← Commonhour

Frequently Asked Questions

Commonhour is a free group-scheduling tool: propose a few candidate dates, share one link, and see who's actually free before picking a final time and sending a calendar invite — no account required to participate.

Getting started Pricing & free tier Privacy & security Features Comparisons

Getting started

Do I need to create an account to use Commonhour?

No. Anyone can create a plan or respond to one without an account — just enter your name and email when you mark your availability. Creating a free account is optional; it lets you save your plan history and reuse saved contact groups, but it's never required to organize or join a plan.

How do I create a scheduling plan on Commonhour?

Go to commonhour.io, click "Create a plan," and add a plan name, one or more candidate dates, and a time window. Commonhour generates a 6-character code and a shareable link you can send to your group immediately — no sign-up required.

How does someone join a plan I created?

Share the plan's link or its 6-character code. Anyone with either can open the plan and mark their availability directly on the shared grid — they don't need an account to respond.

What happens after everyone marks their availability?

The organizer sees a heatmap showing how many people are free at each time slot. Clicking any slot shows exactly who's free and who isn't, and the organizer can pick a final time and generate a calendar invite from there.

Pricing & free tier

Is Commonhour free to use?

Yes. Creating plans, joining plans, marking availability, and generating calendar invites (Google Calendar, Outlook, or .ics) are all free, with no paid tier currently required for any of it.

Does Commonhour paywall calendar invite generation like other scheduling tools?

No — this is Commonhour's core difference from most competitors. Doodle, Rallly, WhenAvailable, and 1:1 booking tools like Calendly and Cal.com all paywall calendar-invite generation on their free tiers; Commonhour keeps it free on every tier, by explicit product decision.

Are there ads on Commonhour?

No. Commonhour doesn't show ads to organizers or invitees. The site is supported voluntarily through an optional "Buy Me a Coffee" link, not advertising.

Is there a limit to how many people can respond to a plan?

Anonymous plans created without an account cap at 12 respondents. Plans created by a signed-in account have no respondent limit.

Privacy & security

Does Commonhour sell my personal data?

No. Commonhour doesn't sell personal information, and it doesn't use names, emails, or availability data to train any AI model. See the full privacy policy for details.

Who can see my availability on a plan?

Anyone with that plan's link or code can view it — this is intentional, since joining a plan doesn't require an account. Avoid sharing a plan's link anywhere you wouldn't want the group's availability to be visible.

How long does Commonhour keep my plan data?

A booked plan (one where a final time was chosen) is automatically deleted 10 days after the booked date. A plan that's never booked is deleted 30 days after its last candidate date. The organizer can also delete a plan manually at any time, which removes it and every response immediately.

How is my data protected?

Commonhour uses encrypted connections, database-level row security through Supabase, and hashed passwords. No online service can guarantee absolute security, but these are standard practices used across the industry.

Features

Does Commonhour generate calendar invites automatically?

Yes. Once the organizer picks a final time, Commonhour generates a Google Calendar link, an Outlook link, or a downloadable .ics file, with attendees' names and emails pre-filled from who marked themselves as free.

Can I send email invitations instead of just sharing a link?

Yes, if you're signed in. Account holders can email invitations directly to a list or a saved contact group, and see who's opened, clicked, and responded to each invite from the plan page.

Does Commonhour show times in my own time zone?

Yes. Commonhour detects your device's time zone automatically and converts the plan's schedule to it, with a manual override if you want to view times in a different zone, like the plan's original time zone.

Can I reuse the same group of people for future plans?

Yes, if you're signed in. You can save a contact group once and select it again the next time you send email invitations, instead of re-entering everyone's email each time.

Is there a Commonhour mobile app?

Not as a separate download — Commonhour runs entirely in your mobile browser, including touch-based drag-to-select on the availability grid, so there's nothing to install.

Comparisons

How is Commonhour different from Doodle?

Doodle requires an account to create a poll, shows ads on its free tier, and paywalls calendar-invite generation along with larger polls and branding removal. Commonhour requires no account to create or join a plan, shows no ads, and keeps calendar-invite generation free on every tier. See the full Commonhour vs. Doodle comparison.

How is Commonhour different from When2Meet?

When2Meet is free and requires no account, similar to Commonhour, but it doesn't generate calendar invites or offer organizer admin tools. Commonhour adds free calendar-invite generation, organizer recognition, and account-based plan history on top of that same no-account-required simplicity.

Is Commonhour a booking-page tool like Calendly or Cal.com?

No. Calendly and Cal.com are 1:1 booking-page tools where invitees pick from an existing calendar's open slots. Commonhour is a group scheduling poll — everyone proposes their availability across a shared set of candidate dates, and the organizer picks the time that works for the most people.