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Finding the right wedding registry is one of those tiny details that can mean the difference between amazing wedding gifts and an underwhelming, disorganized score (let’s be honest here, when else do you get lots of premium free stuff from this many people).
Here at LoveYouTomorrow, we’ve tried ALL of the major (and some minor) registry services out there.
If you used a wedding registry a few years (or more) ago, a LOT has changed, too.
In this guide I’ll outline our top recommendations, specifically with the year ahead in mind.
But first, what actually makes a good wedding registry?
What Make’s a Great Wedding Registry Experience (and what to look out for)
- Variety of Products: A great wedding registry site should offer a wide range of products to cater to different tastes and preferences.
- User-Friendly Interface: The platform should be easy to navigate and use, even for those who aren’t tech-savvy.
- Price Range: The registry should include items from various price points to accommodate guests with different budgets.
- Return Policy: Look out for sites with flexible return policies. You might receive duplicate gifts or change your mind about certain items.
- Customer Service: Exceptional customer service is crucial. The platform should be responsive and helpful in resolving any issues that arise.
- Shipping Options: A good registry site offers various shipping options, including direct shipping to the couple or to individual guests.
- Online and Physical Store Options: Some guests may prefer shopping in person. Thus, a registry that offers both online and physical store options is ideal.
- Group Gifting: This feature allows multiple guests to contribute towards a high-ticket item.
- Personalization Features: Some sites allow you to personalize your registry with photos and messages, making it more special and unique.
- Completion Discounts: Many registries offer a discount on unpurchased items after your wedding, which can be a great benefit.
So, with all of this in mind, here’s our ranking for the top wedding registry websites this year:
Zola: Best Overall
Summary: Zola stands out as the best overall wedding registry service due to its wide variety of product offerings tailored to different tastes and preferences. Its user-friendly interface makes navigation easy, even for the less tech-savvy.
Why Go with Zola?
- Wide Range of Products: Zola offers a vast selection of items from different brands, allowing you to create a diverse and personalized registry, including more boutique brands that competing registry services don’t sync with.
- User-friendly Interface: Zola’s platform is modern, mobile-friendly, intuitive, and easy to navigate, making the registry creation process a breeze.
- Various Price Points: Zola provides items across various price ranges, accommodating all guest budgets.
- Flexible Return Policy: Zola has a generous and flexible return policy, allowing you to return unwanted gifts.
- Excellent Customer Service: Zola prides itself on its exceptional customer service, ensuring that any issues are promptly resolved.
- Multiple Shipping Options: Zola offers a variety of shipping options, including shipping gifts directly to the couple or to individual guests.
- Physical and Online Store Options: While Zola is predominantly online, it also offers the option to shop from select physical stores.
- Group Gifting Feature: Zola allows multiple guests to contribute towards high-cost items, making it possible to include pricier dream gifts on your registry.
- Personalization Features: Zola lets you customize your registry with personal photos and messages, adding a unique and personal touch.
- Completion Discounts: After your wedding, Zola offers a discount on any unpurchased items from your registry, helping you save money and still meet any unmet needs.
I am often asked, "what is the best wedding registry service?" While it can depend on a few factors, my #1 go-to choice has to be Zola. It is more customizable and features hundreds of additional merchant integrations.
Zola Alternatives Compared
Here’s how our team evaluated Zola relative to their top peers:
- Zola vs MyRegistry Compared
- Zola vs Amazon Registry Compared
- Zola vs Honeyfund Compared
- Zola vs The Knot Compared
- Zola vs Minted Compared
- Zola vs Blueprint Compared
- Zola vs Joy Compared
The Knot: Best Wedding Planning Suite
Quick Summary: The Knot is an exceptional wedding registry service known for its comprehensive nature. It serves as a central hub where you can sync multiple registries from different retailers in one place, making it convenient for both you and your guests. The Knot also offers a wide range of products and price points to choose from.
Why Go with The Knot?
