Best Group Trip Planner Apps and Tools, Compared
Updated · 5 min read
There is no single group trip planner that does every job well, so most groups combine a few tools: one for picking dates, one for voting on options, one for the itinerary, and one for splitting costs. This round-up groups the tools by job, says what each one does according to its own site (checked November 2026), and is clear about what TripVotes, our own tool, does not do.
The jobs a group trip planner needs to do
Planning a trip together usually involves five jobs:
- Picking dates everyone can make.
- Deciding between options: destinations, places to stay, activities.
- Building an itinerary: what happens when, with maps and bookings.
- Splitting costs and tracking who owes whom.
- Talking and sharing updates.
Here is a quick overview, then more detail on each tool.
| Tool | Main job | Works without installing an app? |
|---|---|---|
| WhatsApp polls | Quick questions in the group chat | Needs WhatsApp |
| Doodle | Picking dates | Invitees vote from a shared link |
| TripVotes | Voting on places to stay and activities | Yes, voters open a link and type a first name |
| Wanderlog | Itineraries and maps with friends | Web and mobile app |
| Splitwise | Splitting costs | Web and mobile app |
| Shared document or spreadsheet | Final plan, notes, budgets | Yes, in a browser |
Group chat polls: WhatsApp and similar
Best for: quick yes or no questions and simple choices.
Most groups already plan in a chat app. WhatsApp lets you create a poll inside a chat, and voters can pick multiple options by default, which the creator can turn off (checked November 2026).
Good to know: polls are text only, so they work for "which weekend?" or "beach or city?" but are harder to use for comparing listings with photos and prices. Polls can also get buried as the chat moves on.
Doodle: picking dates
Best for: finding dates that work for most people.
Doodle is a scheduling tool. Its help center says you propose dates and times, share the poll link, and invitees vote for the ones that suit them. Doodle Free is limited to 10 time slots per poll, and some features, such as automatic reminders and hidden polls, are on paid plans (Doodle help center, checked November 2026).
Good to know: it is built for meetings, so for multi-day trips you may offer date ranges as options.
TripVotes: voting on places to stay and activities
Best for: choosing between real options, with pictures and prices, as a group.
This is our tool, so here is exactly what it does and does not do.
What it does:
- You make a voting board for a trip and share one link. Voters just type a first name, with no sign-up or app to install.
- A board has two tabs: "Accommodations" and "Daily Activities".
- Anyone on the board can paste a link from Airbnb, Booking.com, Vrbo, Viator, GetYourGuide or any site. It becomes a card with the title, picture and price when the site shares them. Or they can "Add Custom Idea" with a name and an optional price.
- Everyone votes each option up or down. Cards sort by score, and the top one in each tab gets a "Winning Pick" badge. Each card has a "View / Book" button back to the original site.
Pricing: free for up to 4 voters and 6 options per trip. A one-time $9 Trip Pass unlocks unlimited voters and options for that one trip. It is not a subscription. TripVotes may earn a commission when someone books through a link on a board.
What it does not do: dates or calendar polls, budgets or cost splitting, chat, itineraries, maps, accounts, or a mobile app. Use the other tools on this page for those jobs.
Start a board if voting on options is the step you are stuck on.
Wanderlog: itineraries and maps
Best for: building a day-by-day itinerary with friends.
Wanderlog describes itself as a free vacation planner and itinerary app that lets you make itineraries with friends and see your itinerary and map in one view, on the web or the mobile app. It also has a travel budget and expense feature for tracking spending and seeing who owes whom (both checked November 2026). There is a paid Pro tier; check its site for current features and pricing.
Good to know: it is strongest once you know where you are going and want to plan the days.
Splitwise: splitting costs
Best for: tracking shared expenses and settling up.
Splitwise is an expense-splitting tool. Its help center lists several ways to split an expense, including equally, by exact amounts, by percentage, by shares and itemized. Its paid Splitwise Pro tier adds features such as unlimited expenses, currency conversion, receipt scanning and an ad-free experience (checked November 2026).
Good to know: for trips abroad, check whether you need currency conversion, which Splitwise lists as a Pro feature.
For more on dividing costs fairly, read how to split costs on a group trip.
A shared document or spreadsheet
Best for: the final plan, packing lists, budgets, and anything that does not fit elsewhere.
Any shared document or spreadsheet tool your group already uses works. Use it as the single source of truth: addresses, booking references, arrival times, emergency contacts. Pin the link in the group chat.
How to combine them
A simple stack for most groups:
- Chat app for conversation and quick polls.
- Scheduling poll to pick dates.
- Voting board to choose where to stay and what to do.
- Expense app to split costs.
- Shared document for the final plan, or an itinerary app if you want maps.
You do not need all of them. A weekend for four friends might only need a chat, one vote and a note. A two-week family reunion might use every tool here.
For the full process and where each tool fits, read how to plan a group trip, use our group trip planning checklist, and for voting methods, see how to run a fair group vote.