The free Doodle alternative: ad-free & GDPR-compliant
datly is a free, ad-free scheduling poll from Germany: create a poll, share the link, vote – no registration, no tracking, GDPR-compliant with servers in Germany.
Why look for a Doodle alternative?
Doodle made online date-finding popular and is the default for many groups. Still, there are good reasons to look around: the free tier shows advertising, many features sit behind the paid Pro plan, creating a poll requires an account, and anyone who values data minimalism prefers scheduling without tracking – on servers in the EU.
datly and Doodle compared
| datly | Doodle | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Completely free, no premium tier | Free tier; Pro is paid |
| Advertising | None | Shown in the free tier |
| Account required | No – neither creators nor participants | Yes, for creating polls |
| Server location | Germany | International (provider based in Switzerland) |
| Tracking | No tracking cookies, nothing loaded from third parties | Cookies incl. analytics/marketing |
| Poll types | Date poll, free day picker, recurring slot finder, period finder | Group poll and more |
| Calendar export | Included (.ics, also recurring series) | Available |
| Apps | iOS & Android, free | iOS & Android |
What datly does differently
- Completely free – no premium tier, no feature paywall.
- Ad-free and tracking-free – no ad networks, no tracking cookies, nothing loaded from third-party servers.
- No account needed – creators and participants use datly without registration; a free account is optional.
- Four poll types – fixed date options, a free availability calendar, a recurring slot finder (e.g. "every Monday") and a period finder for holidays and trips.
- Notifications and calendar export – email updates, reminders and .ics files (recurring slots as a repeating series).
- GDPR-compliant – operated from Germany on German servers, in German and English.
Also an alternative to nuudel, Xoyondo & When2meet
Not just Doodle: if you currently use nuudel, Xoyondo, When2meet or Rallly, datly is a full-featured, ad-free option as well – the availability calendar, recurring slot finder and period finder go beyond the classic yes/no grid.
Frequently asked questions about switching
Is datly really completely free?
Yes. There is no premium tier, no advertising and no hidden cost. datly is a private, non-commercial project – the operator covers the server costs himself.
Do participants need an account?
No. Participants open the link, enter their name and email address and vote. Poll creators don't need an account either – a free account is optional and simply collects all your polls in one dashboard.
Where is my data stored?
On servers in Germany. datly uses no tracking cookies and no ad networks, and loads nothing from third-party servers – all fonts and scripts are self-hosted. Details are in the privacy policy.
Can I migrate a running Doodle poll?
There is no automatic import. But a new poll takes about 30 seconds: copy over your date options and send the link to your group – starting fresh is usually faster than migrating.