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 vs the free alternatives
The real competition at this end isn't other software. It's a shared calendar, a spreadsheet, or a WhatsApp group held together by one patient volunteer.
| Feature | Shared Google Calendar | Spreadsheet | WhatsApp group | Doris |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cost per month | Free | Free | Free | From £16.671 |
| Stops double-bookings | No | No | No | Yes - clashes rejected as you book |
| People book themselves | Only with full edit access | Only with full edit access | By asking a person | Yes - no edit-access free-for-all |
| Controls who sees and books what | No | No | No | Yes - private to your organisation, role-based |
| Approvals | No | No | “Let me check” | Yes - per-room or org-wide |
| Recurring and block bookings | Clunky | Manual | No | Yes |
| Record of changes and cancellations | Patchy | Lost on overwrite | Lost in the scroll | Yes - full history |
| Works as a phone app | No | No | It is WhatsApp | Yes - installs as an app |
| Survives the volunteer leaving | Tied to one account | “Where's the file?” | Tied to one phone | Yes - ownership transfers cleanly |
Doris vs the paid alternatives
These are good products. They're built for a different job - 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 |
| Cost per month | From ~£777 | From ~£773 | From £13.544 | From £16.255 | From £16.671 |
| Rooms included at the entry price | 3 | 15 | Unlimited | 8 | 100, on either plan |
| Public booking page for outside hirers | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No public page, but you can take guest hires |
| Takes payments from bookers | Yes | Yes | Add-on | Yes | Yes - into your own Stripe account, and I take no cut |
| Stores hirer / client data | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Guest hire contacts, yes. Client or patient records, never |
| Invoicing | Yes | Yes | Add-on tier | Yes | Yes - statements, sent automatically6 |
| Works as an app on your phone | Yes - iOS and Android | Web only | No app | Web only | Yes - installs from the browser, no app store |
| Connect your AI assistant (MCP) | No | No | No | No | Yes - native MCP server your own AI can use |
| Recurring and block bookings | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Approvals | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Monthly billing option | Yes | Yes | No - annual only | No - annual only | Yes |
New: connect your AI assistant
Doris is one of the first booking tools to ship a native MCP server. The AI assistant you already use can read your bookings, utilisation and statements, and prepare the month-end admin, all with your approval.
Read the Small Business Guide to MCP1Effective monthly cost when billed annually (£200/yr ÷ 12). Two plans: Diary £200 and Diary & Billing £400 per year + tax. True monthly billing available at £20 and £40.
3Skedda Starter (EMEA/APAC), $99/month for 15 spaces, billed annually; converted to GBP at an approximate rate and will move with the exchange rate. Checked 26 August 2026.
4Hallmaster booking-only, £195/yr inc VAT, shown ex VAT for comparison (£162.50 ÷ 12). Rooms are unlimited per venue, so per-room cost falls as you add rooms.
5LemonBooking Bronze, £195/yr (reverse-charge VAT), up to 8 facilities included; extra facilities £12/yr each.
6Diary & Billing raises statements and sends them automatically. 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.
7AllBooked Core, $99/month billed annually, which covers three spaces; extra spaces are $4.99 each per month, and four or more spaces moves you to Business at $149. Converted to GBP at an approximate rate and will move with the exchange rate. Checked 26 August 2026.
Let me take it from here.
Twenty-eight days, no card. Then decide.
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