PollUnit was designed to easily make decisions in groups. We offer different methods for decision making. You can combine these methods and functions freely and create polls, todo lists, prioritizations and much more and adapt them to your needs.

PollUnit works like this:

• Create a PollUnit and choose what to vote on
• Send the link to your PollUnit to all participants
• Give your attendees time to vote
• Send the result of your PollUnit to all participants

In pairwise comparison, each option is systematically compared with every other option to determine relative preferences or rankings. The PollUnit pairwise comparison method can be used for A-B tests as well as for voting on any texts and images.

To determine the ranking of individual options, the »Elo Number« is used. This is calculated using the »Elo Ranking« evaluation system, which was originally developed for measuring the playing strength of chess players.

Create a collaborative table where all participants can jointly edit any row, column, or cell in real time. A Free Table offers maximum flexibility.

Create a table to collect information from participants. Participants can enter their data in a single, designated row. The Participant Table is perfect for lists such as potlucks or orders.

With PollUnit you can also collect and rate ideas. Participants can add their ideas with a title and a description. Then all participants can rate and comment on these ideas. This method is ideal for brainstorming. From the best ideas you can also create a vote to find out the best idea.

Create your online questionnaire in just a few steps. Conduct the survey with the help of form fields and ratings. Several analysis functions help you to better understand and export the results.

A PollUnit photo contest is an online gallery with large thumbnails and the possibility to vote - on demand also with photo uploader to collect the work of others.

Voting on videos from streaming platforms like YouTube or on uploaded video files.

A PollUnit music contest is an online playlist with the possibility to vote and a uploader for Participants.

Create a personalized online Advent calendar to make the pre-Christmas season special for friends, family, or colleagues with daily digital surprises. Additionally, you can design creative event calendars for various occasions.

A PollUnit landing page is a very simple homepage. You can add texts, images and videos. You can link other PollUnits to a landing page. All linked PollUnits appear on the landing page and are published with only one link.

For example, different photo contests can be created and displayed as categories on a landing page.

If you create a PollUnit with the type »Vote«, you must first select what you want to vote on. First you have to decide whether you want the best option (the option with the most votes) or whether you want to distribute the options or tasks automatically among your participants. Then start the poll wizard by clicking on the option type (e.g. date).

In the basic settings you determine the title of your PollUnit, the target and voting type of the poll. You can also add a description and location to your poll.

In all PollUnit types except the collection of ideas, you can add depending on the type options, photos or texts in a second step.

In Wizard Step »Advanced« you can enable your participants to add their own options.

In the design step you can customize your PollUnit. You can choose from several ready-made themes. In addition, you have various effects available such as snow or fireflies.

As a premium user, you can also create your own design and as a business user you can upload your own logos and use them in your PollUnit.

In the advanced settings you can activate various functions. Please refer to the section »Advanced settings«.

You can invite people directly in you PollUnit. You can inform your users in 4 different ways.

Voting on freely selectable texts. Ideal for staff lists, brainstorming and anything that can be expressed in words.

Voting on pictures incl. Gallery or files. This type of option allows you and your participants to upload and rate images or files.

Vote for a date. Ideal for finding appointments for a full day.

Vote on a date. Ideal for appointments.

Voting on date periods. Ideal for appointments over several days.

Voting on time periods.

The option with the most votes is the best option. Choose this, if for instance you want to find a common appointment.

This Method tries to distribute options among participants, so that everyone gets the option he/she likes.
Choose this method when for example, you want to create a service schedule: A set of dates has to be distributed among the participants.

This method is looking for the option with the highest acceptance in a group. Your participants can cast resistance votes. The options with the least rejection wins.

Voting with Yes, No and abstain. Negative votes are subtracted from positive votes.

Simple upvoting. Only positive votes are counted.

Simple voting by liking with thumb up symbol. With the target »Lowest resistance« the thumb up becomes a thumb down symbol.

Simple voting with heart symbol. With the target »Lowest resistance« the heart becomes a broken heart.

Participants can rate options with points from a given interval.

