RSVP and attendance estimator
Predict how many replies you will get, how many guests will actually arrive, and how many extra invitations to send.
Every host meets the same two numbers: the share of guests who reply at all, and the share of those who actually turn up. Neither is 100%. Caterers, venues and seating plans are all priced on the second number, which is why guessing it wrong is expensive in both directions.
This estimator turns the number of invitations you are sending into a reply count, an expected headcount, a realistic low-to-high range, and a suggestion for how many extra invitations to send. The reply and attendance rates are editable assumptions, not statistics about your guest list — you know your family better than a calculator does.
Runs in your browser · free · no sign-up
Your guest list
Households, not people — one invitation can cover a couple or a family.
Sets the starting reply rate.
Travel is the single biggest reason people decline.
Weeks between sending the invitation and the event.
Reply and attendance ratesAdjustClose
The defaults are planning rules of thumb. If you have run this event before, use your own numbers — the estimate is only as good as these rates.
Average household size on your list.
Share of invitations that get any answer at all.
Share of invited guests who actually turn up.
Below this much notice, the penalty is applied.
Percentage points taken off the attendance rate.
Low end of the range, as a share of the expected count.
High end of the range, as a share of the expected count.
Spare invitations worth printing or sending.
What to plan for
Expected guests
153
85% of 180 invited guests
Realistic range
122–176
Low to high, from your range factors
Seats to hold
23
Extra seats between expected and high
Replies
Attendance
Give the caterer the expected figure and the high figure, not the low one: guaranteeing a number you cannot reach costs money, but running out of seats costs goodwill.
How to use it
- 1Enter the number of invitations, not the number of people. One invitation usually covers a couple or a family.
- 2Set how many guests one invitation covers on average. Two is the default; a list that is mostly single friends will be closer to one.
- 3Choose the event type to load a starting reply rate. A dinner party gets answered; a large cocktail invitation often does not.
- 4Tell the tool whether most guests are local or travelling, and how many weeks of notice you are giving.
- 5Compare the expected headcount with the low and high figures, and use the high figure when you confirm numbers with the venue.
How the maths works
Invited guests = invitations × guests per invitation. Expected replies = invitations × reply rate. Expected attendance = invited guests × attendance rate, after any short-notice adjustment.
Short notice is the one adjustment the tool applies automatically. If you are inside the notice window set in the assumptions (four weeks by default), the attendance rate is reduced by the short-notice penalty, because guests who would have come cannot rearrange a weekend at ten days' notice.
The low and high figures are the expected headcount scaled by 80% and 115%. That range is not a confidence interval; it is a planning bracket. Quote the high figure to the caterer and the low figure to nobody — an empty chair costs less than a missing meal.
- Invited guests = invitations × average guests per invitation
- Expected replies = invitations × reply rate
- Expected guests = invited guests × attendance rate
- Headcount buffer = high estimate − expected guests
- Extra invitations = invitations × extra-invite buffer
A worked example
A wedding with 90 invitations, two guests per invitation, mostly local guests and ten weeks' notice:
- Invited guests
- 180
- Expected replies
- 68 invitations (75%)
- Attendance rate applied
- 85%
- Expected guests
- 153
- Realistic range
- 122 – 176 guests
- Headcount buffer
- 23 seats
- Extra invitations to send
- 14
Shorten the notice to three weeks and the tool applies the ten-point short-notice penalty, dropping the attendance rate to 75% and the expected headcount to 135 — the same guest list, a materially different number for the caterer.
Frequently asked questions
What is a normal RSVP response rate?
For a wedding with a clear deadline, 70–80% of invitations get a reply. Smaller events with a personal invitation do better; large, informal parties do worse. The tool's defaults sit in that range and are editable, because the honest answer is that your guest list decides.
How many guests should I expect to actually attend?
Plan on 80–90% of invited guests attending when most of them live nearby, and around 70% when most of them have to travel. Destination events and holiday weekends run lower still. Add the people who reply late and the plus-ones nobody mentioned.
Why should I use the high estimate for the caterer?
Because caterers charge for guaranteed covers, and being one table short is a worse outcome than paying for a few unused meals. Confirm the high figure, then reduce it at the final headcount deadline if the replies genuinely came in lower.
How many extra invitations should I send?
A 10–15% buffer is the usual advice when you have a B-list and enough room, because a predictable share of invitees decline. Only send extras you can actually host: if venue capacity is the binding constraint, the buffer belongs in the seating plan, not the guest list.
Does this calculator store my guest numbers?
No. Everything is calculated in your browser and nothing is sent to a server or saved. Reload the page and the numbers are gone, which is also why there is no account to create.
Ready to send the invitation itself?
InviteVia turns your plan into a digital invitation with RSVP collection, guest messaging and a link you can share or print as a QR code.
Where to go next
How to word an RSVP request
Wording that gets a straight answer, including how to ask for a reply by a fixed date.
Wedding RSVP guide for hosts
Chasing replies, handling maybes, and locking the final headcount without losing friends.
When to send wedding invitations
The notice window that gives guests time to reply and gives you time to chase.
All planning tools
The other free tools in this section, in one place.
These figures are planning rules of thumb, not quotes or guarantees. Rates are editable defaults, and your venue or caterer may use different ones — treat the output as a starting point for a conversation. Nothing you type is uploaded or stored.