Zola alternative: Crivando vs Zola
The short answer for anyone weighing a Zola alternative: Zola is free, has over 600 templates and the best gift registry in this category, and it does not work outside the United States, because Zola lists US vendors only. Crivando costs €9 to €23 a month, is hosted in the EU under GDPR, takes nothing off your cash gifts, and sells your guests nothing. Here's the row-by-row comparison.
Last checked August 2026 · Every Zola claim on this page links to a public source · Crivando is our own product, and we’ve said where it loses
The short version
Zola is excellent for a US wedding with a real gift registry, and it's free. Outside the US, the registry and vendor half stops working. Crivando is the paid European option: EU hosting, no cash-gift fee, guest photo and guestbook tools, and no registry business attached to your guest list.
Why couples leave Zola.
Location is the big one. Zola doesn't list vendors outside the United States. It's a US company and says so plainly in its own FAQ. If your venue is in Portugal, the registry and vendor half of Zola is decoration you're scrolling past.
Then the shape of the pricing. The website is free. A custom domain starts at $17.99 a year. A seating chart is $14.99. Guest texting starts at $79.99. None of those are outrageous on their own, and none are compulsory, but together they're a different number from the one on the label.
The third reason is quieter and comes up less often, but it comes up. Zola is a registry company. Your guest list lives inside a business whose revenue comes from selling those guests gifts. Plenty of couples are entirely fine with that trade. Some would rather pay a subscription and be the customer.
Where Zola beats us.
The registry, and it isn't close. Zola's gift registry is the best in this category: real retailers, real products, and a cash fund where you can choose to absorb the 2.5% card fee instead of passing it to your guests, which is fairer than how The Knot handles the same thing. Zola also has over 600 templates against our eight. If you're in the US and the registry is the reason you want a wedding website at all, use Zola and don't overthink it.
Visit ZolaCrivando vs Zola, row by row
Rows marked with a dash are ones where Zola wins. There are several. A comparison table without them would be an advert.
Swipe to see the full table
| Feature | Crivando | Zola |
|---|---|---|
| Website cost | €9–23/mo | Free |
| Templates | 8, each a distinct style | Over 600 |
| Cash-gift fee | 0%, guests transfer to your bank directly | 2.5% on card; couple can absorb it, Venmo free |
| Custom domain | Connect your own domain: €29 one-time + €5/mo, includes free SSL | From $17.99/yr |
| Physical gift registry | External links only | Yes, and the best in the category |
| Seating chart | Not offered | $14.99 |
| Guest texting | Not offered | From $79.99 |
| Guest photo upload by QR | Yes, with an approval queue | Not a core feature |
| DJ song wishlist | Yes | Not offered |
| Works outside the US | Built for it, EU hosting under GDPR | US vendors only |
Pricing and features checked August 2026. Zola 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, Zola is the sensible choice and we’d rather you made it.
Hosted 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 taken off your cash gifts
Guests reserve a fund and transfer directly to your bank, PayPal or Venmo. We don't process the payment, so there's no percentage to take. Less slick than tapping a card, and you keep 100%.
Learn moreGuest 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 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 morePay for the add-ons you use, not all of them
The base site is €9 a month. Each group of add-ons steps it up, to a maximum of €23 with all 11 unlocked. If you don't want a countdown or a wedding ABC, you don't pay for them.
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 moreMoving from Zola to Crivando.
There's no export button on Zola, 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
You're in the US and you want a gift registry your guests can actually buy things from. Zola's is the best there is, it's free, and no argument about hosting outweighs that.
You're getting married in Europe, you want your guest list on EU infrastructure under GDPR, and you'd rather pay a flat fee than have your guests marketed to.
Build your siteStraight answers
What is the best alternative to Zola?
For a European wedding, Crivando: EU hosting under GDPR, no fee on cash gifts, QR guest photo collection with an approval queue, and a moderated guestbook, from €9 a month. For a US wedding where the registry is the point, nothing here beats Zola, and it's free.
Can I use Zola outside the United States?
You can build a website, but Zola doesn't list vendors outside the US and the registry is built around US retailers. For a European wedding that's most of the value gone, and you're left using a free website builder with a registry you can't point your guests at.
Is Zola free?
The website and registry are free. The extras aren't: a custom domain from $17.99 a year, a seating chart at $14.99, guest texting from $79.99. Cash-fund gifts by card carry 2.5%, though you can choose to pay that yourself rather than passing it to guests.
Does Crivando have a gift registry?
Cash funds, not physical gifts. You can create as many goals as you like, honeymoon, house deposit, specific experiences, and guests transfer directly to your bank, PayPal or Venmo with nothing taken off. You can also link out to a physical registry hosted elsewhere.
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. Zola 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 Zola?
Copy and paste, mostly, since there's no export button on Zola. 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 Zola here comes from pages published by Zola 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.