Ranked voting is only possible in PollUnits with the type »survey«. Participants rate options by assigning them a personal order.

Depending on the configuration, participants can rate options with 0-10 stars.

Dot Voting is a method to evaluate ideas and to prioritize selections and decisions in a group. And this is how it works:

• Each participant receives a fixed number of points
• Each participant distributes his points to the options
• The option with the most points wins

With the voting target »lowest resistance« you can flip the rating and the option wins with the least negative votes.

With the help of smileys the user can vote.

A voter has to decide which option is the best. In combination with our voting categories voters can choose a favorite per category. You should name your voting categories in superlative. For example: Most Creative, Funniest, Best Outfit ...

Matrix votes are only possible in PollUnits with the type »survey«. Popular matrices / scales can be easily selected. In the following step you can add questions. These will be displayed in rows.

With submission categories, you can divide your contests into different themes or genres. Participants select an appropriate category when uploading their media, ensuring that all submissions are sorted into the right group.

Only submissions within the same submission category compete against each other. Each submission category has its own winners.

Voting categories allow media to be evaluated based on different criteria, independently of a fixed submission category. Each submission is judged across all categories, e.g., based on »Originality« or »Quality«.

This means a single submission can score in multiple categories, and each voting category can have its own winners. This system enables a diverse and differentiated evaluation of the submissions.

Only participants who have voted for an option / image will be considered: For example, if there are 5 participants and 3 of them have rated an option / picture with 5 stars, the average is 5.

All participants are considered: For example, if there are 5 participants and 3 of them have rated an option / picture with 5 stars, the average is 3.

Use standard form fields such as text and selection fields to collect simple data.

This step is solely for providing participants with free text information.

You ask a question or display an image and let your users rate it. Choose from different voting types.

Create a matrix / scale and ask multiple questions. Participants can select one option per question.

Ask a question or task and let your participants draw an image in response.

By default, in a survey step of the »Rating« type, participants do not need to rate or vote for any options and can skip the step. If you choose »Participants must vote«, the rating step becomes mandatory.

For simple ratings using heart, thumbs up, checkboxes, or voting in superlatives, only one option needs to be rated or selected. For ratings with multiple selections per option, such as voting with stars, points, or scales, each option must be rated.

If enabled, a free text can be added to the options in your PollUnit.

If enabled, a text (multiline) can be added to the options / images. Adding descriptions is only possible via the edit functions in the option context menu or when creating an option in your PollUnit (but not in the wizard).

If enabled, a link can be added to the options in your PollUnit. Links consist of a URL and a title.

When activated, a file attachment can be added to the options of your PollUnit. A file attachment consists of a file and a title.

For PollUnits with images or other files the following file formats are supported: All common image formats, pdf, zip, docx, xlsx, pptx, txt and mp3

Hides the title or file name in the participant link. The name is visible in the admin link and the evaluation.

If the pixel requirement is not met, participation will not be permitted. The following table shows the printability using a 3:2 aspect ratio.

Only entries that correspond to the specified image orientation will be accepted. You can choose between portrait format (portrait) and landscape format (landscape).

If the file size is too small or too large, the file will not be accepted and the uploading person will be informed.

If a photo or image is uploaded to your PollUnit, we read the exif metadata (Exchangeable Image File Format) and make it available to the administrators. If you publish the meta data, your participants will have access to the following camera settings:

Camera, focal length, ISO, flash, aperture and shutter speed.

The data shows how the camera has exposed an image. The data can be used to determine whether these settings are appropriate.

The specification of exif data in files is optional and can only be displayed if it exists.

Hides the title or file name in the participation link. The name remains visible in the admin link and in the evaluation.

All common video formats such as mp4, mpg, avi, m4v, webm, flv are supported in video competitions.

If this option is deselected, voting in your PollUnit is not possible. Voting can be activated at any time. In combination with »Allow new options«, you can use PollUnit to collect options and photos before opening the poll for voting.

If this option is deselected, visitors can no longer register in the PollUnit. This option is only available in PollUnit tables and the Advent calendar.