- Comprehensive Wedding Planning: The Knot offers a whole suite of wedding planning tools alongside its registry service. From wedding websites, guest lists, checklists, to budgeting tools, it’s a one-stop-shop for all your wedding planning needs, reducing the need for multiple platforms.
- Charity Component: The Knot has a unique feature that allows couples to add a charity to their registry and guests can choose to donate. This is a thoughtful addition that Zola does not offer.
- Vendor Listings: The Knot provides a comprehensive directory of local vendors for various wedding services, an aspect absent in Zola’s offerings, making it easier to plan other aspects of your wedding.
- Cash and Experience Gifts: Like Zola, The Knot allows for cash and experience gifts. However, The Knot’s cash fund option does not charge a processing fee, a clear advantage over Zola.
- Guest Convenience: The Knot’s ‘Store’ feature allows guests to shop gifts directly from the platform, reducing the need to visit multiple retailers’ websites.
- Personalized Wedding Website: Both platforms offer this feature, but The Knot provides a broader choice of templates and customization options, allowing you more control over your wedding’s online presence.
- Extensive Guidance and Inspiration: The Knot provides access to a wealth of wedding-related articles, advice, and inspiration, helping couples to plan their perfect day.
- Community Support: The Knot has a vibrant community forum where you can connect with other couples, share ideas, and get advice, a feature not available on Zola.
- Free Wedding Vision Tool: The Knot offers a unique tool to help you define your wedding style and color scheme, something Zola does not provide. This tool can be a great starting point for planning your dream wedding.
Joy: Sync with ANY Retailer
Quick Summary: Unlike The Knot or Zola, Joy provides a more personal and customizable experience, allowing couples to add any product from any store. It also ensures privacy and control over who can view the registry. Moreover, the platform is free, eliminating any additional cost that could be incurred with other services.
Why Go with Joy?
- Personalized Experience: Unlike Zola and The Knot that have predetermined options, Joy offers completely customizable registries. Couples can add any product from any store, giving them the freedom to craft a registry that truly reflects their taste and needs.
- Privacy Control: Joy gives couples control over who can view their registry. This feature isn’t available with The Knot and Zola, making Joy a better choice for couples who value privacy.
- Charity Option: Joy has a unique feature that allows couples to add a charity to their registry. Guests can choose to donate, making it a thoughtful and community-conscious choice that Zola does not offer.
- Cost-Effective: Unlike Zola and The Knot, Joy is a free platform. This eliminates any additional cost that could be incurred with other services, making it a budget-friendly option.
- Guest Convenience: Like The Knot, Joy provides a seamless shopping experience for guests. They can purchase gifts directly from the platform, reducing the need to visit multiple retailers’ websites.
- Innovative Tools: Joy stands out with its innovative tools, such as interactive guest list management and RSVP tracking. These features are not available on Zola or The Knot, making Joy a technologically advanced option.
- Community Support: Joy, like The Knot, also has a vibrant community forum. Couples can connect with others, share ideas, and get advice, which is a feature not available on Zola.
- Uniquely Tailored to Your Needs: With the ability to add any product from any store, Joy offers a level of flexibility that is unmatched by The Knot and Zola. This makes it an attractive option for couples who want a registry that is uniquely tailored to their needs.
- Simple and User-Friendly Interface: Joy’s platform is intuitive and easy to navigate. This stands in contrast to The Knot and Zola, which can be overwhelming with their numerous features and options.
Honeyfund: Best for Honeymoon Fund
Quick Summary: Honeyfund is an excellent alternative wedding registry service because it allows couples to create a unique and customized registry focused primarily on funding their honeymoon vs other alternatives.
This feature offers a great way for the couple to share their dream honeymoon plans with their guests and for guests to contribute directly to a meaningful aspect of their new life together. Instead of traditional gifts, guests can contribute to travel experiences and memories for the newly married couple.
Planning a wedding? Been there! I used Honeyfund and did NOT regret it. I built an AMAZING registry in minutes and plan the ultimate honeymoon. Check it out.
Why Go with Honeyfund?
