WishCopy vs Punchbowl vs American Greetings: Which Birthday Ecard Should You Use?
If you've searched for a birthday ecard, you've probably landed on Punchbowl or American Greetings. They're two of the biggest names in it, and both are good at what they do.
WishCopy is the small one in this comparison, and it's our site, so take that into account. We've tried to be fair: everything below about the other two comes from their own pricing pages, checked in October 2026, and we've said plainly where they beat us.
The short version
- American Greetings if you send cards all year, for every occasion, and you'd like a celebrity to say their name in a video.
- Punchbowl if you want to attach a gift card and you're already using it for invitations.
- WishCopy if it's a birthday, it's one person, and you don't want to sign up for anything to send it.
Side by side
| WishCopy | Punchbowl | American Greetings | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | Free. Premium reveals $0.89 once, per card | Card plans listed from $1.49 to $2.99 a month (discounted from $2.99 to $5.99). Some free birthday ecards | $7.99 a month, $35.99 a year or $49.99 for two years. A free-card section too |
| Free trial | No trial needed | 7 days | 7 days |
| Account to send | No | Yes, for the plans | Yes, for membership |
| Ads | None on the card | Ad-free only on the top Preferred plan | Not stated on the membership page |
| What they do when it opens | They play it: blow out candles, scratch, unwrap, crack a seal. The message comes last | An animated card | An animated card, a Creatacard, or a celebrity SmashUp video |
| Your voice or video | Yes, recorded in the browser, plays inside the reveal | Video message on every plan | Not listed as a member benefit |
| Gift card attached | No | Yes | Yes |
| Scheduling | Free, up to a year ahead, with a countdown before it opens | On the Advanced and Preferred plans | Up to a year ahead |
| Help writing it | 600+ hand-written wishes and a free AI wish generator | Not listed | Smart message suggestions |
| Occasions | Birthdays, plus party invitations | Every occasion | Every occasion, 4,000+ ecards |
| How long it lasts | Free cards: 7 days after opening. Premium reveals and Encore: kept until you delete them | Not stated | Not stated |
Prices are in US dollars and change often, so check before you buy. "Not stated" means we couldn't find it on their pricing or membership page, not that they don't offer it.
Where American Greetings wins
Range. Over 4,000 ecards, new ones every season, and every occasion you can think of. If you're the person in the family who sends the anniversary card, the Mother's Day card and the "congrats on the new job" card, a membership pays for itself.
The celebrity SmashUps are genuinely fun too: personalised videos where someone famous calls them out by name. We don't have anything like that, and we're not going to pretend a candle reveal is the same thing.
It also has date reminders and cards you can schedule up to a year out. We have both of those as well (reminders go into your own calendar), but theirs are tied into the same place you send from, which is convenient.
Where Punchbowl wins
Gift cards. If the present is a gift card, Punchbowl lets you put it inside the card, so it all arrives together. WishCopy can't do that. The closest we get is a gift ideas page with links to shop.
It's also cheap if you only want a few cards a month: their entry plan was listed from $1.49 a month when we looked, with a video message included. And if you already use Punchbowl for party invitations, keeping everything in one account makes sense.
The catch is ads. On their own plan page, "Advertising free" only appears on the top Preferred plan.
Where WishCopy wins
There's nothing to sign up for. No account, no trial to remember to cancel, no card details unless you choose a premium reveal. You make it, you get a link, you send it however you normally message them.
It's something they do, not something they watch. This is the real difference. An ecard plays for them. A WishCopy reveal waits for them: they have to blow out the candles, scratch the ticket or break the seal before your message appears. It's a few seconds of effort, and it's what makes it feel like opening a present.
The extras most people want are free. Voice and video messages, scheduling with a countdown, the AI wish generator and the phrase library don't cost anything. On the other two, features like scheduling come with a paid plan.
No ads on the card, on any tier. The surprise page is never used for advertising.
When it's worth paying, you pay once. The premium reveals (Birth Sky, Music Box, Pop-Up Book, Zodiac, The Shed) are $0.89 each, with a free preview first and no subscription. They don't expire.
Where WishCopy falls short
- Birthdays only, mostly. If you need a sympathy card or a Diwali card, one of the other two will serve you better.
- No gift cards. Covered above.
- Free cards are temporary. A free wish and its photos and voice notes are deleted 7 days after it's opened. Encore ($0.89, once) keeps one for good, and the premium reveals are kept until you delete them.
- A much smaller catalogue. We have around twenty reveals, not thousands of designs. Each one is built from scratch, which is the trade.
Which one for which birthday
| The situation | Our pick |
|---|---|
| A coworker, and the office wants to chip in for a gift card | Punchbowl |
| Your nan, who'd love a celebrity saying her name | American Greetings |
| You send cards for every occasion, all year | American Greetings |
| Your partner, at midnight, with your voice in it | WishCopy |
| A friend's birthday is today and you don't want another subscription | WishCopy |
| Someone far away who'd rather open something than watch something | WishCopy |
If you're looking at Jacquie Lawson or Blue Mountain instead, we've compared those in a separate guide to membership e-card sites.
Questions people ask
Is WishCopy really free compared with Punchbowl and American Greetings?
Yes. The reveals, voice and video messages, scheduling and the wish generator cost nothing and need no account. Only the premium reveals ($0.89 each) and Encore ($0.89) are paid, and both are one-off.
Can I attach a gift card with WishCopy?
No. If the gift is a gift card, Punchbowl or American Greetings will let you put it inside the card. WishCopy's gift ideas page links to places to buy a present instead.
Do Punchbowl and American Greetings need an account?
Their paid plans do. Both start with a 7-day free trial that you can cancel, and American Greetings asks you to create an account before it starts.
Which one lets me add my own voice?
WishCopy records voice or video right in the browser on every card, free. Punchbowl includes a video message on its plans. American Greetings' membership page doesn't list recording your own; its video option is the celebrity SmashUps.
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