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.
Fantastical
Fantastical is a premium calendar app for Apple devices that features natural language parsing, integrated task management, and beautiful design to help you stay organized across your entire day.
Quick Comparison
| Feature | Doodle | Fantastical |
|---|---|---|
| Website | doodle.com | fantastical.app |
| Pricing Model | Freemium | Freemium |
| Starting Price | Free | Free |
| FREE Trial | ✓ 14 days free trial | ✓ 14 days free trial |
| Free Plan | ✓ Has free plan | ✓ Has free plan |
| Product Demo | ✓ Request demo here | ✘ No product demo |
| Deployment | ||
| Integrations | ||
| Target Users | ||
| Target Industries | ||
| Customer Count | 0 | 0 |
| Founded Year | 2007 | 2011 |
| Headquarters | Zurich, Switzerland | Chicago, USA |
Overview
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.
Fantastical
Fantastical is a powerful calendar and tasks app designed specifically for the Apple ecosystem, including Mac, iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch. You can manage your entire schedule through a clean, intuitive interface that supports multiple calendar accounts like iCloud, Google, and Outlook. The standout feature is its natural language engine, which lets you type out events like "Lunch with Sarah at 1pm tomorrow" to instantly create a detailed entry.
You can also manage your to-do lists directly alongside your appointments, ensuring you never miss a deadline. The app provides several viewing options, from a simple list view to full-screen day, week, month, and year layouts. Whether you are a busy professional or a student, it helps you visualize your time and stay on top of your commitments with minimal effort.
Overview
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.
Fantastical Features
- Natural Language Input. Type or speak your event details in plain English to create complex calendar entries in seconds.
- Integrated Task Support. Create and manage your to-do lists directly within your calendar so you can see everything in one place.
- Calendar Sets. Group multiple calendars together and toggle them instantly based on your location or the time of day.
- Interesting Calendars. Subscribe to external schedules like holidays, sports teams, or TV shows to keep your personal interests organized.
- Weather Integration. View real-time weather forecasts directly on your calendar view so you can plan your outdoor activities accordingly.
- Conference Call Detection. Join Zoom, Microsoft Teams, or Google Meet calls with a single click directly from your event notification.
Pricing Comparison
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
Fantastical Pricing
- Basic calendar functionality
- Day, week, month, year views
- Limited natural language parsing
- 3-day weather forecast
- Apple Watch support
- Everything in Free, plus:
- Full natural language parsing
- Task management integration
- Calendar Sets and templates
- 10-day weather forecast
- Priority email support
Pros & Cons
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
Fantastical
Pros
- Best-in-class natural language processing for quick entry
- Beautiful and highly customizable user interface
- Excellent synchronization across all Apple devices
- Seamless integration of tasks and calendar events
Cons
- Subscription model is expensive for a calendar
- Limited to Apple ecosystem with no Windows/Android
- Some advanced features require a steep learning curve