- Honeymoon Focused: Unlike traditional wedding registries, Honeyfund is primarily designed to help couples fund their dream honeymoon. This unique focus allows guests to contribute to an experience rather than just physical gifts.
- Personalized Experience: Honeyfund allows couples to create a wish list that reflects their personal tastes and preferences for their honeymoon. This individualized approach is not typically found in regular registries.
- Guest Engagement: Through Honeyfund, guests can feel more engaged as they contribute to specific aspects of the honeymoon, whether it’s a romantic dinner, a snorkeling adventure, or flight tickets. In contrast, traditional registries limit the gifts to household items.
- Financially Savvy: Honeyfund can also help couples save money. Traditional wedding gifts can be costly, and they may not be what the couple needs. Honeyfund allows couples to prioritize what’s important to them.
- Ease of Use: Honeyfund’s platform is straightforward and easy to use, making it a breeze for both couples and guests to navigate.
- Fund Honeymoon Alternatives: Besides honeymoon expenses, couples can also use Honeyfund to fund other aspects of their new life together, such as home down payments or charity donations.
- Gift Tracker: Honeyfund provides an efficient way to keep track of all the gifts received, which can be a significant advantage over traditional registries.
Minted: Best Design Forward Option
Quick Summary: Unlike traditional registries, Minted offers a wide array of design-focused products, including stationery, art, and home goods from independent artists worldwide. It also allows couples to create a cash fund for their honeymoon, home down payment, or charity donations. Its user-friendly interface makes it convenient for both the couple and their guests. Moreover, Minted provides a gift tracker, making it easier to manage (and thank!) for the received gift.
Why Go with Minted?
- Unique and Quality Products: Minted sources its products from independent artists worldwide, ensuring that each item is unique and of high-quality design.
- Design Versatility: Minted offers a diverse range of products beyond typical household items. Couples can choose from stationery, art, home goods, and more, providing a more comprehensive registry.
- Cash Fund Option: Minted allows couples to create a cash fund in addition to a traditional registry. This fund can be used for various purposes, such as a honeymoon, home down payment, or charity donations..
- Gift Tracker: Like Honeyfund, Minted provides a gift tracker, allowing couples to easily manage and show gratitude for the gifts they receive.
- Support for Independent Artists: By choosing Minted, couples can support independent artists worldwide, adding a socially responsible aspect to their wedding registry.
- Free Wedding Website: Minted offers couples a free wedding website that matches their stationery for a cohesive wedding look. This is a unique feature not seen in many other registries.
MyRegistry: Quick and Simple Registry
Quick Summary: MyRegistry allows couples to add items from any online store worldwide – a true universal registry – ensuring a wider variety of choices. It also features a cash gift fund, allowing couples to ask for cash for honeymoons or home down payments. With MyRegistry, you can sync other registries, keeping all your gift ideas in one place.
Why Go with MyRegistry?
- Simple Universal Registry System: MyRegistry stands out due to its universal registry system, allowing couples to add items from any online store worldwide. This ensures a wider range of choices, catering to all tastes and preferences.
- Cash Gift Fund: Like most modern registries, MyRegistry features a cash gift fund. This allows couples to ask for cash for various purposes such as honeymoons, home down payments, or even charity donations.
- Registry Syncing: With MyRegistry, couples can sync other registries, providing the convenience of having all gift ideas in one place. This eliminates the need to manage multiple registries, making the process easier and more efficient.
- Personalization: MyRegistry allows couples to personalize their registry page with photos and messages, making it a unique and memorable part of their wedding journey.
- Mobile App: MyRegistry offers a mobile app for on-the-go registry management. This means couples can add, remove, or check their registry items anytime, anywhere.
- Free and Easy to Use: Unlike some other registries, MyRegistry is completely free and easy to use, making it a budget-friendly choice for couples.
- Charitable Registry Option: MyRegistry offers a charitable registry option, allowing couples to ask their guests to donate to a chosen charity. This can add a socially responsible and meaningful aspect to their wedding registry.
