A Nearpod alternative for big, fast live quiz games

Nearpod is a K-12 interactive lesson platform that launched in 2012 and is based in Florida. Renaissance Learning acquired it for $650 million in February 2021, and Nearpod now describes itself as a Renaissance company. Teachers push slides, videos, VR field trips, simulations and 20+ activity types to students' devices, live or student-paced, after students enter a code at join.nearpod.com. It's known for its library of 8,500+ standards-aligned lessons and for Time to Climb, a multiple-choice race game included on every plan.

Best for: K-12 teachers and districts who deliver complete interactive lessons with embedded checks, student-paced work and a large standards-aligned library.

Official website: nearpod.com

• Gold ($159) and Platinum ($397) are charged a year at a time and the fees are non-refundable, so there's no monthly option for a single term or event.
• Lessons cap student joins at 40 on the free Silver plan, 75 on Gold and 90 on Platinum; 250 requires a quoted school or district license.
• Building a full Nearpod lesson takes time, and reviewers mention a learning curve. That's a lot of setup when all you want is a ten-question review game.
• Full AI Create, LMS integrations, student accounts and co-teaching are reserved for school and district licenses.
• The free plan's 300 MB of storage also limits how much of the Nearpod Library you can use.

• 500 players in one game

  Every Quizzo game takes up to 500 players, enough for a whole grade or a school assembly. Nearpod lessons stop at 40, 75 or 90 students, and 250 needs a quoted district license.

• Monthly billing, no lock-in

  Quizzo is $9/month and you can cancel anytime. Nearpod's paid plans are charged a year at a time, from $159, and fees are non-refundable.

• A quiz in minutes

  Type your questions, mark the correct answers, add images and timers, and you're ready. There's no lesson to design around the game.

• Not just for K-12

  Quizzo's game show (speed points, a leaderboard after every question, a podium and music) works for trainings, company events and quiz nights as well as classrooms.

• Complete interactive lessons

  Slides, videos, VR field trips, 3D objects and PhET simulations, with checks for understanding built in. Quizzo only runs quizzes.

• 20+ activity types

  Open-ended text or audio answers, Draw It, Collaborate Board, Matching Pairs, Fill in the Blank, polls and Time to Climb. Quizzo is multiple choice only.

• Huge standards-aligned library

  8,500+ ready-made lessons and 10,200+ interactive videos, plus an AI question generator on Gold and above. Quizzo has no library and no AI.

• Free plan, self-paced and reports

  Silver is free for 40 students per lesson and includes student-paced lessons and post-session reports, and Nearpod works with Google Classroom and Microsoft Teams. Quizzo is live only, with no reports or integrations.

As of October 2026, Nearpod's free Silver plan allows 40 student joins per lesson with 300 MB of storage. Gold costs $159 per year (about $13.25/month) for 75 students per lesson, and Platinum costs $397 per year for 90; both are charged annually and fees are non-refundable. School and district licenses are quoted and raise the limit to 250 students per lesson. Quizzo is $9/month, billed monthly, for up to 500 players per game; a full year costs $108, less than Gold, although Nearpod's free plan costs nothing for classes of 40 or fewer.

Stay with Nearpod if you deliver full lessons with slides, video, simulations and varied activities, or rely on its library, student-paced mode and school integrations. Switch to Quizzo, or use it alongside Nearpod, if what you need most is a live quiz game for big groups: Quizzo takes 500 players per game for $9/month, billed monthly, with no annual commitment.

1. Create your Quizzo account and open the dashboard.
2. Click “New quiz”, paste in your questions and answers, and mark the correct one. Add images and timers where you need them.
3. Press “Start game” to open the lobby, then show the PIN or QR code on the big screen.
4. Players join at playquizzo.com/join on their phones — no app, no account — and you're live.

Quizzo doesn't import quizzes from other tools yet, so plan a few minutes to copy your questions over.

All alternatives →