PollsLive vs Top Hat
PollsLive
pollslive.com
Top Hat
tophat.comSide by side
| Figure | PollsLive | Top Hat |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | $8/mo | $35/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | — |
| Free trial | — | Yes |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| iOS | — | Yes |
| Android | — | Yes |
| API | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 11 | 8 |
| Spec score · Audience Response Systems | 9.1 (#7) | 8.3 (#42) |
| Headquarters | Netherlands | Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| Privacy | The security page says voters do not need accounts, voter names are off by default, and vote deduplication uses a salted one-way hash rather than retaining IP addresses in vote records. | Top Hat says it stores information on servers in the United States and Canada and follows FERPA rules to keep school information confidential. |
| Product | PollsLive provides live polls, quizzes and Q&A, with responses shown to the presenter in real time. | Top Hat is a higher education student engagement and courseware platform for interactive, personalized learning in and beyond class. |
| Paid from | 5 | 35 |
| Support | The Free plan includes community support, while Pro includes priority support. | Top Hat lists support by phone, email, and live chat for instructors and students, with support hours of Monday to Friday, 9 AM–9 PM ET. |
Plans
PollsLive
- FreeFree
- Pro$9 a month
- Premium$19 a month
- Event Pass Standard$49, paid once
- Event Pass Large$99, paid once
- Pro$8 a month
- Premium$16 a month
- Event Pass Small$19, paid once
- Event Pass Standard$49, paid once
- Event Pass Large$99, paid once
Top Hat
- 1 Term$35 a month
- 1 Year$58 a month
- 4 Years$96 a month
- Department or Institution-WidePrice not published
- 1 Term (4 months)$35, paid once
- 1 Year (12 months)$58, paid once
- 4 Years (48 months)$96, paid once
- Department or Institution-Wide SolutionsPriced on request
In their own words
PollsLive
PollsLive is a web and API service for live polls, quizzes and Q&A, showing responses to presenters in real time. People join in a browser through a link, QR code or six-digit PIN, without downloading an app or creating an account. Question formats include multiple choice, quizzes, scales, rankings, Planning Poker, open-ended prompts, Q&A and content slides. Polls can run live or asynchronously, and published polls can be embedded with an iframe or JavaScript widget. Presenters can use it with PowerPoint, Google Slides, Keynote, Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Webex and Google Meet. Integrations include REST API access, OAuth 2.0, signed webhooks, Slack incoming webhooks and Zapier workflows through Webhooks by Zapier. PollsLive says its application, database and cache use EU infrastructure, with TLS and HSTS for encrypted traffic. The free plan costs nothing, billed with no card required, and includes three published polls, 500 responses per poll, 50 live participants, three live sessions per month and one presenter. Pro starts at $9 a month, or $96 a year, per presenter.
Top Hat
Top Hat is a higher education student engagement and courseware platform for interactive learning in and beyond class. During lectures, educators can use polls, discussions, quizzes and instant feedback. For coursework, it supports interactive homework and readings, customizable digital textbooks and instructor-created materials. Instructors can create, schedule or upload tests and assignments, and use AI tools to generate questions from course content. Ace helps educators prepare classes and create interactive prompts; students can use it for personalized study and practice based on course materials. Top Hat turns attendance, participation, reading and assessment data into insights about student progress. It lists integrations with Canvas, Blackboard, D2L Brightspace, Moodle and Sakai; LTI 1.3 integrations for Canvas and D2L Brightspace can provide roster sync, grade sync, deep links and single sign-on. Students can use a browser or iOS and Android apps. Student access plans are $35, paid once for four months, $58, paid once for 12 months, or $96, paid once for 48 months. Eligible paid courses usually offer a five-day free trial.