Who doesn’t love opening cards for holidays, special occasions, and birthdays? Growing up, every Easter, Christmas, birthday, and graduation, and New Year we’d look forward to opening cards from our families and it would let us know that they were thinking of us, even if they couldn’t be there to celebrate. Cards have become a sort of holiday tradition to keep your relatives up-to-date on the latest family news, whether it’s the birth of a new child or one of your children getting engaged, with cards you can say it all.
In our busy lives, we don’t always have time to buy a card at the store and sometimes we simply forget until the last minute and we can’t wait a couple of days for our cards to go through the mail. We haven’t even mentioned how expensive greeting cards are—who can afford to spend almost $5 on a greeting card, especially when you have dozens you need to send? That’s where online greeting cards, known as ecards, come in. Not only are they cost-effective and convenient, but they are also environmentally friendly and millions of people across the world are using them. Sending custom made greeting cards online is the best way to let your friends and family know that you’re thinking of them, regardless of how far away you are.
In the past, ecards have gotten a bad rap, as many free websites were hard to navigate or were filled with advertisements. What’s worse is that the cards were also poor quality. We’ve gone through tons of websites and narrowed it down to our eight favorites, that have high-quality cards to choose from for every occasion.
Image via IgorTishenko/depositphotos
Some Ecards
These cheeky, sarcastic cards are sure to give a good laugh to the recipient! The artwork is simplistic black and white sketches of people relaying the messages and it’s an ode to vintage styles. There are cards in every category, even some lesser-heard ones like PSA greeting cards and Breakup greeting cards. Did we mention they’re free?
Ojolie
The hand-painted with animated designs stand above the rest for the intricate messaging and audio playback. The membership costs are really low—one-year membership costs only $14 and you’ll have access to as many cards as you want. You can even send the same card to multiple people at once! The selection of free cards is rather limited, but they do offer free holiday and birthday cards.
Blue Mountain
Whether it’s Christmas, anniversaries, birthdays, engagements, thank you, or sympathy cards, Blue Mountain has it all! Blue Mountain has been around for a while and they offer animated, video, and interactive cards. For just $4.99 per month or $19.99 per year, you’ll have access to tons of ecards, printable cards, and poems. New members can try Blue Mountain for seven days for free! Members will also get reminders so they never forget special occasions, they can plan ahead to deliver the cards, and they can add gifts or gift cards to their cards.
Punchbowl
Send free ecards to all your friends and family at once with Punchbowl. Customize the envelopes liners, postage stamp design, and rubber stamp greeting before sending your ecard. You can even include a gift card with your if you’d like. Before you send a card, you can personalize the text with your name and you have the option of sending the card now or scheduling it for another date. If you install the mobile app and you send a card with an RSVP feature, you can get notifications when your guests confirm their presence.
123 Greetings
Are you tired of browsing free websites, only to not find what you’re looking for? 123 Greetings has very specific cards that aren’t available on other sites and tons of cards to choose from. In addition to the more traditional categories like Family, Wedding, and Flowers, you’ll find At Work, World Languages, and Keep in Touch. Within each category are subcategories which include most popular, lastest, videos, postcards, and GIF cards. Plus, you can turn your own photos into greeting cards! Be aware that the only customization you can make to free cards is changing the music or adding additional text that shows up below the card when the recipient opens it.
CrossCards
CrossCards is great is you love reading religious or faith-based messages. The heartwarming thoughts provide encouragement during tough times and blessings during the ones to celebrate. The cards are free and they also offer some non-religious based cards. You can send the cards in the future and you’ll get an email when the card has been sent.
Open Me
Do you like sharing ecards through Facebook? The designs on this site are classic with cute illustrations and you can personalize blank cards with photos and messages. There are even Groups Cards that allow more than one person to work on a single card and add a message. It’s perfect if you want to wish a colleague farewell in the office or congratulate family members on the birth of a child. Plus, it’s totally free!
Wrongcards
These witty, sarcastic free cards are great for celebrating or letting your friends and family know you’re thinking about them. The categories are super unique and they include TGIF, zombies, flirting, and celebrity. The humor can be a bit dark, so be careful who you send these ecards to.
