Kahoot vs Nearpod (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Kahoot and Nearpod share a 2.4 GPA, both have a free plan, and Kahoot starts cheaper, at $3 a month against $13.25 a month when paid by the year.
Checked Nov 12, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Nov 12, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Kahoot grades higher on value for money. Nearpod grades higher on the free plan. They get the same grade on features, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Kahoot
Quiz and presentation platform for classrooms and groups
Nearpod
Interactive K-12 lessons with built-in questions and activities
Which one is for you
Pick Kahoot if
- Fits if you run quizzes for a class or a small group
- Works for presenters who want audience polls inside a talk
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if your group is over 40 people, because the free plan stops there
- Watch out: AI content creation starts on Bronze and the full toolkit on Gold at $15 a month
- Pricey if you pay monthly, at $9, $15 and $26 against $3, $9 and $15 billed annually
- Skip it if you want it for business, as that is sold separately as Kahoot! 360
- Watch out: Black Friday prices on Silver, Gold and One end on 27 November
Pick Nearpod if
- Fits if you teach a class of up to 40 and want to see every student's answer live
- Works for schools that buy a district licence and want LMS rostering
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you stay free: 300 MB and 40 students a lesson, and Gold lifts that only to 75
- Pricey if you want AI Create, the Google Slides add-on or sub plans, as that is Gold at $159 a year
- Skip it if you need co-teaching, student accounts or LMS links, as those are school and district licences with no public price
- Watch out: Nearpod Math and Social Studies are listed as school and district programs
How we grade them
| 2.4GPAKahootFair | 2.4GPANearpodFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | BKahoot!+ Bronze is $3 a month billed annually, under 60% of the $7.95 that the cheaper quarter of presentation tools starts at. The tiers people use for bigger groups run $9, $15 and $25. | CGold is $159 a year, about $13 a month, and Platinum is $397 a year. Schools get a quote. |
| Free plan and trial | CKahoot! Go is free but caps a live game at 40 participants, which a full class can pass. | BSilver is free for good, with 20+ formative question types, 40 students a lesson and 300 MB of storage. One teacher can live on that, until a class goes over 40. |
| Features | CLive and self-paced quizzes, polls and flashcards. The listing shows question types and AI limits that depend on the tier, so there are gaps on the cheaper plans. | CInteractive lessons, a library, file import and real-time results. Co-teaching, live annotation, student accounts and LMS links are on school licences. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating is on record and it needs an account and some setup of your own work, so it sits at the ordinary grade. | CNo store rating on record. Teachers build or adapt lessons from slides, and rosters need school set-up. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb, iPhone and Android, with Google Slides, PowerPoint, Canva and Keynote links. No desktop app is listed. | BWeb, iOS and Android, with Google Slides, PowerPoint, YouTube and LMS links. No desktop app is listed. |
| Best for | live quizzes and polls for a classroom | interactive lessons for a classroom |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Kahoot and Nearpod. How we grade
Price against what you get
Kahoot starts at $3 a month and scores 2.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Nearpod starts at $13.25 a month when paid by the year and scores 2.3.
They score the same, and Kahoot starts $10.25 a month lower. Of the other presentation tools on the chart, 1 scores higher than Kahoot for less, and 12 score higher than Nearpod for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Kahoot also covers surveys.
At a glance
| Kahoot | Nearpod | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $3 per month, billed annually ($36) | $159 per year (Gold, individual educators) |
| Free plan | Kahoot! Go: free plan with a 40-participant limit, classic live games, templates and flashcards. | Silver is free: 300 MB of storage and up to 40 students joining each lesson, with the core features. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Kahoot! | Nearpod (part of Renaissance Learning) |
| Price read from | kahoot.com | nearpod.com |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Nov 12, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Kahoot
- Paid prices on this page are for classroom plans; business use is sold as Kahoot! 360 from $15 a month.
- The free Go plan caps a live game at 40 participants.
- Several question types and AI limits depend on the tier.
- Silver, Gold and One show lower Black Friday prices until November 27.
Nearpod
- Individual plans cap how many students can join: 40 on Silver, 75 on Gold and 90 on Platinum.
- Silver's 300 MB of storage also limits how much of the library a teacher can save.
- Co-teaching, live annotation, student accounts, LMS and LTI integrations are on school and district licenses, which are quoted.
- Nearpod Math and Nearpod Social Studies programs are listed as school and district features.
Key features
Kahoot
- Live and self-paced quizzes
- Run quizzes on a shared screen or let participants work through them on their own.
- AI content creation
- Paid tiers generate kahoots from topics, URLs, Wikipedia pages or uploaded files, with limits by tier.
- Participant limits by tier
- Limits step up from 40 on Go to 50, 100, 200 and 800 on the paid tiers.
- Reports
- Reports assess student learning; the higher tiers add advanced reports over time.
- Slides and question types
- Higher tiers add question types such as slider and precision, and a lecture experience for presenting.
Nearpod
- Interactive lessons
- Lessons, videos and activities combine slides with 20+ formative assessment types and can be run live or student-paced.
- Nearpod Library
- A library of standards-aligned lessons, activities and interactive videos, said to be made with 70+ publishers. Free and individual plans can save items up to the storage limit.
- Import your own files
- Existing PowerPoint, PDF and Google Slides files can be uploaded and turned into interactive lessons.
- AI Create
- Generates multiple-choice questions on Gold and above, and activities and lessons on school and district licenses.
- Real-time insight
- Teachers see live responses and get post-session reports. Schools get admin reporting dashboards.
- District tools
- School and district licenses add co-teaching, shared libraries, student accounts and LMS, LTI and rostering integrations.
Plans
Kahoot
Kahoot! Go$0
Free plan; 40 participants, classic live experience, question bank and templates.
Kahoot!+ Bronze$3
per month, billed annually ($36)
50 participants, AI content from topics or URLs, basic reports ($9 billed monthly).
Kahoot!+ Silver$9
per month, billed annually
100 participants, drop pin and scale questions, lecture mode ($15 billed monthly).
Kahoot!+ Gold$15
per month, billed annually
200 participants, full AI toolkit, advanced reports ($26 billed monthly).
Kahoot! One$25
per month, billed annually
800 participants, all question types and experiences ($35 billed monthly).
Nearpod
Silver$0
300 MB storage and 40 student joins per lesson, with 20+ formative assessment types and access to the Nearpod Library up to the storage limit.
Gold$159
per year, for individual educators
Adds the AI Create question generator, Google Slides add-on, drag and drop, sub plans, 1 GB storage and 75 student joins per lesson.
Platinum$397
per year, for individual educators
Everything in Gold plus student notes, 5 GB storage and 90 student joins per lesson.
Schools & districtsCustom
Unlimited storage, 250 student joins per lesson, co-teaching, LMS and rostering integrations, admin dashboards and a customer success manager. Request a quote.
Ways to pay less
Kahoot
- Annual discount
Annual billing lowers the monthly rate
Annual billing is shown at $3, $9, $15 and $25 a month, against $9, $15, $26 and $35 billed monthly.
- Other savings
Black Friday offer, ends November 27
Silver, Gold and One are shown at $6, $10 and $19 a month on yearly billing until November 27.
Nearpod
No public discounts listed.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Kahoot or Nearpod?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Kahoot is cheaper to start with: $3 a month, against $13.25 a month when paid by the year for Nearpod. Kahoot starts at $3 per month, billed annually ($36), and Nearpod starts at $159 per year (Gold, individual educators).
Which has a free plan, Kahoot or Nearpod?
As of Nov 13, 2026, both Kahoot and Nearpod have a free plan.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.