7 Places for Cheap Wedding Invitations That Instantly Save Money

When you finally put together your wedding budget, it may be surprising to see that wedding invitations can cost so much money. Your wedding invitations will be the first thing your guests will notice, so you don’t want to cut corners or go too cheap on style.

Given how much wedding invitations cost, you may be wondering how to save money on them. There are several options from sending digital wedding invitations to editing a wedding invitation template online and printing them yourself.

If you want to know the best places to shop affordable invites that don’t look like a bargain, we’ll help you find them. Whether you want to DIY or get your invites designed for you, there are plenty of online stores that offer cheap wedding invitations to suit any style, budget, and color palette.

Where to Get Cheap Wedding Invitations

1. Minted

COST: As low as $2.25 to $2.50 each for most invitation orders (based on 100 quantity) with complimentary extras

EXTRAS: Free wedding website, free addressing on envelopes, free envelopes, free consultation with Concierge for advice, free address collection service

You may think Minted is too expensive for your needs, but there are several options that will work for any budget. If you are a couple who craves style and eye-catching design, you’ll find it in their fount of invitations made by independent designers. Your invites will look like a million bucks yet they’ll cost significantly less than you may think.

You’ll also find numerous examples of wedding invitations to assist you with wedding invitation wording (it can get tricky), a central guest list manager to keep addresses organized, and even a section on invitation etiquette so you don’t make any mistakes.

You can browse by theme, style, color, and season; in addition, you can choose recycled paper that costs less (and is better for the environment) yet looks just as nice for a fraction of the price. And if you get stuck, they offer a Wedding Concierge service which is a free one-on-one meeting with an invite expert where you can ask questions. They even offer additional printing styles like glossy finishes, gold foil, and letterpress. They cost a bit more, but it may be worth it if you like the style.

Their most popular options include classic invitations, which is a standard 5″ x 7″ size and cost around $2.50 for a set of 100. Go a bit smaller with their budget-friendly Petite option and you’ll get them for $2.25 each for a set of 100 invites.

I highly recommend the All In One style which includes your invite and RSVP card, which fold into itself to create an outer envelope. Instead of a traditional RSVP card which requires an envelope, it’s a postcard format so you’ll save money on postage (postcard stamps cost less than standard) and can skip an envelope for it.

You can get free envelopes with every invitation order and free addressing on the envelopes. This saves you money vs. hiring a calligrapher to address your envelopes (or doing it yourself) and looks beautiful. When the invites arrive, you’ll already be one step closer to assembling and mailing them out since they’re pre-addressed. Score!

You can skip RSVP cards if you opt for a QR code on the back of your invites, making it even more cost-effective. Guests can log on to your free wedding website and submit their digital response.

► Browse top picks for Minted wedding invitations here

2. Zazzle

Cost: From $1.10 each with most styles around $2 or less
Extras: Ability to purchase the wedding invitation template and print yourself

Zazzle is perfect for DIY and non-DIY couples alike. If you want to customize your own wedding invitation from scratch, you can. On the other hand, you can quickly edit templates designed by professionals for a custom look. You can find cheap wedding invitations on Zazzle in any style from unique and contemporary to bold and modern. Budget templates start as low as $1.10 each and up to around $2.07 a card for most styles based on 100 invites.

3. Zola

Cost: From $1.79 to $1.99 each for most styles
Extras: Free digital save the dates; free wedding website; free registry; guest list maker

While most known for its registry, Zola also offers an array of templates to create invitations with ease.

You can choose literally any design from their invitation designs from rustic to greenery, classic to formal, and more. Browse by color, season, and even shape. For couples who want to splurge a bit, you can opt for letterpress or gold foil on certain designs. Their wedding paper is of great quality to boot.

Once you find a design you like, it’s easy to customize your invitation to suit your needs, even edit colors and wording to suit more formal or casual wedding styles.

Similarly to Minted, they offer free addressing on your invitations which makes it even easier for you. And if you opt for digital responses via your wedding website, you won’t even need to wait for your RSVP cards to return to you in the mail. Your guests can seamlessly enter their response online for free.

► Find your perfect design at Zola wedding invitations here

4. Etsy

COST: As low as $0.64 to typically $2.50 each per invitation, based on seller
EXTRAS: Affordable invitation templates you can print yourself

Handmade marketplace Etsy is a wonderful source of cheap wedding invitations and coordinating stationery for your big day. You can choose invitations that are customized and printed for you, or opt for inexpensive invitation templates to update and edit to your liking and print yourself.

Wedding invitation downloads have exploded in popularity, as it gives you a flat fee to purchase the digital template and edit yourself. Some of the top designers I recommend are BlushPrintables, FeelGoodInvites, VineWedding, and Level33Graphics, just to name a few.

If you’re nervous about the DIY approach of a template and your own editing skills, the shops mentioned above are highly-skilled in template editing and are willing to assist you if you run into any problems (so you’re not left on your own!) In addition, you can shop completed invitation suites that are printed for you and mailed to your door, if DIY invitations aren’t your jam.

