RSVP tracker for text invites
To track RSVPs from a text invite, keep one list of guests and mark each Yes, No, Maybe or No reply as answers come in. Count the Yes rows for your headcount. Then nudge only the No reply guests, one private text each, about a day to a week after your RSVP-by date.
Nobody yet. Add first names below. Everyone starts as No reply.
No {firstName} in this text. Sent to several people in one message, it may become a group chat where everyone sees every reply. Send it one person at a time.
Pasting this into one message with several people in To still makes a group. Send it to one person at a time.
The calendar file only reminds you. It doesn't send anything.
Saved in this browser only. Names and answers never go in the share link, which carries just the date and event type. Clearing browsing data erases the list, so download the CSV if the event is weeks away. This page can't read your texts; you mark answers yourself.
In Batchrunner 2.2, include {firstName} to open one conversation per person; without a merge token, a batch can open as a group. The app opens Messages for each person — you tap Send. Free for up to 10 people per send.
The short answer
Keeping track of who replied to your invite means writing down each guest's answer in one list: Yes, No, Maybe or No reply. Text replies land in Messages, spread across many threads, so nothing tallies them for you. Your headcount is the Yes rows plus their plus-ones. Maybe rows are a range, not a number. Every guest who hasn't answered stays "No reply" until you hear back. Silence isn't a no, so nudge those guests rather than crossing them off. Nudge only the No reply guests, about a day to a week after your RSVP-by date, and send each one a private text.
How the tracker works
Set the RSVP-by date, add guests, mark answers, read the headcount, then write a nudge for the No reply guests.
- Set the RSVP-by date and event type. These two are the only things in the share link (
?by=2026-12-05&kind=party). Guest names and the event title never go into a URL. - Add guests. Type or paste first names, one per line. Everyone starts as No reply.
- Mark answers as they arrive. When "yes!" comes in from Sam, tap Yes on Sam's row. Add plus-ones if Sam is bringing someone.
- Read the headcount. The line on top says it in words: who's coming, who can't, who's unsure, who's silent, and how many days are left.
- Write the nudge. The tracker drafts one text for the No reply guests only. It uses
{firstName}, so each guest sees their own name. Preview it for each name before you copy it. - Put the nudge day in your calendar. The .ics file adds one event on the suggested nudge day (table below).
- Download a CSV. It has one row per guest (first name, status, plus-ones).
After the RSVP-by date the nudge becomes a "last call." When nobody is left on No reply, the tracker offers a day-before reminder for the Yes guests.
When to nudge, by event type
Advice on RSVP timing comes mostly from wedding and invitation vendors and parent forums, not from studies. The table shows what each source says and labels it. The last column is what this tracker suggests for the .ics. That's our default, not a rule, and you can change it.
Event (kind=) | When invites go out | RSVP-by date | First nudge to No reply | Most nudges | Tracker's default nudge day | Source (tier) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Party (party) | 2–3 weeks before (kids' parties; adult parties: no source found) | Not sourced; pick a date a week or so before the party | No sourced figure | 2–3 (Joy's wedding range, borrowed) | 1 day after RSVP-by, 10:00 | Mumsnet parents (forum, UK) · our default |
Wedding (wedding) | Formal invite after the save-the-date | 4–6 weeks before the wedding | One general reminder 2–4 weeks before the deadline; individual nudges about 1 week after it | 2–3 in total | 7 days after RSVP-by, 10:00 | Joy (vendor; its own numbers don't fully agree) |
Shower (shower) | 6–8 weeks before (baby showers) | No recommendation in the source | No sourced figure | 2–3 (Joy's wedding range, borrowed) | 3 days after RSVP-by, 10:00 | Paperless Post (vendor) · our default |
Team (team) | As soon as the plan is set | Short deadlines, often the same week | Same day as the deadline ("last call"), our default | 1, our default | On the RSVP-by date, 9:00 | Squadline (vendor, about cancellations) · our default |
Three findings hold across all four rows:
- Too early backfires. In a Mumsnet thread, a parent who gave six weeks' notice for a kids' party heard back from about seven guests. Others said to invite no more than two to three weeks ahead. These are forum reports, not data.
- Nudge one person at a time. WeddingWire suggests one general reminder, then individual nudges to the guests who haven't answered. It also advises against accusing tones ("Why haven't you responded?") and against treating silence as a no.
