The best wedding planning app with no subscription in 2026 is The Private Wedding App: $189 once for lifetime access (or $19.99/month with a 3-day free trial if you prefer), covering the invitation, RSVP with meals and allergies, guest list, seating chart, budget, checklist, vendor tools, guest photos and AI assistant, in up to three of 26 guest languages. Of the 13 others checked on 14 October 2026, WedSites charges once but keeps budget and seating for its $199 plan and ends hosting after 6 to 24 months, The Planned Wedding ($49.99 once) describes no website or RSVP, Wedding Planner: Vow ($24.99 lifetime) runs on iPhone only, and Appy Couple and Riley & Grey are subscriptions.
A wedding has an end date, so a lot of couples would rather not sign up for another monthly charge to plan it. The answer is not always free, and not always one-time: some apps that charge once stop hosting your website after a set number of months, some free apps cap the seating chart or keep the RSVP in English, and some 'lifetime' unlocks live on one phone. I compared 14 wedding planning apps and websites on their own sites on 14 October 2026, sorted by pricing model, one-time, subscription or free, and by what that price actually includes.
Updated 14 October 2026, prices checked the same day. A note on method: every price and feature below was read on each product's own pricing page, home page or App Store listing on 14 October 2026. Pricing model is one-time, subscription or free as each product states it; where a free product sells paid extras, the extra and its price are named. Where a product's own pages do not say, the table says Not stated rather than guessing.
At a glanceSide-by-side comparison
| Feature | WedSites | ForeverAfter | The Planned Wedding | Vow | Greenvelope | LumiWed | Zola | The Knot | Joy | WeddingWire | Bridebook | Appy Couple | Riley & Grey | Private Wedding App |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | One-time | Free, or one-time Premium | One-time | Lifetime unlock or subscription | One-time per mailing, or membership | Free, or one-time | Free, paid extras | Free | Free, paid upgrades | Free | Free | Subscription | Subscription | One-time or monthly, your choice |
| Price (checked 14 Oct 2026) | $39, $99 or $199 once | £19.99 once for Premium | $49.99 once | $24.99 lifetime, $19.99/yr or $3.99/wk | From $19 per mailing | €59 once | Free website, $14.99 Seating Chart in-app purchase | Free | Upgrades, prices not shown | Free | Free | €100/year or €12/month | $39/month or $299/year | $189 once, or $19.99/mo with 3-day trial |
| Wedding website and RSVP | RSVP from $99 plan | Yes | Not described | No website | RSVP, no website | Website | Yes | Yes, RSVP wording fixed | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Website | Private invitation with full RSVP |
| Budget and checklist | $199 plan only | Yes | Yes | Budget on Premium | Not listed | Not stated | Budget | Budget | Not on pricing page | Yes | Yes | Not listed | Not stated | Yes, plus vendor tools and AI assistant |
| Seating chart | $199 plan only | Yes | Yes | On Premium | Not listed | Not stated | Pulls confirmed guests, $14.99 in-app purchase | In its app, RSVP link not stated | Not on pricing page | Yes | Not stated | Not listed | Not stated | Fed by RSVPs, meals and allergies |
| Guest photo sharing | Not stated | Yes | Not described | No | Not listed | Not stated | Gallery; camera $12.99 | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Yes | Not stated | Yes, up to 2,000 on lifetime |
| Guest languages | Multilingual on $199 plan, by hand | Not stated, app in English | Not stated | No guest site | 5 languages | 20, no right-to-left | Buttons in English | RSVP wording fixed | Its menus only | Not stated | Not stated | RSVP prompts in English | 13, one per site | 25, up to 3 per wedding, each guest picks |
| Platform | Web | iPhone, Android, browser | Any device, web | iPhone only | Web, iOS, Android | Web | Web and iOS | iOS app, web | Web and iOS | Web, iOS, Android | Web, iOS, Android | Web, iOS, Android | Web | Web, any device |
Updated 14 October 2026. Every cell was checked that day on the product's own site or App Store listing: wedsites.com/pricing (Basic $39 with 6 months of hosting, Standard $99 with 12, Pro $199 with 24, extra hosting from $5 a month billed yearly); getforeverafter.com and its App Store listing; theplannedwedding.com; the App Store listing of Wedding Planner: Vow by App Harbour ApS; greenvelope.com/pricing; lumiwed.com; zola.com and its App Store listing; The Knot's App Store listing (theknot.com did not load); withjoy.com/pricing; weddingwire.com/wedding-websites; bridebook.com/uk; appycouple.com/pricing; rileygrey.com/pricing. Not stated means the product's own pages do not say, not that the feature is missing. Prices change, so check before you buy.
Review 01WedSites
Review 02ForeverAfter
Review 03The Planned Wedding
Review 04Wedding Planner: Vow
Review 05Greenvelope and LumiWed
Review 06Zola, The Knot and Joy
Review 07WeddingWire and Bridebook
Review 08Appy Couple and Riley & Grey
Review 09The Private Wedding App
The invitation below is live. Click around and see exactly what your guests will experience:
VerdictWhich app should you use?
