whenly vs Doodle
Doodle is the best-known meeting poll and has grown into a full scheduling suite with booking pages, calendar connections and team plans. If what you need is the original group poll, "which of these dates works for you?", whenly offers that for free, with no account for anyone and a few features Doodle reserves for paid plans. Here is a side-by-side look.
Feature comparison
| Feature | whenly | Doodle |
|---|---|---|
| Price | ✓ Everything free, unlimited participants | △ Free plan with ads and limits; paid plans for more |
| Organizer login | ✓ Not required (create without an account) | ✗ Account required to create a poll |
| Participant login | ✓ Not required (name optional) | ✓ Not required |
| Time slots inside a date | ✓ Time slots inside each date | ✓ Yes |
| Answer options | ✓ ○△× or any custom set of up to 10 options | △ Yes / No / If need be |
| Approval mode | ✓ Approval mode available | ✗ None |
| Hide participant names | ✓ Hide participant names, show headcount only | △ Hidden polls on paid plans |
| Calendar | ✓ Import the dates you answered (no account linking) | ✓ Connect Google / Outlook calendars (some features paid) |
| Booking pages, 1:1 scheduling | ✗ Not offered; whenly is a group poll only | ✓ Yes |
| Time zone conversion | ✗ Slots shown as written by the organizer | ✓ Automatic per participant |
| Printing | ✓ Print the attendance sheet on A4 | ✗ No print layout |
| Languages | ✓ 12 languages, shown in each participant's browser language | △ Several European languages |
| AI date entry | ✓ Generate candidate dates from free text | ✗ None in the free poll |
| Ads | △ A small ad unit on some pages | △ Ads on the free plan |
| Source code | ✓ Source code published on GitHub | ✗ Closed |
This comparison is based on information published on each service's website as of October 2026 and on our own testing. Features and plans change over time, so please check the official sites for the latest details. If you spot an error, let us know.
When whenly is the better fit
- You want to create a poll without signing up for anything
- You need custom answer options or want to hide names without paying
- You want to approve who can join, or print the final sheet
- Participants speak different languages
- You prefer a tool that stays free and open source
When Doodle is the better fit
- You schedule many 1:1 meetings and want booking pages or calendar-driven slots
- Your group spans several time zones and needs automatic conversion
- Your company already pays for Doodle team features
Summary
Doodle is a broad scheduling platform; whenly is a focused group poll. If you just need to ask a group which dates work, whenly gets you there with no account, no paid tier, and extras such as custom answers, hidden names, approval mode and printing. If you need booking pages, automatic time zone conversion or deep calendar integration, Doodle's paid plans are built for that.
Frequently asked questions
Does whenly have a paid plan?
No. Every feature is free with no participant limit. whenly is run by a non-profit and the source code is published on GitHub.
Can I import a Doodle poll into whenly?
There is no importer. Re-enter the candidate dates (you can paste them as text and let AI fill them in) and share the new link.
Does whenly handle time zones?
Not automatically. Dates and slots are shown exactly as the organizer wrote them, so for international groups include the time zone in each slot label.
Try it with one candidate date
No sign-up, nothing to install. One click creates your event page; share the link and the answers come in.