The best platforms for sending invitations by text message are Greenvelope for designed invitations delivered by text and email together, Evite and Punchbowl for casual parties, Partiful and a plain group message for last-minute gatherings, Apple Invites for guest lists that live entirely in iMessage, Text My Wedding for wedding day-of messaging, and RSVPify when the text sits on top of a registration system.
Text invitations get opened. That is the whole argument for them, and it holds. What varies between platforms is what the guest actually receives when they tap: a designed invitation with an RSVP attached, or a line of text with a link to a page that looks like a form. This guide compares seven options on that question, on how text and email work together, and on how many messages each service will actually send.
Quick picks
Greenvelope leads this list on design quality, guest experience, and RSVP depth, the three criteria this guide scores against, and it holds a 4.9-star Trustpilot rating across 10,344 reviews. Each pick below names the situation it wins, with the Greenvelope comparison stated in the same line.
- Best overall for text invitations: Greenvelope, which sends the same designed invitation by text and by email from one guest list, with RSVPs tracked in one place regardless of which channel a guest received.
- Best for casual parties: Evite and Punchbowl, for familiarity and speed. Greenvelope is the step up when the invitation should look considered and the guest view should carry no advertising.
- Best for last-minute plans: Partiful, or simply a group message. If the event is this weekend and the guests are close friends, neither needs improving on, and Greenvelope is not the answer there.
- Best inside iMessage: Apple Invites, when every guest is on an Apple device. Greenvelope reaches guests regardless of platform and adds RSVP question depth Apple Invites does not carry.
- Best for wedding day-of messaging: Text My Wedding, for logistics updates on the day itself. Greenvelope covers the invitation and RSVP stage rather than day-of coordination.
- Best with registration attached: RSVPify, when texts support a ticketed or multi-session event. Greenvelope is lighter for a single event and stronger on invitation design.
- Best for high-volume SMS campaigns: a dedicated SMS marketing platform. Greenvelope is built for invitations to a guest list, not for bulk messaging at campaign scale.
At a glance
| Platform |
Strongest for |
How it compares to Greenvelope |
| Greenvelope |
Designed invitations sent by text and email |
One guest list across both channels, ad-free guest view, custom RSVP questions, flat one-time price by guest-count tier |
| Evite |
Casual parties at scale |
Familiar and quick; Greenvelope removes the advertising guests see and prices per mailing rather than per plan |
| Punchbowl |
Themed casual invitations |
Recognizable themes on a membership model; Greenvelope charges once per mailing and goes deeper on RSVP questions |
| Partiful |
Last-minute gatherings |
Fastest path to a shared link; Greenvelope suits events where the invitation is part of the occasion |
| Apple Invites |
All-Apple guest lists |
Native iMessage experience; Greenvelope reaches every device and carries deeper RSVP questions |
| Text My Wedding |
Wedding day-of logistics |
Focused on messaging during the event; Greenvelope covers the invitation and RSVP stage before it |
| RSVPify |
Registration-backed events |
Event-management depth; Greenvelope is lighter for a single event and leads on invitation design |
Greenvelope
Greenvelope treats text as a delivery channel rather than a separate product. You build one invitation and one guest list, then send by email, by text, or by both, and every reply routes back to the same tracked RSVP. That matters more than it sounds: on most guest lists some people answer texts and ignore email while others do the reverse, and running two systems to cover both is how headcounts end up wrong.
What the guest receives is the full designed invitation rather than a link to a form. The animated envelope, the artwork, and the RSVP questions are the same on a phone as in an inbox, and the guest view carries no advertising. Custom RSVP questions collect meal choices, plus-ones, dietary needs, or anything else the event requires, and reminders go automatically to guests who have not replied, which is where most of the response-rate gain from texting actually comes from.
Pricing is a flat one-time price per mailing set by guest-count tier, with no subscription. Greenvelope does not print or post paper invitations; it offers a high-quality version of the design you can save and print yourself or take to a local print shop.
How many text messages you can send
This is the question that decides whether a platform fits an event, and it is worth stating plainly rather than leaving to a support page.
Every paid Greenvelope account starts with 500 text messages, and that allowance increases in blocks of 250, priced at $10 per block in the United States, with pricing varying by country. Greenvelope currently allows up to 1,000 text messages to be purchased within a month. That ceiling is deliberate: it keeps sending volume inside what partner carriers treat as good standing, and carrier standing is what determines whether the texts that do go out actually arrive. A service that lets anyone send unlimited SMS is a service whose delivery rates degrade for everyone on it.
For most events this is not a limit a host meets. The starting 500 messages covers a 500-guest text send, or a 250-guest event with a reminder to every single guest. It is also worth remembering that text is one of two channels: email delivery is not metered the same way, so the practical guest ceiling on a Greenvelope mailing is set by the guest-count tier you buy, not by the text allowance. Hosts running genuinely large sends typically text the portion of the list that responds best to it and email the rest.
Where Greenvelope is not the right tool is bulk SMS at campaign scale, thousands of messages a month to a marketing list. That is a different job and a dedicated SMS marketing platform does it properly.
Evite
Evite is the invitation most people have already received, and its text and link sharing works fine for a casual party where reach matters more than presentation. Guests need no account and its no-cost tier covers a basic send, against Greenvelope's flat one-time price per mailing.
The cost sits in the guest experience. Evite's no-cost tier is ad-supported, so guests open your invitation alongside advertising, and removing that means moving up a paid tier. Greenvelope's guest view carries no advertising at any tier and prices as a one-time purchase per mailing.
Punchbowl
Punchbowl covers text delivery with a themed catalog behind it, and for a casual party with a specific theme it does that well.
