Honest, feature-by-feature comparisons against every seating tool couples usually consider — so you can pick with confidence.
The short version — click any row for the full comparison.
Competitor pricing and free tiers below were last checked in October 2026. Other companies change their terms without telling us — check their own site before making a decision on price alone.
| Tool | Price | Free tier | Sync | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seat the Day | $14 one-time, per wedding | 5 tables, unlimited guests | Live, two-way Google Sheets | Couples who want their guest list and chart to stay in sync |
| Canva | Free, or Pro $12.99/mo | Yes (general design tool, not seating-specific) | No — guest names are manually typed text boxes | Design tool |
| PerfectTablePlan | $29.95 one-time, per license | Free trial | No — CSV import | Desktop software |
| Plan Seats | $8.99/mo or $50 once (3 events); Pro $39.99/mo | 1 event, 20 guests, 4 tables | No — paste or CSV import | Simple charts with auto-assign |
| Planning.Wedding | $29 once per project for Premium | Yes, Basic plan | Limited | All-in-one suite |
| Please Find Your Seat | From $64.95 once per event | 1 event, up to 50 guests | No — CSV upload | Guest QR seat finder |
| Seat Puzzle | Not published on its site | Yes, free to start | No — built in the app, or imported | Detailed floor plans, any event |
| Seating Hero | $11.90–$14.90/month, or $99/year | No free plan | No — spreadsheet import | Monthly subscription |
| SeatPlanning.com | $29 once per event; $39–$89/mo for planners | 1 chart, 40 seats, 5 tables | No — Excel import | General events, auto seat distribution |
| Simplify Tables | $9.99 once per event | Up to 30 guests per event | No — CSV or Excel import | Large events, guest QR floor plan |
| Tableplan.io | $49 once per event, or $99/mo for planners | Free demo, no account | No — paste, CSV or Excel import | Keep-apart rules and auto-seat |
| WeddingWire Seating | Free, inside WeddingWire account | Yes, but locked to their marketplace | No — import from WeddingWire only | Marketplace tool |
| Zola | Free to 15 guests, then bundled with registry plan | 15 guests | No — import from Zola registry only | Registry platform |
Canva treats guest names as text boxes you edit by hand. We treat your guest list as data, synced live to your Google Sheet.
Desktop softwarePerfectTablePlan means installing desktop software and paying for version upgrades. We're free to try in any browser, no installs.
Simple, auto-assignPlan Seats is free to 20 guests, then $50 once or monthly. We’re free to 5 tables with unlimited guests, synced live with your Google Sheet.
All-in-one suitePlanning.Wedding bundles seating into an all-in-one suite, $29 per project for Premium. We charge for seating alone — keep the other tools you already use.
Guest displayPlease Find Your Seat is built around the guest QR code that finds each guest’s table. We’re built around the guest list in your Google Sheet.
Floor plansSeat Puzzle draws detailed floor plans for any event, on Apple, Android and the web. We keep your wedding guest list live in your Google Sheet.
Monthly subscriptionSeating Hero is a capable drag-and-drop tool billed monthly, with no free plan. We're free to five tables, then $14 once.
Free to startSeatPlanning.com is free to 40 seats and 5 tables, then $29 per event. Your guest list syncs live with us instead of being imported.
Any size eventSimplify Tables is cheaper at $9.99 per event and built for events of any size. We sync live with your Google Sheet and add catering counts and a shot list.
Per-event pricingTableplan.io is $49 per event, or $99 a month for planners. We’re free to 5 tables, then $14 once per wedding.
Marketplace toolWeddingWire's seating tool is free, but only inside their marketplace account. We work standalone — sync any Google Sheet, with no marketplace account around it.
Registry platformZola's seating tool only works well inside Zola's full ecosystem. We're standalone — sync with any Google Sheet.
No seating toolThe Knot gives you printable templates to fill in by hand, not a seating tool. We seat your guest list from a Google Sheet.
Website suiteJoy now sells a seating chart that uses your Joy guest list. We work from your own Google Sheet, with catering counts and a shot list.
Printed signsMinted makes the seating sign, not the plan. Decide who sits where here, then put it on a Minted design.
These tools all make seating charts. Seat the Day treats your guest list as the thing you keep, and seating as one of the things it builds.
The same list also builds a photography shot list covering the whole celebration, and Who’s Who, a printed face-reference sheet so your photographer can find your 93-year-old grandmother and tell the mother of the bride from her sister. Neither has an equivalent in the tools above.