It depends on what you're optimising for:
If you want to pay once and plan everything in one place, The Private Wedding App's lifetime plan is the only option here that covers the invitation, RSVP, guest list, seating chart, budget, vendors, guest photos and an AI assistant for one payment of $189, in up to three of 26 guest languages.
The other one-time options each stop short: WedSites keeps the planner for its $199 plan and ends hosting after 6 to 24 months, The Planned Wedding describes no website or RSVP, Vow runs on iPhone only with no guest website, ForeverAfter's guest languages are not mentioned, and Greenvelope and LumiWed sell the invitation or the website alone.
The free options carry limits of their own, from Zola's $14.99 Seating Chart in-app purchase to The Knot's fixed RSVP wording, and Appy Couple and Riley & Grey are recurring subscriptions.
Read what the lifetime plan includes, compare plans on the pricing page, or start the free trial.
At a glanceAll 14 apps by pricing model
One row per app, checked on each app's own site or App Store listing on 14 October 2026.
See it for yourself.
Explore the whole platform: cinematic invitation, RSVP with meals and allergies, guest list, seating chart, budget, vendors, checklist, moodboard, photo sharing and the AI planner. No account needed.
Try the full planner →What is the best wedding planning app with no subscription?
The Private Wedding App: $189 once for lifetime access, covering the invitation, RSVP with meals and allergies, guest list, seating chart, budget, checklist, vendor tools, guest photos and AI assistant, in up to three of 26 guest languages. Of the others checked on 14 October 2026, WedSites keeps the planner for its $199 plan with hosting that ends, The Planned Wedding describes no website or RSVP, and Vow runs on iPhone only.
Is there a wedding planning app with a one-time payment?
Yes. The Private Wedding App is $189 once for the full planner, with no renewals. Other one-time options checked on 14 October 2026 each cover less: WedSites $39 to $199 with 6 to 24 months of hosting, The Planned Wedding $49.99 with no website or RSVP described, ForeverAfter £19.99 Premium with guest languages not mentioned, and Vow $24.99 on iPhone only.
Which wedding apps have a lifetime plan?
The Private Wedding App has a $189 lifetime plan that includes everything in its monthly plan. Wedding Planner: Vow sells a $24.99 lifetime unlock on iPhone only, with no wedding website for guests, and ForeverAfter a £19.99 one-time Premium whose guest languages are not mentioned.
Which wedding website has no monthly fee?
The Private Wedding App lets you pay $189 once instead of monthly, with the website, RSVP and full planner included. WedSites is one-time too, with hosting that ends after 6 to 24 months unless extended; Zola, The Knot, Joy and WeddingWire are free with the limits in the table; Appy Couple and Riley & Grey charge monthly or yearly.
Are free wedding planning apps really free?
The core websites of Zola, The Knot, Joy, WeddingWire and Bridebook are free, with limits checked on 14 October 2026: Zola's App Store listing sells the Seating Chart as a $14.99 in-app purchase, The Knot's RSVP page wording cannot be changed, and Joy's upgrades are listed without prices. The Private Wedding App is paid, $189 once or $19.99/month, with no add-ons and nothing held back.
Is a subscription or a one-time payment better for wedding planning?
It depends on how long you plan. On The Private Wedding App, ten months of monthly at $19.99 cost $199.90, more than the $189 lifetime price, so for most engagements paying once costs less; for a short engagement, monthly with the 3-day free trial is the lighter start, and you can switch to lifetime at any time.
Is The Private Wedding App a subscription?
No subscription is required: $189 once for lifetime access, or $19.99/month with a 3-day free trial. Both plans unlock the same planner; lifetime keeps up to 2,000 guest photos instead of 500.
Which one-time wedding app includes a seating chart?
The Private Wedding App's $189 lifetime plan includes a seating chart fed by your RSVPs, with meals and allergy flags on every guest card and a caterer day sheet. WedSites includes a seating chart only on its $199 plan, The Planned Wedding has one without a website or RSVP described, and Vow only in its iPhone Premium unlock.
Which no-subscription wedding app works in several languages?
The Private Wedding App: one payment of $189, and guests pick their language on one private link, up to three of 26 per wedding, Arabic and Hebrew right-to-left included, RSVP translated. WedSites keeps multilingual for its $199 plan with every language written by hand, LumiWed lists 20 languages with no right-to-left one, and Greenvelope offers 5 languages on invitations only.
Do one-time wedding websites stay online forever?
Not by default. WedSites hosts for 6, 12 or 24 months depending on the plan, then hosting is paid from $5 a month billed yearly. On The Private Wedding App's lifetime plan nothing expires: your wedding stays online with no time limit, with download-all for photos and guest list export available at any time.
Can I try a wedding planning app before paying once?
On The Private Wedding App, start the monthly plan with its 3-day free trial, cancel before it ends and nothing is charged, or switch to the $189 lifetime plan whenever you are ready. The Planned Wedding offers a 7-day trial for a planner without a website or RSVP described.