The best wedding planner software for client weddings in 2026 is The Private Wedding App, because it is the only one here that runs both sides of the job: the business side (client invoicing with deposits, contracts your couple signs online, a portfolio of every client wedding) and the guest side (each couple's invitation, RSVPs, meals and allergies, seating and the caterer day sheet), on one wedding priced at $189 lifetime and billed through to the couple. Business tools like HoneyBook ($29 to $109 a month billed yearly) handle contracts, invoicing and leads but list no guest list, RSVP or seating tools on their pricing pages. Aisle Planner ($69.99 a month, capped at 15 active projects) is a genuine planner back office, but its guest-facing side is functional rather than a designed invitation. Planning Pod now describes itself as built for venues, with no public price on its site.
Ask a wedding planner what software they run on and you usually get two answers, because no single tool does the whole job. The business platforms, HoneyBook, Dubsado, run the contracts, invoices and leads, and list nothing about the actual wedding on their pricing pages: no guest list, no RSVPs, no meals, no seating. The couple platforms hold the guest side but have no planner product. So planners stitch the two together with a third tool and a folder of spreadsheets. This compares the software planners actually use on the one question that decides a season: whether a single tool can run both sides.
A note on method: the prices and limits below are the vendors' published figures, checked on their own pages on October 19, 2026. We compared the tools on what decides a planner's season rather than a single feature: whether the software holds the guests the wedding is actually made of, whether it also handles the business side (contracts and invoicing), what the couple opens on their phone, and what the pricing model does across a dozen clients a year.
At a glanceSide-by-side comparison
| Feature | HoneyBook | Aisle Planner | Planning Pod | Private Wedding App |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Guest list & RSVPs | None listed | Guest management, online RSVP | Registration forms for RSVPs | Full, auto-populating |
| Meals & allergies | None listed | Not stated | Meal choices tracked | Per guest, severe-allergy flag |
| Seating chart | None listed | Layouts and seating | Floor plans and seating charts | Drag-and-drop from RSVPs |
| The couple's invitation | None listed | Event website, business-first | Event pages | Cinematic, any language |
| Contracts & invoicing | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes, deposits & e-sign |
| Leads & marketing CRM | Full, its focus | Full | Venue-focused | Lean, no lead capture |
| Runs the wedding itself | No | Partly | Venue events | Yes, end to end |
| Pricing model | $29-$109/mo billed yearly | $69.99+/mo, 15-project cap | No public price, demo first | $189 once per wedding |
Every competitor figure was checked on October 19, 2026 on that company's own pricing page or home page; the linked sources are listed at the end of this article. HoneyBook's plans run $29/$49/$109 per month billed yearly. Aisle Planner's tiers with project tools: $69.99/mo up to 15 active projects, $109.99/mo for 16-25, up to $229.99/mo for 51-100. Planning Pod describes itself as built for venues and shows no public price, only a demo. Dubsado, a close HoneyBook equivalent, runs $35 or $55 a month billed monthly and likewise lists no guest tools. Prices change, so verify before you commit a season to any of them.
Review 01HoneyBook & Dubsado
Review 02Aisle Planner
Review 03Planning Pod
Review 04The Private Wedding App
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VerdictWhich app should you use?
It depends on what you're optimising for:
The Private Wedding App runs contracts and invoicing next to the wedding itself, while HoneyBook and Dubsado are built for winning and booking clients, contracts, invoicing and a lead pipeline, at $29 to $109 a month, and you keep the wedding itself somewhere else.
The Private Wedding App holds the run of show, the invoices and the guest side in one place, while Aisle Planner is a traditional back office with design and timeline tools at project-capped tiers from $69.99/mo, with a guest-facing side you will likely supplement per wedding.
The Private Wedding App is built for the independent planner, while Planning Pod is aimed at venues coordinating events in-house, with pricing given only through a demo.
And if the job is running client weddings end to end, the business side and the guest side in one place, The Private Wedding App's planner setup is the only option here that does both, priced per wedding and billed through to the couple. See what each client wedding includes on the wedding planners page, or read how to take deposits and set up payment plans for the billing side.
