How does ZeitFinder work?

ZeitFinder turns whole availability windows into suitable shared meeting times and individual timetables. Simply set the possible days and time ranges, without having to predefine individual appointment options. Your group marks their available and preferred times within them. Automatic planning with the ZeitFinder solver is free. To move appointments, take specific requests into account or adjust the design, simply tell the optional AI what you need.

Create an availability poll Watch video

How are times collected?

You set the days and time ranges for the poll. Participants mark their available and preferred times by dragging the mouse over the relevant time fields on a computer, or swiping over them with a finger on a phone. There is no need to propose a start time in advance: ZeitFinder calculates suitable appointments from these entries and the required duration.

ZeitFinder product demo on desktop and smartphone

PROCESS

From an availability poll to a result

Create
Give your availability poll a name and choose the days and time ranges. You receive your private admin link by email. Use it to manage the poll and evaluate the responses later. Keep this link to yourself and share only the participant link with the group.
Share
Send the participant link to your group. Everyone can mark their available and preferred times directly in the poll without an account. This lets you see when each person is available. If comments are enabled, participants can also add requests or further information.
Evaluate
Find a shared meeting time or create individual timetables with the ZeitFinder solver without AI, or directly with the AI analysis. Review the proposal and adjust it if needed. Depending on the result, you can export it as a PDF or for your calendar.

INDIVIDUAL TIMETABLES

Create timetables

ZeitFinder creates a timetable of individual appointments from the availability entered. As the admin, you set each person’s appointment length during planning and choose whether their appointments take place every week or every two weeks. If their availability allows, two people with appointments every two weeks can share the same slot, taking turns each week. Colours and name labels keep the timetable clear. Additional details such as instrument or lesson level are considered only in the AI analysis.

Without AI

ZeitFinder solver: automatic planning for free

Choose the planning days, set a shared or individual appointment duration, and configure teaching times and breaks. The specialised mathematical solver uses these settings and the submitted availability to calculate a timetable. No AI request or AI credits are needed.

Take participants’ available and preferred times into account
Set different appointment durations, start and end times, and breaks
Depending on the settings, aim for compact days, fewer additional gaps or a different distribution of appointments
Calculate via “Create timetable” and plan again with different settings

Completely free: scheduling polls, the availability overview and direct solver planning. No AI credits are needed. Whether everyone can be scheduled depends on the information and constraints provided.

With AI

AI analysis: describe requests and refine your plan

Describe your requirements in your own words. The AI can derive planning settings and use the ZeitFinder solver for the calculation. It can explain results or make targeted edits to an existing plan. You can start directly with an AI request; no previous solver run is needed.

Request new timetables or modify existing plans
Describe requests for teaching times, breaks and compact days as text
Include comments, uploaded PDFs and images in the analysis
Ask for colours, titles and highlights to be adjusted within the existing timetable grid

AI credits required: AI analysis uses AI credit balance even when it calls the free solver. A targeted plan edit is not automatically a new overall optimisation. Check the result and its notices before use.

VIDEO GUIDE

Timetabling using one-to-one lessons as an example

From the scheduling poll and timetable planning to AI analysis and PDF export.

EXAMPLES OF USE

What can ZeitFinder be used for?

Team meetings and club events

For a meeting, rehearsal or event, you look for a time when as many people as possible can attend. The group’s availability windows and the required duration form the basis.

Individual timetables

For one-to-one lessons, each person receives a separate appointment. The ZeitFinder solver or the AI analysis can schedule different lesson durations and breaks within the available time windows.

Interviews, courses and support sessions

Individual consultations or care appointments can be spread across several time windows. For a group course, the aim is instead to find a shared time. You can describe additional requirements in the AI analysis.

Draft work and staffing schedules

Collected availability can also provide a basis for draft work schedules and duty rosters. Requirements such as staffing levels, qualifications, working time limits and rest periods must be stated explicitly in the AI request.

How was the ZeitFinder solver’s performance evaluated?

A documented test on 22 October 2026 compared the ZeitFinder solver in version v1611 with CP-SAT. It used constructed availability data for individual timetables. In 17 cases, both solvers found a valid timetable without additional gaps between appointments. ZeitFinder took less time in 13 of those cases.

