CELCAT
CELCAT provides specialized scheduling and student administration software designed to help universities and colleges manage complex academic timetables, room bookings, and student attendance tracking efficiently.
Doodle
Doodle is a professional scheduling platform that simplifies the process of finding the best time to meet with groups, clients, or colleagues through automated polling and calendar synchronization.
Quick Comparison
| Feature | CELCAT | Doodle |
|---|---|---|
| Website | celcat.com | doodle.com |
| Pricing Model | Custom | Freemium |
| Starting Price | Custom Pricing | Free |
| FREE Trial | ✘ No free trial | ✓ 14 days free trial |
| Free Plan | ✘ No free plan | ✓ Has free plan |
| Product Demo | ✓ Request demo here | ✓ Request demo here |
| Deployment | ||
| Integrations | ||
| Target Users | ||
| Target Industries | ||
| Customer Count | 0 | 0 |
| Founded Year | 1979 | 2007 |
| Headquarters | Coventry, UK | Zurich, Switzerland |
Overview
CELCAT
CELCAT is a dedicated academic management platform that helps you navigate the complexities of higher education scheduling. Instead of struggling with manual spreadsheets, you get a centralized system to coordinate staff, students, and rooms across your entire campus. You can generate conflict-free timetables that respect staff availability and room constraints while ensuring students have clear, accessible schedules.
The platform goes beyond simple booking by allowing you to track student attendance in real-time and manage staff workloads effectively. You can integrate it with your existing student information systems to ensure data flows smoothly between departments. It is specifically built for the unique demands of universities and vocational colleges, helping you maximize your physical space and improve the overall student experience.
Doodle
Doodle is a scheduling tool designed to eliminate the back-and-forth of finding meeting times. You can create group polls where participants vote on their availability, allowing you to identify the best slot for everyone in seconds. It integrates directly with your existing calendars to ensure you never double-book and provides a centralized hub for managing all your appointments.
You can also set up personalized booking pages that let others book time with you based on your real-time availability. Whether you are organizing a board meeting, a team sync, or a one-on-one client consultation, the platform automates the administrative heavy lifting. It scales from individual users to large enterprises, offering a free version for basic polling and tiered paid plans for advanced branding and automation.
Overview
CELCAT Features
- Automated Timetabling Generate complex academic schedules automatically while accounting for staff preferences, room capacities, and student requirements to avoid conflicts.
- Room Booking Manage your campus resources centrally so you can book lecture halls, labs, and meeting rooms without double-bookings.
- Attendance Tracking Monitor student presence in real-time using mobile apps or card readers to identify at-risk students and meet compliance requirements.
- Staff Workload Management Track teaching hours and administrative duties for your faculty to ensure fair distribution of work across your departments.
- Student Web Portal Provide your students with personalized, live-updating timetables they can access from any device to stay informed of changes.
- Pay Claim Processing Simplify your payroll by automatically generating pay claims based on actual hours taught and recorded in the timetable.
Doodle Features
- Group Polls. Invite participants to vote on multiple time slots so you can find the best meeting time for everyone quickly.
- Booking Pages. Set your availability and share a personal link so clients and colleagues can book meetings with you instantly.
- Calendar Integration. Connect your Google, Outlook, or Apple calendars to see your full schedule and prevent any double-bookings automatically.
- Automatic Reminders. Send automated nudges to participants who haven't voted yet and reminders to guests before the meeting starts.
- 1:1 Meetings. Propose specific times for a private meeting and let your guest pick the one that works best for them.
- Video Conferencing Sync. Link your Zoom, Microsoft Teams, or Google Meet accounts to automatically generate meeting links for every booking.
Pricing Comparison
CELCAT Pricing
Doodle Pricing
- Unlimited group polls
- One active Booking Page
- One active 1:1 meeting
- Calendar integration
- Basic poll features
- Everything in Free, plus:
- Unlimited Booking Pages
- Unlimited 1:1 meetings
- Custom branding and logo
- No advertisements
- Zapier integration
Pros & Cons
CELCAT
Pros
- Highly specialized for complex higher education requirements
- Excellent visibility into room and resource utilization
- Strong integration capabilities with major student systems
- Reliable attendance tracking for international visa compliance
Cons
- Interface can feel dated compared to modern SaaS
- Significant learning curve for new administrative users
- Initial configuration requires substantial time and effort
Doodle
Pros
- Extremely easy for participants to use without an account
- Visual layout makes finding common availability very intuitive
- Reliable synchronization with Google and Outlook calendars
- Saves significant time on group coordination tasks
Cons
- Free version contains heavy third-party advertising
- Mobile app interface can feel slightly cluttered
- Limited customization options on the basic tiers