All names of the voters / participants will be made anonymous. Instead of a name, everyone gets a random anonymous name, e.g. Anonymous-12345678. Even admins cannot see the real names anymore. Once this setting is activated and participants have already voted, you cannot undo this setting.

Set a start time and/or deadline if you want to allow voting only in a certain period of time. The time you choose is your local time.

Set a start time and/or a deadline if you want to allow participation only within a specific period. The time you choose is your local time.

Set a fee for voting or allow your participants to donate if they participate in your PollUnit. If you want your users to choose the amount themselves, you can leave the field empty.

By default images / videos / audio tracks are hidden for other users, before voting starts. If you want to make them visible before, you can check this setting.

Request any information such as email address, companions, birthday, etc.. Only after entering the information users may vote.

You do not need to create an additional email field here if you choose »Users must confirm their information«.

The information is only visible to the admins of your PollUnit.

Your PollUnit's participants are allowed to write comments.

Allows participants depending on your PollUnit type to add new options / images / columns to your PollUnit.

Allow participants to create new rows.

Allow photographers to upload a sequence of photographs. When judging image series, the judges can consider the collective strength of the series as a whole.

A maximum of 20 images per photo series can be submitted.

Optionally, participants' options must be approved by an admin before they are published. The options will only become visible to the participants after the admin has given his consent.

As admin you get access to a submission approval dashboard.

Creators / submitters must give their name. When this option is unchecked, the names for all are hidden.

To submit an image, a description must be entered. Descriptions must be enabled in step 1. This option is only available in photo contests.

Allow only a certain number of voting options / pictures / columns per participant. For example, in a photo contest you can make sure that a participant can only submit one picture or image series. Under »Restrict voting« you can control that multiple entries are prevented.

For multiple submission categories, this limit applies to the entire PollUnit, not per category.

With this setting, users are not able to vote for their own submitted option / photo / video / idea.

Set a start time and/or deadline if you want to allow submission only in a certain period of time. The time you choose is your local time.

Set a fee for each submissions or allow your submitters to donate when they submit to your PollUnit. If you want your users to choose the amount themselves, you can leave the field empty.

In order to confirm the information entered, the email address of the user is also requested. An email is sent to the user with the request to confirm the entered information.

This can be used, for example, to get permission from the user to send marketing emails. By confirming this information by email, this step is also privacy compliant.

Request any information such as email address, copyright information, artist name, etc.. Only after entering the information users may add options.

You do not need to create an additional email field here if you choose »Users must confirm their information«.

The information is only visible to the admins of your PollUnit.

By appending URL parameters to the PollUnit link, data can be transmitted to PollUnit and participants can be tracked. You can store any key-value pairs with your participations. This data is then available in the evaluation as well as in the export. For example, you can append a unique identifier or an email address to track who has responded, who has voted, or who has submitted options.

For example: pollunit.com/polls/CUSTOM.

Secure your votings against multiple participations by various security measures.

In the jury mode, an invitation is required to vote. In contrast to the public mode, participants in the jury mode are not informed that an invitation is required for voting.

With »Apply restriction also to visitors« users can only access the PollUnit with the selected security setting. Otherwise, the access restriction applies only to voting users.

In a private PollUnit with hidden votes, participants cannot see other participants' votes. However the creator can view the result at any time.

In a PollUnit with hidden submissions, participants can only see their own submissions. Ideal when you want only to collect content or files with your PollUnit. However, admins can see the submissions at any time. After the start of voting, this setting will be deactivated, i.e. the submissions will no longer be hidden.

Publishing results can be deactivated, but the person who created the PollUnit can see them at any time. When the results are published, the participants can also view the results. This option can also be adjusted only when closing/terminating the PollUnit.

Keep in mind that if personal data is requested, it will also be published. will be published.

Usually the best choice is highlighted during the voting. You can disable this so that participants are not influenced by it.

In a private PollUnit with hidden voters, participants cannot see voters. Even after the PollUnit is closed, the voters remain hidden. However the creator can view the result at any time

Hides the name of the creator in the participant link. The name is visible in the admin link and the evaluation.

