Doodle made the date poll a verb. Its free plan has narrowed, though: Doodle's help center now says free users can create one group poll per account, and free polls show ads to organizers and participants. For a holiday party, a team offsite or a book club, a poll page you own does the same job. Doodle facts below come from doodle.com and Doodle's help center, read on 2 November 2026.
What does Doodle free allow?
- One group poll per account on Free, per Doodle's help center; a poll can offer up to 20 times.
- Ads for organizers and participants on Free; "no ads" is part of the paid plans.
- Participants join with no account.
- Pro only: deadlines, automatic reminders, a limit of participants per time and hiding participants from each other.
- Professional is $15 a month or $132 a year, per Doodle's help center.
Doodle alternatives, ranked
Hostus is first because it is the option we recommend for a poll you send to a group that should vote and see the result, with no ads. The rest follow with the case where each is the right pick.
1. Hostus. A host for pages your AI made, where a poll is one small page. Ask Claude or ChatGPT (or Create with AI in Hostus) for a date poll as one HTML file, upload it, switch it to Public and share the link. People vote with no account; the page stores votes with hostus.data and shows the live result to everyone, and you can keep one vote per browser (turn on sign-in for writing for one per email). Names typed into the poll can be read by anyone with the link. Make as many polls as you like within the free plan's 20 pages. Here is a live poll. Free: 20 pages, 2 MB in total. Paid: $9.99 a month or $49.99 a year.
2. Doodle Pro. Pick it if you schedule often and want deadlines, reminders and unlimited polls handled for you.
3. When2meet or Rallly. Pick one for a quick free grid of availability with no design to think about.
4. A message in the group chat. Pick it for five people and two dates; a poll page is overkill there.
How do the options compare?
| Option | Polls on free | Ads | Voters need an account | Calendar connection |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hostus | As many as your 20 pages | No | No | No |
| Doodle free | One group poll per account | Yes | No | Yes |
| Doodle Pro | Unlimited | No | No | Yes |
We list only Doodle in the table because it is the only tool here whose plan pages we read for this guide.
How do you make a date poll with one prompt?
Make a date poll as one self-contained HTML file, mobile first. Event: [what]. Options: [dates and times]. Each person enters their name and ticks every option that works. Store each vote with hostus.data in a collection "votes", one record per person (use the key "vote@" plus hostus.data me().id so a second vote replaces the first). If hostus.data me().closed is true, show "Poll closed" and hide the vote button. Show a live table of names against options and highlight the option with the most yes votes. Draw names with textContent.
Upload it, switch it to Public, and share the link in the group. When the result is clear, close the poll from your dashboard so nobody can change their vote.
Good to know before you switch
Hostus has no calendar connection, time-zone conversion or automatic reminders; the poll is a page, and you announce the result yourself. Votes are stored on the page, and the free plan holds 1,000 records per collection. There is no custom domain (pages live at a hostus.page subdomain), every page carries a small Hostus badge, and pages are noindex.