Schedule Smarter: 7 Doodle Alternatives to Consider in 2024

So you’re on the hunt for a scheduling tool and eyeing Doodle? 

It’s no wonder, as Doodle simplifies finding the best time for group meetings. Users can create polls and invite participants to vote on their availability through the tool, making meeting coordination easy. However, despite its popularity, Doodle can be a bit limiting compared to other solutions on the market.

That's why we've curated the seven ultimate Doodle alternatives, each offering customizable features, seamless integration, and enhanced user experience to streamline your planning process and boost productivity.  

Which one is the right tool for you? Let’s find out 👇

7 Best Doodle alternatives: A quick overview

Want the TL;DR? Here’s the basic rundown:

You’ll be able to customize the entire booking process with YouCanBookMe.

You’ll find the most integrations for established enterprises using Calendly.

You’ll capture more inbound leads if you switch to Chili Piper.

How did we rate the tools?

Every scheduling tool is created with a specific team or target audience in mind. To help you find the one that’s tailor-made for you, we've examined and rated all the Doodle alternatives in four crucial categories. 

Ease of use: We've all been there—grappling with a new tool that feels like deciphering hieroglyphics. Our ease of use score measures how quickly you can grasp the ins and outs of each tool. Whether you're a team of one or a bustling group, efficiency matters. The smoother the learning curve, the faster your team can hit the ground running.

Integrations: Your tech stack is like a puzzle—every piece needs to fit snugly together. Our integration assessment evaluates how seamlessly each tool slots into your existing workflow. From syncing calendars to streamlining communications, compatibility is key.

Value for money: Budgets are the guardrails of decision-making. Our value-for-money metric examines whether the features offered justify the price tag. It's not just about the bottom line— it's about getting the most bang for your buck.

Customization: Your brand is your fingerprint—unique and unmistakable. Our customization score measures each tool's flexibility in tailoring your booking page to reflect your brand identity. From color schemes and logos to meeting lengths and appointment types, we examine whether you can truly make it your own.

Remember, a low score doesn't necessarily mean a no-go. Each booking tool has its strengths, whether it caters to enterprise-level complexities or serves the needs of small businesses. Ultimately, the right choice depends on finding the features that align with your requirements.

1. YouCanBookMe—Best Doodle alternative for small teams and entrepreneurs

Are you searching for the best scheduling software for small businesses? Look no further than YouCanBookMe’s booking tool! YouCanBookMe puts customization and customer experience at the forefront, allowing you to tailor every aspect of the booking process to your specific needs. 

With features including branding options, automated scheduling, reminders, follow-ups, and custom booking forms, YouCanBookMe ensures seamless integration between your booking page and the rest of your business operations. It’s no wonder that our scheduling tool handles over 1 million bookings for our customers!

Core features:

• One-on-one, group, and round-robin scheduling
• Unlimited bookings
• Available in 44 languages
• Different appointment types and lengths
• Automated reminders via SMS or email
• Customizable appointment email confirmations and follow-ups
• Configurable booking form to collect info before you meet
• Set prices and take payment for appointments
• Minimum/maximum booking notice (to prevent people from booking last minute or too far in advance)
• Add branding to your booking page (such as logos and images)
• Generate unique promo and discount codes for paid services

“It's so easy to use and makes managing my calendar a breeze. I was able to condense my workday, without having to agree to after-hour calls. People pick what works for them based on the times I provide.

I love that I can set the parameters to what my needs are. I meet with individuals on a weekly basis, and it's always a hassle to figure out a time that works for both parties. YouCanBookMe makes it so easy - I send them a link to my available times, they select one and it puts it directly on my Google Calendar. It eliminates the back and forth of ‘are you available this day.’”

- Sarah P., Co-ordinator at an NGO (and user for 2+ years!)

YouCanBookMe vs. Doodle: Pricing

YouCanBookMe vs. Doodle

While Doodle will help you find convenient times for groups to meet, YouCanBookMe goes above and beyond by letting you customize and personalize the entire scheduling process. Let’s compare YouCanBookMe and Doodle by examining some standard booking features.

