The short version
- There is no single best wedding planning app: The Knot for the biggest vendor marketplace, WeddingWire for every planning tool free, Zola for a website and registry, Joy for guests and RSVPs.
- WedGenie (ours) is the AI planner you talk to: it finds vendors with the source for every figure and makes your AI couple photos, dress try-ons and save-the-date videos in the same account. It has no website, RSVP or registry.
- Nearly every app says "free", but one 120-guest couple pays $0 on WeddingWire, $14.99 on Zola for the seating chart, and an unpublished price on Joy.
- The Knot and WeddingWire are one company, and Zola has agreed to join it. Joy is the independent option.
The best wedding planning app depends on the job you need done. For the biggest vendor marketplace, The Knot. For every planning tool free in one place, WeddingWire. For a free website and registry in one account, Zola. For guests and RSVPs, Joy. For an AI planner you talk to, one that finds vendors with the source for every figure and makes your AI couple photos, dress try-on and save-the-date video in the same account, WedGenie, which is ours.
Disclosure, first: we make WedGenie, one of the five apps on this page, so read it with that in mind. Everything said about another app comes from that company's own public pages, app store listing or press releases, read on November 1, 2026, with the sources listed at the end. We have not used the other apps hands-on, so this page compares what each one publishes, not how each one feels to use. If something here is out of date, tell us at hello@wedgenie.ai and we will correct it.
We kept this page to the four apps most couples start with, plus ours. For the newer AI planners, we compare twelve in best AI wedding planning tools.
What each app really costs for a 120-guest wedding
Nearly every wedding app says it is free, so we priced one couple: 120 guests, who want a website, RSVPs, a seating chart, a budget and a checklist, at the lowest public price that covers each job over 12 months.
| Job | The Knot | WeddingWire | Zola | Joy | WedGenie (ours) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Website | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | Not offered |
| RSVPs | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | Not offered |
| Seating chart, 120 guests | Listed in its app, no fee shown | $0 | $14.99 | Sold, price not published | $0 |
| Budget | $0 | $0 | $0 | Not listed | $0 |
| Checklist | $0 | $0 | $0 | Not listed | $0 |
| Total | $0 if its app seating tool fits | $0 | $14.99 | Not published | $0, three of five jobs |
A free web address counts as a website here, so a custom domain is an extra, and so is texting your guests. Fees that guests pay on gifts are not counted.
What stands out: WeddingWire says plainly that all of it is free: "Yes, our Wedding Planning Tools are totally free! This includes our Wedding Websites, Wedding Seating Charts, Wedding Checklist, Wedding Budget tracker, Wedding Vendor Manager and so much more". The Knot says its wedding websites are "completely free to use", RSVP collection included; its App Store listing offers "interactive seating arrangements" and shows no in-app purchases, but we could not confirm the seating tool on its help pages, so check it in the app before you count on it. Zola's help page says "we made Zola entirely FREE", while its own guide adds "Some advanced tools like the seating chart ($14.99) or premium guest texting ($79.99) are available for purchase"; two sellers of rival tools report that the chart is free up to 15 guests, which Zola's pages do not state. Joy sells its seating chart as "a one-time purchase per event" with no price on its pricing page or in its help article, and we did not find a budget tracker or a checklist on the pages we read.
Ours is not a complete answer either. WedGenie has no wedding website and collects no RSVPs, so it covers three of the five jobs. Two apps together can cover all five for $0: Joy's website and RSVPs, and WedGenie's seating chart, budget and checklist.
Extras the same couple can hit
| Extra | The Knot | WeddingWire | Zola | Joy |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Custom domain | $19.99 for a year | Not published | From $17.99 | About $19.99 a year |
| Texting your guests | Not published | Not published | $79.99 (its App Store listing also shows $59.99) | One-time purchase, price not published |
| A guest's $100 card gift | $2.50, paid by the guest | Not published | $2.50 | $3.50, plus $1.70 for each cash-out |
Who owns these apps, and who pays them
The Knot and WeddingWire are one company, The Knot Worldwide. On October 14, 2026, it agreed to bring in Zola; the deal has not closed and no timetable has been given, and on October 28 its vendor arm, WeddingPro, told vendors "Zola remains a separate platform". Neither company has announced a change for couples. If it closes, three of the four big apps here will have one owner, and Joy will be the independent one. The full map is in The Knot alternatives.
Free apps are paid by someone else, and it helps to know who:
| App | Who pays it |
|---|---|
| The Knot, WeddingWire | Vendors, through advertising |
| Zola | Registry sales: "Zola is, first and foremost, a store" |
| Joy | Registry sales and paid extras: "we make money when guests purchase items couples add to their registry that Joy sells" |
| WedGenie (ours) | Couples, through Pro and credit packs. No sponsored placements |
The Knot
The biggest marketplace here: its brand page counts "more than 200,000 local wedding professionals", and you can reach it from inside ChatGPT by typing "@The Knot". The free app adds a website, a registry, a guest list with RSVPs and a budget, and "Make it Yours" recommends vendors from inspiration photos you pick. Its help pages promise "no required fees or hidden costs" for the website, and it takes no percentage of cash gifts. Vendor advertising pays for all of it. Sources: The Knot's help pages and App Store listing, and The Knot Worldwide's brand page and press releases.