► Shop Etsy here

5. BasicInvite

COST: As low as $0.99 each
EXTRAS: Free addressing of envelopes, free quick seal envelopes, free custom samples of invitations

When you’re looking for inexpensive wedding invitations that won’t break the bank, Basic Invite is a perfect source. They offer thousands of designs created by their design team that integrates the latest wedding themes and trends, color palettes, and styles.

You’ll find every wedding style you can imagine and edit the colors and wording with ease.

In addition, they offer many extras including free envelopes that seal easily, addressing of your envelopes, and even custom samples in case you want to see an invite in hand before placing an order.

► See examples here

6. Shutterfly

COST: As low as $0.71 each to $2.11 for 100 invitations
EXTRAS: Frequent sales mean additional savings with codes on their website

If you’ve only known Shutterfly as a photo printing source, think again. This giant retailer offers a large selection of cheap wedding invitations with surprisingly unique designs you have to see for yourself. They offer every wedding theme you can imagine from boho to rustic, classic to contemporary. You can go minimalist and simple for effortless style or opt for something fun and bold, like textured effects.

Right now, all cards are 50% off so you can score additional savings based on how quickly you’re ready to shop.

► Choose your favorite design here

7. VistaPrint

COST: As low as $0.82 each; most styles are around $50 for 50 invitations and envelopes
EXTRAS: Free sample kit to try before you buy

While Vistaprint isn’t what you might expect as a source of cheap wedding invitations, it is indeed a reputable one. Well-known for printing business products like cards and flyers, they’ve branched out to wedding templates seamlessly and give you the ability to customize yours with ease.

You can even upload a completely custom design to get yours printed. While they may not offer the same eye-catching designs as other invitation stores, if you’re keen on saving money and just want a simple and effortless design, Vistaprint is the way to go.

► Browse templates here

8. Greenvelope

COST: $99 for a single mailing to 100 guests
EXTRAS: track RSVPs, collect plus ones, meal selections, RSVP reminders for guests, seating chart setup, and more

Greenvelope offers a unique line of wedding invitations that are all digital. This is one way to drastically lower the cost of the invitations you purchase by skipping things like postage and additional outer envelopes. Not only will you save time and money, but it is a more environmentally friendly way to send invites.

For modern couples, digital invitations via email is commonplace and won’t come as a surprise to guests of tech-savvy couples. However, you may opt to send a few printed invitations in the mail if you want to ensure guests who don’t use email or may not be as tech-savvy can have a printed copy in hand.

And if you’re worried the invitation won’t offer the same grandeur a paper one might, it is animated to “open up” right in front of your guests’ eyes.

When you email invitations, you achieve a more affordable solution that eliminates the need for paper, stamps, printing costs, addressing, and more. Plus, if you’re sending your invitations late (oops!), you’ll be able to email them out instantly and start receiving RSVPs from wedding guests in a jiffy. They even have RSVP tracking online so you can save time and energy.

► Browse digital designs here

How Much Do Wedding Invitations Typically Cost?

As a whole, wedding invitation cost will set you back approximately 2% of your overall budget or around $300 to $400 for 100 wedding invitations. This may be more or less based on factors including your guest list and extras needed like envelopes, RSVP cards, and envelopes. However, you can cut costs on those items as we discussed above by sending all-in-one styles with a postcard, by skipping the card altogether and sending a QR code to respond digitally, or by sending email wedding invitations.

However, you’ll also need to include another 2% for save the dates and day-of wedding stationery.

How to Make the Cheapest Wedding Invitations

If you’re looking at these numbers and you need to further cut costs, you may wish to make your invitations yourself.

If you are decent at design and can work with a template, try a program like VistaCreate or Canva, which offers the ability to customize a template and then save it for printing unlimited copies. If you’re not tech-savvy on the design front, look for free wedding invitation templates online and edit them using a word document software.

Next, you’ll need to print them. Zazzle is terrific at printing low-cost invitations, as long as you choose the heaviest paper weight you can. The paper will feel nicer in quality in guests’ hands and won’t give a cheap vibe. You can upload your own design here and print them on standard size cards and get envelopes to match.

Alternatively, look for print shops in your own hometown. I’m sure the local print shop in your town will be more than happy to assist in your printing needs. For another option, big chains like Fedex, Office Depot, or Staples offer printing on-site for your invites and can assist with paper selection, ink, and more.

Buying Invitations vs. DIY Wedding Invitations

In my opinion, it is cheaper to buy your own invitations rather than the printing costs, stress, and time it takes to design DIY invites. However, this is because I’m not a very good designer myself and would find the process challenging. I much prefer to leave it to an expert designer to create a unique invitation that can be printed and shipped to my door. Besides, I want the latest trends and styles, both of which I would not be able to replicate if I made them myself.

However, for design experts, making invitations is part of your skill-set and, I say, go for it! If you can use your talents and save money on wedding invitations, it makes perfect sense. When you’re ready to print, find the best quality invitation paper you can (this is a great resource) and make sure you give yourself plenty of extras for any printing mistakes. They happen to everyone!

If you want a cheap alternative to designing them yourself, you can get this editable template, shown below, that is a basic design but easy to use and print at home.

I hope these suggestions help you as you manage your wedding invitation budget. These cheap invites prove you don’t have to sacrifice quality for style. If you have any questions, let me know in the comment box below.