Best marriage biodata makers, compared

The makers side by side

Prices are in rupees. "Not stated" means the maker's own pages don't say.

Which one to choose

You want a finished biodata in a few minutes

Royal Biodata. You fill in one form, and the layout, spacing and headings are done for you in whichever of the 52 designs you pick. Two designs are free; the rest are ₹49, paid once.

You want to design the page yourself

Canva. It has more than 20,000 biodata templates and lets you move, recolour and resize anything. Expect to spend longer, and to fix the spacing by hand when your details run longer than the template's sample.

You need Tamil, Telugu, Bengali, Gujarati or another language we don't offer

A biodata app (one popular app offers 13 Indian languages), or biodatabuilder.in, simplebiodatamaker.in or freebiodatamaker.com, which each cover several languages we don't have yet.

You want a Word file that a relative can edit

Royal Biodata or freebiodatamaker.com, which both offer a Word download. Canva can't: its Word download works only for Canva Docs, not for designs. We also give away blank Word formats on our Word page.

You want it free and plain

Any of the free biodata websites, or our two free designs. If you'd rather not have a website's name at the bottom of your biodata, look at a downloaded copy before you send it.

What we compared, and why

A biodata travels a long way. It is forwarded on WhatsApp, printed for grandparents, and sometimes corrected by an uncle before it goes out. So we looked first at what each maker gives you at the end: a PDF that prints the same on any printer, an image that opens straight away in a chat, and a Word file someone else can change.

We also looked at the price you actually pay, the languages the headings come in, whether you have to create an account, and whether free downloads carry the maker's name. We did not score how good the designs look, because that is a matter of taste; each maker's gallery is a better guide than our opinion.

Royal Biodata: strengths and gaps

Strength: made for Indian marriage biodatas

The fields and their order follow what families expect, the Hindi and Marathi headings are written properly, and there are starting points for Hindu, Muslim, Jain and Christian biodatas.

Strength: three files from one form

A PDF for printing, a JPG image for WhatsApp and a Word file to edit, all from the same details.

Strength: your details stay with you

What you type is saved in your own browser while you work, not on our servers, and the files are made on your device.

Gap: three languages

English, Hindi and Marathi only, for now. If your family needs Tamil or Gujarati headings, another maker will suit you better.

Gap: no free-hand editing

You choose a design and fill it in. You can't drag elements around the page the way you can in Canva.

Gap: no app

It works in your phone's browser, but there is no Play Store app to install.

Canva: strengths and gaps

Strength: freedom

Every element can be moved, recoloured or replaced, and the template library is far larger than any biodata maker's.

Strength: a capable free plan

Many biodata templates are free, and the free plan downloads PDF, PNG and JPG files.

Gap: the time it takes

You replace each text box yourself, and longer details often push the layout out of shape.

Gap: no Word file for a biodata

Canva's Help Centre says Word downloads are only available for Canva Docs, so an A4 biodata design can't be downloaded for editing in Word.

Gap: an account is required

You need to sign up to edit and download, and your design is saved in your Canva account online.

Biodata apps: strengths and gaps

Strength: many languages

The Play Store has many biodata makers, and one popular app offers 13 Indian languages, from Assamese to Urdu.

Strength: built for phones

Everything happens in one app on your phone, and the more popular of the two we checked has more than 10 lakh downloads.

Gap: ads and in-app purchases

Both apps we checked sell extras inside the app, and the more downloaded one also shows ads.

Gap: where your details go

Depending on the app, your details stay on the phone or go to the developer's servers. The Play Store's Data safety section shows what an app collects; read it before you add your photo and phone number.

Free biodata websites: strengths and gaps

Strength: no account

None of the five free sites we checked asks you to sign up before you download.

Strength: wider language choice

Several cover Gujarati, Tamil, Telugu, Bengali or Kannada, which we don't offer yet.

Gap: fewer file types

Most give you a PDF only. A few add an image, and freebiodatamaker.com also offers Word.

Gap: free, but with limits

Some keep their better designs behind a payment: simplebiodatamaker.in charges ₹40 to ₹80 for a premium template, and freebiodatamaker.com and createmybiodata.com sell premium designs too.

Privacy: where your details go

A biodata holds your date and time of birth, your phone number, your parents' names and your photo, so it matters where those details are kept while you work on them.

Royal Biodata keeps them in your own browser and makes the files on your phone or computer. simplebiodatamaker.in and weddingbiodatabuilder.in say the same about their tools. Canva saves your design in your account online. For apps, the Play Store's Data safety section tells you what each one collects and shares.