Hides the name of the idea creator in the participant link. The name is visible in the admin link and the evaluation.

The name of the person editing the table will be hidden in the participation link. The name is visible in the admin link and in the evaluation.

If not specified, the name of the creator will be used. The publisher is displayed in your PollUnit header as well as in emails. If you add a imprint or terms, a link at the end of your PollUnit is shown.

Upon entering your contact details, they will be visible to the participants, enabling them to reach out to you directly for any inquiries they may have.

If you enter terms and conditions, a link at the end of your PollUnit is shown. If the opt-in function is activated, the user has to confirm the terms and conditions by checking the checkbox before he can participate. The terms and conditions can be viewed via the checkbox.

If you enter a privacy notice, a link at the end of your PollUnit is shown. If the opt-in function is activated, the user has to confirm the privacy notice by checking the checkbox before he can participate. The privacy notice can be viewed via the checkbox.

With the help of Social Meta Tags you can define how your shared PollUnit is displayed in the news feed of Facebook, Twitter, Slack and other social networking sites. You can define a title and a description for each PollUnit. You can also upload a title image.

Recommended size for the title image is 1200 px x 630 px. The title should not exceed 40 characters and the description 300 characters.

You can also enable indexing on search engines. By default, indexing is disabled. By the activation the participation link of your PollUnit will be transmitted to Google and the meta tag »Robots« is set to »index, follow«. When and if a page is indexed depends on the search engine.

Hides the name of the submitting person in the participation link. The name is visible in the admin link and in the evaluation.

Hides all tags from participants. Only admins can see tags. Tags can be used, for example, to mark options.

To avoid order bias, you can shuffle the options / images / columns for each user.

Participants have to decide for one option. If they assign another vote, the previous one is removed. For multiple submission categories, this applies per category, meaning one vote can be cast per category.

Define a final page with headline, content and link to your own website.

After a participant submits options, pictures, files or ideas, a thank you page with your texts and links will be displayed.

Control how many participants can vote for the same option. You can only change the limit type if no votes have been cast yet.

Secure your PollUnit! Users can only participate and view the PollUnit's result if they know the password.

Remove PollUnit Branding

When you close your PollUnit, it is no longer possible to participate. When you close your PollUnit you can set different visibility and notification settings. To close your PollUnit you have to visit it via the admin link.

To delete content like voting options, images or columns, visit the admin link of your PollUnit and click on the context menu (three dots) of the respective content and select »Delete«.

As admin, you can also delete comments from other participants. To delete a comment, visit the Adminlink of your PollUnit and click on the delete icon on the corresponding comment.

We have implemented this feature to allow the owners of PollUnits to delete inappropriate or abusive comments. For the most transparent group decision, the deletion of a comment is saved in the Activity Log of your PollUnit.

Deleting comments from others is a premium feature.

As admin, you can delete participants from your PollUnit. To remove a participant from your group decision, visit the Adminlink of your PollUnit and click the delete icon next to the user's name.

We have implemented this feature to allow the owners of PollUnits to delete duplicate and unauthorized votes. To make group decisions as transparent as possible, deleting voices is stored in the Activity Log of your PollUnit.

Deleting participants and theire votes is a premium feature.

If you visit the admin link of your survey, you will get a summarized evaluation of all fields and questions per step. You can navigate through the questionnaire via »Next« and »Back«. Via the context menu (three dots) of your survey you will get to further evaluation data. Here you will also find the data of all participants.

To get to the evaluation open the context menu of your PollUnit and click on »Evaluation«. You will get an overview of the options as well as your participants. If you have used the invite function, you will also see which users have not yet voted.

As an admin of a PollUnit, you can export the participants and their votes as CSV and Excel. You can open and evaluate this file in the office program of your choice (such as Open Office, Excel, ...).

Via the export function in the context menu as well as in the evaluation of your PollUnit you will find the bulk download. With this function you can download all submitted or uploaded files and pictures as zip.

The PollUnit Fraud Bot is an AI that helps to detect fraudulent multiple votes. It is an alternative to our polls that require an invitation or a one-time code and thus offer the highest level of security.

