Doodle

What is Doodle?

Doodle is a pioneering group scheduling platform that revolutionized the way teams and groups coordinate meetings. Founded in 2007 in Switzerland, Doodle introduced the concept of polling-based scheduling, allowing organizers to propose multiple time slots and letting participants vote on their availability. This simple yet powerful approach eliminated the endless back-and-forth emails that traditionally plagued group scheduling, making it one of the first tools to truly solve the coordination problem for teams, families, and organizations worldwide.

Over the years, Doodle has evolved from a simple polling tool into a comprehensive scheduling platform that serves millions of users globally. The platform now offers booking pages for individual appointments, 1-on-1 meeting scheduling, and advanced features like calendar integration, automatic reminders, and custom branding. Despite adding these modern features, Doodle has maintained its core strength: making it incredibly easy for anyone to find a time that works for multiple people without requiring all participants to have accounts or download apps.

What sets Doodle apart is its universal accessibility and simplicity. Participants can respond to polls through a simple link without creating an account, making it ideal for coordinating with external stakeholders, clients, or large groups where not everyone uses the same calendar system. The platform supports unlimited participants on polls, handles timezone conversions automatically, and provides a clear visual interface that shows availability at a glance. This combination of simplicity and power has made Doodle the go-to solution for everything from corporate board meetings to family reunion planning.

Pros and Cons

Pros:

• No account required for participants to vote on polls, making it universally accessible
• Unlimited participants can respond to group polls, perfect for large team meetings or events
• Intuitive voting interface that clearly shows availability across multiple time options
• Automatic timezone detection and conversion for international teams
• Free tier available with core polling functionality
• Booking pages for individual appointment scheduling alongside group polls
• Calendar integration with Google Calendar, Outlook, and other major platforms
• Mobile apps for iOS and Android with full functionality
• Custom branding options for professional appearance on paid plans
• Automatic email reminders and notifications keep participants informed
• Team scheduling features for coordinating multiple team members' availability
• Analytics and insights on poll responses and booking patterns
• Video conferencing integration with Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and other platforms

Cons:

• Free version includes advertisements that can appear unprofessional for business use
• Limited customization options compared to more modern scheduling tools
• Interface feels dated compared to newer competitors like Calendly or Cal.com
• Booking page features are less robust than dedicated 1-on-1 scheduling tools
• No advanced workflow automation or CRM integrations on lower-tier plans
• Pricing can add up quickly for teams compared to some competitors
• Limited API access restricts custom integrations for most users
• Poll results can be visible to all participants, which may not be ideal for sensitive scheduling
• Some advanced features require the highest-tier plans, limiting mid-tier value

Who It's For

Doodle is ideal for anyone who regularly needs to coordinate meetings with multiple people, especially when those participants are external to your organization or don't all use the same calendar system. It's particularly valuable for project managers, event planners, committee organizers, and team leaders who need to find common availability across diverse groups. The no-account-required approach makes it perfect for scheduling with clients, vendors, board members, or community groups where you can't assume everyone has access to specific tools or platforms.

The platform serves both individual professionals and larger organizations. Freelancers and consultants can use Doodle's booking pages for client appointments while leveraging polls for group workshops or training sessions. Small to medium-sized businesses benefit from team scheduling features that help coordinate internal meetings and external stakeholder sessions. Larger enterprises with the Team or Enterprise plans gain access to custom branding, advanced analytics, and administrative controls that make Doodle suitable for organization-wide deployment.

Doodle is less ideal for users who primarily need 1-on-1 scheduling with advanced automation, as tools like Calendly or Cal.com offer more sophisticated features for that use case. It's also not the best choice for users seeking cutting-edge interface design or extensive customization options. However, if your primary need is group scheduling, especially with external participants or large groups, Doodle remains one of the most reliable and accessible options available. Its universal compatibility and ease of use make it particularly valuable for cross-organizational coordination where simplicity and accessibility trump advanced features.

