Importing your guest list

You can build your guest list by uploading a spreadsheet instead of typing every guest by hand. InviteBird reads a plain CSV file, and it also recognizes exports from several other invitation services automatically — so in most cases you can download your list from your old tool and upload it straight into InviteBird with no reformatting.

Before you start

Each guest needs a name plus at least one way to reach them: an email, a phone number, or both. A row that has neither is skipped, because there would be no way to send that guest an invitation. If a name is missing but there's a contact, InviteBird fills the name in from the email or phone so no guest is quietly lost.

Your file must be a .csv file. Exports from other invitation tools and from spreadsheet apps like Excel, Numbers, and Google Sheets are already in this format — look for a "Download as CSV" option. Commas, semicolons (what Excel uses in much of Europe) and tabs are all read correctly, and names in any language — Arabic, Chinese, accents, even emoji — come in whole.

Import your list

1. Open your event and go to the Guests & RSVP tab.
2. Select the Import menu at the top of the page.
3. Pick where your list is coming from. Under Bring guests in from… you'll see the services InviteBird recognizes, each with a hint for where that service keeps its export:
   • Evite — Manage event → download guest list
   • Paperless Post — Guest list → Export
   • Punchbowl — Contacts → Export (web)
   • Greenvelope — Send step → export mailing list
   • RSVPify — Data exports
   • Google Contacts — contacts.google.com → Export → CSV
4. For any other spreadsheet, choose Any CSV file instead.
5. Choose your file and wait for the upload to finish.
6. Review the summary that appears.

Every row in that menu opens the same file picker, and InviteBird detects the format from the file itself — so it doesn't matter if you tap "Evite" and upload a Paperless Post export, or vice versa. The rows are signposts to help you find your export, not separate importers.

If you don't have a file yet, select Template to download a starter CSV with name, email, and phone columns already filled with a couple of example rows. Replace the examples with your guests and upload it back.

The import summary

After each upload you'll see a one-line summary of what happened, for example: 34 guests added · 3 duplicates skipped · 2 rows couldn't come in. It always leads with what landed and only mentions the skip reasons that actually occurred.

• Added — new guests placed on your list.
• Duplicates skipped — rows that matched a guest already on the list (or an earlier row of the same file), by email or phone. Phone numbers match however they're written, so (555) 123-4567 and +1 555 123 4567 are the same guest. See Removing guests and handling duplicates.
• Rows that couldn't come in — the summary names the first few by their row number in your file and says why: no email or phone, an email that doesn't look right, a phone number that's too short, or a phone number Excel turned into a number like 4.47E+11 (format that column as Text and export again). A row with a broken email but a good phone still comes in, by phone.

When InviteBird recognizes the source service, the summary adds a note such as Recognized Paperless Post export. You don't have to rename or rearrange the columns first — the different layouts each service uses are handled for you.

Uploaded the wrong file? The summary has an Undo button. It removes exactly the guests that upload added — nobody else on your list is touched.

What your guests will see

Importing only builds your list. Nobody is contacted until you send invitations. If your event is already live when you import, the summary reminds you to send the new guests their invitation from Messages. InviteBird deliberately does not re-blast the whole list when you import, so existing guests aren't messaged again.

If your list is bigger than your plan

Your plan is sized by guest count, and it only starts to apply once your invitations have gone out. If you import a list larger than a sent event's plan allows, InviteBird imports everyone who fits and holds the rest — no guest is dropped. A gold Finish import (N waiting) button appears on the Guests tab; make room (upgrade, or trim the list) and select it to bring the rest in.

On a paid event with a plan to move up to, you'll also see a dialog offering to import everyone right away — you pay only the difference to the larger plan, and the waiting guests import automatically the moment it goes through. See Guest limits and plans.

Common questions

Which services can InviteBird import from? Evite, Paperless Post, Punchbowl, Greenvelope, RSVPify, and Google Contacts are auto-detected, plus any generic CSV with a name column and an email or phone column.

I re-uploaded an updated list — will it fix existing guests' details? No. Rows that match a guest already on your list are treated as duplicates and skipped, not merged. To change an existing guest's email or phone, open their row on the Guests tab and edit it there.

Can I safely combine two exports? Yes. Duplicates are matched on email or phone, so the same guest appearing in two files is only added once.

Do my guests get an email when I import them? No. Importing never contacts anyone. Guests hear from you only when you send invitations or a message.

Why couldn't some rows come in? The summary lists each one by its row number with the reason. Fix those rows in your spreadsheet and upload the file again — the guests already added are skipped as duplicates, so only the fixed rows land.

The upload was rejected — what happened? Only .csv files (and tab-separated .tsv / .txt) are accepted. If your file ends in .xlsx, .numbers, or another format, re-save or export it as CSV first.

Related articles

• Removing guests and handling duplicates
• Guest limits and plans
• Allowing plus-ones and additional guests
• Adding guests