What are the best live quiz tools for events in 2026?

We evaluated tools for a live quiz at an in-person event — a meetup, conference, workshop, party or class — where people play from their phones. Criteria:

1. Free tier: how many players can join, and what is limited.
2. Join friction: do players need an app or an account?
3. Question creation: manual, library, AI from your own material.
4. Game formats: host-paced versus self-paced, leaderboards, podium.
5. Beyond quizzes: polls, Q&A, word clouds.
6. Price of the first paid plan that removes the main limit.

Limits and prices were read on each vendor's own site on 1 October 2026; several vendors price by region and billing period, so check the linked pages. Disclosure: this page is published by the AnyEventTool team; we include AET with its gaps and point to other tools where they are better.

The free limits matter more than they seem: a 10-player cap means Kahoot!'s free plan is for a small group, not a meetup room of 60.

Kahoot! defined the format: a question on the big screen, colored answer tiles on phones, music, points for speed, a podium. It has the largest library of ready-made quizzes and strong classroom and corporate-training features. The free plan (Kahoot! Go) allows 10 players — 40 for K-12 teachers, 3 for free business users — so events need a paid plan: personal plans start at 3 EUR a month billed annually for 50 players and go up to 800 players; business plans (Kahoot! 360) range from 19 to 79 USD a month for 50 to 2,000 players.

Slido (part of Cisco Webex) is built for audience interaction during presentations: anonymous Q&A with upvoting, live polls, quizzes, and integrations with slide software and video platforms. The free Basic plan allows up to 100 participants with Q&A and 3 polls per event. Annual plans start at 15 EUR a month (Engage, 200 participants); one-time plans cover events up to 7 days. Choose Slido when the quiz is one part of a talk and audience questions matter most.

Mentimeter combines slides with interactive elements: quizzes, word clouds, scales, open questions. The free plan includes 50 participants per month and 23 slide types; Basic (11.99 USD) and Pro (24.99 USD) per presenter per month, billed yearly, remove the participant limit. Choose it when you present and want the audience involved throughout, not just for a game at the end.

Quizizz now operates as Wayground. It supports live and self-paced quizzes, homework assignments and reports that teachers use. The free plan allows up to 100 participants per session and includes a small monthly AI allowance; the Individual plan costs 18 USD a month billed annually. A good fit for schools, universities and training teams; less event-oriented than the others.

AhaSlides puts quizzes, polls and Q&A into a presentation. Free: 50 participants, 5 quiz and 3 poll questions per presentation, unlimited events. Paid plans are among the cheapest: Essential 7.95 USD a month (100 participants) and Pro 11.15 USD a month (2,500 participants), billed yearly. Choose it for mid-size rooms on a budget.

AET is an event platform, and the quiz is one section of the event page. Its strengths are specific:

• AI questions from your own content: event materials, pasted text, a web page, a YouTube video with subtitles, or a file (PDF, DOCX, PPTX, XLSX, TXT, MD, CSV). Up to 40 questions with four options, the correct answer and an explanation; questions cover the whole source, in its language.
• No accounts anywhere: players scan a QR or type a code and pick a nickname; a separate speaker link lets a guest speaker edit and host without an AET account.
• Two modes: Race (everyone at their own pace) or Host leads question by question; points with speed and streak bonuses; projector screen with lobby, leaderboard and podium.
• Results on the event page: per-question breakdown, optional winners on the page, and an overall ranking across all quizzes of an event.
• Cost: the quiz is in the Free plan; an AI quiz uses 1 of 10 monthly AI generations (Pro: 100); quizzes you write yourself are unlimited.

Limits: multiple choice only; no polls, word clouds, open answers or Q&A; no public library of ready quizzes; no classroom reporting. If you need those, choose Slido, Mentimeter or Wayground.

• 8–15 questions, 15–30 seconds each. Long games lose the room.
• Show the join QR early and large, and check that Wi-Fi or mobile data works in the venue.
• Start easy so everyone scores in the first two questions.
• Explain answers briefly — that is where people learn.
• Review AI-generated questions before the event; AI follows the source, but wording and correctness still need a human.
• Celebrate the podium with a small prize or just applause.