Quick answer
Publish your event page and share its public RSVP link anywhere — a group chat, a community board, a social post. Guests add their own name and details, and each response arrives on the same list as any invited guest.
When an open link is the right call
Per-guest invitations are ideal when you have addresses. Plenty of events do not: a neighbourhood gathering, a club night, a school fundraiser, a birthday organised entirely in one group chat where you have phone numbers for half the people and nicknames for the rest.
In those cases, collecting the list is the job. An open RSVP link inverts the flow — instead of you entering guests and inviting them, guests enter themselves and you end up with the list you did not have.
What you give up
Be clear-eyed about the trade-offs before you share the link publicly:
- Anyone with the link can respond, so it is not the right tool for a private wedding
- You cannot tell in advance who has not replied, because there is no "invited" list to compare against
- Names are typed by guests, so expect "Dave" and "David Wilson" to be the same person
Controls worth using
An open link does not have to mean an open door. A password on the event page keeps it to people you have shared the password with, which suits a semi-private gathering. You can also keep the full address off the public page and reveal it only to guests who have responded, which is worth doing for anything at a private home.
Mixing both approaches
Most real events are a mix, and that is fine. Invite the people whose contact details you have, then share the public link with the group where the rest live. Both routes feed one guest list, one headcount and one set of dietary notes — the distinction matters while you are collecting responses and disappears afterwards.
Cleaning up afterwards
Before you hand numbers to a caterer, scan the self-added entries for duplicates and obvious jokes, and merge people who have signed up twice. It takes a few minutes and it is the only real cost of letting guests add themselves.
From that point on the event behaves exactly like any other: reminders, updates, a seating plan if you need one, and a headcount that came from the guests rather than from your best guess.