If you’re researching ways to send real birthday cards without going to the post office, two services come up often: Delivered Cards and Felt (the mobile app).
They sound similar at first — both mail physical cards, both let you personalize them, both save you a trip to the store. But under the hood, they’re optimized for completely different jobs.
This guide breaks down how they actually compare on pricing, automation, personalization, and use case — and which one fits which kind of user.
Quick Answer
- If you want to set up your friends’ and family’s birthdays once and have real cards mailed automatically every year — for as long as you want — Delivered Cards is the right fit. Flat $5/year per friend, true multi-year automation, set up in your browser, no per-card effort.
- If you want to handcraft individual cards on your phone with your own handwriting, photos, and multi-panel designs — Felt is the better tool. It’s premium, expressive, and built for one-off sending rather than recurring automation.
The rest of this article digs into the specifics.
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Delivered Cards | Felt | |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Recurring annual birthday cards to friends & family | One-off expressive cards across many occasions |
| Platform | Web (any device) | Mobile app (iOS / Android) |
| Pricing | $5/year per friend, all-inclusive | $4.50–$7.25 per card depending on panels; $6–$15/month subscriptions also available |
| Postage included? | Yes | Yes |
| Card designs | 6 curated designs | Hundreds of designs from independent artists |
| Personal message | You write it once, printed inside | You write each one by hand using finger or stylus |
| Handwriting | Printed text | Your actual handwriting (drawn on screen) |
| Photo cards | No | Yes |
| Multi-panel cards | No | Yes (1–4 panel accordion-style) |
| Occasions supported | Birthdays only | All occasions (birthdays, holidays, thank-yous, weddings, baby, etc.) |
| Automation model | Set up once per friend → cards mail every year automatically | Reminders 10 days before birthdays; you still create and send each card |
| Recurring across years | Yes, by default | No — you handcraft each card each year |
| International shipping | U.S. only | International ($1 extra per card) |
| Effort per birthday | Zero after initial setup | ~5–15 min per card to design and handwrite |
| Run by | Husband-and-wife team in Virginia | Established Shark Tank company, larger team |
The Fundamental Difference
Before getting into pricing, it’s worth being clear about the core distinction — because they’re actually solving different problems.
Felt is a creator tool. It’s a mobile app where you, the user, design and “handwrite” every card. You pick a layout, optionally add photos, optionally add multiple connected panels, then write a personal message with your finger or a stylus. The app prints exactly what you drew, on premium paper, and mails it. The output is genuinely personal because you made it.
Delivered Cards is an automation tool. You pick a card design and write your message once per friend. From then on, that card — with your message — is printed and mailed before that friend’s birthday every year, automatically, as long as you keep the subscription active. The output is also personal, but the work is done up front and never repeated.
If you love the act of creating cards, Felt is delightful. If you want birthday cards handled in the background while you focus on other things, Delivered Cards is built for that.
Pricing: Real-World Scenarios
Here’s how the costs and time investment actually shake out for typical use cases.
Scenario 1: 10 birthday cards a year, single-panel cards
With Felt:
- $4.50 × 10 = $45/year
- Plus 10 × ~10 minutes to design and handwrite each card = ~100 minutes of active work per year
- You’ll need to repeat this every year — the app reminds you, but you create the cards each time
With Delivered Cards:
- $5 × 10 = $50/year
- ~30 seconds × 10 friends to set up the first time, then zero ongoing work
- The same setup runs forever until you cancel
Pricing is within ~$5. The real difference is the ~100 minutes a year of active card-making that Felt requires and Delivered Cards doesn’t.
Scenario 2: 25 birthday cards a year
With Felt:
- $4.50 × 25 = $112.50/year — or use the $6/month subscription tier ($72/year for 3 cards/month, 36 total) which works out cheaper if you actually use all 36
- ~4+ hours of card-making per year
With Delivered Cards:
- $5 × 25 = $125/year
- ~15 minutes of one-time setup, then nothing
Costs land in the same ballpark. Felt can be slightly cheaper if you commit to a subscription and use it. Delivered Cards is more predictable and requires no ongoing labor.
Scenario 3: You want to send a beautiful, multi-panel photo card to your best friend for her 40th
With Felt:
- Felt is built for exactly this. A 3- or 4-panel accordion card with photos and your handwriting is its specialty. ~$6.25–$7.25.
With Delivered Cards:
- Not the right tool for this. Delivered Cards doesn’t do multi-panel or photo cards.
For special, expressive, one-time cards, Felt is clearly the better tool.
Where Delivered Cards Wins
For the specific use case of recurring birthday cards to friends and family, Delivered Cards has real advantages:
1. True multi-year automation, with zero ongoing effort. This is the biggest functional difference. Felt sends you birthday reminders ten days before each birthday — useful, but it’s still a reminder to do the work. With Delivered Cards, there’s no reminder because there’s nothing to do. The cards just go out.
2. Predictable, all-inclusive flat price. $5 per friend, per year. Forever. No per-panel upcharges, no subscription minimums, no photo upload fees, no postage extras.
3. Web-based, not phone-based. You can manage your friend list, update addresses, and edit messages from any device with a browser. No app to download, no mobile-only workflows.
