LessonUp

LessonUp brings lesson preparation and classroom participation into the same teaching workflow. It is a strong fit for teachers who want interactive activities alongside student learning results, and for schools that need shared administration. The important choice is whether the individual plans’ monthly quotas are enough or whether school-level features justify a quoted team plan.

Overview

Educators can create lessons, use material from other teachers and content partners, or import PowerPoint presentations and add interactive elements. That gives teachers more ways to adapt existing material than a presentation-only workflow, while reports and saved results connect classroom activity to student responses.

LessonUp was founded in 2015 and is headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands. It says it complies with GDPR, stores personal data on European servers and uses technical and organisational protections, including 256-bit SSL for its website connection. For student learning data and results, the school or teacher is the controller; LessonUp processes that data on their instructions.

Key features

Activities and learning insights

Lessons can include multiple-choice questions, polls, drag and drop, word clouds, hotspots, spinners, fill-in-the-blanks and sorting. Live quizzes and audience reactions add further participation options. Reports and insights help teachers review learning, and results are saved on the free account. This combination is useful when a teacher wants to capture responses as part of a lesson, not simply present slides.

Lesson creation and school connections

AI tools can assist with lessons, quizzes, rubrics, assignments, images, summaries, glossaries and translations. The monthly AI-use allowance varies by plan, so frequent AI-assisted preparation may make a higher tier necessary. PowerPoint import and editing lets teachers build on existing presentations, while the lesson library offers material from educators and content partners.

Canvas, Google Classroom, Microsoft Teams for Education and itslearning are listed as integrations; school plans also include SURFconext SSO. School subscriptions add a dedicated contact, onboarding online or in person, and tailored webinars and CPD sessions, which can matter to organisations rolling out the platform across a team.

Pricing

LessonUp has a free account, a 30-day trial and paid individual plans from $7/mo (annual). Paid prices below are per teacher per month on a yearly subscription and include VAT.

PlanPriceWhat it includesFreefreeSome interactive features; lesson results are saved.Start$7 a month10 lessons and 20 AI uses per month, interactive questions, lesson library, PowerPoint import and editing, reports and insights.Pro$7.99 a monthUnlimited lessons and 50 AI uses per month, plus interactive questions, lesson library, PowerPoint import and editing, reports and insights.School Basic$7.50 a month75 AI uses per teacher per month, school administration, collaboration, SURFconext SSO, Canvas and itslearning integrations; quote required, minimum 10 teachers.School Complete$9.58 a month150 AI uses per teacher per month, school administration, collaboration, SURFconext SSO, Canvas and itslearning integrations; quote required, minimum 10 teachers.School Plus$12.92 a monthUnlimited AI usage, school administration, collaboration, SURFconext SSO, Canvas and itslearning integrations; quote required, minimum 10 teachers.The free account is a sensible way to start, but its interactive features are limited. Start is the lower-cost paid option for teachers who can work within 10 lessons and 20 AI uses monthly. Pro removes the lesson cap and raises the AI allowance to 50, making it the more suitable individual plan for a growing lesson catalogue; it still has a monthly AI limit. School plans are for teams rather than solo buyers: all require at least 10 teachers and a quote, with AI allowances rising from 75 to 150 per teacher monthly before becoming unlimited on Plus. Choose among them based on AI demand and the need for administration, collaboration and school integrations.

Platforms

LessonUp supports Android, iOS and the web. Its terms name the web application and mobile applications Sidekick for LessonUp, LessonUp and Step-by-Step. The presentation platform is web-based.

Who it's for

LessonUp suits teachers who want to prepare lessons, involve students through varied activities and review their responses in one place. Its library and PowerPoint import are useful for teachers adapting existing material. Schools, colleges and multi-academy trusts may value team administration, collaboration, onboarding and professional development, provided the 10-teacher minimum and quote-based purchase fit their needs. It is less compelling for an individual who needs unlimited AI use or a school that cannot meet the minimum team size.

Pros and cons

Pros: A broad set of interactive activities, lesson-library material and PowerPoint editing support both new and adapted lessons.

Pros: Reports and saved results give teachers a way to revisit student learning, including on the free account.

Pros: School plans combine administration, collaboration, integrations and onboarding support for organised rollouts.

Cons: Start caps both lessons and AI use monthly; Pro removes the lesson cap but still limits AI use.

Cons: Every school plan requires a quote and at least 10 teachers, so it is not a straightforward purchase for a small team.

Alternatives

For a broader platform comparison, see Interactive Lesson Makers, Interactive Presentation Software and Interactive Classroom Software.

Nearpod is worth considering if platform breadth matters: it supports Android, iOS, Linux, macOS, web and Windows, with a free Silver plan that includes 300 MB storage and 40 student joins per lesson.

ThingLink is a paid alternative with a free trial and support for Android, iOS, macOS, web, Windows, API and self-hosting. Its Create Starter / Create XR plan is $66 a month billed annually, or $99/month billed monthly, for one creator seat and 250 views per month.

BookWidgets offers a free plan for collecting, reviewing and grading student work, and may suit that more focused workflow.

Adapt Learning is a free, open-source e-learning authoring tool and framework for organisations seeking that model.

Deck.Toys has a free plan capped at two classrooms per teacher, three private decks and 40 students per classroom, with seven-day classroom data retention and two assigned decks per classroom. It is an option when those deck and classroom limits fit.

Xerte is free and open source, but requires installation on a web server; commercial hosting and support are separate.

Easygenerator switches accounts to a free plan with one course after its 14-day trial, and offers a Pro plan at $116 a month, billed $1,399 billed annually; taxes may apply.

eXeLearning is free and open source for online or desktop use, including on Linux, macOS and Windows.

Verdict

Choose LessonUp if you want lesson creation, varied classroom interaction and student learning insights together, with a free entry point and a clear path from individual use to school plans. Its main drawback is the quota and purchasing structure: individual plans limit monthly AI use, while school features require a quoted purchase for at least 10 teachers. Look elsewhere if those limits do not suit your workload or team size.