Guides

How to Use When2Meet: A Step-by-Step Guide (2026)

Ryan Sham · 2026-07-03

When2Meet is one of the quickest ways to find a time that works for a whole group — it's free, needs no account, and has been the go-to availability grid for over a decade. If you've been sent a When2Meet link and aren't sure what to do, or you want to create your own, here's the whole thing, start to finish.

Already know how it works and just want something smarter? 9 free When2Meet & LettuceMeet alternatives →

What is When2Meet, in one line

It's a shared grid where everyone drags to mark when they're free, and the times the most people can do turn the darkest green. No logins, no calendar syncing — just a link and a grid. It's built for polling a group (finding one time everyone can do), not for letting people book a slot on your calendar.

How to create a When2Meet event (step by step)

1. Go to when2meet.com. No sign-up, no account — you can start straight away.
2. Name your event. Type something your group will recognise, like 'Team Sync' or 'Study Group Week 3'.
3. Pick the possible dates. Click and drag across the mini calendar to select the days you'd consider. Prefer a weekly recurring thing? Choose the Days of the Week mode instead of Specific Dates.
4. Set the time range. Choose the earliest and latest time to consider (say, 9 AM to 6 PM) so people aren't marking the middle of the night.
5. Set the time zone. Pick your zone. For Specific-Date events, When2Meet converts the grid into each participant's own time zone as they fill in — so cross-zone groups are handled. (Only the recurring Days of the Week mode assumes everyone shares one zone.)
6. Click 'Create Event'. You'll land on a page with a unique URL — that link is your event, so copy it.

How to share it and get people to fill it in

Send the link to your group — WhatsApp, email, Slack, wherever they are. When someone opens it:

1. They type their name into the 'Sign In' box on the left. (They can add an optional password so only they can edit their own times — handy, not required.)
2. They click and drag on the grid to paint the times they're free. Green means available.
3. That's it — no account, no app. Their availability instantly stacks into the group view.

How to read the results (the part people get stuck on)

Look at the grid on the right — the group availability. The darker the green, the more people are free at that time. Hover over any cell and When2Meet shows you exactly who's available and who isn't.

To find your meeting time, you're hunting for the darkest block that's long enough for your meeting. That's the manual part: you scan the grid with your eyes and make the call yourself.

A few tips and common gotchas

• Everyone must use the same link. A new When2Meet event = a new URL. Don't create one each.
• To change your availability, open the link again and sign in with the same name (and password, if you set one).
• Recurring mode is single-zone. For specific dates When2Meet converts times per person, but its Days of the Week mode assumes everyone's in the same zone — so for a spread-out recurring group, spell the zone out.
• Nothing tells you when people reply. You'll need to reopen the page and check who's filled in — When2Meet won't notify you.

Where When2Meet stops

When2Meet is great at the basics, and for a quick one-off it's hard to beat. But once you've run a few, the same gaps show up:

• It never tells you anything. You reopen the page over and over to see who's responded. There are no notifications.
• You do the deciding. It shows the heatmap, but you still scan the grid by eye to find the winning slot — it won't pick the best time for you.
• Mobile is fiddly. The grid was built for a desktop mouse; on a phone it can be awkward to drag accurately.

When to reach for something smarter

If you only need a throwaway poll, When2Meet is fine — use it and move on. But if you're the one organising, and you'd rather not babysit the grid, this is exactly the gap CrepeMeet was built for. It keeps the two things people love about When2Meet — free, and no login for the people you invite — then adds the layer When2Meet skips:

• It picks the best time for you — the slot that's long enough and works for the most people rises to the top automatically. No squinting at the grid.
• It emails you the moment people reply — and by the time you open it, the best time's already ranked, ready to confirm. Set the poll, put it down, and let it do the watching. Being notified and having it ranked, together, is the real 'set and forget.'

Fair's fair, though: CrepeMeet is built for same-time-zone groups for now — so if your group is spread across zones, When2Meet's per-person zone conversion is one thing it still does that we don't yet. For a team or class in one place, CrepeMeet's the smoother ride.

Want the direct comparison? CrepeMeet vs When2Meet, feature by feature →

When2Meet FAQ

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