CommonLit vs Nearpod

CommonLit is a nonprofit literacy provider offering teaching materials and an English language arts program for schools. Its Text Library gives teachers access to thousands of free literary works and texts from diverse and contemporary authors. CommonLit 360 is a full-year, standards-aligned curriculum for grades 6–12, combining reading, writing, speaking, and listening around complete texts and grade-level tasks. It includes three benchmark assessments for tracking students’ reading growth and proficiency during the school year. The materials support literacy development for grades 3–12, while the 360 curriculum covers grades 6–12. Listed integrations include Clever, ClassLink, Canvas, and Google Classroom; Canvas is limited to eligible paid school packages. Google Classroom can import classes and students, post assignments to the class stream, and export scores to the gradebook. The Digital plan is free for teachers and students. School plans are listed at $4,200 a year, $7,200 a year, and $12,800 a year, each with a one-year commitment.

Nearpod helps educators create and deliver interactive lessons, with options for live participation, student-paced work or front-of-class teaching. Teachers can build lessons from scratch or import PowerPoints, Google Slides, PDFs, videos and YouTube videos, then add formative assessments and media activities such as Draw It, Polls, Drag & Drop, VR Field Trips and PhET simulations. Its library contains more than 22,000 customizable, standards-aligned lessons, videos and activities, including K–12 content. Teachers can review real-time feedback and post-session reports to assess student understanding and work. AI Create can generate interactive lessons, activities and multiple-choice questions; the plan details list the question generator with Gold and AI Create with school and district plans. Nearpod works on Android, iOS, Linux, macOS, Windows and the web, and lessons can be embedded in an LMS through a link. Integrations include Google Classroom, Microsoft Teams, Clever, ClassLink and LTI 1.3 platforms such as Canvas, Schoology and Blackboard. Silver is free; Gold costs $159 a year and Platinum $397 a year. School and district pricing is by quote.