SyncWhen is a free scheduling poll tool that helps you find the best meeting time for any group. No signup, no ads, no fuss. This guide walks you through everything — from creating your first poll to reading results and managing your sync.

If you've never used SyncWhen before, you'll be surprised how fast it is. Most people create their first poll in under 30 seconds.

Step 1: Open SyncWhen

Go to syncwhen.com. You'll land directly on the creation form — no account needed, no login screen, no onboarding flow. The form is the homepage.

Step 2: Add a Title and Description

Give your poll a clear name so participants know what they're voting on. Good titles are specific:

The description field is optional but useful for adding details like "30-minute call via Zoom" or "Dinner at Marco's, need to book by Friday."

Step 3: Choose Your Mode

SyncWhen offers two scheduling modes:

Dates only — Use this when the exact time doesn't matter. Participants vote on which days work. Great for all-day events like dinners, trips, or outings.

Dates + times — Use this when you need a specific time slot. You pick dates from the calendar, then add time slots like 10:00, 14:00, or 16:30. Each combination of date + time becomes a separate voting option.

Click the toggle to switch between modes. Most work meetings need "Dates + times." Most social events work fine with "Dates only."

Step 4: Select Dates

Click on dates in the calendar to select them. Selected dates turn green. Click again to deselect. Past dates are grayed out and can't be selected.

You need at least two dates — otherwise there's nothing to vote on. For best results, offer 5-7 options. Too many choices leads to decision paralysis, too few doesn't give people enough flexibility.

Tip: Use the arrow buttons to navigate between months if your event is further out.

Step 5: Add Time Slots (If Using Dates + Times Mode)

If you chose "Dates + times," a time slot picker appears after selecting your dates. Use the hour and minute dropdowns to pick a time, then click "Add."

Each time slot you add applies to every selected date. So if you selected Monday and Tuesday, and added 10:00 and 14:00, you'll get four voting options:

You can remove time slots by clicking the × on any chip.

Step 6: Create Your Sync

Click the green "Create sync" button. In a moment, you'll see the confirmation screen with two important links:

Share link — This is the link you send to participants. Anyone with this link can vote.

Admin link — This is your private link for managing the poll. Only you should have this. With it, you can edit the title and description, delete participants, or delete the entire sync.

Important: Save your admin link somewhere safe. SyncWhen has no accounts, so this link is the only way to manage your poll. If you lose it, you can't get it back.

Copy both links using the copy buttons, then click "Go to your sync" to see the voting page.

Send the share link to your participants through whatever channel they use:

The link works on any device — phones, tablets, laptops. No app to install, no account to create.

Step 8: Participants Vote

When someone opens the link, they see the list of time slots and a simple voting interface. Here's how voting works:

Each participant enters their name, then clicks the vote button next to each time slot. Each click cycles through the options:

After voting on all slots, they click "Submit vote." Their name and votes appear in the results table instantly.

There's no limit to how many people can vote. Each person just needs a unique name within the poll.

Step 9: Watch Results Come In

This is where SyncWhen shines. Results update in real time — you don't need to refresh the page. As participants vote, their responses appear in the table instantly thanks to WebSocket connections.

The results table shows:

You can see at a glance which time works for the most people.

A small green dot in the header indicates you're connected to the live update stream. If it turns gray, the page will still work but you'll need to refresh to see new votes.

Step 10: Pick the Best Time

Once enough people have voted, pick the time slot with the "Best" badge and schedule your meeting. There's no formal "close poll" action — the link stays active until you delete the sync.

Pro tip: Don't wait for 100% participation. If 8 out of 10 people have voted and there's a clear winner, go with it. Waiting for the last stragglers means waiting forever.

Managing Your Sync

Using your admin link, you can:

Note: You can't change the time slots after participants have voted. This protects vote integrity — changing options after people have already voted would make their responses meaningless.

Editing and Deleting Votes

Participants can edit or delete their votes from the results table. Next to each participant's name, there are small edit (pencil) and delete (trash) icons. Clicking edit opens the vote form with their current responses pre-filled, so they can change their mind without starting over.

This is useful when someone's schedule changes or they accidentally voted on the wrong slots.

Tips for Better Polls

Here are a few tips gathered from thousands of SyncWhen users:

Keep it focused. 5-7 time options is the sweet spot. Offer enough choice without overwhelming people.

Add context. A clear title and brief description dramatically increase response rates. "Q3 Review — 45 min Zoom call" tells people exactly what they're committing to.

Share in the right place. Send the link where people are already active. If your team lives in Slack, post it there. If your friends live in WhatsApp, use that.

Vote first yourself. When you create a poll and immediately cast your own vote, it sets the tone. People are more likely to vote when they see someone else has already done it.

Send one reminder. If people haven't voted after 24 hours, one gentle nudge is fine. More than that is annoying.

For a deeper dive into poll strategy, check out our 7 tips to boost poll participation.

What's Next?

That's everything you need to know about SyncWhen. The whole point is simplicity — create a poll, share a link, find the best time. No accounts, no downloads, no complexity.

Ready to try it? Head to syncwhen.com and create your first sync. It's free, and you'll have a shareable link in about 30 seconds.