A word cloud at the start of a meeting, a quick poll in class or a few quiz questions after a training session: that's often what people use Mentimeter for. Looking for a free alternative without a monthly cap on participants? Then Sparqel is worth a look. Here are the differences.
What can you do for free with Mentimeter?
According to the comparison table on the pricing page, Mentimeter's free plan allows 50 participants per month. That number is counted again each month, across all your presentations together. The same page also lists "Unlimited participants once per month" for the free plan, so it isn't entirely clear-cut.
What else is included for free:
- 23 slide types, from polls and word clouds to quiz questions.
- Not free: exporting (as an image, PDF or Excel), importing, your own branding and moderating audience questions.
Paid plans start at $11.99 per presenter per month (Basic, billed annually).
What do you get for free with Sparqel?
Sparqel is a live quiz platform, but it also has all the question types you need for an interactive session. With no paid version and no monthly limit:
- Poll: choose one or more options and see the spread straight away.
- Word cloud: short answers, and the more often something is mentioned, the bigger it gets.
- Open question: free answers of up to 250 characters, on a wall on the screen.
- Scale and NPS scale: from disagree to agree, or how likely someone is to recommend something, with the average or NPS score alongside.
- Drop pin: everyone places a pin on an image.
- Brainstorm: send in ideas, group them and vote on them.
- And if you want to test knowledge: six types of knowledge questions with points, a scoreboard and a podium.
Up to 50 people can join each game, as often as you like. Afterwards, all answers, including open answers and ideas, are in a report that you can download as Excel.
Side by side
| Mentimeter (free) | Sparqel | |
|---|---|---|
| Participants | 50 per month | 50 per game, no monthly limit |
| Question or slide types | 23 | 13 question types, plus slides |
| Exporting | Not on the free plan | Excel, free |
| Importing | Not on the free plan | From Excel, free |
| Quiz questions | Yes | Yes, with points, scoreboard, podium and four game modes |
| Paid | From $11.99 per presenter per month | No paid version |
Where Mentimeter is stronger
- Presentations: Mentimeter is built to alternate content slides with interaction, as a replacement for your slide deck. Sparqel is all about the questions; slides are there for a title or a short explanation.
- More slide types: 23, even on the free plan.
- Groups larger than 50: in Sparqel, 50 per game is the maximum. For bigger groups, you could look at Mentimeter's paid plans.
When to choose which?
Choose Sparqel if you regularly work with groups of up to 50 people, want to combine polls, word clouds and quiz questions and keep the results, without paying or watching a monthly limit. Choose Mentimeter if you want to make an entire presentation interactive, or work with groups larger than 50 and are willing to pay for that.
Make a free interactive session
Mentimeter is a trademark of its owner. Sparqel is an independent project and is not affiliated with Mentimeter.