Roundup
Best Guest List Software for Event Organizers
For invite-only events, pick a tool with approvals, plus-one rules, door check-in and guest history: Guestcount, Zkipster and Gatsby are built for that. Splash suits field-marketing teams already on Cvent. For free social and community events, Partiful, Luma and Evite are simpler and cost nothing to start. Guestcount fits organizers who want published pricing from $249 per event and invite links that credit whoever brought each guest.
Last updated
We compared each tool on what organizers of invite-only events ask about most: pricing, who it is built for, approvals and waitlists, door check-in, and whether invite links track who brought each guest. Guestcount publishes this page and is on the list, so every other tool's details come from its own public pages or named third-party sources, listed below. Where we found no source, the cell says so.
The tools side by side
| Tool | Pricing | Built for | Approvals and waitlist | Door check-in | Tracked invite links |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Guestcount | Free to build; single events from $249, plus monthly and annual plans. | Organizers of invite-only events: brand and agency teams, venues, and companies hosting client events. | Approval per event or per invite link; a waitlist once the event is full. | Search, QR scan and walk-ups on iOS, a shared phone or the dashboard. | Yes: a link per partner or person, with RSVPs and check-ins credited to it. |
| Zkipster | Plans with event allowances; Essentials is $2,950 a year on an annual plan ($246 a month). | Premium events: fashion and luxury, arts, sport, nonprofits, diplomacy and corporates. | No built-in waitlist; its help center suggests a separate form and guest list. | Check-in app with kiosk mode, QR and barcode scanning, and offline mode. | Not published |
| Gatsby | Contact sales; most teams pay annually, with no per-guest fees. | VC and PE firms, universities, membership networks and enterprise marketing teams. | Capacity and waitlists; in waitlist mode every registration needs approval. | Kiosk, QR or staffed lanes, with badge printing and Apple Wallet passes. | Referral links that track where registrations come from. |
| RSVPify | Check RSVPify for current plans and prices. | Business and nonprofit events. | Not published | Check-in app with unlimited devices, QR scanning and walk-in admission. | Not published |
| Splash | Check Splash for current plans and prices. | Corporate field-marketing programs. Owned by Cvent since September 2024. | A waitlisted guest segment for email; its approval flows approve events internally. | Onsite check-in syncs with Cvent OnArrival, including badges. | Not published |
| Partiful | Free event pages; ticketed events carry a fee that depends on event size and price. | Parties and social events among friends. | Guest approval (“Get on the List”) and a waitlist. | Check-in from the web guest list; QR scanning on ticketed events. | Not published |
| Luma | Free, with a 5% platform fee on paid tickets; Luma Plus is $59 a month billed annually. | Community events, meetups and calendars that guests subscribe to. | Approval registration and an event-wide waitlist, approved by hand. | QR scanner on web, iOS and Android, with manual search. | Not published |
| Evite | Free invitations; Premium per event from $17.99; Evite Pro $249.99 a year. | Birthdays, weddings, school and club events. | Not published | Not published | Not published |
“Not published” means we found no public source for it; ask the vendor directly.
Guestcount
Best for
- Invite-only events where partners, agencies or relationship managers bring guests, and you need to see who brought whom.
- Organizers who want approvals, plus-one allowances, a waitlist and text messages on every event.
- Teams that want published pricing: single events from $249, or a monthly or annual plan.
Not ideal for
- Casual parties where free is the point: Partiful, Luma and Evite cost nothing to start.
- Public ticketed events that need a discovery marketplace: Guestcount is not one.
- Seated dinners that need seating charts or floorplans: Guestcount has no seating tool.
Zkipster
Best for
- Teams running many premium events a year on a plan with an event allowance.
- Events that need seating plans, floorplans and on-site badge printing.
- Doors that need offline check-in or kiosk mode.
Not ideal for
- Events that need a waitlist built in.
- SMS on the entry plan: SMS and WhatsApp start on Professional, with credit packs.
Gatsby
Best for
- Executive dinners, LP meetings and other relationship-driven gatherings.
- Teams that send invitations from their own Gmail or Outlook and sync guests to a CRM.
Not ideal for
- Teams that want to compare published prices: pricing is through sales.
- Ticketed events: ticketing is in limited release.
- A custom domain, API or CRM sync on the base price: each is a paid add-on.
RSVPify
Best for
- Business and nonprofit events that need Salesforce, HubSpot or Blackbaud integrations.
