Acadly vs Open Response
Acadly
acadly.comOpen Response
osu-mc.github.ioSide by side
| Figure | Acadly | Open Response |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | $3/mo | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | Yes | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Windows | — | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | — | Yes |
| iOS | Yes | — |
| Android | Yes | — |
| API | — | Yes |
| Self-hosted | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 9 | 1 |
| Spec score · Student Response Systems | 9.1 (#2) | 8.7 (#9) |
| Spec score · Audience Response Systems | 8.9 (#13) | 8.4 (#40) |
| Free plan | No | Yes |
| Live polling | Yes | Yes |
| Quiz mode | Yes | Yes |
| Support | Acadly lists support at [email protected] and offers institution-focused demos and structured pilots with onboarding support. | The project directs users to its GitHub issues and discussions for questions and additional information. |
Plans
Acadly
- Basic$3 a month
- Pro$5 a month
- EnterprisePrice not published
- EnterprisePriced on request
- First Course FreeFree
- Acadly Basic Course$3, paid once
- Acadly Pro Course$5, paid once
- Acadly HerePrice not published
- InstitutionalPriced on request
In their own words
Acadly
Acadly automates class attendance and provides tools for in-class engagement, including polls, quizzes, word clouds, discussions, and a class backchannel. Instructors can configure the roster, schedule, and attendance rules in advance so sessions run automatically. Acadly says its mesh-network technology verifies physical presence without GPS or QR codes, does not track geolocation, and flags suspicious patterns for instructor review. A native PowerPoint add-in can launch attendance and polls from slides and is described as working on Mac and PC. Institutional deployments support LTI compatibility with Moodle, Brightspace, Blackboard, and Canvas, as well as Zoom and PowerPoint integrations. Basic is listed at $3 a month; its pricing details also show a teacher-pays rate of $3 per course or student-pays rate of $5 per course. Pro is listed at $5 a month, with teacher-pays at $5 per course or student-pays at $10 per course. A First Course Free option covers one course for up to five months, but excludes fraud alerts. Acadly is available on Android, iOS, macOS, and the web.
Open Response
Open Response is free, open-source polling software for real-time classroom engagement. Instructors can run polls with multiple-choice and multiple-answer questions, and participants receive live feedback through WebSockets. The project also lists quiz mode, grading, analytics, and role-based access for students, instructors, and administrators. It includes a RESTful API and a WebSocket server. Canvas compatibility comes through CSV export of participation and grades. Open Response is listed for web, Linux, macOS, and Windows, and institutions can self-host it on a server with Docker and Docker Compose. Its interface is described as responsive and mobile-ready. The project was founded in 2021 and is targeting small-scale beta testing in the 2026–2027 academic year. Several items remain incomplete or planned: open-ended, sketch, and location questions are unsupported; roster management and email notifications are in development; test coverage is incomplete; and WCAG 2.1 AA compliance and FERPA-related SSO work are pending.