- The hour matters less than the day. The only controlled time-of-day test we found compared survey texts sent at 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. Completion rates showed no significant difference (Christian et al., 2024). That was a survey, not an invite. We use 9:00 to 10:00 so the nudge lands in daytime, and you can change it.
For nudge wording beyond the tracker's draft, see our page on the RSVP reminder text, which covers polite phrasing and follow-ups. For the invite itself, start from the page that fits: party invitation text, wedding texts, baby or bridal shower invitation text, or texting your team's parents.
Why the nudge goes out as one text per guest
Apple says that in a group iMessage or group MMS, everyone sees all responses (Apple 118236). If you nudge six silent guests in one group message, all six see each other, and every "sorry, can't make it" goes to the whole group. One text per guest keeps the nudge private and keeps replies coming back to you only. To check your own list first, use will my text become a group chat. To send by hand, the send list on text many people individually on iPhone opens Messages for one guest per row. To polish the wording and check its length, write a personal text for everyone on your list.
What this tracker can't do
The tracker can't read your texts, saves only to this browser, and doesn't send.
- It can't read your texts. Replies arrive in Messages and you mark them here; the Batchrunner app doesn't read replies either.
- It saves to this browser only. Clearing browsing data or switching phones loses the list. Download the CSV if the event is weeks away. The Batchrunner app privacy policy covers the app.
- It doesn't send. It writes the nudge and the calendar file. You send the texts.
Six guests on No reply? Send them the nudge as six private texts. Copy the No reply names into a group in Batchrunner and paste the nudge. In Batchrunner 2.2, include {firstName} to open one conversation per person; without a merge token, a batch can open as a group. The app opens Messages batch by batch and you tap Send. Its ledger marks who's sent, remaining or skipped, and it can pick up where you stopped. Batchrunner doesn't read replies, so keep marking answers here. Free covers 10 recipients per send, 2 groups and 2 templates. Pro is $7.99/month or $39.99/year with a 3-day free trial. iPhone only, iOS 17+.
Get Batchrunner on the App StoreBatchrunner opens Messages; you tap Send for each recipient.
Questions people ask
Can I collect RSVPs via text?
Yes. Guests answer in Messages, and you mark each answer in a list like this one. A text reply doesn't fill in any form by itself, so the list is only as current as your last update.
Should I put a text RSVP option on the invitation?
If you do, add a firm RSVP-by date and ask for a one-word answer (YES or NO) plus the number of guests. Short, clear answers are quicker to mark Yes, No or Maybe here.
How do I word a text message invitation with RSVP?
Give the what, date, time and place, then one clear ask: 'Reply YES or NO by Nov 10.' Our occasion pages have wording for parties, weddings and showers.
What should an RSVP reminder text say?
Name the event and date, give the deadline, and ask for a one-word reply. Keep it warm, not accusatory. The tracker writes one for your No reply guests; our RSVP reminder page has more wording.
Sources (8)
- Joy, "Wedding RSVP reminder text: perfect examples that get responses" (vendor). withjoy.com/blog/wedding-rsvp-reminder-text-perfect-examples-that-get-responses/ (checked 3 Nov 2026)
- WeddingWire, "Guests who don't RSVP" (vendor). www.weddingwire.com/wedding-ideas/you-asked-we-answered-guests-who-dont-rsvp (checked 3 Nov 2026)
- Greenvelope, "Text message invitations" (vendor). www.greenvelope.com/blog/text-message-invitations/ (checked 3 Nov 2026)
- Mumsnet, "Pre-schooler birthday party RSVP etiquette" (parent forum, UK). www.mumsnet.com/talk/_chat/4348326-pre-schooler-birthday-party-rsvp-etiquette (checked 3 Nov 2026)
- Paperless Post, "When to send baby shower invites" (vendor). www.paperlesspost.com/blog/when-to-send-baby-shower-invites/ (checked 3 Nov 2026)
- Squadline, "How to communicate youth sports practice cancellations" (vendor). squadline.pages.dev/blog/how-to-communicate-youth-sports-practice-cancellations.html (checked 3 Nov 2026)
- Christian, Sun, Slowinski, Hansen, McRoy (NORC), "When to Text?", Journal of Survey Statistics and Methodology 12(3):674–696, 2024. academic.oup.com/jssam/article/12/3/674/7659477 (checked 3 Nov 2026)
- Apple Support article 118236 (group message types and replies). support.apple.com/en-us/118236 (checked 3 Nov 2026)