Nozari vs Zola:
which one actually fits you?
Zola is a free, registry-first wedding planning app built around your registry and a public wedding website. Nozari is a paid app built around your whole wedding party sharing one space. They solve different problems - here's the honest breakdown.
A quick disclosure before you read further: we make Nozari. We've tried to keep everything below factual and fair to Zola, including the places Zola is genuinely the better tool - read it knowing that, and check anything that matters to you against Zola's own site too.
Nozari, at a Glance
- Best for
- Coordinating the couple and their entire wedding party - bridesmaids, groomsmen, and honor attendants - in one shared, private space.
- Primary use
- A shared calendar, tasks, photo gallery, chat, and expense splitting for everyone standing up at the wedding, plus a day-of command center.
- Who it's for
- Couples, Maids of Honor, Best Men, bridesmaids, and groomsmen.
- Platforms
- Available on iOS, Android, and the web
- Pricing
- $89 for 6 months of access (pay-per-event, one-time payment - not a recurring subscription).
- Not designed for
- Running a wedding registry or building the public wedding website guests visit - Zola is built for exactly those jobs, for free.
Nozari vs Zola, feature by feature
Based on Zola's own description of its app's features and third-party pricing research, reviewed August 2026. Zola's features, pricing, and policies change over time - confirm current details on zola.com before deciding.
| Feature | Nozari | Zola |
|---|---|---|
| What it's built around | The couple AND their wedding party, sharing one workspace. | The couple's registry, wedding website, guest list, and budget, in one free hub. |
| Wedding-party member accounts | Up to 24 party members, each with their own login and role. | Zola lets you list your wedding party's names, roles, and photos on your wedding website - we found no way for them to log in with their own account to plan or coordinate. |
| Private side-based planning (bachelor/bachelorette) | Built in - mark events and tasks visible to one side only, hidden from the couple until revealed. | Not part of its planning toolkit, as far as we could find. |
| Expense splitting among the wedding party | Built in - split a bachelorette rental or group gift and see who's paid. | Not part of its planning toolkit - its budget tool tracks the couple's own wedding budget. |
| Private chat for the wedding party | Party channels and direct messages, built into the app. | Not part of its planning toolkit. Zola does offer a paid guest-texting add-on, but that's for messaging wedding guests, not coordinating the wedding party. |
| Day-of run-of-show / command center | An auto-drafted timeline, task ownership, and vendor contacts for the wedding day. | Not part of its planning toolkit, as far as we could find. |
| Wedding registry | Not offered. | Yes - Zola's signature feature, including cash funds, experiences, and group gifting. |
| Free wedding website | Not offered. | Yes, included free. |
| Vendor marketplace | Not offered - Nozari tracks vendors you've already chosen; it doesn't help you find or book them. | Yes, with recommendations for venues and vendors. |
| Guest RSVP tracking | Built in, up to 350 guests. | Yes, included free. |
| Shared photo/video gallery for the wedding party | Built in, 200 photos per side (400 total), 30-second videos. | Not part of its planning toolkit, as far as we could find. |
| Pricing model | One-time payment - $89 for 6 months, $114 for 12 months, or $149 for 18 months. No ads, no product commissions. | Core planning tools (website, registry, guest list, budget) are free. Zola makes money mainly on commissions from registry gift purchases and paper goods, plus a small number of paid a la carte extras (a seating-chart tool and premium guest texting, at last check). |
Where Zola genuinely wins
This wouldn't be honest if it only listed what Zola doesn't do. Its registry and wedding website are genuinely well-built, and free.
- A modern, well-reviewed registry that supports cash funds, experiences, and group gifting - not just a list of physical products.
- A free, clean wedding website builder, bundled in at no cost.
- Free core planning tools - guest list, budget tracker, and vendor recommendations - all in one hub, funded by registry commissions rather than a fee to couples.
- A vendor marketplace with personalized recommendations, in addition to the registry.
Which one should you actually use?
You need your bridesmaids, groomsmen, and honor attendants actually coordinating with each other - a shared calendar, tasks assigned to real names, private bachelor/bachelorette planning, and a way to split costs among the party - not just a tool for the couple.
You mainly need a registry and a free wedding website for guests, and don't need a dedicated space for your wedding party to log in and coordinate themselves.
These aren't mutually exclusive. A lot of couples run Zola for the registry and the public wedding website - and Nozari for the private, day-to-day coordination their wedding party actually lives in.
Questions About Nozari & Zola
Is Zola free?
Its core planning tools - wedding website, registry, guest list, and budget tracker - are free. Zola makes money mainly through commissions on gifts purchased via its registry and on paper goods, plus a small number of paid a la carte tools like a seating-chart builder.
Does Zola have a private space for bridesmaids and groomsmen to use themselves?
Zola lets you list your wedding party's names, roles, and photos on your wedding website for guests to see. We found no evidence of a way for those people to log in with their own account and actually plan or coordinate - which is what Nozari's per-member accounts are for.
Should I use Nozari instead of Zola, or both?
Plenty of couples reasonably use both. Zola is genuinely good at the registry and a free wedding website. Nozari is built for a different job - getting your bridesmaids and groomsmen actually coordinated with each other, not just with you.
Can I split bachelorette or bachelor party costs on Zola?
We found no dedicated feature for splitting costs among the wedding party on Zola - its budget tool tracks the couple's own wedding budget. Splitting shared costs like a bachelorette rental or a group gift among your party is what Nozari's expense-splitting feature is for.
More on what Nozari is and isn't
Keep Zola for the vendors and registry.
Bring Nozari for the people standing beside you.
$89 for 6 months of access (pay-per-event, one-time payment - not a recurring subscription). Not the one paying? You can gift it to the couple instead.