Zola is the second-biggest wedding platform in the US, with registry, website, invitations and planning tools rolled into one free product. Here it's measured against WishApp on price, devices and privacy, and on who each one is really for.
Last updated: June 2026
Looking for a Zola alternative? Zola is a polished all-in-one wedding platform, but it only works in the US, its only mobile app is for iOS, and it's for weddings and nothing else. WishApp is a free wishlist for any occasion. It runs everywhere and hides reservations so the surprise holds. For everyday gifting, it's the Zola alternative we'd choose.
Each row is based on what the two products do today. Zola wins several, and we've marked them clearly.
| Feature | Zola | WishApp |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing & value | ||
| Free to create and share | Free for couples | Free forever |
| No fees on gifts or cash | 2.5% on card cash | No fees |
| No paywalled features | Some paid add-ons | All free |
| Cash funds and honeymoon funds | Yes | Not offered |
| Platforms & devices | ||
| iPhone and iPad app | Yes | Yes |
| Native Android app | Discontinued 2023 | Phone + tablet |
| Browser extensions | Chrome, Firefox | Six browsers |
| Raycast quick-add | No | Yes |
| Sharing & privacy | ||
| Friends view without an account | Yes | Yes |
| Hidden reservations (owner cannot see) | Tracker shows all | Yes |
| Works outside the US | US only | Global |
| No ads or vendor lead fees | Vendor marketplace | Affiliate-only |
| Gifting features | ||
| Add items from any store | Redirect flow | Auto-fills |
| Group gifting / pooled funds | Yes | Quantity only |
| Secret Santa / gift exchange | No | Yes |
| Works for any occasion | Weddings only | Any occasion |
| Wedding tools | ||
| Free wedding website builder | 250+ templates | Not a wedding app |
| Invitations and stationery | Yes | No |
| Guest list and RSVP tracking | Yes | No |
| Vendor marketplace | 60,000+ vendors | No |
Both cost nothing to set up, but the small print differs. Couples pay nothing to build a Zola registry, website and guest list. The fees come later: 2.5% on cash contributions paid by credit card (zero only if guests use Venmo), plus paid extras like the seating chart at $14.99 and bulk SMS from $59.99. WishApp has no fees anywhere and no paid tier. It also has no cash funds, and Zola does those well.
Zola's iOS app is excellent, rated 4.9 across 93,000 ratings. Everything else is weaker. Zola shut down its Android app on January 1, 2023, which leaves half of US phone users on the mobile website. The Chrome extension was last updated in February 2024 and is rated 2.68. WishApp runs natively on iPhone, iPad, Android phones and tablets and macOS, with up-to-date extensions for Chrome, Edge, Brave, Opera, Firefox and Safari, plus Raycast.
Here the two are furthest apart. Zola's Gift Tracker shows couples exactly who bought what, and the surprise is handled by delaying shipping rather than hiding anything. WishApp hides reservations outright, so gift-givers see what's claimed and the list owner sees nothing. Zola is also US-only and shows international visitors an error. WishApp works worldwide and complies with GDPR. And while Zola runs a vendor marketplace paid for by lead fees, WishApp has no ads at all.
For planning a wedding, Zola is hard to beat. It has a website, invitations, RSVP tracking, a seating chart, a budget tracker, a marketplace of 60,000 vendors, group gifting that lets several guests pool money for one big item, and a 20% post-wedding discount you can use more than once. WishApp doesn't try to compete with that, because it isn't a wedding platform. It's a wishlist for any occasion, with Secret Santa and collaborative lists for the everyday gifting Zola doesn't cover.
Zola's interface is clean, and the registry checklist walks couples through getting started. External items are the weak spot. When a guest buys from a store Zola redirects them to, they have to come back and enter an order number to mark the gift as bought. Most don't, and duplicate gifts have been a complaint in App Store and BBB reviews for years. WishApp takes any product link and fills in the title, image and price for you, or saves it in one click from the browser extension.
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