For many people, Kahoot! is simply the word for a live quiz. But if you want to play for free, you soon run into limits. Looking for a free alternative? Here you can read what Kahoot!'s free plan offers today, what you get for free with Sparqel, and when to choose one or the other.
What can you do for free with Kahoot!?
Kahoot!'s free plan is now called Kahoot! Go, "a free plan for teachers". According to the pricing page for home and the FAQ on the pricing page for schools, it allows up to 10 players per game. Note: the comparison table on that second page says 40, so Kahoot! contradicts itself there.
Also according to the same page:
- Only the Quiz and True or false question types are free, with up to four answers.
- Puzzle, poll and multiple correct answers are in Bronze; word cloud, drop pin and scale in Silver; type answer, pin answer, slider, brainstorm and open-ended in Gold.
- Team play is free with up to three teams.
- Reports on the free plan are limited to the basics.
The paid plans for school and home start at $3 per month (Bronze, billed annually, up to 50 players) and go up to $19 per month for Kahoot! One (up to 800 players). For businesses, Kahoot! has separate plans under the name Kahoot! 360, from $19 per month.
What do you get for free with Sparqel?
Sparqel has no paid version. Everything there is, is free, for everyone:
- Up to 50 players per game, live or as an assignment that players do at their own pace.
- All 13 question types, plus slides: Quiz, True or false, Type answer, Puzzle, Slider, Pin answer, Poll, Word cloud, Open question, Scale, NPS scale, Drop pin and Brainstorm.
- Four game modes: Classic, Accuracy, Teams (two to six) and Assignment.
- Reports per question and per player, with everything downloadable as Excel. You can also import questions from Excel.
- No ads, no tracking cookies, and players don't need an account or app.
Read on the Free? page how that's possible.
Side by side
| Kahoot! Go (free) | Sparqel | |
|---|---|---|
| Players per live game | 10 (table says 40) | 50 |
| Question types | Quiz and True or false | All 13, plus slides |
| Teams | Up to 3 | 2 to 6 |
| Self-paced play | Yes | Yes, up to 50 players |
| Reports | Basic | Full, with Excel export |
| More players or types | Paid, from $3 per month | Not available |
Where Kahoot! is stronger
To be fair, Kahoot! has things that Sparqel doesn't.
- Far more players: up to 800 with Kahoot! One, and thousands on the business plans. With Sparqel, 50 per live game is the maximum.
- Apps for phone and tablet. Sparqel works in the browser, without an app.
- AI-generated questions (not on the free plan). Sparqel can't do that.
- A huge library of ready-made quizzes. Sparqel doesn't have nearly as many public quizzes yet.
When to choose which?
Choose Sparqel if you play with a class, team or group of friends of up to 50 people and want to use every question type without paying. Choose Kahoot! if you have much larger groups, like working with an app or want AI to write your questions, and are willing to pay for that.
Still not sure? Just try it: in Sparqel you can make a quiz without an account, and you can import your questions from Excel.
Kahoot! is a trademark of its owner. Sparqel is an independent project and is not affiliated with Kahoot!.