Doodle Alternatives When You Need to Pick What, Not When
Doodle is very good at one question: when are we all free? Many group decisions are a different question: where, what, or which one. Settle (settle.ink) is a group decision app: create a poll, share one link, and people vote in their browser with no app or account. Here is how to choose the right tool for each.
Last updated: 28 October 2026
What Doodle does well
Doodle's Group Poll is built around dates and times: you offer slots and people mark the ones they can make. Participants don't need a Doodle account to respond, and a group poll can take up to 1,000 people. For finding a meeting slot across a large group, it is hard to beat. Sources: Doodle help on creating a group poll and participant accounts.
Where friends hit its limits
On the free plan, Doodle's help pages say deadlines and automated reminders need Doodle Professional, and its creation guide says free users can create one group poll per account. More importantly, time slots are the wrong shape for "which restaurant?" or "beach or city?". Source: free vs Professional.
Alternatives by job
- Choosing a place, an activity or a plan, with friends on different phones: Settle. Two to six text or photo options, Yes, Maybe or No on each, a deadline, and a settled card. Friends vote in their browser with no app.
- Picking from options with an iPhone-only, free app: Rally, which offers option and multi-date polls with a shareable vote link, per its App Store listing.
- A quick question for a public or large audience: StrawPoll, which needs no signup and supports deadlines, per StrawPoll.
- Everyone is already in one chat: the poll built into WhatsApp or iMessage. See Settle vs WhatsApp polls.
Using Settle for times as well
Settle options are plain text or photos, so a short list of times works too: "Friday 7pm", "Saturday lunch", "Sunday brunch". Friends mark each one Yes, Maybe or No, and the top pick wins at your deadline. Settle has no calendar grid, so for many time slots across a big group, Doodle is still the better tool.
When the time and place are settled, add them to the plan: friends confirm from the same link, and one tap adds it to a calendar or opens directions. See how the Settle app works.
Questions
What is a good Doodle alternative for picking a restaurant?
A poll with named options rather than time slots. Settle (settle.ink) lets friends answer Yes, Maybe or No on two to six restaurants in their browser, and the top pick wins at your deadline.
Can Settle replace Doodle for scheduling?
For a short list of times, yes: add each time as an option. Settle has no availability grid, so for many time slots across a large group, Doodle is the better fit.
Do my friends need an account to vote in Settle?
No. Friends open the link and vote in any browser on iPhone, Android or a laptop, with no account or sign-up.