Punchbowl.com is a free web-based online invitations service and digital greeting cards site based in Framingham, Massachusetts.
Is Punchbowl legit?
Punchbowl (punchbowl.com) has a 4.6 out of 5 rating on OK.one, based on 104 user reviews collected here. It is listed under Events & Entertainment and its reputation is excellent. Praise is nearly unanimous, with 90% rating it 4 stars or higher; The business has replied to 100% of negative reviews; Reviews mostly discuss User experience, Product. Last updated 2026-08-12.
What reviewers say
AI generated
Reviewers overwhelmingly had a great experience with this company. Customers frequently mention that the platform is extremely user-friendly and greatly simplifies event planning by automatically managing guest lists and sending timely reminders. People also love the wide variety of beautiful designs available for every type of celebration, making it easy to create personalized digital invitations. Users appreciate the thoughtful features like tracking responses and adding gift options or potluck selections.
Some reviewers were not happy with unexpected costs, feeling misled by the subscription terms after trying out the service. A few consumers also mentioned difficulties with technical glitches during sign-in or losing access to event details later.
Auto-generated from all reviews of this business. For reference only.
I used Punchbowl to create my rehearsal dinner invites. They were a huge hit and so very cute! Because I only needed those invites, I signed up for the 1 week free trial. Well, I completely forgot to cancel my trial and was charged $92 for the yearly subscription. I contacted Alex with customer service and I received a very prompt, professional reply and an immediate refund! I just love honest people and the fact that I didn't have to jump through a million hoops to cancel my subscription like other places! Thank you punchbowl and Alex! I am a happy customer.
Punchbowl online Invitations - I wish I had gone with a different company
I found some of the instructions for use a bit confusing. But, most of all, the 30 day money back guarantee was useless to me. I used their "Help" chat to confirm that I had cancelled my subscription. I got no reply. I resent my message. No reply. My credit card has a $51 charge for their subscription. I tried calling the company associated with their physical address in Framingham, MA. No luck getting through by phone. Disappointing and costly.
Reply from Punchbowl2026-07-30
Hi there, thanks for reaching out. We're sorry for the frustration and that you weren't able to reach us. While we don't offer phone support, you can contact us directly by emailing [email protected], where our team responds quickly. We'd be glad to look into your cancellation and the charge, including our 30-day money-back guarantee, so please reach out with your account details, and we'll be happy to assist.
I went through a long process of creating an online invitation for a party and adding over a hundred guests’ phone numbers individually to my contact list. When I finally was ready to send the invitation, it wouldn’t allow me to send it until I paid for a premium subscription. This was incredibly misleading and manipulative of the company. I will not use this platform again.
Reply from Punchbowl2026-07-27
Hi there, thanks for reaching out, and we're sorry for the frustration. Punchbowl is a trusted platform that has helped millions plan events for over a decade. You can send invitations for free through our mobile app, and on the web you can start a free trial (just cancel anytime during the trial period, and you won't be charged). We do offer a 30-day money-back guarantee, and we'd like to help make sure you can get your invitation out. Please reach out to [email protected], and our team will be happy to assist.
Punchbowl invitations are not free to use. I purchased the free trial for 7 days and only 3 of 14 ppl received invitations. I was 1 of the 3 using the test feature. I gave 2 stars because I was able to save the pdf to resend the invitation. I do not recommend using the site.
Reply from Punchbowl2026-07-28
Hi there, thanks for reaching out, and we're sorry for the frustration. Delivery issues like this can sometimes happen when invitations are filtered by email or phone providers, and we'd like to look into why some of your guests didn't receive theirs. You can use Punchbowl for free through our mobile app, and the web free trial can be cancelled anytime during the trial period without a charge. Please reach out to [email protected] with your account details, and our team will be happy to investigate the delivery issue for you.
Predatory subscription practices! Surprise charges for membership—be careful!!!!
I’ve been hit again for the annual charge for 1 time card in 2023!!!!
Reply from Punchbowl2026-07-27
Hi there, we're sorry to hear about your experience. Punchbowl is a legitimate, trusted platform that's helped millions plan events for over a decade. We'd like to look into this charge for you, and we do offer a 30-day money-back guarantee. Please reach out to [email protected] with your account details, and our team will be glad to assist.
Incredibly deceptive bait and switch tactics. I learned a very expensive lesson dealing with this Company and lost almost 80 dollars in the process. I like many others spent hours designing beautiful birthday announcements for my daughter’s 11th birthday last year…but of course you have to buy the pricey package almost 50 dollars. I decided to do this and just deal with it. When again surprise my daughter turns twelve and this “service” that I swore I cancelled auto renews and I am out another 50 dollars. Unless you have lots of money to waste just create your own invites. This was a very expensive lesson never again!!
Reply from Punchbowl2026-07-27
Hi there, thanks for reaching out, and we're sorry for the frustration. Punchbowl is a trusted platform that has helped millions plan events for over a decade. We do offer a 30-day money-back guarantee, and we'd like to look into your account to help sort this out. Please reach out to [email protected] with your account details, and our team will be happy to assist.
I absolutely love Punchbowl. The cards & envelopes are beautiful! I also love that you can text it to the recipient. Most importantly, the customer service was kind and quick to respond! I hope to use them in the future when I send cards out again! So grateful to this team. Thanks very much.
The cards are nice and the site is easy to use. However, my main issue is that the landing page advertises "free invites," but you can't actually send them without purchasing a trial license. That is highly misleading.
