Pear Deck vs Top Hat

Pear Deck8.4Visit Top Hat8.1Visit

Higher score Pear Deck #5 in Interactive Classroom Software 8.4/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 1 of 6 features Visit Pear Deck

vs

Top Hat #7 in Interactive Classroom Software 8.1/10 5-day trial Free trial✓ 1 of 6 features Visit Top Hat

• Pear Deck fits best

  Google Slides and PowerPoint classrooms

• Top Hat fits best

  Higher education with assessment workflows

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Side by side

Feature	Pear Deck 8.4/10 Visit ↗	Top Hat 8.1/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	8.4	8.1
Ranking	#5 in Interactive Classroom Software	#7 in Interactive Classroom Software
Best for	Google Slides and PowerPoint classrooms	Higher education with assessment workflows
Pricing model	Free plan + paid	Paid
Starting price	$149/yr	$35/unit/mo
Free plan	✓ (best)	Not checked yet
Free trial	—	5 days
Deployment	Cloud	Cloud, Mobile
Platforms	Web	Web, iOS, Android
Integrations	8 integrations	5 integrations
Features Pear Deck 1/6 · Top Hat 1/6
Interactive presentations	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Live polls	✓	✓
Quiz activities	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Audience questions	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Assessment reports	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
LMS integration	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Specs
Max participants	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Our review
Pros	Interactive questions, polls, quizzes, and formative assessments Instructor-Paced and Student-Paced modes with real-time responses Integrates with Google Classroom, Microsoft Teams, Canvas, and Schoology	Combines polls, quizzes, discussions, attendance, and gradebook tools Supports Canvas, Blackboard, Brightspace, Moodle, and Sakai Adds interactive readings, insights, and AI study support tools
Cons	Platform coverage is limited to the web Teacher Premium starts at $149 per year Several review and feedback tools require the Premium plan	Paid access starts at $35 per 4-month term Department and institution pricing is custom Participation requires internet-connected student devices
Our verdict	Pear Deck is an interactive presentation and instructional tool for educators who teach with Google Slides or PowerPoint Online. Teachers can add draggable, drawing, text, number, and multiple-choice questions, then run Instructor-Paced or… Read the review →	Top Hat is an interactive learning platform for college and university educators who need more than live polling. It combines interactive slide presentations, live polls and quizzes, discussions, anonymous responses, upvoting, word clouds,… Read the review →

Strengths and trade-offs

• Pear Deck — where it wins

  • Interactive questions, polls, quizzes, and formative assessments
  • Instructor-Paced and Student-Paced modes with real-time responses
  • Integrates with Google Classroom, Microsoft Teams, Canvas, and Schoology

  Where it doesn't

  • Platform coverage is limited to the web
  • Teacher Premium starts at $149 per year
  • Several review and feedback tools require the Premium plan

• Top Hat — where it wins

  • Combines polls, quizzes, discussions, attendance, and gradebook tools
  • Supports Canvas, Blackboard, Brightspace, Moodle, and Sakai
  • Adds interactive readings, insights, and AI study support tools

  Where it doesn't

  • Paid access starts at $35 per 4-month term
  • Department and institution pricing is custom
  • Participation requires internet-connected student devices

• Pear Deck8.4/10 · Free plan

  A focused interactive lesson tool for Google Slides and PowerPoint Online classrooms.

  Visit Pear DeckFull verdict →
• Top Hat8.1/10 · 5-day trial

  A broad classroom platform for live participation, assessment, and learning insights.

  Visit Top HatFull verdict →