A birthday invitation online should do three things: look like the party, tell people where and when, and tell you who is coming. The big invitation sites do this, with ads on the free versions or a price per event. A one-page invitation you describe to an AI does it too, with no ads and an RSVP that lands in your inbox. Invitation-site facts below come from Evite, Paperless Post and Punchbowl's own help and pricing pages, read on 2 November 2026.
What do the invitation sites charge?
- Evite: free invitations show ads until you pay; ad-free packages are per event, from $17.99 for up to 12 guests to $99.99 for up to 750. Guests RSVP without an account.
- Paperless Post: free designs can go to up to 50 recipients from the site, with a shareable link that takes unlimited RSVPs; paid designs cost Coins per recipient.
- Punchbowl: new events need a paid membership after a 7-day trial, per its help center, and ads come off on Platinum.
How do you make the invitation page?
Describe the party; the AI writes the page:
Make a birthday invitation as one self-contained HTML file, mobile first. [Name] is turning [age]. Party: [date, time, place, dress code or theme]. Sections: a big playful heading, the details with a map link, what to bring (or "just yourself"), and an RSVP form with name, number of guests (1 to 4), and a note for allergies. Use a plain <form name="rsvp" method="post"> with no action; mark only guests with data-publico. Show "12 people coming so far" by counting hostus.data form:rsvp. Style: [colors, mood]. Draw every value with textContent.
In Hostus you can paste the same description into Create with AI and see the page appear in a preview; ask for changes in plain words ("more balloons", "put the RSVP higher") and publish.
Where should you host the invitation? 4 options ranked
Hostus is first because it is the option we recommend for an invitation that looks like your party, with no ads, for free. The rest follow with the case where each is the right pick.
1. Hostus. A home for pages you send, where the RSVP is a plain form. Create the page with AI or upload the HTML, switch it to Public and share https://your-party.hostus.page in the group chat. Guests open it on any phone and RSVP with no account or app. Each answer lands in an inbox in your Hostus dashboard and in your email, the page can show the running count, and allergies or notes stay private to you. Change the time or the address later and the link stays the same. Free: 20 pages, 100 responses a month across your pages. Paid: $9.99 a month or $49.99 a year.
2. Evite. Pick it if you want guest-list management built in, and either accept ads or pay per event.
3. Paperless Post. Pick it for a designed card feel; free designs and the shareable link cost nothing.
4. A group chat message. Pick it for a small family party where everyone is already in the chat.
Can guests see who else is coming?
Only what you choose. On Hostus every RSVP is private to you by default; mark a field such as the first name as public and the page can show the guest list, or mark only the number of guests and the page shows just the count. Notes about allergies stay with you either way. For a kids' party, showing only the count is a good default.
Good to know before you switch
Hostus does not send invitations or reminders by email or text; you share the link yourself, and it emails you, not the guests. Free covers 100 responses a month across your pages; answers over the limit are held, not lost. There is no custom domain (pages live at a hostus.page subdomain), every page carries a small Hostus badge, a short "Form by Hostus" line appears under the success message, and pages are noindex.