In three selected individual examples, ZeitFinder found a valid plan without additional gaps roughly 12 to 27 times faster than CP-SAT.

The measurement was the time to the first valid timetable without additional gaps. The results describe this test series; they cannot be generalised to arbitrary planning tasks.

View measurements and methodology

What is CP-SAT?

CP-SAT is a powerful optimisation solver in Google’s open-source OR-Tools toolkit. Its applications include complex scheduling and staff planning.

faster than Google’s CP-SAT

In three selected test cases, measuring the time to the first valid timetable without additional gaps. ZeitFinder v1611, test dated 22 October 2026.

How do the planning approaches differ?

Compare with Doodle and Nuudel

The following overview compares the workflows of ZeitFinder, Doodle’s group poll and Nuudel’s scheduling poll. It is based on the linked official product information.

ZeitFinder combines availability windows, automatic timetabling and AI analysis. Turn availability, free-text requests and additional documents into concrete planning proposals, including an individually styled timetable.

ZeitFinder, Doodle and Nuudel compared
Planning approach	ZeitFinder	Doodle	Nuudel
What do you collect?	Available and preferred times within full time windows.	Votes on proposed meeting options in a Group Poll.	Votes on proposed dates and times; text polls are also available.
How is the result produced?	Create suitable appointments or individual timetables with the ZeitFinder solver without AI, or directly with AI analysis instead.	Compare responses and confirm a meeting; calendar invitations are sent automatically.	Compare poll responses and select a date and time.
Especially suited to	Flexible start times, different durations and assigning multiple individual appointments.	Group meetings with proposed options, plus booking and calendar features.	Free, data-minimising scheduling and opinion polls provided by Digitalcourage.
Free-text requests and custom details	AI can include enabled participant comments and custom details in planning, analysing requests alongside availability.	Not described within the scope of the poll compared here.	Not described within the scope of the poll compared here.
Planning in your own words	Tell the AI what you need, such as “Finish by 5 pm on Wednesday”. It can derive planning settings and use the solver.	Not described within the scope of the poll compared here.	Not described within the scope of the poll compared here.
Include PDFs and images	Upload existing timetables or other documents as PDF, JPG or PNG files. AI can use readable information from them as context for your request.	Not described within the scope of the poll compared here.	Not described within the scope of the poll compared here.
Automatically create individual timetables	The free solver assigns individual appointments with different durations. Depending on settings, it considers preferred times, breaks, compact days and as few additional gaps as possible.	Not described within the scope of the poll compared here.	Not described within the scope of the poll compared here.
Refine existing timetables	Ask AI to swap or move appointments in an existing timetable. Colours, titles and highlights can also be adjusted within the existing grid.	Not described within the scope of the poll compared here.	Not described within the scope of the poll compared here.

Doodle also offers other products and automatic calendar coordination. Reviewed: 26 October 2026.

This comparison covers Doodle Group Poll and Nuudel scheduling polls. Entries refer to these poll types and the linked product information; other products and integrations may offer different features.

Official comparison sources

Frequently asked questions

Do I need an account for ZeitFinder?

You can create an availability poll without registering. Enter your email address for the private admin link. Participants enter their availability through the participant link without an account.

What is free and when do I need AI credits?

Availability polls, the availability overview and automatic meeting and timetable calculations work without AI credits. Optional AI analysis uses available AI credits. Your current balance and the available one-time packages are shown in the admin area.

How is a suitable meeting time determined?

ZeitFinder calculates possible appointments from the submitted availability, the required duration and the selected settings. A suitable time therefore depends on these inputs. If there is no shared time window for everyone, you can ask for additional availability or adjust the requirements.

Can I create individual timetables automatically?

Yes. The ZeitFinder solver calculates an individual timetable from availability and your settings, without AI or AI credits. Alternatively, you can request a timetable directly in the AI analysis, which uses AI credits. You do not need to run the solver first.

Where can I find privacy information?

The privacy policy describes data processing and the services used for optional features. Share only the participant link with the group and keep the admin link private.

Read the privacy policy

Create your own availability poll

Set the days and time ranges, then invite your group to enter their availability.

Create an availability poll