Sharing your booking page:

• Doodle—you can share your booking page via a link or email. 
• YouCanBookMe—you can share your booking page however you wish, including embedding it on your website, pasting specific meeting times into an email, and generating a handy QR code for printed materials (such as business cards or brochures).

Notifications:

• Doodle—you can send one reminder 24 hours before via email, but can’t customize it. You can also send a standard, automated confirmation email. 
• YouCanBookMe—you can send multiple email or SMS reminders and add personalized follow-ups, confirmations, and other messages. Each one is customizable; it’s up to you when to send it and what info to include. 

Taking payments for meetings: 

• Doodle—no such capability.
• YouCanBookMe—Stripe integration lets you take payments right when booking, letting customers pay through Google and Apple Pay. You can also generate invoices and unique promo and discount codes with expiration dates, redemption limits, and minimum order values.

Customization: 

• Doodle—you can set different meeting durations and availability on your booking page, add buffer times before and after meetings, and connect multiple calendars.
• YouCanBookMe does everything listed above but also lets you…
  • Reject or accept meetings before they land on your calendar 
  • Create password-protected pages
  • Add logos, photos, and brand colors to your page
  • Set up round-robin scheduling
  • Set your booking page to 44 different languages

Use YouCanBookMe if:

• You run a small or medium-sized business (or are a solopreneur) and need an easy-to-use scheduling tool.
• You want highly personalized booking pages tailored to your niche and customer preferences.
• You’re looking for powerful yet affordable booking software.

2. Calendly—Best Doodle alternative for large teams and enterprises

Calendly, founded in 2013, is a seasoned player in the scheduling game. Known for its adaptability and user-friendly approach, Calendly simplifies booking meetings, freeing up precious time for more meaningful tasks. 

Boasting over 100 integrations, Calendly is particularly favored by large businesses aiming to streamline scheduling across various teams and industries.

Core features:

• Option to connect with multiple calendars
• Scheduling one-on-one, group, and round-robin meetings
• Meeting polls (so participants can vote on the best time to meet)
• Automated notifications and reminders via email or SMS
• Unlimited bookings
• Different meeting types and durations
• Customizable branding and templates
• Routing logic

“Calendly has been very convenient and efficient for scheduling interviews, meetings, and in-house discussions. It has easy integration with various calendar applications, simplifies the process of setting up meetings and appointments, and helps streamline scheduling workflows. Although the user-friendly interface has limited room for exploration, the automated reminders keep me alert and I never missed a meeting. This has made Calendly my go-to app for team and client meeting scheduling.”

- AMB Chidiebere Moses O.

Calendly’s pricing and plans:

• Free plan: includes basic scheduling features and integrations, and one calendar connection
• Standard plan ($12/month/user): offers multiple calendar connections, unlimited meeting types, and automated reminders
• Teams plan ($20/month/user): features admin tools, lead routing, and round-robin scheduling
• Enterprise plan (starting at $15K/year): tailored for teams of 30 or more with advanced security, control, and support

Calendly additionally offers a 14-day free trial of their Teams plan for all new users.

Calendly vs. Doodle

Calendly offers more features than Doodle does, including:

• Taking payments for bookings
• Round-robin scheduling
• Robust analytics
• Option to embed your booking page on your website

One of Doodle’s best-known features is its Doodle polls, which invitees use to vote on the best time to meet. If this is a must for you, you’ll be glad to hear that Calendly also has this feature!

In general, Calendly is better suited to business meetings and large enterprises than Doodle. For example, Calendly offers 100+ native integrations to ensure you can quickly implement the tool across all departments, including sales, HR, customer support, and legal. 

Whether you choose Doodle or Calendly, monthly pricing is the same, as both online scheduling tools have a Teams plan that costs roughly $20/month. 

However, if you’re looking for a long-term solution, Doodle is more cost-effective than Calendly when billed yearly.