WeddingWire
The plainest deal on this page: website, RSVPs, seating chart, budget, checklist and vendor manager, all stated as free, next to a large vendor marketplace. A chat helper called Taylor, "your (totally free) virtual wedding planning assistant", offers to find vendors; its pages do not say whether it is AI. Its Android app is marked "Contains ads". Source: weddingwire.com and its Google Play listing.
Zola
Best known for a free website and a registry with cash funds in one account, plus a guest list, RSVPs, a budget and vendor search. The phone app is iOS only: "At this time, the free Zola app is only available on iOS." Its AI writes thank-you notes, and it has an app inside ChatGPT for browsing vendors. Sources: zola.com, its guide updated April 17, 2026, and its App Store listing.
Joy
Built around the guest side: a website, online RSVPs, unlimited guests, a registry and hundreds of digital invitations on the free plan, with apps on both iPhone and Android. Its AI helps with vows and toasts, and on the paid seating chart "the AI places your entire guest list". It is not part of The Knot Worldwide. Sources: withjoy.com/pricing and Joy's help articles.
WedGenie (ours)
WedGenie is a planner you talk to. You tell the Genie about the wedding and the plan builds as you go: it searches your city for vendors, puts the venues that fit your guest count first, reads each pick's own website for price and capacity, and shows the source next to every figure. Your shortlist, budget and checklist stay on one Wedding Board.
It also makes AI couple photos, virtual dress try-ons and save-the-date videos from your own photos, and writes speeches and vows. On the pages we read, the other four apps do not list AI couple photos or a dress try-on.
Free: 10 messages with no account; a free account adds 20 messages a month, 2 speech drafts a day, 2 photo generations and 1 deep vendor-research report. The seating chart maker, budget calculator and checklist run on the page before you make an account. Paid: $14.99 a month or $99 a year; credit packs from $9.99. Photos and videos use credits.
Where the others beat WedGenie
- A wedding website and RSVPs: all four do this and we do not.
- A registry: The Knot, Zola and Joy run full registries with cash funds. We have none.
- Vendor marketplace size: The Knot's and WeddingWire's are far larger than our directory, which covers US cities. The Genie can still research any city live.
- Store apps: The Knot, WeddingWire and Joy are on the App Store and Google Play, and Zola is on the App Store. WedGenie has no store app; the site installs to a phone's home screen.
- Free outright: WeddingWire's tools have no message limit. Ours do.
How to choose
- Still looking for vendors? Start with The Knot's or WeddingWire's marketplace, or ask the Genie for a short list with sources.
- Want a website and registry above all? Zola or Joy.
- Want every tool free with no add-ons? WeddingWire.
- Would rather talk than fill in forms, and want your couple photos, dress try-on and save-the-date video in one place? WedGenie.
- Happy to mix? Most jobs here do not need one app. A website in one and the plan in another works well.
Questions couples ask
What is the best wedding planning app?
It depends on the job. The Knot for the biggest vendor marketplace, WeddingWire for every planning tool free, Zola for a website and registry, Joy for guests and RSVPs, and WedGenie (ours) for an AI planner you talk to, with your couple photos, dress try-on and save-the-date video in the same account.
Which wedding planning app is really free?
WeddingWire states that its website, seating chart, checklist and budget tracker are all free, and The Knot says the same of its website. Zola charges $14.99 for the seating chart, and Joy sells its seating chart at a price it does not publish. WedGenie is free to start: 10 messages with no account and 20 a month with a free one, and its seating, budget and checklist tools run free on the page.
Is there an app that plans your wedding for you?
An AI planner can carry most of the paperwork, but none of these apps is there on the day. WedGenie is the one here you plan with by talking: it finds vendors with sources, builds the budget and checklist as you go, and drafts your inquiry emails for you to send.
Are The Knot and Zola the same company?
Not yet. The Knot Worldwide agreed on October 14, 2026 to bring in Zola, and the deal has not closed. The Knot and WeddingWire are already one company.
Can I use two wedding planning apps at once?
Yes, and it is often the cheapest way to cover everything. A website and RSVPs in Joy, for example, and the seating chart, budget and checklist in WedGenie cost nothing together.
Sources
- The Knot: its help pages on free websites, custom domains and cash fund fees, its App Store listing, and The Knot Worldwide's brand page and its press release on the ChatGPT app
- WeddingWire: its planning tools and seating chart pages, and its Google Play listing
- Zola: its cost FAQ, its guide to wedding planning apps, its App Store listing and its page on how it makes money
- Joy: its pricing page, and its help articles on the seating chart and the registry
- The Zola deal: WeddingPro's vendor FAQ of October 28, 2026
How this page was made
We read each company's public pages, app store listings and press releases on November 1, 2026, used no accounts and tested nothing hands-on. Prices change: if a figure here is out of date, the company's own page is right and we are wrong, and we fix it at our next review, in January 2027.