4. Built for the recurring use case. Delivered Cards is specifically optimized for birthdays you’ll celebrate every year for years to come — your parents, siblings, close friends, kids’ godparents. The whole feature set is calibrated for that pattern.
5. Run by people, not by an app. Delivered Cards is operated by a husband-and-wife team in Virginia. When you email them, you reach one of two people who actually built the service.
Where Felt Wins
Felt has clear advantages for the right use case:
1. Genuine handwriting. This is Felt’s signature feature, and it’s a real one. You write the message with your finger or a stylus on your phone, and the card prints exactly what you wrote. The result feels noticeably more personal than printed text — because it actually is your handwriting.
2. Multi-panel cards. The 4-inch accordion format that lets you mix photos and designs across multiple connected panels is genuinely unique. No other major service offers it.
3. Photo cards. Felt lets you put your own photos onto cards. Birth announcements, anniversary cards with old photos, vacation postcards — anything photo-driven, Felt does well.
4. Many occasions, not just birthdays. Thank-yous, weddings, holidays, get-well, baby announcements — all from one app. If you send cards across many occasions, Felt is more flexible.
5. Hundreds of designs from independent artists. Far more aesthetic variety than Delivered Cards’ 6 curated designs.
6. International shipping. Felt mails worldwide for $1 extra per card. Delivered Cards is U.S.-only.
7. Add-on gifts. Felt has a small curated gift catalog (coffee, tea, etc.) you can attach to a card.
Which Should You Choose?
A simple decision framework:
Choose Delivered Cards if:
- You want to send birthday cards to the same group of people year after year
- You want the cards to happen without you doing anything ongoing
- You’d rather spend 30 seconds setting up a friend than 10 minutes designing each card
- You want one predictable, flat price per recipient
- You prefer supporting a small, owner-operated business
Choose Felt if:
- You want each card to be genuinely handwritten and visually unique
- You’re sending cards across many occasions, not just birthdays
- You want photo cards or multi-panel designs
- You enjoy the act of creating cards on your phone
- You need international shipping
Use both if:
- You set up Delivered Cards for the routine annual birthdays (Mom, Dad, siblings, in-laws), and use Felt for the special, expressive, one-off cards (your best friend’s 40th, a baby announcement, a wedding congrats)
This is actually a common pattern — the services complement each other rather than fully overlap.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Delivered Cards a Felt alternative?
Yes, for the specific use case of recurring personal birthday cards. Both services mail real physical cards, but they’re optimized for different workflows. Felt is a phone-based creator tool for one-off expressive cards. Delivered Cards is a web-based automation tool for recurring annual birthdays.
Which is cheaper, Delivered Cards or Felt?
For typical personal use, the cost is comparable. Delivered Cards is $5 per friend per year, all-inclusive. Felt’s single-panel cards start at $4.50 each (postage included), so 10 cards/year on Felt is about $45 versus $50 on Delivered Cards. Felt’s subscription tiers can lower the per-card cost if you use them consistently. The bigger difference is in time invested per year — Felt requires per-card effort, Delivered Cards doesn’t.
Does Felt have true year-after-year automation?
Not in the same way as Delivered Cards. Felt sends birthday reminders 10 days before each birthday and lets you schedule a card for a future date, but it doesn’t automatically create and mail cards every year on its own. You still design and send each card. Delivered Cards genuinely runs in the background, mailing the same card with your message every year until you cancel.
Are the cards real, physical cards on both services?
Yes. Both Delivered Cards and Felt mail real, physical greeting cards via USPS with first-class postage. Neither sends eCards or digital notifications.
Can I write my own message on both?
Yes — both services let you personalize the message. The difference is how: Felt lets you handwrite each message on your phone with a finger or stylus, so it prints in your actual handwriting. Delivered Cards prints your typed message in clean, printed text. You write it once per friend, and that message is used every year.
Which has more card designs?
Felt has significantly more — hundreds of designs from independent artists across many occasion types. Delivered Cards offers 6 curated designs focused specifically on birthdays.
Can Felt mail cards internationally?
Yes, Felt ships internationally for $1 extra per card. Delivered Cards currently mails to U.S. addresses only.
Is Delivered Cards a mobile app?
No, Delivered Cards is a web-based service — you manage everything through a browser, on any device. Felt is mobile-first (iOS and Android), with most features designed for a phone or tablet.
Which is better for personal use?
Both can work for personal use, but they serve different patterns. For sending recurring birthday cards to the same group of people every year, Delivered Cards is more efficient — less ongoing time, more automation, more predictable cost. For occasional, expressive, one-off cards (a big-deal birthday, a thank-you, a holiday card with photos), Felt is more flexible and visually richer.
Can I use both?
Yes — many people do. Delivered Cards handles the recurring “I want to send a card every year to Mom, Dad, my brother, my best friend, my grandmother” list. Felt handles the special, one-off, “I want to make something beautiful for this specific moment” cards.
The Bottom Line
Felt and Delivered Cards are both legitimate, well-built services. The choice depends on what you’re actually trying to do.
If you want expressive, handcrafted cards you make on your phone for every occasion, Felt is excellent.
If you want a set-it-once, runs-forever system for sending real birthday cards to the people you love every year — at a flat $5 per friend per year, with no ongoing effort — Delivered Cards is purpose-built for that.
You can sign up at deliveredcards.com and add your first friend in about 30 seconds.