- Barcode Scanning: MyRegistry’s app features barcode scanning, so couples can easily add items to their registry while shopping in physical stores. This hybrid approach accommodates both online and offline shopping preferences.
Amazon Wedding Registry: Best for Amazon Power Couples
Quick Summary: Amazon caters to couples who are frequent Amazon users and prefer the platform’s convenience and familiarity. Amazon is a globally recognized brand and almost everyone has an account, making it an incredibly easy and quick way for guests to check a gift off of the list. For Amazon Prime Card users, there’s also the added benefit of 5% or more cash back.
Why Go with an Amazon Registry?
- Wide Selection: Amazon offers an incredibly vast selection of products from various categories (as wide as Amazon), ensuring couples can find anything they need or desire.
- Convenience for Guests: Since Amazon is a globally recognized brand, most of the guests are likely to have an Amazon account. This makes the gifting process easy and quick.
- Amazon Prime Benefits: If the couple or the guests are Amazon Prime members, they can avail free two-day shipping on eligible items, making it a cost-effective choice.
- 20% Completion Gift: After the wedding, Amazon offers a one-time 20% discount on remaining items in the registry for Prime members, and a 10% discount for non-Prime members.
- Extended Return Period: Amazon provides a 180-day return policy for most items from the registry, ensuring couples have ample time to return or exchange gifts.
- Group Gifting: Amazon Registry allows multiple people to contribute towards the purchase of higher-priced items, making it affordable for all guests.
Target Wedding Registry: Best for Frequent Target Shoppers
Quick Summary: The Target Wedding Registry is an excellent option for couples who frequently shop at Target and enjoy its diverse selection of products covering all categories from home goods to electronics. This registry is particularly advantageous for couples who appreciate the convenience of one-stop shopping and the ease of in-store returns (and a 1 year returns window).
Why Go with a Target Registry?
- Group Gifting: Just like Amazon, Target also allows multiple people to contribute towards the purchase of higher-priced items, making it an affordable option for all guests.
- Physical Stores: While Amazon is primarily online, Target has physical stores all over the country. This accommodates both online and offline shopping preferences, which can be more convenient for some guests.
- Extended Return Period: Target offers a generous one-year return window for most registry items. This gives couples plenty of time to decide if they want to keep each gift.
- 15% Completion Discount: After the wedding, Target offers a 15% discount on all remaining items in your registry, which can lead to substantial savings.
- Frequent Target Shoppers: For couples who frequently shop at Target, a Target Wedding Registry makes the most sense. Their wide range of products ensures you can register for everything you need or want.
- Easy Management: Target’s Wedding Registry can be easily managed online or through the Target Registry app. You can add or remove items, track what has been purchased, and see who bought what.
- Free Shipping: Target offers free shipping for all registry gifts over $35, providing a cost-effective choice for your guests.
- Bonus Gifts: With Target’s Wedding Registry, you get bonus gifts when you register for items from select brands.
WeddingWire: Great for Vendor Reviews
Quick Summary: WeddingWire is a comprehensive platform that offers a myriad of services beyond just a registry, WeddingWire offers features like a free wedding website, guest list management, and vendor reviews, which other registries don’t offer (see comparison to The Knot). Its user-friendly interface, useful tools, and vast selection make it a superior choice over other wedding registry options.
Why Go with WeddingWire
- Comprehensive Platform: WeddingWire is an all-encompassing platform that provides registry services, a free wedding website, guest list management, and vendor reviews. This makes it a one-stop solution for couples planning their wedding.
- Vendor Reviews: Unlike other registry services, WeddingWire provides vendor reviews, helping couples make informed decisions when choosing their wedding service providers.
- Useful Tools: WeddingWire offers a range of practical tools such as a wedding checklist, budget planner, and guest seating planner, which can be invaluable in the wedding planning process.
- Globally Recognized: WeddingWire operates globally, making it an excellent choice for couples with international guests.
- Free Wedding Website: Couples can create a personalized wedding website for free with WeddingWire, keeping their guests updated about the wedding plans.
