How Doris compares
Your people, your rooms.
Most booking software is built for taking bookings, and money, from the public. Doris is built for the other job: your own people booking your own rooms, without the spreadsheet.
Doris against the free alternatives
The real competition at this end is not other software. It is a shared calendar, a spreadsheet, or a WhatsApp group held together by one patient volunteer.
| Feature | Shared Google Calendar | Spreadsheet | WhatsApp group | Doris |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cost | Free | Free | Free | Free for up to 100 bookings a month |
| Stops double bookings | No | No | No | Yes: clashes refused as you book |
| People book themselves | Only with full edit access | Only with full edit access | By asking a person | Yes, without handing everyone edit access |
| Controls who sees and books what | No | No | No | Yes: private to your organisation, by role |
| Approvals | No | No | “Let me check” | Yes, per room or for the whole organisation |
| Regular bookings | Clunky | By hand | No | Yes |
| A record of changes and cancellations | Patchy | Lost on overwrite | Lost in the scroll | Yes, the full history |
| Works as an app on your phone | No | No | It is WhatsApp | Yes, installs from the browser |
| Survives the volunteer leaving | Tied to one account | “Where’s the file?” | Tied to one phone | Yes: the diary belongs to the organisation |
Doris against the paid alternatives
These are good products, mostly built for taking bookings and payments from the public. Doris is built for your own people booking your own rooms.
| Feature | AllBooked | Skedda | Hallmaster | LemonBooking | Doris |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Built for | Community spaces, sports clubs | Hybrid offices, desks | UK venue hire | UK community venue hire | Your people, your rooms |
| Entry price1 | $99 a month, billed annually (Core) | $99 a month, billed annually (Starter) | £195 a year including VAT (booking only) | £195 a year (Bronze) | Free for up to 100 bookings a month, then $25 a month plus tax |
| Rooms at the entry price | 3, and Core takes no more; 4 or more means Business at $149 a month | 15 spaces | Unlimited | 8, then £12 a year each | 100 on every plan, including Free |
| A free plan | No, a 14-day trial | No, a trial | No, a 90-day trial | No, a 30-day trial | Yes, for as long as you like |
| Monthly billing | No, billed annually | No, billed annually | No, a yearly fee | No, billed annually | Yes, monthly or yearly |
| A public booking page for outside hirers | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No, on purpose: you talk it through, then book them in as a guest |
| Takes payments from the people booking | Yes | Yes | A £30-a-year add-on | Yes | Yes, into your own Stripe account, and I take no cut2 |
| Invoicing | Yes | Yes | A higher tier, £279 a year | Yes | Yes, statements sent for you (Diary & Billing) |
| An app on your phone | Yes, iOS and Android | Yes, iOS and Android | No app | In the browser | Yes, installs from the browser, no app store |
| Connect your AI assistant (MCP) | No | No | No | No | Yes, an MCP server your own assistant can use |
| Regular bookings and approvals | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
- Prices are the vendors' own, in the currency they publish, read on their pricing pages on 2 October 2026. AllBooked Core covers up to 3 spaces and cannot add more; Business is $149 a month for 15, with spaces 16 to 25 at $4.99 each. AllBooked offers European and Asia-Pacific discounts through its sales team. Skedda's price depends on where you are: in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia-Pacific it starts at Starter, $99 a month for 15 spaces. Hallmaster's invoicing tier is £279 a year and its accounting link a further £30. LemonBooking adds facilities beyond 8 at £12 a year each. Doris: Free is 100 bookings a month with 100 rooms and 500 members; Diary is $25 a month or $250 a year, Diary & Billing $50 a month or $500 a year, plus tax.
- Diary & Billing raises statements and sends them for you. Members and guests can pay by card through your own Stripe account, or by bank transfer and cash as before. The money goes to you, never through Doris, and Doris takes no percentage.
- Sources: AllBooked, Skedda, Hallmaster, LemonBooking. Every competitor fact on this page was checked on 2 October 2026; prices change, so check theirs before you decide.
Connect your AI assistant
Doris is one of the first booking tools to ship an MCP server. The AI assistant you already use can read your bookings, room use and statements, and prepare the month-end admin, all with your approval.
Try it on your own rooms
Let me take it from here.
Free for up to 100 bookings a month. Up to 28 days of everything first. No card needed.