Pear Deck vs Slido (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Pear Deck grades higher than Slido: 2.6 against 2.2 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.
Pear Deck
Interactive classroom presentations with live student responses
Slido
Live polls, Q&A and quizzes for meetings and events
Which one is for you
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
Pick Slido if
- Fits if you run town halls or meetings and want anonymous audience questions
- Works for events that can use a one-off plan for up to 7 days
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you stay free: 100 participants and 3 polls per slido
- Pricey if you want question moderation or branding, as those start at Professional, $600 a year for 2 users
- Skip it if you want monthly billing, as there is none: it is a one-off event plan or an annual one
- Watch out: annual plans do not renew on their own, and one-off plan prices were not read
How we grade them
| 2.6GPAPear DeckGood | 2.2GPASlidoFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | 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. | CEngage is $150 a year, $12.50 a month, for one user and 200 participants. Professional is $600 a year for 2 users and Enterprise $1,800 for 3. Prices exclude VAT. |
| Free plan and trial | 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. | CBasic is free with 100 participants and 3 polls per slido. You will reach the poll cap in an ordinary meeting. |
| Features | CInteractive slides, student-paced mode, a dashboard and a template library. Flashcard Factory and audio are Google-only, and the dashboard is Premium. | CPolls, quizzes, Q&A, word clouds, surveys and AI. Moderation, branding and advanced privacy start at Professional. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record. It sits on top of Google Slides or PowerPoint, so teachers still build the lesson. | CNo store rating on record. You build polls and link them to your slides or meeting tool. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb, with Google, Microsoft, Canvas and Schoology connections. No app or desktop version is listed. | BWeb, with PowerPoint, Google Slides, Zoom, Microsoft Teams and Webex. No phone or desktop app is listed. |
| Best for | interactive questions inside Google or Microsoft slides | live polls and Q&A in meetings |
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: Pear Deck and Slido. How we grade
Where they differ
- Pear Deck also covers templates.
- Slido also covers surveys.
At a glance
| Pear Deck | Slido | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $149 per year, with educator discount (Teacher Premium) | Free; Engage $12.50 per month, billed $150 annually |
| Free plan | Teacher Free: unlimited presentations, interactive questions, sessions and participants, plus student-paced mode and ready-made lessons. | Basic: up to 100 participants, basic audience Q&A and 3 polls per slido. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Pear Deck Learning | Cisco Systems, Inc. |
| Price read from | peardeck.com | slido.com |
| Checked | Nov 12, 2026 | Nov 12, 2026 |
Worth knowing
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.
Slido
- The page says it takes no monthly payments: you buy a one-time plan for an event of up to 7 days, or an annual plan.
- Annual plans do not renew automatically; the vendor emails a reminder 30 days before they expire.
- Participant caps differ by plan: 100 on Basic, 200 on Engage, 1,000 on Professional, 5,000 on Enterprise.
- Prices shown exclude VAT, and one-time plan prices were not read.
Key features
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.
Slido
- Live polls and quizzes
- Poll an audience in real time or run quizzes. Basic allows 3 polls per slido; Engage and up are unlimited.
- Audience Q&A
- Participants ask questions from their own devices and vote on them. Moderation of questions starts at Professional.
- Word clouds, ideas and surveys
- Also lists word clouds and idea collection; surveys are in Engage and above.
- Slide and meeting integrations
- The site lists integrations with PowerPoint, Google Slides, Zoom, Microsoft Teams and Webex.
- Slido AI
- Suggests polls and refines their wording, according to the product menu.
- Analytics
- Data exports start at Engage; organization-wide analytics start at Professional.
Plans
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.
Slido
Basic$0
Up to 100 participants, basic audience Q&A and 3 polls per slido.
Engage$12.50
per month for 1 user, billed $150 annually
Up to 200 participants, unlimited polls and quizzes, surveys and data exports.
Professional$50
per month for 2 users, billed $600 annually
Up to 1,000 participants, moderation of questions, branding, advanced privacy options and organization analytics.
Enterprise$150
per month for 3 users, billed $1,800 annually
Up to 5,000 participants, SSO for members and participants, member provisioning and spaces.
Ways to pay less
Pear Deck
No public discounts listed.
Slido
- Education
Discounted education plans
Slido lists discounted plans for schools and universities, starting at up to 500 students, for people with an academic email address.
- Nonprofit
Nonprofit discount
The pricing FAQ says nonprofit organizations can apply for a discount, with eligibility criteria on its site.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Pear Deck or Slido?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Pear Deck starts at $149 per year, with educator discount (Teacher Premium), and Slido starts at Free; Engage $12.50 per month, billed $150 annually.
Which has a free plan, Pear Deck or Slido?
As of Nov 12, 2026, both Pear Deck and Slido 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.