- Events that need seating charts or sub-events.
Not ideal for
- Organizers who need prices before talking to anyone: third-party sources disagree on its plans, so check with RSVPify.
Splash
Best for
- Corporate field-marketing teams running repeatable event programs.
- Teams that already use Cvent, including Cvent OnArrival at the door.
Not ideal for
- A vanity domain on the base product: it is set up as a paid professional service.
Partiful
Best for
- Parties and social events where free and fast matters most.
- Ticketed social events for hosts in the US and UK.
Not ideal for
- Events that also run on another platform: Partiful asks hosts to use it for RSVPs and ticketing.
- Ticket sales outside the US and UK.
- Inviting more than 1,000 guests directly to one event.
Luma
Best for
- Community events, meetups and run clubs.
- Organizers who publish a calendar that guests subscribe to.
Not ideal for
- Paid events on the free plan, which carry a 5% platform fee.
- CRM sync, SSO or a custom email domain without the Enterprise plan.
Evite
Best for
- Personal occasions and simple invitations with RSVP tracking.
- Small business occasions such as holiday parties, with your logo on Evite Pro.
Not ideal for
- Events that need approvals or check-in at the door: we found no published approvals or door check-in for Evite.
Common questions
What is the best guest list software for event organizers?
It depends on the event. For invite-only events with approvals, plus-ones and a door, look at Guestcount, Zkipster and Gatsby. For free social or community events, Partiful, Luma and Evite are simpler. Guestcount fits organizers who want published pricing from $249 per event and invite links that credit whoever brought each guest.
What is the best guest list software for corporate and client events?
Look for custom questions, guest history across events, and a way for colleagues to invite their own guests. Gatsby is built for executive dinners and CRM sync, Zkipster for premium events with seating and badges, and Splash for field-marketing teams on Cvent. In Guestcount, each colleague or relationship manager can have their own invite link, every RSVP is credited to it, and you ask your own questions, such as title and company, on each RSVP.
Which guest list software tracks who invited each guest?
Guestcount gives each partner or person their own invite link, with its own spots and plus-ones, and credits every RSVP, approval and check-in to that link. Gatsby offers referral links that track where registrations come from. We found no published equivalent for the other tools on this list.
Which guest list software has a built-in waitlist?
Guestcount, Gatsby, Partiful and Luma all publish a waitlist. Zkipster's help center says it has no built-in waitlist and suggests a separate form and guest list instead.
Is there free guest list software?
Yes. Partiful and Evite offer free invitations, and Luma has a free plan with a 5% platform fee on paid tickets. Guestcount is free to build, and you pay when you publish an event. See pricing.
Sources
Details for other tools from these pages, checked . Guestcount details from the product.
- Zkipster pricing: https://www.zkipster.com/pricing
- Zkipster help: waiting list: https://support.zkipster.com/en/articles/2690214-how-to-add-guests-to-a-waiting-list
- Gatsby homepage: https://www.gatsby.events/
- Gatsby pricing: https://gatsby.events/pricing/
- Gatsby help: public and private events: https://help.gatsby.events/reference/event-management/public-private-events/
- RSVPify on Capterra: https://capterra.com/p/176614/RSVPify/
- Cvent press release on acquiring Splash: https://www.cvent.com/en/press-release/Cvent-Expands-its-Field-Marketing-Product-Suite-with-Strategic-Acquisition-of-Splash
- Cvent release notes, July 24 2026: https://release.cvent.com/eventmanagement/announcements/product-releases-for-july-24-2026
- Splash services: https://splashthat.com/services/menu
- Partiful help: who can sell tickets: https://help.partiful.com/en-us/articles/15525289-who-can-sell-tickets-on-partiful
- Partiful help: linking out: https://help.partiful.com/en-us/articles/16825273-why-can-t-i-link-out-to-promote-events-on-other-platforms
- Partiful help: invite limits: https://help.partiful.com/en-us/articles/15525323-how-many-guests-can-i-invite
- Partiful help: fees: https://help.partiful.com/en-us/articles/15525398-what-fees-does-partiful-charge
- Luma pricing: https://luma.com/pricing
- Luma help: waitlist: https://help.luma.com/p/waitlist
- Luma help: Enterprise: https://help.luma.com/p/enterprise-overview
- Evite Premium pricing: https://support.evite.com/premium/what-is-premium/premium-pricing
- Evite Pro: https://www.evite.com/pro