- Guest List Management: WeddingWire’s guest list management tool helps couples to easily manage their guest list, RSVPs, and more.
- Favorable Reviews: WeddingWire consistently receives favorable reviews from couples for its ease of use, variety of features, and excellent customer service.
- Flexible and Convenient: WeddingWire is accessible on multiple devices, allowing couples to manage their wedding planning on the go.
Hitchd: Best for Non-Traditional Gifting
Quick Summary: Hitchd stands out from other wedding registry services due to its simplicity, customization, and focus on experiences rather than material possessions. Unlike traditional registries like Target or comprehensive platforms like WeddingWire, Hitchd focuses on helping couples create a unique and personalized registry that aligns with their lifestyles and dreams.
Why Go With Hitchd?
- Personalized Registries: Hitchd allows couples to create personalized registries that reflect their unique tastes and experiences. Instead of sticking to traditional gift items, couples can ask for experiences, donations to a favorite charity, or contributions toward a big purchase.
- Focus on Non-Material Gifts: Hitchd emphasizes experiences over material gifts. This is perfect for couples who value travel and adventures, or those who simply don’t want or need more stuff.
- Easy to Use: Hitchd is known for its user-friendly interface. The registry creation process is simple and intuitive, making it easy for even the least tech-savvy couples.
- Gift Contribution Feature: Hitchd offers a unique feature where guests can contribute to larger gifts in increments, making it possible for couples to ask for more expensive items or experiences without putting the burden on a single guest.
- International Currency Support: Hitchd supports multiple currencies, making it ideal for couples with guests from different countries.
- No Hidden Fees: Unlike some other registry services, Hitchd doesn’t charge any hidden fees. The pricing is transparent and straightforward.
CB2: Best for CB2 Power Shoppers
Quick Summary: CB2 registry is an excellent choice for couples seeking modern and stylish home goods for their new life together. What sets CB2 apart from other leading wedding registry services is its broad selection of high-quality, contemporary furniture and home decor items. Additionally, CB2 offers a simple, easy-to-use platform that helps couples manage their registry seamlessly.
Why Go with CB2?
- Selective Quality Range: CB2 offers a curated selection of high-quality, modern furniture and home décor items. Their range is perfect for couples who appreciate contemporary design and want to outfit their homes with stylish pieces.
- User-friendly Platform: CB2’s registry platform is intuitive and easy to use. Couples can manage their registry, add or remove items, and track gifts seamlessly.
- Group Gifting Option: CB2 offers a group gifting feature, allowing guests to contribute towards more expensive items. This makes it possible for couples to list pricier items without imposing on their guests.
- Completion Discount: CB2 offers a generous completion discount. After the wedding, couples can purchase any remaining items on their registry at a discounted price.
- Exclusive Products: CB2 is known for its exclusive product lines that can’t be found elsewhere. This allows couples to choose unique items that reflect their personal style and taste.
- Physical Stores: Unlike purely online registries, CB2 has physical stores where couples can see and feel the products before adding them to their registry.
- Returns and Exchanges: CB2 has a friendly return and exchange policy. If couples receive a gift that they already have or don’t like, they can easily return or exchange it.
Final Take: Which Wedding Registry Option to Choose?
With all of the NEW registry options available, it’s actually less straight-forward than it used to be. However, there’s a few clear winners for me, based on specific couple’s goals.
- Just need a good well-rounded registry? If you are planning a traditional wedding and just want a solid, quality overall experience, I’d go with Zola here (best overall option).
- Is the Honeymoon the main goal? If you just want a once in a lifetime epic honeymoon, go with with Honeyfund here. Other apps offer cash options, but Honeyfund makes it clear and easy to get that honeymoon funded.
- Sync with ANY Retailer? I’m really liking the hip, younger vibe AND wide retailer synchronization options with Joy here.
- Endless Design Options? If managing the design aesthetic (websites, invites, etc..) is really important, Minted has an amazingly in depth palette of options.