Group Polls

Group polls are Doodle's signature feature and the foundation of its scheduling approach. Creating a poll is straightforward: you propose multiple date and time options, add a title and description, and share a link with participants. Recipients can then indicate their availability for each proposed time slot using a simple yes/no/if-needed-be system. The visual grid interface makes it easy to see at a glance which times work for the most people, with color coding and participant counts helping organizers quickly identify the optimal meeting time.

The power of Doodle's group polls lies in their flexibility and accessibility. Participants don't need to create accounts or download apps—they simply click the link, enter their name, and mark their availability. This frictionless experience dramatically increases response rates compared to tools that require sign-ups. Polls support unlimited participants, making them suitable for everything from small team meetings to large community events. Organizers can set deadlines for responses, hide participant names for privacy, limit participants to selecting only one option, or allow them to propose additional times.

Advanced poll features on paid plans include automatic timezone detection, calendar integration that shows your availability while creating polls, and the ability to connect video conferencing links to the final selected time. Organizers receive notifications as participants respond and can close polls manually or automatically once a time is selected. The system can also send automatic reminders to participants who haven't responded, ensuring you get the feedback you need to make a decision. Once a time is chosen, Doodle can automatically send calendar invitations to all participants, completing the scheduling cycle seamlessly.

Booking Pages

Doodle's booking pages provide a more traditional scheduling approach for 1-on-1 appointments, similar to Calendly or other dedicated booking tools. You can create a personalized booking page that displays your available time slots based on your connected calendar, allowing others to book time with you directly without the back-and-forth of email coordination. You set your availability preferences, meeting duration, buffer times between appointments, and how far in advance people can book, and Doodle handles the rest.

The booking page experience is clean and professional, with customization options for branding, colors, and welcome messages on paid plans. You can create multiple booking page types for different meeting purposes—such as 15-minute quick calls, 30-minute consultations, or hour-long strategy sessions—each with its own availability rules and settings. Booking pages integrate with your calendar to prevent double-bookings and can automatically add video conferencing links, send confirmation emails, and include custom questions to gather information from attendees before meetings.

While Doodle's booking pages are functional and reliable, they're not as feature-rich as dedicated 1-on-1 scheduling tools. You won't find advanced routing logic, extensive workflow automation, or sophisticated CRM integrations that platforms like Calendly offer at similar price points. However, the advantage of Doodle is having both booking pages and group polls in one platform, making it ideal for users who need both capabilities. If your primary need is group scheduling with occasional 1-on-1 booking, Doodle's combined approach offers good value and convenience.

1-on-1 Meetings

Doodle's 1-on-1 meeting functionality works through both booking pages and simplified two-person polls. For recurring 1-on-1 scheduling needs, booking pages are the more efficient option, allowing you to share a personal link where others can see your availability and book time directly. This works well for client consultations, sales calls, interviews, or office hours where you're meeting with different people regularly. The system checks your calendar in real-time, only showing slots when you're actually available, and automatically sends calendar invitations to both parties once a time is booked.

For one-off 1-on-1 meetings where you want to give the other person more input on timing, you can create a simplified poll with just two participants. This approach is useful when scheduling with senior executives, important clients, or situations where you want to show flexibility by offering multiple options rather than presenting your available slots. The 1-on-1 poll experience is streamlined compared to group polls, focusing on quickly finding a mutually convenient time. Both approaches integrate with your calendar, support video conferencing links, and send automatic reminders to reduce no-shows.

Voting Interface

Doodle's voting interface is designed for clarity and ease of use, presenting proposed meeting times in a grid format where participants can quickly indicate their availability. Each time slot appears as a column, with participant names in rows, creating a visual matrix that makes patterns of availability immediately obvious. Participants mark their availability using a simple three-option system: yes (available), no (not available), or if-needed-be (available but not ideal). This nuanced approach helps organizers distinguish between times that work well for everyone versus times that would require some participants to make accommodations.