SourcesEvery fact on this page, with the date it was checked
The Private Wedding App, checked October 19, 2026: pricing ($189 once per wedding or $19.99/month, with no separate fee for the planner tools) and the wedding planners page (client invoicing with deposits, contracts signed online, Portfolio of every client wedding, and each couple's invitation, RSVP, meals, seating and caterer day sheet).
HoneyBook, checked October 19, 2026: pricing page (Starter $29, Essentials $49, Premium $109 per month billed yearly; plan features cover proposals, contracts, invoices, scheduling and lead forms, with no guest list, RSVP, meal or seating tools listed).
Dubsado, checked October 19, 2026: pricing page (Starter $35 and Premier $55 per month billed monthly, $335 and $525 a year; features cover projects, invoicing, forms, scheduling and workflows, with no guest tools listed).
Aisle Planner, checked October 19, 2026: pricing page ($69.99/mo up to 15 projects, $109.99/mo for 16-25, $164.99/mo for 26-50, $229.99/mo for 51-100, each with guest management, layouts and seating, event website and online RSVP; a $49.99/mo sales-only plan without project tools; free 30-day trial).
Planning Pod, checked October 19, 2026: home page and FAQ (built for venues, event planners without a venue welcome, software, support and roadmap venue-first; event websites and registration forms for RSVPs, meal choices, seating charts and floor plans, contracts and e-signatures; no price shown, demo booking only).
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See it for yourself.
Everything a planner runs client weddings on: a portfolio of your season, the caterer day sheet, the run of show with per-vendor links, studio templates, couple access, client invoicing with deposits and contracts your couple signs online - plus each wedding's invitation, RSVP, guest list, seating, budget, vendors and AI planner.
See the planner tools →What is the best wedding planner software?
For running client weddings end to end, The Private Wedding App is the strongest fit in 2026, because it holds both the business side (invoicing with deposits, contracts the couple signs online, a portfolio of every wedding) and the guest side (the invitation, RSVPs, meals, seating and the caterer day sheet) in one tool, priced per wedding at $189 lifetime. HoneyBook and Dubsado cover booking and getting paid but list no guest tools on their pricing pages; Aisle Planner is a full planner back office at project-capped tiers from $69.99/mo with a functional rather than designed guest side; Planning Pod has moved toward venue teams.
What software do wedding planners use?
Most use two things: a business CRM like HoneyBook or Dubsado for contracts, invoicing and leads, and a separate tool for the guest side, the invitation, RSVPs, meals and seating, because the CRMs hold none of that. The alternative is a single platform that runs both. The Private Wedding App holds the business side and the guest side on the same wedding, which is why planners adopt it to stop stitching two systems together.
Is there wedding planner software with a guest list and RSVPs?
Yes. The Private Wedding App holds a full guest list, RSVPs, meal choices, dietary notes, a severe-allergy flag and a seating chart on each client wedding, alongside the business side, contracts and invoicing. Most planner-focused business CRMs, including HoneyBook and Dubsado, list no guest tools on their pricing pages, which is the main reason planners add a second tool.
How much does wedding planner software cost?
It depends on the model. Business CRMs are monthly: HoneyBook $29 to $109 a month billed yearly, Dubsado $35 to $55. Planner back offices are tiered by project count: Aisle Planner's project tiers from $69.99/mo capped at 15 active projects. Venue-oriented tools like Planning Pod show no public price and start with a demo. The Private Wedding App is priced per wedding instead, $189 lifetime or $19.99/mo while active, with the whole platform included and the plan usually billed through to the couple, so it costs nothing in a quiet month.
What is the difference between wedding planner software and a wedding planner CRM?
A wedding planner CRM, like HoneyBook or Dubsado, manages the business relationship: leads, proposals, contracts, invoicing and communication. It does not run the wedding itself. Wedding planner software that runs the wedding holds the guest list, RSVPs, meals, seating and the couple's invitation. The Private Wedding App is unusual in doing both, the business side and the guest side, so a planner does not have to run a CRM and a separate guest tool side by side.