After the calculation, admins can see which voters are suspicious. The votes of the suspicious voters can then be deleted.

"Visitor analysis allows admins to better understand the behavior of their users, optimize content and user experiences, and tailor marketing strategies accordingly. Visitors include all people who access a PollUnit, not just those who vote or submit entries.
This data is stored anonymously and does not allow conclusions to be drawn about individual visitors."

With bulk actions, you can select multiple objects at once and apply an action to all selected items.

This feature is available, for example, when evaluating options, music, image and video submissions, voters, and comments.

To select objects, click them individually or use lasso selection to mark several at once. Hold down the Shift key to select a range of items, or use Command (Mac) or Ctrl (Windows) to add items to your current selection – just like in Finder or Explorer.

Here is a list of PolUnits you can access. These are PollUnits you have created, but also polls / surveys where you have participated.

For additional options open the context menu by clicking the three dots. You find following functions:

Here you can create groups and teams. A group consists of a list of e-mail addresses. You can select these groups in the »Invitations« step and automatically send invitations to your PollUnit. Ideal for recurring votings and surveys for your friends, family or colleagues.

To manage groups you need a premium account.

Here you can manage your own themes. A theme consists of a background graphic and a color scheme. You can choose this when creating your PollUnit in the Wizard Step 3 (Design).

Here you can create your own logos. You can choose this when creating your PollUnit in the Wizard Step 3 (Design).

Here you can create tags. You can add them to your PollUnits or mark options in in your PollUnits. Tags can only be assigned by administrators but can be seen by all participants. In the »Advanced« step, when creating a PollUnit, you can hide the tags from participants.

Here you can edit your personal data such as name, email, password and language.

You can also delete your account here. By deleting your account, all your PollUnits, votes, themes, logos and premium purchases will be deleted. You can not undo this!

With organizations you can define employees an coworkers Members of your organization can manage PollUnits of the organization. So you can automatically pass on the administration and access rights to your polls and create, monitor and evaluate polls in the team.

The number of allowed organizations and coworkers depends on your PollUnit package.

Organizations belong to the business functions of PollUnit.

You may charge your participants a fee or a donation for their submission. Create your own wallet to receive payments through the service provider Stripe.

To synchronize only a single poll with your calendar, click »Calendar Sync« at the top of your poll's information bar. The popup that opens will give you a URL to the ICS feed, or you can download an ics file.

If you want to synchronize all polls of your account with your calendar, you can do this under »My Account«.
Under the item »My calendar« you can create a feed for your account. Do not share this URL with anyone, because the calendar file contains all links to your event polls.

Via the context menu you can reset an existing ICS feed to generate a new URL or you can remove the feed.

You can also provide the dates of all organization's date polls via an ICS feed. You create these feed in the context menu of each organization at »My Organizations«.

In the ICS feed's context menu you can remove or reset existing feeds to generate a new URL.

An »Organization SSO slug« uniquely identifies your organization. If you don't know the slug of your organization, please ask the PollUnit admin within your company.

Each organization in PollUnit can configure its own SSO. For this an organization has to pick a unique organization identifier the so called »Organization SSO slug«. The rest of the configuration should be retrieved from your SSO provider.

In your SSO provider you have to configure the allowed callback URLs for authentication and logout. For authentication you have to add:

https://pollunit.com/users/saml/auth?sso=your-organization-sso-slug

and for log out:

https://pollunit.com/users/saml/idp_sign_out

For most providers this can be left empty. For Azure AD you should enter: urn:oasis:names:tc:SAML:2.0:ac:classes:Password

To create a user in PollUnit with the information provided from an SSO provider, this information has to be mapped to the fields of a user in PollUnit. On the left are the attributes how they are named in the SAML response from your provider. You should look for the »Name« attributes in the »AttributeStatement« of your SAML response.

You can facilitate the log in of your users by sending them a direct link to your SSO login, which looks like the following:

https://pollunit.com/users/sso?slug=your-organization-sso-slug