Overlap · Doodle alternative

A Doodle alternative where nobody needs an account to finish the poll

Doodle needs an account to finish the poll. Overlap books the meeting (Google Calendar + Meet).

Doodle needs an account to finish the poll. Overlap books the meeting (Google Calendar + Meet). Doodle's help centre says you can start a group poll without an account, and that you have to sign up before it can be completed. A free account can create only one group poll. People vote yes, if need be, or no on times already listed.

The difference is what happens after the group agrees. If the organiser connects Google, Overlap emails a calendar invitation with a Meet link to the people who left an email. Anyone can download an .ics file without signing in. People who left no email are not emailed an invitation.

Start one nowIt takes about a minute.

Side by side

Try Overlap freeNo account. Opens straight on the form.

Doodle details checked on 2026-09-18 against their own site. Overlap’s column describes what Overlap does today. If anything here has gone out of date, tell us and it gets fixed.

1. Answering a poll needs no account. Creating one does: Doodle now requires a free account of the organiser. ↩
2. Doodle sends a calendar invitation once the organiser has connected a calendar, and a confirmation email otherwise. Its pricing page also lists calendar invites among the Pro features, so the free tier may send only the email. ↩
3. Pro is $15 a month, or $132 a year. Team is $21 per user per month, or $16 billed annually, with a two-seat minimum. Enterprise starts at $15,000 a year. Figures from Doodle’s help centre, which states them in text; the pricing page renders its amounts in the browser. Third-party listicles still quoting $6.95 are years stale. ↩

When Doodle is the better answer

You are polling a handful of fixed options rather than open availability, or you want the paid features around branding and reminders that a business account brings.

One group poll, and an account to finish it

Doodle's help centre says completing a group poll requires a free or paid account. You can start without one, and you are asked to sign up before the poll is finished. People invited to vote do not need an account. A free account can create only one group poll, and each person votes yes, if need be, or no on the times the organiser added. Doodle says those times adjust to each participant's time zone. Professional is listed at $15 a month, or $132 a year, in the United States, and an ad-free experience plus calendar invites sent in one go are listed as Professional benefits. Doodle's pricing page says Enterprise starts at $15,000 a year.

What Overlap does with your data

Giving an email address is optional, and an address is only ever used to put you on one calendar invitation. There is no advertising and no cross-site tracking. Everything about an event is deleted automatically 365 days after it is created — see the privacy policy, which names every company that receives anything.

Common questions

Do participants need an account?

No. People answering an Overlap poll need no account, no password, and no Google account. Creating a poll needs no account either. An email address is optional, and leaving it blank still counts. Only the organiser connects Google, and only to send the invitation.

Can Overlap send a calendar invite with Meet?

Yes. Once a time is chosen, the organiser can connect Google and email a calendar invitation that includes a Meet link, and only to the people who left an email. It does not copy existing events onto the grid. People mark their own times. The access token is used to create the event and is then discarded. There is no standing access to a calendar afterwards. What the permission covers is on the privacy page.

How do time zones work?

Each person sees the Overlap grid in their own time zone. Availability is stored as absolute instants, so the same row is the same moment. The calendar invitation uses that instant, and each calendar app shows it in that person's own zone.

Does creating a Doodle poll need an account?

Finishing one does. Doodle's help centre says you can start a group poll without an account, and that you are asked to sign up before it can be completed. People voting do not need a Doodle account. A free account can create only one group poll.

Do people paint open hours on a Doodle group poll?

No. They vote yes, if need be, or no on times the organiser already added. Doodle says the poll then adjusts those times to each participant's time zone.

Try it against your next actual meeting

The honest test is a real group, not a demo. Create an event, paste the link in the group chat, and see whether it is less work than what you did last time. If it is not, Doodle is still there.

Create an eventNo account, for you or for them.

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