Comparison

A Rallly alternative for when you don't know the options yet

Looking for a Rallly alternative? Rallly is a well-made, open-source date poll: you suggest a few times and everyone votes. whenfor.us answers the same question the other way round: everyone shows all the times they're free, and the overlap finds the answer. Here's an honest comparison, with Rallly's facts taken from its own pages.

whenfor.us · Updated October 8, 2026

What Rallly does well

Rallly is one of the nicest date polls around, and it's honest about what it is. According to its own site (checked October 2026):

• No login needed to create a poll or to vote. A free account is optional; it lets you manage your polls from any device and get email notifications when people respond.
• Unlimited polls and participants on the free plan, and no limit on the number of options.
• No ads, and it's open source: you can even host it yourself with Docker.
• Time zones: when a poll has specific times, each participant sees them in their own time zone.
• Finalizing is free on every plan: you pick the final date, Rallly closes the poll and emails a calendar invite to the participants who left an email address.

If your group already has a short list of options, Rallly is a great choice, and we'd say so to a friend.

Where a date poll gets stuck

Rallly asks people to vote yes, if need be, or no on times the organizer proposed. That works when the options are fixed. For friends, clubs and families, they usually aren't: you're guessing which evenings might work. If the time that suits everyone isn't on your list, the poll can't find it. Add more options to be safe and the poll gets longer to fill in.

A few smaller things to know about Rallly's free plan:

• Polls are deleted once all their dates have passed and there's been no activity for 30 days. Pro keeps them indefinitely.
• There's no deadline setting for polls yet (Rallly's FAQ says it may come later).
• The final time goes out by email, so people who didn't leave an address hear about it some other way, usually the group chat.

Rallly vs. whenfor.us, side by side

Checked October 2026 from Rallly's own pages: pricing, FAQ, finalizing a poll, Rallly's own comparison page. Plans change; check Rallly for the latest.

When to stick with Rallly

• You already have two to five fixed options, say three dates the venue offered.
• You schedule for work and want email invites, a dashboard of all your polls, team spaces or your own branding (some of these are Pro features).
• You want to run the tool on your own server. Open source matters, and Rallly delivers it.
• Your group likes to discuss options in comments right on the poll.

Rallly also argues that tapping options is easier on a phone than dragging over a grid. For a short list, that's true. For "which evening in the next two weeks?", one drag over your free evenings is quicker than voting on twenty options, and on whenfor.us the grid is built for thumbs first.

When whenfor.us is the better fit

• The question is open. "Some evening in the next week or two" rather than "Thursday or Saturday".
• Your group lives in a chat app. The final time goes back into the chat as a picture and a ready message, so nobody needs to have left an email address.
• You want the answer in words. "Sat 7–9 pm works for 5 of 6 (not Sam)" is easier to act on than a table of votes.
• Nobody should sign up for anything, not even optionally. There are no accounts on whenfor.us at all.

How it works: name the event, choose the days (up to 31) and hours (evenings, say), and share the link. Everyone drags over their free times on their phone, the heatmap fills in, and you pick the final time when it's clear. More on the two formats in availability poll vs. date poll.