Reply from Punchbowl2026-07-01
Hi there, thank you for the kind words! We hear your concern about the messaging and want to clarify. Punchbowl is a trusted platform that has helped millions send invitations and cards for over a decade. You can use Punchbowl for free through our mobile app, and you can also start a free trial on the web (just cancel anytime during the trial period and you won't be charged). We also offer a 30-day money-back guarantee, no questions asked. If you have any questions or we can help make this right, please reach out to [email protected]. We want you to be happy!
Massive headache, scam to get you locked in so you need to purchase big package! Definitely do NOT recommend.
Was advertised as "free". Spent a week making my own beautiful invitation to upload, building a guest list, decorating the digital envelope, etc. All this was great & I was really excited about this process. Went to send invitations & my excitement hit a brick wall. Website said I had to sign up for paid package to start 7 day free trial. 7 days is not enough time between sending invites & finishing the party, so ok, I rallied & signed up for basic package at $50(cdn). Number of invitations going out was well under the maximum for that package so no problem. But when I added a few more (still under max) it offered to sell me a package again. Online help, said I was over the limit because max included outgoing invitations AS WELL AS the number of people attending. So 1 invite per family meant all 4 of the attending family members toward the total. Again, excitement hitting brick wall – super disappointing to have come this far only to have progress blocked. Again. They encouraged me to package up. I replied that I understood, but “what a scam” and that I would be asking for my package subscription to be refunded. Upon being called out as “scam”, they promptly cancelled my 7 day trial… which meant I was blocked from accessing the invitation. The website sends the invites by email & when the invited click on the envelope, it takes them to the website to show the invitation & track their response. Since I no longer had an account, the attendees could no longer access the the details of the party. Thankfully I had already copied & pasted the invitation pictures & information, & I was tracking outgoing invites & responses in a spreadsheet, so I was able to follow up with everyone with a simple email & no harm done, but… nice try, Punchbowl!
Reply from Punchbowl2026-05-01
Hi, thanks for your feedback. We’re sorry you did not have a great experience.
I want to assure you that Punchbowl is a legitimate and trusted platform that has helped millions of users plan events for over a decade. To clarify, guest limits are based on total invited guests, which is why adding additional attendees can prompt an upgrade. You can send invitations to up to 50 guests completely free from the app. For events over 50 guests, a paid membership is required.
You can use Punchbowl for free through our app or by starting a free trial (just cancel anytime during the trial period and you will not be charged). We also offer a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Canceling a membership or trial does not delete your event, and guests who were already invited can still view the invitation and RSVP. You can also continue managing your event and tracking RSVPs for free on our mobile app after cancelling.
If you’d like us to review your situation in more depth, please reach out to [email protected]. We'd like to help!
I love using the Punchbowl app for all of my personal celebrations. It is so easy to use that I find my self offering to host for the holidays. It saves me time & money on going to the post office to purchase stamps. I also love that it tracks all the information such as guest names/contact information to send the invites and the number of adults/children attending that I need to make my event a success. I found that I was using my Punchbowl account for so many special events that I opted in for the premium/no ads. Punchbowl made my event planning so much easier that it was worth the price and have my account set to auto renew.
Punchbowl is intentionally misleading. They lure you in with "free" designs, but you have to hand over your credit card info just to send a single digital link. The real "trap" is that once you cancel the subscription, they essentially lock you out of managing your own event. If you want to change the time or see who is coming, they force you to keep the paid plan active. It’s a dishonest way to treat customers who are just trying to host a simple party. Avoid this site.
Reply from Punchbowl2026-03-13
Hi, thanks for reaching out. We’re sorry to hear about your experience. You can use Punchbowl for free through our app or by starting a free trial (just cancel anytime during the free trial period and you will not be charged).
To continue managing your event and tracking RSVPs, you can also download our free mobile app on your iOS or Android device. We also offer a 30-day money-back guarantee, no questions asked.
If you have any questions, please reach out to [email protected] and our team will be happy to help.
I mistakenly purchased a membership I could not afford and asked the company to refund the charge to my credit card. Even though I was outside of their cancellation window they refunded the charge. Also, the response to my request was quickly handled.
I’ve used Punchbowl about 4 times now, their site is super easy to use and a great selection of invitations and cards to send through email or texts!
My favorite part is the invitation floats out of the envelope!!! Soooo cute!
I wanted to have a party that wasn’t very conventional. I wanted to be able to send the invite without paper. I also wanted to be able to use the announcement features as I thought of information that needed to be shared. It was a party for people who are socially anxious and who really appreciated extra communication. I also love that I was able to pick a my little pony card!
Punchbowl is a great way to invite guests to an event without going through the hassle of a printed invitation or relying on just word of mouth or a phone call, which is easily forgotten. Punchbowl provides numerous, clever options, with the flexibility to personalize the design as well as the message. They also provide helpful features like event reminders and response tracking. Punchbowl makes party invitations easy and fun!
Punchbowl is great! it is easy to use and It really helps when planning a party. Being able to keep track of the guest that plan to attend is so helpful!
I’ve been using Punchbowl and the app for years. In my
dashboard I can see the past invitations and value the
memories they recall. Contacts are saved for the next event, making inviting the same people easy as a click, instead of having to type in numbers or email addresses
repeatedly. Thank you for an easy, creative way to invite
many or few to an event.
It's an easy-to-use service for someone who doesn't always navigate these processes well. I was impressed that questions were answered promptly--not used to that. With a basic membership, I can send invitations either of two ways, which gives flexibility according to the situation.
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