YES

Replaceable in one session with an AI coding agent.

Finds a time a group can agree on: the organiser proposes options, everyone ticks what suits them, and the winning slot becomes a meeting.

Promptfree, for everyone, and the only version there is
Build me a group availability poll: propose times, collect ticks, pick the winner.

STACK
- Astro with a Node adapter, SQLite via better-sqlite3, server-rendered HTML
- No accounts anywhere in the flow

THE POLL
- Title, optional location, and a list of proposed slots with a duration
- Created from one form; the response is two signed URLs — a public one to vote and a secret one to administer
- Both are HMAC-signed so neither can be guessed from the other

VOTING
- Name plus a tick per slot, with three states: yes, if-need-be, no
- A voter can return and change their answer using a cookie-free edit token in their own link
- Works entirely without JavaScript

THE RESULT
- A grid of participants against slots, with a per-slot count and if-need-be shown separately
- Highlight the best slot, and say plainly when there is a tie rather than picking one

TIMEZONES
- Store every slot in UTC, render in the visitor's zone, and show the organiser's zone alongside
- Test a poll spanning a daylight-saving change

CLOSING
- The organiser confirms a slot; everyone who left an address gets an email with an ICS attachment
- The poll then becomes read-only rather than being deleted

HOUSEKEEPING
- Polls expire 90 days after the last proposed slot, with the deletion recorded

Include a README on the signing secret, the expiry job, and how to send mail through your own SMTP.

What you lose

  • A poll link anyone can answer without an account, which is the entire reason it spread
  • Calendar connections that grey out options the organiser cannot make
  • Automatic reminders to the people who have not voted yet
  • Booking pages and one-to-one links alongside the group poll
  • An ad-free experience for participants, which is what the paid tier really sells

If you would rather not build

  • When2meet — free, grid-based availability, ad supported

The escape hatch

open source · no votes, no paid placement

Rallly

$0

Group scheduling polls with no account for participants, self-hostable.

lukevella/ralllyfree · open source

Framadate

$0

Date and poll tool from Framasoft, simple to run on ordinary PHP hosting.

framasoft/framadatefree · open source

Why this verdict

our own opinion · changed only by a person

82/100

Verdict yes at 82: this is a table of ticks with signed links, and one session is genuinely enough. The thing Doodle has that a build cannot copy is that everyone already knows what a Doodle link is.

History

tracked since 9 Aug 2026 · nothing is ever overwritten

Interest · last 30 dayspeak 1/day
views0113 Jul18 Jul23 Jul28 Jul2 Aug7 Aug11 Aug
views prompt copies none yet votes none yet

Questions about Doodle

answered from the record above

Is Doodle free?

No — the plan we track is $15 a month. Pro at about $15 per user per month billed monthly, less annually; the group poll is free with advertising.

Can you replace Doodle by building your own?

YES. Replaceable in one session with an AI coding agent. Replacement score 82 out of 100, build time one session. Read what you lose before you decide.

How much does Doodle cost?

$15 a month on Pro — $180 a year. Recorded 9 Aug 2026.

What do you lose by replacing Doodle?

A poll link anyone can answer without an account, which is the entire reason it spread; Calendar connections that grey out options the organiser cannot make; Automatic reminders to the people who have not voted yet; Booking pages and one-to-one links alongside the group poll; An ad-free experience for participants, which is what the paid tier really sells. If any of those carry weight for you, keep paying.

Is there an open-source alternative to Doodle?

Yes: Rallly, Framadate. The prompt on this page is for when you want it your way instead.

Related entries

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