Spreadsheets, group chats, and payment apps
Reunionsoft vs Do it yourself: free tools and one exhausted volunteer vs one workspace.
In their words: “A Google Sheet, a Facebook group, a Google Form, and four payment apps.”
Most reunions still run on tools nobody chose: a class list in Google Sheets, a Facebook group that a third of the class sees, a Google Form for RSVPs, and whichever of Venmo, Zelle, Cash App, or PayPal each classmate happens to have. It costs nothing in dollars. It costs one volunteer their evenings for six months, and the money ends up mixed into somebody's personal account.
The short version
Who should pick which.
Doing it yourself works right up until it doesn't: the class list goes stale, the Facebook group reaches a third of the class, and one person is refereeing four payment apps against a spreadsheet at midnight. Reunionsoft exists because our founder ran a 25-year reunion exactly that way. If your class is small and the reunion is free, the sheet is fine. If you're selling tickets and half the class is missing, it isn't.
Do it yourself is best for
A small class, a free or potluck reunion, and a volunteer with more time than budget.
Reunionsoft is best for
The volunteer who has to find the class, get the word out, sell the tickets, and keep the committee organized, for one flat fee.
Pricing
What each one costs.
Reunionsoft
$99 flat during the First Day of Fall Sale (reg. $149) + 2.9% and $0.25 per ticket
- One flat fee per reunion, $149 regular and $99 during the always-on holiday sale
- 2.9% and $0.25 per ticket, card processing included; free and potluck reunions never trigger it
- People search on credits, charged only for a verified match
- Nothing due until you add your own classmates or go live
- 30-day money-back guarantee, no questions asked
Do it yourself
Free, plus your evenings
- Google Sheets, Forms, Gmail, and a Facebook group: free
- Zelle and personal Venmo: free, no buyer protection, no record beyond a screenshot
- Venmo goods and services: 1.9% + $0.10; PayPal: 3.49% + $0.49; Cash App for Business: 2.75%
- The venue deposit goes on one person's card until enough classmates pay
- Refunds are whatever the treasurer can reconstruct from four apps
Typical tools and their published rates, checked September 2026.
Do the math
A 300-ticket reunion at $75 a ticket ($22,500 gross)
Reunionsoft
$827
Sale price. $149 at the regular price.
Do it yourself
$0
Zelle and personal Venmo are free. Reconciling four apps against a spreadsheet is not.
Total fees the class pays, including card processing, whether the buyer or the committee is the one charged. People-search credits, domains, and optional add-ons aren’t included on either side.
The Reunionsoft advantage
Where we pull ahead.
- We find the classmates nobody on the committee is still in touch with. Facebook search never will.
- One send reaches everyone by email and text, and every reply lands in one inbox instead of six.
- Ticket money goes to the committee's own bank account, not a volunteer's Venmo, and the budget shows how many seats cover the deposit.
- The class site, RSVPs, who's coming, tasks, and check-in live in one place the whole committee can see.
The honest take
Where Do it yourself is better.
- Free, and every classmate already has Venmo and Facebook.
- No learning curve. Everyone knows how a spreadsheet works.
- Fine for a 30-person class meeting at a bar with no tickets.
Features
Row by row.