Use Calendly if:

• You need a scheduling tool that will integrate well with different departments and tech stacks.
• You have a large business and are looking for an easily scalable solution. 
• Meeting polls are a must-have for you, but you need more features than Doodle can offer.

3. Chili Piper—Best Doodle alternative for capturing leads

If you're in sales management or a sales development role, Chili Piper's scheduling tool could be your golden ticket! 

Unlike Doodle, Chili Piper is laser-focused on streamlining the booking process for sales and marketing teams, prioritizing swift scheduling for both inbound and outbound leads.

Chili Piper enhances speed to lead for teams and boosts conversion rates through specialized tools tailored to sales professionals, such as automatic lead routing and qualification.

Core features:

• Automatic lead routing 
• Real-time lead qualification
• One-on-one, group, and round-robin scheduling
• Automated reminders and meeting notifications 
• Offers over 60 integrations, most sales-related
• Real-time connections with prospects via video or phone call
• One-click scheduling over email
• Unlimited meeting types

“One of the first tools we bought building out eqtble's sales team. We didn't have time to chase prospects down, so now scheduling is completely automated and our conversion has increased because of the easy user experience.

It's built for revenue teams and features speak to that - inbound, outbound, and routing are much more advanced than basic scheduling tools”

- Nate B., Head of Sales

Chili Piper’s pricing and plans:

Compared to the other Doodle alternatives listed here, Chili Piper’s pricing is a bit complicated, but we’ll do our best to explain quickly! 

• Instant Booker ($22.50/month/user): with basic scheduling features
• Handoff Plan ($37.50/month/user): includes CRM-based or customizable routing rules
• Form Concierge ($45/month/user + tiered platform fee*): offers advanced routing capabilities from web forms
  • Form Concierge with Live Concierge ($90/user/month + tiered platform fee*): enables real-time connection with prospects via phone or video call
• Distro Plan ($45/month/user): instantly routes and assigns leads. It’s only available as an add-on plan and cannot be purchased separately

*The tiered platform fee depends on how many inbound leads you submit monthly. Up to 100 is $225. Up to 1,000 is $600. More than 1,000 is $1,500.

Chili Piper vs. Doodle

If you’re a sales professional, Chili Piper beats out Doodle in terms of sales-related integrations and features. In particular, Chili Piper shines with its lead qualification features, which you certainly won’t find in Doodle. 

Take Chili Piper’s Form Concierge feature as an example. This handy tool will qualify leads from your website, route the prospects to the correct sales rep, and book the sales meeting.

Remember that Chili Piper’s features come with a hefty price tag compared to Doodle. 

Overall, Doodle caters to a broader clientele than Chili Piper and is a more affordable solution, but it lacks the vast sales-specific features that Chili Piper offers.

Use Chili Piper if:

• You’re a sales professional looking to engage and capture leads more efficiently and effectively.
• You have a decent budget to spend on your new scheduling tool.
• You heavily depend on CRMs and require a booking tool that seamlessly integrates with them.

4. Acuity Scheduling—Best  Doodle alternative for client management

Acuity Scheduling is an appointment booking app designed specifically for service and appointment-based businesses. Acuity's array of client management tools makes it shine—it helps you keep track of client details, create invoices, and fine-tune your services to perfection.

Acuity's scheduling solution provides unique advantages for businesses that offer paid appointments. This includes setting up flexible payment plans and seamlessly incorporating upsell add-ons into the checkout process.

Core features:

• Book unlimited one-on-one, group, recurring, and round-robin scheduling
• Customizable branding and templates 
• Automated confirmation and follow-up emails, as well as email and SMS reminders
• Custom in-take forms
• Offer recurring subscriptions, packages, and gift cards and receive tips
• Payment processing for bookings
• Generate and accept invoices

“Acuity Scheduling has helped us optimize our business. Offering appointment windows by tracking when I am available and letting my clients schedule then is magical. I also get notified through my email when a booking is made. And also the wait-list calendar has ensured we don't have colliding appointments which has proven to be paramount in embracing a hospitality driven approach to hair care.”

- Jerra L M., Stylist