Joy alternative: Crivando vs Joy
We'll be straight with you: if you're looking for a Joy alternative purely on price, there isn't one, and that includes us. Joy's website, planning tools and registry are free, its cash funds take no fee at all, and it already runs in German, Spanish, French, Italian and Japanese. Crivando costs €9 to €23 a month. The case for paying is narrow and specific, and this page lays it out honestly rather than pretending Joy has a weakness it doesn't.
Last checked August 2026 · Every Joy claim on this page links to a public source · Crivando is our own product, and we’ve said where it loses
The short version
Joy is free, takes nothing on cash gifts, and works in six languages. On cost, nothing beats it. Crivando is worth paying for only if you want QR guest photo collection with an approval queue, a moderated guestbook, a DJ song wishlist, EU hosting under GDPR, and a company with nothing to sell your guests.
Why couples leave Joy.
Not for the price. Joy's cash funds take no percentage, which beats The Knot's 2.5% guest fee, Zola's 2.5% card fee and Riley & Grey's 2.95%. On cost, Joy wins against every platform in this category including ours, and we're not going to dress that up.
The reasons couples actually move are narrow. Some want guest photo collection with a proper approval queue, so nothing appears on the wedding site until they've seen it. Some want a moderated guestbook and a DJ song wishlist. Some want their guest list on EU infrastructure under GDPR rather than a multi-region US platform.
And some just don't want a registry and stationery business sitting alongside their wedding. Joy is free because registry commissions and stationery sales fund it. That's a completely legitimate model and most couples never think about it. A few do, and would rather pay a subscription and be the customer rather than the audience.
Where Joy beats us.
Price, and it isn't a close call. Joy's website, planning tools and registry are free and its cash funds take zero fee, so on cost Joy beats us outright. It also handles multi-day events well and already speaks German, Spanish, French, Italian and Japanese, which is more localisation than we currently offer, since we're English only. If you want the most capable free wedding website in Europe, that is Joy, and you should use it. We only make sense if the specific things below are things you actually want.
Visit JoyCrivando vs Joy, row by row
Rows marked with a dash are ones where Joy wins. There are several. A comparison table without them would be an advert.
Swipe to see the full table
| Feature | Crivando | Joy |
|---|---|---|
| Website cost | €9–23/mo | Free |
| Cash-gift fee | 0%, guests transfer to your bank directly | 0% |
| Custom domain | Connect your own domain: €29 one-time + €5/mo, includes free SSL | Buy elsewhere, roughly $20–40/yr |
| Languages | English | English, German, Spanish, French, Italian, Japanese |
| Physical gift registry | External links only | Yes |
| Guest photo upload by QR | Yes, with an approval queue before anything goes live | Yes |
| Moderated guestbook | Yes, approve each entry | Not a core feature |
| DJ song wishlist | Yes | Not a core feature |
| Hosting and data | GDPR-compliant EU hosting | Multi-region |
| Business model | Subscription only, nothing sold to guests | Free, funded by registry and stationery |
Pricing and features checked August 2026. Joy pricing is shown in the currency they publish, not converted. Sources are listed at the bottom of this page.
What Crivando does differently
The things worth paying for, if you’re going to pay. If none of these matter to your wedding, Joy is the sensible choice and we’d rather you made it.
Guest photos by QR code, with an approval queue
Print a card for the tables. Guests scan it and upload straight from their camera roll: no app, no account. Nothing appears on your site until you approve it, and you keep the original high-resolution files.
Learn moreA moderated digital guestbook
Guests write messages from their phone during the reception or the morning after, when they've actually got something to say. You approve each entry before it goes live, and you can export the lot afterwards.
Learn moreA DJ song wishlist
Guests submit the songs they want to hear. You get a clean list of titles and artists to hand to the DJ, instead of fourteen separate text messages on the morning of the wedding.
Learn moreHosted in the EU, under GDPR
Your guest list, their dietary requirements and their photos sit on EU infrastructure under European data protection rules, rather than on a US platform that also sells them things.
Learn moreNothing sold to your guests
No registry commission, no stationery upsells, no vendor marketing, no ads. Your guest list is a guest list, not an audience. The subscription is the entire business model.
Learn moreRSVPs with meal and dietary tracking
Guests search their name and respond. You get attendance, menu selections and allergy requirements in one dashboard, plus a catering summary you can hand straight to the venue.
Learn moreMoving from Joy to Crivando.
There's no export button on Joy, or on most platforms in this category, so this is a copy-paste job rather than a migration. Budget an evening, not a weekend.
Take the guest list out first: names, emails, and any RSVP responses already in. Then the text of each page: your story, the schedule, the FAQ answers you've already written. Those are the bits that took you the longest and they move across unchanged.
Build the new site, check it on a phone, and only then send the new link. Don't take the old site down the same day. Leave it up for a fortnight with a line at the top pointing at the new address, so anyone who bookmarked it isn't stranded.
Which one you should pick
The budget is the constraint, or you need the site in German, Spanish, French, Italian or Japanese. Joy is free, genuinely good, and takes nothing off your gifts. Most couples should stop here.
You specifically want the guest photo approval queue, the moderated guestbook and the DJ wishlist, on EU hosting, from a company that isn't also selling your guests a registry.
Build your siteStraight answers
Why would anyone pay for a wedding website when Joy is free?
For most couples, they shouldn't, and we'd rather say that here than after you've paid. Paying makes sense if you want QR guest photo collection with an approval queue, a moderated guestbook, a DJ song wishlist, EU hosting under GDPR, or a platform with no registry business attached to your guest list. If none of that matters, use Joy.
Is Joy actually free?
Yes. The website, planning tools and registry are free, and cash funds carry no fee. You buy your own custom domain elsewhere, typically $20 to $40 a year. Premium stationery designs cost money; the free designs don't.
Does Joy work for European weddings?
Better than most US-founded platforms: it runs in German, Spanish, French, Italian and Japanese alongside English for the US, UK and Australia. That's the main reason it's the strongest free option for a European wedding, and more languages than Crivando currently offers.
What does Crivando do that Joy doesn't?
Guest photo uploads with an approval queue so nothing appears on your site unseen, a moderated digital guestbook, a DJ song wishlist your guests fill in, GDPR-compliant EU hosting, and a business model that sells your guests nothing. Whether that's worth €9 a month is genuinely your call.
Does Crivando have a free plan?
No. Plans run from €9 a month for the base site to €23 a month with all 11 add-ons unlocked. Joy is free, so if cost is the deciding factor and the differences above don't matter to your wedding, stay where you are. We'd rather say that than sell you something you didn't need.
How do I move my wedding website from Joy?
Copy and paste, mostly, since there's no export button on Joy. Take your guest list and RSVP responses out first, then the text of each page. Build the new site, check it on a phone, then send the new link and leave the old site up for a fortnight pointing at the new address.
Do I need a wedding website at all?
Not always. Thirty guests, one venue, everyone local: a group message does the job and a website is admin you invented for yourself. Websites start earning their place once guests are travelling, or when there are enough of them that you'd otherwise answer the same parking question forty times.
Where these numbers come from
Everything claimed about Joy here comes from pages published by Joy or by another platform in this category, checked August 2026. Platforms change their pricing without telling us. If you’re deciding based on a number on this page, spend thirty seconds checking it at the source.