Doodle
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.
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
$0Group scheduling polls with no account for participants, self-hostable.
lukevella/ralllyfree · open source
Framadate
$0Date 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
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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