Honest comparison · verified October 2026
Joy is a free all-in-one: wedding website, registry, app and digital invitations. Vow&Kin does one thing, the invitation and RSVP, and charges once per wedding. Here is where each one is the better choice.
Written by the Vow&Kin team. We only list what each provider documents on its own website, and we say where another service is the better choice.
Stay with Joy if you want everything free and a registry in the same place. Choose Vow&Kin if each household should open its own private link, answer per person and per event, and read the invitation in its own language. You can also combine them: keep your Joy registry and link to it from a Vow&Kin invitation.
| Feature | Vow&Kin | Joy |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Build and preview free, publish a Save the Date free. Invitation and RSVP from €59; €119 adds events per household, all languages and reminder emails. One time per wedding | Core plan $0 with website, registry, app, unlimited guests, online RSVP and digital invites. Custom domain, text messaging and premium designs are paid upgrades without a listed price |
| How guests open it | A private link per household that opens addressed to them, in the browser, with no app or account | A personalised version of the wedding site when invitations are sent through Joy; the app is optional and an account is optional after replying |
| Events per guest | On Complete each household sees only the events it is invited to | Schedule visibility per guest, so each guest sees only their events |
| RSVP | Per person and per event: menu choices, allergies, accessibility needs, children by age group and your own questions. CSV export from Signature, kitchen summary on Complete | Custom RSVP questions such as meal choice, several events, plus-one limits, groups and tags |
| Languages | 40+ invitation languages: two per invitation on Signature, all on Complete | You write each language version yourself and show it to guests by tag |
| Opening | 9 illustrated designs with animated openings: a wax-sealed envelope, a silk ribbon or a glide into a painted scene | Animated opening not stated on the pages we checked |
| Registry | No registry of our own: add a gift message and a link to your registry (from Signature) | Built-in all-in-one registry |
| Guest data | Stored in the EU (Ireland) | Location not stated in the FAQ |
Checked 15 October 2026: every price on the provider's own website, features on the pages listed under Sources.
What you get
These are real screenshots of the builder and the planning tools, taken in our demo workspace with sample names.
Start from a finished design, then change any section: its artwork, background, colours, type and spacing. The phone preview shows exactly what each household will see.
Upload a song, choose the 20 to 30 seconds that matter and add a fade. Only that short clip is uploaded; your file stays on your device.
Answers are kept per person and per event, with menu choices and dietary needs. Drag guests to tables, print the plan and export a CSV for your venue.
Uploaded music and the seating planner are part of Complete and Concierge.
The short verdict
Competitor features and prices can change. The provider's own website is always the reference.
Joy's pricing page shows a $0 core plan with website, registry, app, unlimited guests, online RSVP and digital invites (checked 15 October 2026). Custom domain, text messaging and premium designs are paid upgrades whose prices are not listed there.
Only if you need what Joy does not document: a private link per household, answers per person and per event, a kitchen summary, or invitations in each family's language without writing every version yourself. If you don't, Joy is the better value.
Yes. From Signature you add a gift message and a link to any registry, including Joy's.
Not on Vow&Kin: guests open the invitation in their browser from their household's link. Joy says guests don't need the app, and creating an account is optional after they reply.
No. Plans are one time per wedding: €59, €119 or €349. Published invitations stay online with no time limit for as long as Vow&Kin operates.
Building and previewing are free, so you can see the invitation on your own phone first. If you buy a plan and change your mind, we refund it in full within 14 days, no questions asked.
Build your invitation free and open the preview on your own phone. If it does not feel right for your wedding, you have spent nothing.