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Doodle or a roster: ask everyone, or share the turns out?
Doodle is very good at one question: when can we all meet? A roster answers a different one: whose turn is it this week? Here is when each fits, with Doodle’s facts taken from its own pages.
Polling and rostering are different questions
The Westside Physio front desk has eight staff and a small job nobody loves: locking up on Friday at 6 pm. Last year Dev ran a Doodle poll each month asking who could do which Friday. Everyone ticked “if need be” on most dates, Jack ticked nothing, and Dev spent an hour turning the grid into names. Two people ended up with three Fridays each.
A poll gathers what suits each person. It doesn’t decide whose turn it is, and it doesn’t remember who did the last four. For a one-off meeting that’s fine. For a duty that repeats every week, the deciding is the hard part.
What Doodle does
From Doodle’s own pages: a group poll offers people a set of times; anyone can vote without a Doodle account; you see who has replied, send reminders, then confirm the winning time and Doodle sends calendar invites to everyone who responded. Sign-up sheets let people choose which session they’ll attend, with a limit on attendees per session, reminders before the event and no account needed. Doodle also has booking pages and 1:1 scheduling for clients booking time with you.
Doodle’s Free plan includes one group poll, one booking page, one 1:1 and three basic sign-up sheets. Pro, priced per seat per month, adds unlimited polls and sign-up sheets, deadlines, reminders, hiding participants, video-call links and no ads. A Team plan is for two or more people. Doodle shows prices in US dollars by default; check its pricing page for today’s figure.
What FairTurns does
FairTurns doesn’t ask people when suits. You click a Friday, choose “Every week on Friday”, set one place, and press Fill. Each date goes to whoever has had the fewest turns. People mark the days they’re away, and Fill leaves them off those. A chart shows how many dates each person has, so nobody needs to keep count. Everyone sees the roster, months ahead, on a public roster link with no sign-in.
When someone joins or leaves the front desk, Redistribute shares the Fridays out again and shows every person who gains or loses one before anything changes. On Pro, A$1 a month per organisation, people get a reminder email before their Friday and can reply “I can’t make it”; with filling by itself switched on, the next person in line is asked.
Side by side
| Doodle | FairTurns | |
|---|---|---|
| Find one time that suits a group | ✓ | — |
| People choose a session | ✓ | — |
| Voters need no account | ✓ | Viewers of the public link need none |
| Calendar invites to participants | ✓ | — |
| Repeating turns shared out by fewest turns | You decide from the replies | ✓ |
| Keeps count of who has done how many | You keep count | ✓ |
| Reminders | Pro settings | Pro, by email |
| Free plan | One group poll, three basic sign-up sheets | Unlimited people and dates |
When Doodle is the better choice
- You need one meeting time for a group: a committee, an AGM, a training night.
- People should choose their own session, like a workshop or an interview slot.
- You want calendar invites sent to everyone who replied.
- Clients book time with you through a booking page.
When a roster fits better
- The same job repeats: locking up, the bins, the canteen, the Sunday sound desk.
- You want the turns shared out and counted, not the first to tick “yes” doing the most.
- Some people never answer polls, and you’d like them rostered anyway.
- Everyone should see months ahead, not just the next date.
Many teams use both: a Doodle poll to pick the night for the end-of-year dinner, and a roster for who locks up. In FairTurns people don’t pick their dates: you put them on, and they see it on the link. The fair roster guide covers how to share turns out by hand too.
Questions
Can I use Doodle to make a roster?
You can gather who suits which dates with a poll, then turn the results into a roster yourself. Doodle doesn’t count turns or share them out for you; that part is what a roster tool does.
Does FairTurns have polls?
FairTurns works the other way round: people mark only the days they’re away, and Fill puts people on the rest. For one-off “which night suits” questions, a Doodle poll is the right tool.
Do people need an account?
Doodle polls and sign-up sheets need no account to respond. The FairTurns public roster needs no account to view; people sign in only to mark themselves away or see their own next dates.
Is FairTurns free?
Yes, for any number of people and dates. Pro adds the emails, at A$1 a month per organisation paid a year or more at a time.
Checked against Doodle’s own pages on 24 October 2026; prices and features change, so check theirs before you decide.
Read next
FairTurns and SignUpGenius
Sign-up sheets let people pick a slot. A roster puts people on. Which one your group needs, with the facts checked.
How to make a fair roster
A step-by-step way to share out turns so nobody carries the load and everyone sees it ahead.
Front desk and reception
Opening, closing and Saturday reception shifts handed out by turns, with the week on one page.
Make your roster free
Click a day, add people, share one link. No card, no limit on people or dates.