Nearpod vs Pear Deck (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Pear Deck grades higher than Nearpod: 2.6 against 2.4 out of 4.0.
Checked Nov 12, 2026 · graded Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
Pear Deck grades higher on the free plan. They get the same grade on value for money, features, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Nearpod
Interactive K-12 lessons with built-in questions and activities
Pear Deck
Interactive classroom presentations with live student responses
Which one is for you
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
Pick Pear Deck if
- Fits if you teach from Google Slides and want students to answer on their own screens
- Works for a teacher who wants unlimited free sessions
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if you want the Teacher Dashboard, draggable responses or teacher feedback, all on Premium at $149 a year
- Skip it if you do not use Google Apps for Education, as Flashcard Factory and Add Audio need it
- Watch out: Canvas and Schoology links come with district plans and carry a fee on school plans
- Watch out: Pear Practice and Pear Assessment are separate products with their own plans
How we grade them
| 2.4GPANearpodFair | 2.6GPAPear DeckGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CGold is $159 a year, about $13 a month, and Platinum is $397 a year. Schools get a quote. | CTeacher Premium is $149 a year with an educator discount, about $12 a month, and the page shows no price without it. Schools get a quote. |
| Free plan and trial | 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. | ATeacher Free has unlimited presentations, sessions and participants, with questions, polls and student-paced mode. The limits are on features, not on how much you use it. |
| Features | CInteractive lessons, a library, file import and real-time results. Co-teaching, live annotation, student accounts and LMS links are on school licences. | CInteractive slides, student-paced mode, a dashboard and a template library. Flashcard Factory and audio are Google-only, and the dashboard is Premium. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record. Teachers build or adapt lessons from slides, and rosters need school set-up. | CNo store rating on record. It sits on top of Google Slides or PowerPoint, so teachers still build the lesson. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb, iOS and Android, with Google Slides, PowerPoint, YouTube and LMS links. No desktop app is listed. | BWeb, with Google, Microsoft, Canvas and Schoology connections. No app or desktop version is listed. |
| Best for | interactive lessons for a classroom | interactive questions inside Google or Microsoft slides |
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: Nearpod and Pear Deck. How we grade
Price against what you get
Nearpod starts at $13.25 a month when paid by the year and scores 2.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Pear Deck starts at $12.42 a month when paid by the year and scores 2.3.
They score the same, and Pear Deck starts $0.83 a month lower. Of the other presentation tools on the chart, 9 score higher than Nearpod for less, and 8 score higher than Pear Deck 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
- Pear Deck also covers templates.
At a glance
| Nearpod | Pear Deck | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $159 per year (Gold, individual educators) | $149 per year, with educator discount (Teacher Premium) |
| Free plan | Silver is free: 300 MB of storage and up to 40 students joining each lesson, with the core features. | Teacher Free: unlimited presentations, interactive questions, sessions and participants, plus student-paced mode and ready-made lessons. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Nearpod (part of Renaissance Learning) | Pear Deck Learning |
| Price read from | nearpod.com | peardeck.com |
| Checked | Nov 12, 2026 | Nov 12, 2026 |
Worth knowing
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.
Pear Deck
- Teacher Premium is listed at $149 a year with an educator discount, and the page does not show a price without it.
- Flashcard Factory and Add Audio to Slides are available only on Google Apps for Education.
- The pricing page says LMS integrations with Canvas and Schoology are included with district subscriptions and carry a fee on school subscriptions.
- Pear Practice and Pear Assessment are separate products with their own plans.
Key features
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.
Pear Deck
- Interactive slides
- Teachers add questions, polls and quizzes to a presentation and see student responses as the lesson runs.
- Student-paced mode
- Students move through a lesson at their own speed, while teachers control pacing, locks and timers in live mode.
- Teacher Dashboard
- On Premium, teachers review and highlight responses by name, give feedback and share session controls.
- Reflect & Review
- On Premium, slides, individual responses and teacher feedback can be shared with students after a session.
- Content Orchard
- A collection of templates, activities and ready-to-teach lessons made by educators.
- Pear Start
- A separate free AI tool with 40+ functions that generates lesson plans, interactive presentations and practice sets.
Plans
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.
Pear Deck
Teacher Free$0
Interactive questions, polls and quizzes, student-paced mode, anonymous joining, locks and timers, and the Content Orchard of templates and lessons.
Teacher Premium$149
per year, with educator discount
Adds the Teacher Dashboard, draggable and drawing responses, Reflect & Review, Quick Prompts, teacher feedback and a shared dashboard.
Schools & DistrictsCustom
Premium for every teacher, a district library, certified math and ELA lessons for grades 3-12, efficacy reports and onboarding support. Request a quote.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Nearpod or Pear Deck?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Pear Deck is cheaper to start with: $12.42 a month when paid by the year, against $13.25 a month when paid by the year for Nearpod. Nearpod starts at $159 per year (Gold, individual educators), and Pear Deck starts at $149 per year, with educator discount (Teacher Premium).
Which has a free plan, Nearpod or Pear Deck?
As of Nov 12, 2026, both Nearpod and Pear Deck have a free plan.
Which platforms do Nearpod and Pear Deck run on?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only Nearpod lists iOS and Android apps. Both list a web app. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
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.