10 Best Doodle Alternatives in 2026 (Free Scheduling Polls That Actually Work)
Doodle used to be the obvious choice for scheduling a group meeting. Create a poll, share a link, pick the time with the most votes.
That was before the free tier got gutted. Now you get one poll at a time, ads on every page, and constant nudges to upgrade. The core idea — propose times, let people vote — is still solid. The execution has drifted.
If you’re looking for a Doodle alternative, here are 10 tools that handle group scheduling without the friction.
1. Carly
Carly takes a different approach to group scheduling. Instead of creating a poll and sending a link, you share a drag-select availability grid where participants mark when they’re free. Participants can also connect their Google Calendar or Outlook to auto-fill busy times on the grid, or skip the link entirely and respond over email.
Gray cells are auto-filled from connected calendars. Teal intensity shows group overlap.
The system ranks overlapping windows and lets you finalize with a calendar invite. No account required. Works on mobile.
What makes it different from Doodle: Doodle asks people to vote on times you pick. Carly lets the group show all their availability at once — and the calendar integration means busy times are filled in automatically rather than from memory.
Pricing: Free
2. Rallly
Open-source Doodle alternative with a clean, minimal interface. You propose dates or times, share a link, and participants vote yes/no/if-need-be — the same model as Doodle, minus the ads and upsells. Can be self-hosted for full data control. The hosted version works immediately with no account.
Best for: Teams that want the Doodle polling model without the Doodle baggage.
Pricing: Free (open source)
3. LettuceMeet
A modern When2Meet-style grid (drag to select availability) with a polished interface that works on mobile. You can toggle between week view and specific dates. The overlap visualization is clean and intuitive. No login, no ads.
Best for: People who prefer showing all availability rather than voting on preset options.
Pricing: Free
4. Xoyondo
Full-featured Doodle-style polling with yes/no/maybe voting, anonymous polls, sign-up sheets with limited slots, and a built-in message board for coordination. Supports dozens of languages. No feature limits on the free tier — premium just removes branding.
Best for: International groups or events that need sign-up sheets alongside scheduling.
Pricing: Free (premium removes branding)
5. Calendly Meeting Polls
Calendly is primarily a 1:1 booking tool, but its Meeting Polls feature works like Doodle — propose times, let a group vote. Deep integrations with Zoom, Google Meet, and Teams. The meeting gets created automatically once a time is picked.
Best for: Teams already using Calendly who need occasional group scheduling.
Pricing: Meeting Polls requires a paid plan (from $10/month)
6. Framadate
Open-source date polling from Framasoft, a French non-profit. Create a poll with candidate dates or free-text options, share the link, collect votes. No tracking, no ads, no cookies, no account required. Can be self-hosted. Focused on doing one thing without extras.
Best for: Privacy-conscious groups. European teams with data sovereignty requirements.
Pricing: Free (open source)
7. StrawPoll Meetings
Date polling with granular permission controls — restrict who can see responses, require email verification, or limit voting. Integrates with Google Calendar for viewing your schedule while voting and Slack for sharing polls in channels.
Best for: Teams that need access control on their scheduling polls.
Pricing: Free
8. Cal.com
Open-source scheduling platform with collective availability, round-robin routing, and a full API. Supports team event types where all members need to be free. More of a scheduling infrastructure than a simple poll — better if you need embeddable booking pages and workflow automation alongside group coordination.
Best for: Developer teams or organizations that want self-hosted, API-driven scheduling.
Pricing: Free tier available, Teams from $15/user/month
9. Crab.fit
Open-source When2Meet replacement with a live-updating heat map, automatic timezone support, and a modern interface. Source code is on GitHub. Has a native Android app. No account, no tracking. Built as a community project and actively maintained.
Best for: Groups that want a free, open-source availability grid with timezone handling.
Pricing: Free (open source)
10. Microsoft Outlook Scheduling Poll (FindTime)
Built into Outlook. When composing an email, insert a Scheduling Poll, select candidate times, and send. Recipients vote directly from the email — no link to visit, no app to install. Outlook creates the event automatically once a time is chosen.
Best for: Teams already on Microsoft 365 who want zero-friction polling inside their email client.
Pricing: Included with Microsoft 365
Doodle Alternatives Compared
| Tool | Model | Free tier | Account needed | Calendar sync | Open source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carly | Availability grid + email | Yes | No | Yes (auto-fill) | No |
| Rallly | Vote on times | Yes | No | No | Yes |
| LettuceMeet | Availability grid | Yes | No | No | No |
| Xoyondo | Vote on times | Yes | No | No | No |
| Calendly | Vote on times | No | Yes | Yes | No |
| Framadate | Vote on times | Yes | No | No | Yes |
| StrawPoll | Vote on times | Yes | No | Yes | No |
| Cal.com | Team availability | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Crab.fit | Availability grid | Yes | No | No | Yes |
| Outlook Poll | Vote on times | With M365 | Yes | Yes | No |
Polling vs. Availability Grids: Which Is Better?
Doodle’s model — propose a few times, have people vote — works when you already know roughly when the meeting should happen. You’re validating options, not discovering them.
Availability grids (Carly, LettuceMeet, Crab.fit, When2Meet) work better when you don’t have candidate times yet. Everyone paints their availability and the overlaps emerge on their own. For groups larger than four or five people, this usually surfaces more options than a poll would.
The calendar-connected approach takes it further. Instead of asking people to remember their schedule and manually select times, Carly pulls busy times from connected calendars automatically — so the grid starts partially filled before anyone touches it.
More on scheduling: Group scheduling tools · Calendly alternatives · Best AI calendar assistants
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