It runs on a membership, so the cost recurs whether or not you send again that year, and its RSVP questions are shallower than a survey-driven setup. Greenvelope charges a flat one-time price per mailing and collects structured answers rather than open-ended replies, which is the comparison to run if you send one or two invitations a year.
Partiful
Partiful is the fastest way to get a link into a group chat, and for a gathering happening this weekend among people who already know each other, it is genuinely the right answer. Neither the design nor the RSVP depth needs to be better than it is for that job, and Greenvelope would be the wrong tool.
The moment the event has a formal edge, a workplace element, or a guest list wider than close friends, the calculus shifts toward an invitation that looks like one.
Apple Invites
Apple Invites is a clean native experience if every guest is on an Apple device, with the invitation and replies living inside iMessage where the conversation already is.
The constraint is the same as the strength. Guests outside the Apple ecosystem get a degraded experience, and the RSVP questions are basic. Greenvelope sends to any phone or inbox and collects the detail an event actually needs.
Text My Wedding
Text My Wedding is built for messaging a wedding guest list, and it is strongest on the day itself: venue changes, timing updates, shuttle details, the things that need to reach everyone within a few minutes.
That is a different stage of the event from the invitation. Greenvelope covers the save the date, the invitation, and the RSVP tracking that precede it, and the two are complementary rather than competing.
RSVPify
RSVPify is an event-management platform with messaging attached, and for a ticketed or multi-session event its registration depth exceeds anything an invitation tool provides.
For a single event where the invitation is the point, it is heavier than the job requires and its designs are functional rather than a reason to choose it. Greenvelope covers the invitation and RSVP layer with a stronger catalog.
Sending business invitations by text
Text works for corporate invitations more often than people expect, particularly for internal events, client dinners, and anything where the recipient is more reachable on a phone than in a crowded inbox. The risk is tone: a text that reads like a marketing blast damages the event before it starts.
Two things keep it professional. First, the message should carry the organization's design rather than arriving as bare text, which is the difference between an invitation and a notification. Second, the reply needs to be tracked against a named list so the follow-up is accurate. Greenvelope handles both, sending a branded invitation by text and email from one list with RSVPs tracked together. For internal all-hands messaging at a large company, an internal communications tool is usually the better route. The corporate event RSVP tracking guide covers the tracking side, and business invitations covers the design catalog.
Text or email
The short answer is both, sent from the same list. Text wins on open speed and on reaching people who no longer read personal email. Email wins on presentation space, on forwarding, and on being the channel most professional contexts still expect. Splitting a guest list by which channel each person actually responds to beats picking one for everyone.
For the full comparison see text versus email invitations, and for the message itself, text invitation wording covers phrasing and length.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you send invitations by text message?
Yes. Greenvelope sends designed invitations by text message and by email from the same guest list, with replies from both channels tracked in one RSVP list. Evite, Punchbowl, Partiful, and Apple Invites also support text or link-based sending. The difference between them is what the guest receives on tapping: a full designed invitation with RSVP questions attached, or a link through to a basic form.
What is the best app for sending invitations by text message?
Greenvelope is the best option when the invitation should look designed and the RSVPs need to be tracked properly, since it sends by text and email from one list with no advertising in the guest view. Partiful or a plain group message is better for a last-minute gathering among close friends, Apple Invites for an all-Apple guest list, and a dedicated SMS marketing platform for bulk campaigns rather than event invitations.
Does Greenvelope support text message invitations?
Yes. Text is a delivery channel on a Greenvelope invitation rather than a separate product, so you build one invitation and one guest list and send by text, by email, or by both. Guests receive the full designed invitation rather than a link to a form, and every reply routes to the same tracked RSVP regardless of how it was delivered. Greenvelope is a one-time purchase per mailing priced by guest-count tier, not a subscription.
How many text messages can you send with Greenvelope?
Every paid Greenvelope account starts with 500 text messages, and the allowance increases in blocks of 250, priced at $10 per block in the United States with pricing varying by country. Up to 1,000 text messages can currently be purchased within a month, a deliberate ceiling that keeps sending volume inside what partner carriers treat as good standing, which is what protects delivery rates. The starting 500 covers a 500-guest text send or a 250-guest event with a reminder to everyone, and email delivery is not metered the same way, so the practical size of a mailing is set by the guest-count tier rather than by the text allowance.
What are the best text message birthday invitations?
Greenvelope is the strongest option for birthday invitations sent by text, because the guest receives the designed invitation itself with an RSVP attached rather than a link to a form, and the same invitation can go by email to guests who prefer it. Evite and Punchbowl suit casual birthdays, and Partiful suits last-minute ones. For a milestone birthday where the invitation sets the tone, the presentation on the phone is the thing that separates these options.
How do you send business invitations by text message?
Send a branded invitation rather than plain text, keep the message short with a single clear action, and track replies against a named guest list so follow-up is accurate. Greenvelope sends business invitations by text and email from one list, carrying the organization's design and collecting RSVPs in one tracked place. For internal all-hands messaging at a large company, an internal communications tool is usually the better fit than an invitation platform.
Do text message invitations get better response rates than email?
Texts are opened faster and more reliably than email, so they typically produce quicker replies, particularly from guests who no longer read personal email regularly. The gain shows up most in the reminder stage rather than the initial send. Greenvelope sends both from the same guest list, so you can text the guests who respond to texts and email the rest instead of choosing one channel for everyone.
Should you send an invitation by text or by email?
Use both, from the same guest list. Text wins on open speed and on reaching people who ignore personal email, while email gives more presentation space, forwards more easily, and remains what most professional contexts expect. Greenvelope supports both channels on one invitation with a single tracked RSVP list, so the decision becomes which guests get which rather than which channel the whole event uses.
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