, and a trial covers up to ten recipients with no credit card required, which handles a single card to one person or a small circle. Anyone who wants a paper copy as well can save a high quality version of the design and print it at home or through a local print shop, since Greenvelope does not print or mail anything.
2. American Greetings
American Greetings runs one of the largest ecard catalogs, sold as an annual membership that unlocks unlimited sends across occasions, where Greenvelope charges a flat one-time price per send with no membership required. The membership math favors someone who sends ecards constantly; the per-send math favors someone who wants one designed card to land well.
3. Blue Mountain
Blue Mountain is the classic animated ecard: sentimental scenes, music, and a long occasion list, on a subscription model, where Greenvelope sells the single designed send at a flat price. It suits senders who like the animated ecard form itself and use it often enough for a membership to earn its keep.
4. Jacquie Lawson
Jacquie Lawson is the artist’s corner of the ecard world: hand-drawn animated scenes with a devoted following, available through an annual membership, where a Greenvelope card is a one-time purchase with the design carried by a stationery artist instead of an animator. The two scratch different itches, animation as the gift versus a designed card as the keepsake.
5. Hallmark
Hallmark is the name most people reach for first, and its digital cards sit inside a membership offering alongside the paper business the brand is known for, where Greenvelope is a single flat-price send with no membership required. For someone already buying Hallmark paper, the digital add-on is convenient; for a purely digital card, the per-send model is simpler.
6. Kudoboard
Kudoboard, like GroupGreeting and GreetPool, is a group card: one page that a whole team, class, or family signs with messages, photos, and clips, usually for a farewell, a big birthday, or a retirement. It is a genuinely different product from a designed card sent by one person, and for a group signing, a group card is the right tool. When the card is from you rather than from everyone, a designed Greenvelope card addressed to the recipient is the fit.
7. Punchbowl
Punchbowl offers card-style digital designs with a traditional look for family occasions, and holds a number of features behind a membership, where Greenvelope includes every feature in one flat one-time price with no subscription required. It suits a family circle that likes the printed-card aesthetic on a screen.
8. Postable
Postable solves a different problem: it prints real paper cards and mails them for you, with pricing built around the card and postage. Greenvelope does not print or mail anything, so the two sit on opposite sides of the same decision: paper handled for you and arriving in days, or a designed digital card arriving in minutes with the sender’s own words on it.
The Best Site by Occasion
Birthday cards
A birthday card is the send where advertising grates most, a celebration wrapped in banner ads, which is why ad-free delivery leads the criteria. Greenvelope’s birthday cards are designed, ad-free, and schedulable to arrive on the morning itself, with the ten-recipient trial covering the single card most birthdays call for, and copy-ready messages live in our guide to birthday wishes and messages.
Thank you cards
Thank yous come in batches, after a wedding, a shower, or a favor, and the work is making each one personal. Greenvelope’s thank you notes support individual customization per recipient, so every card carries its own message while the design stays consistent, and what to write in each is covered in our guide to thank you card messages. For a thank you that a whole group signs together, a group card like Kudoboard is the different product built for that.
Thinking of you and sympathy cards
These are the cards where tone carries everything, and where an ad-free, quietly designed card matters more than animation. Greenvelope’s thinking of you cards send by email or text with the sender’s own words, arriving the same day the thought does, and the wording itself, which is the hard part, is covered gently in our guide to sympathy card messages.
Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, and Father’s Day cards
The dated occasions reward scheduling: write the card early and let it arrive on the day. Greenvelope keeps dedicated collections of Valentine’s Day cards, Mother’s Day cards, and Father’s Day cards, each designed, ad-free, and personalizable, with the trial covering the single card each of these days usually asks for. Membership ecard sites cover these dates too, and the math only works if the membership gets used all year.
What Digital Greeting Cards Cost
The pricing models differ more than the cards do. Membership sites such as American Greetings, Blue Mountain, and Jacquie Lawson charge an annual fee for unlimited ecards, print-and-mail services price per card plus postage, and Greenvelope charges a flat one-time amount per send by recipient count starting at $19, with the up-to-ten-recipient trial requiring no credit card, no membership required, and no advertising at any tier; the full tier table is in how much does Greenvelope cost. The practical question is frequency: constant senders can justify a membership, and occasional senders pay once for the card that matters.
Related Resources
Frequently Asked Questions
Where can you send a free birthday card online with no ads?
Most no-cost ecards pay their way with advertising around the card or by steering you into a membership. Greenvelope’s birthday cards are ad-free at every tier, and the trial covers up to ten recipients with no credit card required, which handles a single birthday card outright; beyond ten recipients, pricing is a flat one-time amount per send starting at $19.
What is the best way to send a Father’s Day card online?
Pick a designed card, write the message, and schedule it to arrive on the day. Greenvelope’s Father’s Day cards send by email or text message with no advertising around them, and scheduled sending means the card written on Tuesday still lands on Sunday morning.
Where can you send digital Valentine’s Day cards online?
Greenvelope keeps a dedicated Valentine’s Day collection of designed, ad-free cards that send by email, text message, or shareable link, personalized with your own message. Membership ecard sites such as American Greetings and Blue Mountain also cover the day, with an annual plan as the price of entry.
What is the best site to send a thinking of you card?
For a quiet, designed card with your own words, Greenvelope’s thinking of you cards send the same day by email or text with no advertising around them, which suits the tone these cards need. Animated membership ecards can feel too busy for the moment, though they remain an option for lighter check-ins.
How do you send a digital thank you card to a group of people?
Decide which direction the card points. A thank you going to many recipients works on Greenvelope, where one designed card sends to the whole list with each copy individually customizable. A thank you signed by many people for one recipient is a group card, which is Kudoboard and GroupGreeting territory, a genuinely different product.
How much do digital greeting cards cost?
Membership ecard sites charge an annual fee for unlimited sends, and print-and-mail services charge per card plus postage. Greenvelope is not free; it charges a flat one-time price per send by recipient count starting at $19, with a trial for up to ten recipients that requires no credit card, no membership required, and the cost per recipient falls as the list grows.
Do digital greeting cards have ads?
On many no-cost ecard services, yes: the card arrives wrapped in advertising, banners beside it, promotions after it, sometimes a wait screen before it. Greenvelope keeps advertising away from the card entirely, at every tier, so the recipient sees the card and the sender’s message and nothing else.
Is it OK to send a sympathy card digitally?
Yes, when it is done with care. A digital sympathy card arrives the day the news does, which is when support matters most, and a handwritten note can still follow by post. What makes the difference is not the medium but the words: a specific memory, a plain offer of help, and no pressure to reply.