Doodle (website)

History

Doodle was founded in Zürich, Switzerland by ETH Zurich students Michael Näf and Paul Sevinç in 2007. Näf came up with the idea of creating a scheduling tool after experiencing difficulty coordinating time for dinner with his friends.

Swiss media giant TX Group purchased a stake in the company in 2011, which was increased to 100 percent in 2014.

Doodle acquired Meekan in 2016. Meekan was a chatbot developed in Israel that used artificial intelligence and natural language processing to schedule meetings. Doodle has since begun to integrate this technology into their products. Meekan subsequently shut down in 2019.

The company rebranded in 2022 and launched a redesigned website.

In May 2025, Christian Fielitz was appointed as the new CEO of Doodle, succeeding Renato Profico.

Features

Doodle is freemium software with paid and unpaid tiers of services and features. Its core features include the ability to coordinate meetings and schedules through a poll system, which does not require user registration for basic functionality. Users are asked to determine the best time and date to meet via poll. The organizer then chooses the time that suits everyone and the meeting is booked in the user's calendar.

Meeting coordinators (administrators) receive e-mail alerts for votes and comments. Registration is required to have this function. Users can create booking pages to allow customers to schedule appointments.

Paid plans provide access to additional features such as unlimited booking pages and 1:1s, single sign-on, customizable branding, activity reports and onboarding. Paid subscribers also do not experience any advertisements.

Doodle integrates with external scheduling and workflow management platforms such as Google Calendar, Yahoo Calendar, Microsoft Outlook, and Apple iCal. These can be used with Doodle to track dates. Google Maps may also be used to share the location of the event. In November 2018, Doodle 1:1 was launched, allowing users to schedule one-on-one meetings.

During the rise of remote work during COVID-19, Doodle added integration with virtual meeting platforms such as Zoom and Microsoft Teams. It also integrates with workflow applications such as Zapier.

Mobile application

Doodle released its Android and iOS apps in 2014. Users can create, coordinate and respond to polls via mobile apps and are not required to register for some features.

Usage

Doodle is used by individuals, businesses, corporations and schools, in over 200 countries. A 2013 study by Harvard University noted, that "Doodle's uptake was highly supported by word-of-mouth communication". In 2014, they passed the 20 million monthly user benchmarks. In 2016, Doodle was used by more than 180 million unique users around the world. It had over 30 million monthly users as of 2022.

Reception

Doodle was included on ''TechRadar'''s list of the "Best scheduling apps of 2023". Its desktop and Android versions were both given positive reviews in PCMag, and the software received an Editors' Choice award from the magazine.

The tool has received several awards, including the Open Source Awards, and the Best of Swiss Web Awards.

References

References

1. (29 September 2014). "Ever wondered how Doodle works?".
2. (10 May 2017). "Doodle (for Android) Review".
3. "The History of Doodle".
4. (2018-02-16). "We've met the people behind the Doodle scheduling tool". Newly Swissed – Switzerland Expat Online Magazine.
5. sda, Thomas Nussbaum. (2017-10-24). "IT: Wie ein Nachtessen zu Doodle führte".
6. Computerworld.ch. "Interview mit Doodle-CEO Michael Näf".
7. O'Hear, Steve. (2011-06-11). "Doodle sees "partial exit" as Swiss publisher Tamedia buys 49% stake".
8. "Newsroom – Tamedia".
9. (2016-06-30). "Doodle acquires chatbot Meekan to integrate its A.I. scheduling assistant". VentureBeat.
10. "Meekan Shut Down September 30, 2019".
11. (2023-03-31). "Doodle introduces its rebranded new self".
12. (2025-04-14). "Doodle sets the course for accelerated growth: Christian Fielitz appointed as new CEO".
13. Lumb, David. (April 24, 2015). "Scheduling App Doodle Tries To Redesign Itself For An American Audience". [[Fast Company]].
14. Kim, Joshua. "Why Hasn't Microsoft or Google Bought Doodle?".
15. (2022-11-14). "Doodle Poll: How to Create Polls, Schedule Meetings, and More".
16. Laura Stack. (2010). "SuperCompetent: The Six Keys to Perform at Your Productive Best". John Wiley and Sons.
17. Eric Goodwin. (7 April 2011). "Web site of the week: Doodle". [[McClatchy-Tribune News Service]].
18. Ionescu, Stefan. (2022-08-09). "Doodle".
19. "The Complete Guide To Doodle".
20. (23 November 2018). "Doodle 1:1 scheduling feature tackles 'wasted minutes' arranging meetings".
21. Sawers, Paul. (2014-01-07). "Doodle to be Acquired by Tamedia". The Next Web.
22. Rikard, Andrew. (2016-06-17). "Higher-Ed Hacks of the Week: Zoom, Lumen Learning Candela, Doodle - EdSurge News".
23. (2013). "Proceedings of the 2013 conference on Computer supported cooperative work". ACM Press.
24. (2014-01-29). "Doodle crosses the 20M user mark". Doodle Blog.
25. "Review: Doodle scheduling app gets straight to the point". The National.
26. Turner, Brian. (2022-09-07). "Best scheduling apps of 2023".
27. (2 May 2017). "Doodle Review".
28. "CH Open Source Awards 2010".
29. "Doodle gewinnt Ehrenpreis der Best of Swiss Web Awards".