Poll Everywhere vs Top Hat

Poll Everywhere8.7Visit Top Hat8.6Visit

Higher score Poll Everywhere #6 in Student Response Systems 8.7/10 Free plan · 30-day trial Free planFree trial✓ 3 of 4 features Try Poll Everywhere

vs

Top Hat #7 in Student Response Systems 8.6/10 5-day trial Free trial✓ 0 of 4 features Visit Top Hat

• Poll Everywhere fits best

  Presentation-led classes and large audiences

• Top Hat fits best

  Higher education seeking an all-in-one classroom system

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Side by side

Feature	Poll Everywhere 8.7/10 Visit ↗	Top Hat 8.6/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	8.7	8.6
Ranking	#6 in Student Response Systems	#7 in Student Response Systems
Best for	Presentation-led classes and large audiences	Higher education seeking an all-in-one classroom system
Pricing model	Free plan + paid	Paid
Starting price	$120/yr	$35/unit/mo
Free plan	✓ (best)	Not checked yet
Free trial	30 days	5 days
Free trial length	30 days · no card needed	5 days
Deployment	Cloud, Desktop, Mobile	Cloud, Mobile
Platforms	Web, Windows, macOS, iOS, Android	Web, iOS, Android
Integrations	8 integrations	5 integrations
Features Poll Everywhere 3/4 · Top Hat 0/4
Live polling	✓ (best)	Not checked yet
Quiz mode	✓ (best)	Not checked yet
Anonymous responses	✓ (best)	Not checked yet
LMS integration	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Specs
Question types	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Class size limit	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Our review
Pros	Live polling, Q&A voting, quizzes, surveys, and word clouds PowerPoint, Keynote, and Google Slides integrations Free plan plus a 700-response-per-activity Present tier	Combines polls, quizzes, discussions, attendance, assignments and gradebook Supports Canvas, Blackboard, Brightspace, Moodle and Sakai Works across web, iOS and Android with AI-powered study tools
Cons	Higher paid tiers are substantially more expensive Present's 700 limit applies per poll or activity Advanced capabilities are spread across higher-priced plans	Paid access starts at $35 per 4-month term Department and institution-wide pricing is custom Its broad feature set may exceed polling-only needs
Our verdict	Poll Everywhere is a web-based audience response system for educators, presenters, trainers, meeting leaders, and event organizers. It supports live multiple-choice polls, audience-upvoted Q&A, open-ended questions, word clouds, surveys,… Read the review →	Top Hat is an interactive learning platform for college and university educators who want more than live polling. Instructors can run polls and quizzes, present interactive slides, moderate discussions, collect anonymous responses,… Read the review →

Strengths and trade-offs

• Poll Everywhere — where it wins

  • Live polling, Q&A voting, quizzes, surveys, and word clouds
  • PowerPoint, Keynote, and Google Slides integrations
  • Free plan plus a 700-response-per-activity Present tier

  Where it doesn't

  • Higher paid tiers are substantially more expensive
  • Present's 700 limit applies per poll or activity
  • Advanced capabilities are spread across higher-priced plans

• Top Hat — where it wins

  • Combines polls, quizzes, discussions, attendance, assignments and gradebook
  • Supports Canvas, Blackboard, Brightspace, Moodle and Sakai
  • Works across web, iOS and Android with AI-powered study tools

  Where it doesn't

  • Paid access starts at $35 per 4-month term
  • Department and institution-wide pricing is custom
  • Its broad feature set may exceed polling-only needs

• Poll Everywhere8.7/10 · Free plan · 30-day trial

  A flexible response system for presentation-led classes and large audiences.

  Try Poll EverywhereFull verdict →
• Top Hat8.6/10 · 5-day trial

  A broad classroom system that goes beyond polling, with paid student access.

  Visit Top HatFull verdict →