Nearpod vs Wayground (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Wayground grades higher than Nearpod: 2.6 against 2.4 out of 4.0.
Checked Nov 12, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Nov 12, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Wayground grades higher on value for money. They get the same grade on the free plan, 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
Wayground
K-12 platform for lessons, quizzes and assessments (formerly Quizizz)
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 Wayground if
- Fits if you teach K-12 and want free quizzes
- Makes sense if your district wants a shared library and common assessments
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you teach adults or train staff, as corporate use is on separate plans
- Tight if you keep more than 20 activities, as Basic stores that many
- Watch out: all question types, AI grading and LMS links sit on the school plan, which has no published price
- Watch out: the item bank and benchmarks cost extra
How we grade them
| 2.4GPANearpodFair | 2.6GPAWaygroundGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CGold is $159 a year, about $13 a month, and Platinum is $397 a year. Schools get a quote. | BBasic is free for teachers. Schools and districts pay a quoted price with nothing published, so the paid side cannot be compared. |
| 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. | BBasic covers assessments, presentations and flashcards for 100 students. A teacher can live on it, but only 20 activities are stored. |
| Features | CInteractive lessons, a library, file import and real-time results. Co-teaching, live annotation, student accounts and LMS links are on school licences. | CAssessments, videos, flashcards and accommodations such as read-aloud. Basic limits question types, and the item bank and benchmarks are add-ons. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record. Teachers build or adapt lessons from slides, and rosters need school set-up. | 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. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb, iOS and Android, with Google Slides, PowerPoint, YouTube and LMS links. No desktop app is listed. | BWeb, iPhone, Android and a browser extension, with Google Classroom, Canvas, Schoology, Clever and ClassLink. No desktop app. |
| Best for | interactive lessons for a classroom | free quizzes and lessons for K-12 teachers |
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 Wayground. How we grade
Where they differ
- Wayground also covers text to speech.
At a glance
| Nearpod | Wayground | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $159 per year (Gold, individual educators) | Not published |
| Free plan | Silver is free: 300 MB of storage and up to 40 students joining each lesson, with the core features. | Basic plan is free for every teacher: assessments, presentations and flashcards with limited question types and 100 students. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Browser extension | ||
| Made by | Nearpod (part of Renaissance Learning) | Quizizz Inc. (DBA Wayground) |
| Price read from | nearpod.com | wayground.com |
| Checked | Nov 12, 2026 | Nov 13, 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.
Wayground
- It is aimed at K-12 schools; corporate use is on separate Corporate Plans.
- Basic stores 20 activities and covers 100 students.
- School and district pricing is by quote with no published price.
- Some items, such as the item bank and benchmarks, are add-ons.
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.
Wayground
- Mixed lesson content
- Build assessments, presentations, interactive videos, flashcards and passages with question sets.
- AI tools
- Generate and import content, adapt reading levels and explain answers; AI grading with rubrics is on the school plan.
- Accommodations
- Over 20 accommodation options, including Read Aloud text-to-speech, are available.
- Live and student-paced delivery
- Run activities live or let students work through them on their own, with Classroom Pulse data.
- District features
- The school plan adds an admin dashboard, shared library, SSO and Canvas, Schoology, Clever and ClassLink links.
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.
Wayground
Basic$0
Free for teachers; limited question types, 20 stored activities and 100 students.
School and DistrictCustom
Quoted plan with all question types, admin dashboard, AI grading and LMS integrations.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Nearpod or Wayground?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Nearpod starts at $159 per year (Gold, individual educators), and Wayground publishes no starting price.
Which has a free plan, Nearpod or Wayground?
As of Nov 13, 2026, both Nearpod and Wayground have a free plan.
Which platforms do Nearpod and Wayground run on?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Wayground lists a browser extension. Both list a web app and iOS and Android apps. 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.