The interface uses color coding and summary counts to highlight the most popular time slots, with green indicators showing how many participants are available for each option. Organizers can see at a glance which times have the highest participation and make informed decisions about the final meeting time. Participants can change their responses at any time before the poll closes, and the interface updates in real-time to reflect new responses. The system also handles timezone conversions automatically, displaying times in each participant's local timezone to prevent confusion and scheduling errors across global teams.

Calendar Integration

Doodle integrates with major calendar platforms including Google Calendar, Microsoft Outlook, Office 365, and Apple iCloud, allowing the system to check your availability when creating polls or booking pages. This integration is crucial for preventing double-bookings and ensuring that the time slots you propose or offer are actually available in your schedule. When connected, Doodle can read your calendar to show your free/busy status, helping you create more accurate polls and booking pages without manually checking your calendar.

The calendar integration works bidirectionally on paid plans, meaning Doodle can both read your availability and write confirmed meetings back to your calendar. When a poll is finalized or a booking is made, Doodle automatically creates calendar events with all relevant details including participant information, video conferencing links, and meeting descriptions. This automation eliminates the manual step of adding confirmed meetings to your calendar and ensures all participants receive proper calendar invitations with reminders.

For team plans, calendar integration extends to checking multiple team members' calendars simultaneously, making it possible to find times when entire teams are available. This is particularly valuable for coordinating meetings that require specific people to attend. The system respects calendar privacy settings, only accessing free/busy information rather than reading meeting details or sensitive calendar content. Calendar sync happens in real-time, so your availability is always current, and any changes to your calendar are immediately reflected in your Doodle booking pages and poll creation interface.

Pricing

Doodle offers a free tier that includes core polling functionality with unlimited polls and unlimited participants, making it accessible for basic group scheduling needs. However, the free version includes advertisements on poll pages and booking pages, which can appear unprofessional for business use. Free users also have limited customization options and lack advanced features like calendar integration, custom branding, and automatic reminders.

The Pro plan costs $6.95 per month (billed annually) and removes all advertisements while adding essential features like calendar integration, custom branding, automatic reminders, and booking pages. This plan is ideal for individual professionals who need a polished, professional scheduling experience for client-facing use. Pro users can create unlimited polls and booking pages, connect multiple calendars, and access basic analytics on their scheduling activity.

The Team plan is priced at $8.95 per user per month (billed annually) and includes all Pro features plus team-specific capabilities like shared booking pages, team scheduling that checks multiple calendars, administrative controls, and priority support. This plan is designed for organizations where multiple people need scheduling tools and coordination across team members is important. Enterprise plans with custom pricing are available for larger organizations requiring advanced security, compliance features, dedicated support, and custom integrations. Enterprise customers can negotiate volume discounts and receive personalized onboarding and training.

Verdict

Doodle remains the gold standard for group scheduling and polling-based coordination, offering unmatched accessibility and ease of use for finding meeting times with multiple participants. Its no-account-required approach for poll participants makes it uniquely valuable for coordinating with external stakeholders, large groups, or anyone outside your immediate organization. The platform has successfully evolved beyond its polling roots to include booking pages and 1-on-1 scheduling, though these features aren't as sophisticated as dedicated alternatives like Calendly or Cal.com.

The platform's main strengths are its universal accessibility, unlimited participant support, and intuitive voting interface that makes group coordination genuinely simple. For users who primarily need group scheduling, Doodle is hard to beat. However, the interface feels dated compared to newer competitors, and the free version's advertisements limit its professional appeal. Pricing is reasonable for individual users but can become expensive for larger teams, especially when compared to some newer platforms offering more features at similar price points.

Overall, Doodle is an excellent choice if group scheduling is your primary need, particularly when coordinating with people outside your organization or managing large participant groups. It's also a solid option if you need both group polls and basic 1-on-1 booking in a single platform. However, if you primarily schedule 1-on-1 meetings and rarely coordinate groups, you might find better value and more advanced features with dedicated booking tools. For its core use case of group scheduling, Doodle's combination of simplicity, accessibility, and reliability makes it a worthy investment for professionals and teams who regularly coordinate multi-person meetings.