Our Guest List vs Joy
The short answer. Joy is a wedding website and planning app that sends invitations by email or a link you share. Our Guest List is built around WhatsApp: each guest gets their own message from your phone, an invitation showing only their events, and a reply for each one. It's free for up to 50 guests and two events, then one payment for the whole wedding.
What's the main difference?
Joy starts from the website. You build a site, share it, and guests come to it to reply, by email or through a link you paste wherever your guests are.
Our Guest List starts from the guest list. Every guest gets their own invitation, written into a WhatsApp or iMessage message that opens on your phone ready to send, so you know exactly who has been sent theirs, who has opened it and who still hasn't answered, event by event.
Side by side
As of 30 October 2026, from Joy's own pages and ours:
| Our Guest List | Joy | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free for 50 guests and 2 events, no payment details. Then one payment for the whole wedding: £65 (400 guests, every event) or £195 (any number) | Website, RSVP and basic digital cards free; premium digital cards, printed invitations and texting through Joy cost extra |
| Sending | Each guest's own message on WhatsApp or iMessage from your phone, or email from us | Email, or a link you share yourself; texting through Joy is only for US and Canadian numbers |
| Several events | Tick each guest's events; they see only those | One schedule; each guest sees only the events they're invited to |
| Reply per event | Yes, with a headcount and dietary notes for each | RSVP questions per event |
| Households | One invitation per family; "Yes, all of us" answers everyone in one tap | Households or parties can RSVP together |
| Reminders | A one-tap reply page, sent the same way as the invitation | Reminder emails, with guests who haven't replied picked for you; reminders by text need the paid Messaging Plus |
| Website | A website made for you, free; build your own on Tailored | A website you design, plus a mobile app |
| On the day | Door check-in with a pass for each yes | Not described on the pages we read |
What if most of your guests are on WhatsApp?
Texting through Joy only reaches US and Canadian numbers, so for guests in the UK, Nigeria or Ghana a Joy invitation goes by email, or as a link you paste into WhatsApp yourself.
A pasted link is the same for everyone. Each guest has to find their own name on the site, and you can't see whose phone it reached. Guests who rarely open email tend to be the ones you end up chasing.
On Our Guest List the WhatsApp message is the invitation: their name, your words and a picture of your invitation, from your own number. That's the message families across the UK, Nigeria and Ghana actually read.
Why couples choose Our Guest List
- Every guest, personally. Each invitation arrives from your own number, greeting the guest by name, with a picture of your invitation in the message.
- You know who was sent what. Each guest has their own link, so the list shows who has opened it and who has answered, event by event.
- Chasing is one tap for them. A reminder opens a page where the guest answers with a single press.
- The opening. Invitations open on a sealed envelope and an eight-second scene, even on the free plan.
- One price. Pay once for the whole wedding, however many events you add later: up to 400 guests on Tailored, or any number on Bespoke. No subscription and nothing per guest.
- The door. Each yes gets a pass, and whoever is on the door checks names without an account. Useful at a big wedding with uninvited guests.
If the WhatsApp part is what you are weighing up, read how to send wedding invitations on WhatsApp.
Is Our Guest List right for your wedding?
If your guests live on WhatsApp, your wedding runs over several events with different lists, and you want to see exactly who has been sent their invitation and who hasn't answered, Our Guest List was built for you.
You can start free, with up to 50 guests and two events and no payment details. If your list grows past that, it's from £65, once.
Where these facts come from
Checked on 30 October 2026 on Joy's own site: the home page, managing several events, inviting your guests, reminders and wedding invitations. Ours: pricing.
Questions people ask
- Is Joy free in the UK?
- Joy's website, RSVPs and basic digital cards are free, according to its own pages. Premium digital cards and printed invitations cost extra, and texting through Joy only works for US and Canadian numbers. Our Guest List is free for up to 50 guests and two events, with every invitation sent on WhatsApp from your own phone.
- Can Joy handle RSVPs for multiple wedding events?
- Joy keeps one schedule, shows each guest only the events they are invited to, and can ask RSVP questions per event. Our Guest List does the same, and sends each guest their own invitation on WhatsApp listing only their events, with a headcount and dietary notes for each.
- Can I send Joy invitations on WhatsApp?
- You can paste a Joy link into WhatsApp, but it's the same link for everyone. Our Guest List instead writes each guest's own WhatsApp message with their personal link, so you can see who was sent theirs and who has answered.
- How much does Our Guest List cost?
- Nothing for up to 50 guests and two events, with no payment details. A bigger wedding pays once: £65 for up to 400 guests and every event, or £195 for any number. There is no subscription and no charge per guest.
Last updated 30 October 2026