Choose a date
Find a date that works for everyone
When to use a manual poll and when to compare the group’s connected calendars.
Read the guideMeetingFriendsvsDoodle
Doodle for organising with friends... What if your group stayed together?
Doodle works well for a one-off poll. MeetingFriends is designed for the friends you plan with again and again, with reusable groups, manual polls and optional calendar search.
Let’s be honest
Doodle is a good tool for a standalone poll.
You create a Group Poll, share its link and let everyone vote on the proposed times. It is a familiar, practical way to organise a one-off meeting or event, and participants can answer on the web.
Doodle’s current free plan includes one Group Poll. Unlimited Group Polls are part of its paid Pro plan.
✓Quick to launch✓One Group Poll on the free plan✓A link to share✓Useful for one-off plans
The friction starts when it is always the same friends.
A Doodle poll is its own event. For the next dinner or weekend away, you create another poll, share another link and invite people again. The familiar pattern follows:
Two people vote straight away.
Three say “I’ll check later”.
Someone asks for the link again.
The poll still works, but the group itself is not the reusable starting point. Even when you duplicate a poll, its participant list does not carry over automatically.
The dates change. Your friends do not. Why rebuild the organising space every time?
The difference
Your group stays. Your polls keep moving.
MeetingFriends makes your friend group the starting point. Create it once, run unlimited manual date polls within your groups and use connected calendars in a separate search if you wish.
1
Create your friend group and invite everyone once with a link.
2
Launch a new poll whenever you make plans and suggest a few dates.
3
Everyone votes manually in a poll. Collective calendar search is a separate, optional flow.
The group remains ready for the next plan. You keep the same friends together without recreating the organising space or paying to launch another poll.
Optional calendar
Connecting a calendar is optional. Google sends busy time ranges, while Outlook returns only the requested times and status. With iCloud, full events may briefly pass through our server; MeetingFriends only uses their times and availability status.
Choose the model that fits your plans
Both products can collect availability. The main difference is what remains ready for the next time.
| Criterion | DoodleStandalone polls | MeetingFriendsGroup + polls |
|---|---|---|
| Ideal for | A standalone meeting or event | Friends who make plans together repeatedly |
| Starting point | A separate poll for each event | A persistent friend group |
| Free Group Polls | One on the current free plan | Unlimited within free groups |
| For the next plan | Create or duplicate a poll and invite people again | Reuse the same group and launch a new poll |
| Calendar connection | Available alongside the poll workflow | Optional, separate collective search |
| How friends respond | Vote in each standalone poll | Vote manually; calendars use a separate search |
- Ideal for
- DoodleA standalone meeting or event
- MeetingFriendsFriends who make plans together repeatedly
- Starting point
- DoodleA separate poll for each event
- MeetingFriendsA persistent friend group
- Free Group Polls
- DoodleOne on the current free plan
- MeetingFriendsUnlimited within free groups
- For the next plan
- DoodleCreate or duplicate a poll and invite people again
- MeetingFriendsReuse the same group and launch a new poll
- Calendar connection
- DoodleAvailable alongside the poll workflow
- MeetingFriendsOptional, separate collective search
- How friends respond
- DoodleVote in each standalone poll
- MeetingFriendsVote manually; calendars use a separate search
Doodle features can change. This comparison reflects its publicly documented functionality.
The questions everyone asks.
Is Doodle free?
Doodle has a free plan that currently includes one Group Poll. Its Pro plan includes unlimited Group Polls and additional paid features.
What is the main difference between Doodle and MeetingFriends?
Doodle centres each event around a standalone poll. MeetingFriends centres planning around a persistent friend group, where you can launch unlimited manual date polls within the free offer and use connected calendars in a separate search.
What is a good Doodle alternative for a group of friends?
If the same friends organise dinners, drinks or weekends together regularly, an app with a reusable group is useful. MeetingFriends keeps that group together and lets you start each new poll from it.
Do I need to connect a calendar to use MeetingFriends?
No. You can suggest dates and let everyone vote without connecting any calendar. Connected calendars are used only in a separate collective availability search.
How do you organise the next plan without starting over?
Create your friend group once in MeetingFriends. For the next plan, open that same group, launch another poll and suggest the new dates.
Can MeetingFriends see what is in my calendar?
With Google, MeetingFriends receives busy time ranges; with Outlook, only the requested times and status. With iCloud, full events may briefly pass through our server, but their titles, locations, attendees and descriptions are neither used nor stored.
Can I share MeetingFriends through WhatsApp like a Doodle link?
Yes. You can share the group invitation link in any conversation, including WhatsApp. Your friends join the reusable group rather than a one-off organising thread.
Is MeetingFriends really free?
Yes. The free plan lets you create up to 2 groups of 4 people, including you, launch as many date polls as you like in them and connect 1 calendar. Automatic shared-availability searches use credits, which you can earn notably by inviting friends who join MeetingFriends. A Premium subscription expands these limits.
Keep reading
Links to guides you have already viewed appear in green.
Free poll
Create a free date poll
The right options, replies that are easy to compare and a clear decision by the organiser.
Read the guide
Privacy
Share availability without revealing your calendar
What comes from the provider, what MeetingFriends uses and what your friends can actually see.
Read the guideKeep your friends together. Launch the next poll for free.
You can run unlimited manual polls within your groups and use a separate calendar search only if you wish.