- Yes Yes
- Partial Partial
- No No
- Not stated Not stated on their site
| Feature | Reunionsoft | Do it yourself |
|---|---|---|
| Find the class | ||
| Finds lost classmatesLooks up current contact info for names you can't reach. | YesLicensed public-record match with a confidence score. Pay per verified find. | PartialFacebook search, mutual friends, and phone calls. Weeks of it, and the quiet ones stay lost. |
| Classmate rosterOne list of the class with contact and RSVP status. | YesImport a list or yearbook pages; every classmate has contact, status, and RSVP. | PartialA Google Sheet, as current as whoever last touched it. |
| Get the word out | ||
| Email invitationsBulk, tracked email to the class. | YesSave-the-date, invite, and last-call sequences, pre-written and tracked. | PartialGmail BCC, which caps at 500 a day and lands in spam. |
| Text message invitationsSMS from inside the product. | YesTwo-way texting from a shared class number. | PartialGroup texts from your own number. |
| Replies in one inboxEmail and text replies land in a shared inbox. | YesEmail and text replies land in one shared inbox. | NoReplies land in six inboxes and two phones. |
| The reunion site | ||
| Reunion websiteSchedule, venue, hotels, contact. | YesSchedule, venue map, hotel blocks, coordinators, contact form. | PartialA Facebook event or group. Only classmates on Facebook see it. |
| School colors and brandingThe site looks like your school, not the vendor. | YesSchool colors, logo, and cover art. | No |
| Custom domainyourclass.com instead of vendor.com/yourclass. | YesBuy or connect a domain from the settings page. | No |
| Private class groupPosts, comments, and polls for classmates only. | YesPosts, comments, polls, pinned announcements, who's coming. | PartialA Facebook group. Facebook decides who sees each post. |
| Photo sharingClassmates upload then-and-now photos. | PartialPhotos in group posts and the cover gallery. No standalone album yet. | YesFacebook does this well. |
| In memoriam pageA place to remember classmates who have passed. | NoNot yet. On the roadmap. | PartialA post in the group. |
| RSVPs and money | ||
| RSVPsYes, maybe, no, and a who's-coming list. | YesYes, maybe, can't make it, and a guest list. | PartialA Google Form or Facebook going and interested, which nobody updates. |
| Online ticket salesCard payments on the site. | YesStripe checkout on the class page. | PartialVenmo, Zelle, Cash App, PayPal, and checks, reconciled by hand. |
| Tiers, plus-ones, early birdMore than one ticket type and price. | YesTiers, plus-ones, early-bird pricing, gift a ticket. | NoOne price, and a note in the memo field. |
| Payouts to the committee's bankMoney goes to the class, not a personal card. | YesStraight to the committee's bank account, typically within two business days. | PartialStraight into one volunteer's personal account, mixed with their groceries. |
| Budget trackerCosts, deposits, and how many tickets to break even. | YesVenue-minimum alerts and tickets-to-break-even. | PartialAnother tab in the sheet. |
| Running the committee | ||
| Multiple organizersThe whole committee shares one workspace. | YesInvite the committee; roles control who can message or move money. | PartialA shared sheet and a shared password. |
| Task boardWho owns the DJ, the venue, the photographer. | YesTask board with volunteer roles. | PartialA group chat and memory. |
| Check-in with name tagsA door list for the night of. | YesDoor list with name tags that print the senior-year photo. | PartialA printed list and a Sharpie. |
| AI planning assistantAsk questions, get the reunion built with you. | YesPlanner AI answers questions and builds the reunion with you. | No |
| The deal | ||
| Try it before payingClick around before any money changes hands. | YesA workspace full of sample data before any payment. | YesIt's free. |
| No subscriptionOne fee for one reunion, not a monthly bill. | YesOne fee, one reunion. | Yes |
| Money-back guaranteeA refund window after you pay. | Yes30 days, full refund, no questions asked. | No |
For a small, free reunion, yes. Once you're collecting money for a venue, you need to know who paid, refund the ones who can't make it, and cover a deposit before the money is in. That's where the sheet and four apps fall apart. Our founder wrote up exactly how it went.
Keep it. Reunionsoft gives you one join link to drop into the group, and the class page, RSVPs, and tickets live behind it. The group is great for reach among people already on Facebook; it can't find the ones who aren't.
You can, but you lose the point. Stripe checkout on the class page records every sale against the roster, pays the committee's bank account, and makes refunds a button. Cash and checks can still be logged by hand on the tickets page.
More comparisons
The rest of the field.
The class is out there. Go get them.
Click around a workspace full of sample data before you pay a cent. If it isn’t the right fit within 30 days of paying, email us for a full refund.
$99 flat (First Day of Fall Sale, reg. $149) + 2.9% and $0.25 per ticket
Competitor details and prices checked September 2026 from each vendor’s public website and may have changed since; verify with the vendor before deciding. Third-party product names and brands are trademarks of their respective owners, used for identification and comparison only, and their use implies no affiliation or endorsement.