5 Best Q&A Apps Compared: Top Tools for Audience Engagement

Presenting

Ellie Tran 18 December, 2024 5 min read

Want to transform one-sided talks into two-way lively conversations? Whether you're facing complete silence or a flood of unorganised questions, the right Q&A app can make all the difference in managing audience interaction effectively.

If you're struggling to choose the best Q&A platforms to fit your needs, check out these best free Q&A apps, which not only stop at giving the audience a safe space to voice their opinions, but also engage them at an interpersonal level.

best q&a apps - an
An overview of the best Q&A platforms

Table of Contents

Top Live Q&A Apps

1. AhaSlides

AhaSlides is an interactive presentation platform that equips presenters with a plethora of cool tools: polls, quizzes, and most importantly, a holistic Q&A tool that lets the audience submit questions anonymously before, during and after your event. It's quick and easy to use, suitable for training sessions and education settings to get shy participants involved.

AhaSlides' Q&A app interface with participants' questions

Key features

  • Question moderation with profanity filter
  • Participants can ask anonymously
  • Upvoting system to prioritise popular questions
  • Hide question submission
  • PowerPoint and Google Slides integration

Pricing

  • Free plan: Up to 50 participants
  • Pro: From $7.95/month
  • Education: From $2.95/month

Overall

Q&A featuresFree plan valuePaid plan valueEase of useOverall
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️18/20
A live Q&A session hosted on AhaSlides by the NTU
A live Q&A session hosted on AhaSlides at an education event

2. Slido

Slido is a great Q&A and polling platform for meetings, virtual seminars and training sessions. It sparks conversations between presenters and their audience and lets them express their opinions.

This platform offers an easy way to collect questions, prioritise discussion topics and host all-hands meetings or any other format of Q&A. If you, however, want to go for a broader range of use cases such as conducting training session tests, Slido lacks substantial features (This Slido alternative might work!)

Key Features

  • Advanced moderation tools
  • Custom branding options
  • Search questions by keywords to save time
  • Let participants upvote others' questions

Pricing

  • Free: Up to 100 participants; 3 polls per Slido
  • Business: From $12.5/month
  • Education: From $7/month

Overall

Q&A featuresFree plan valuePaid plan valueEase of useOverall
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️16/20
A screenshot of a question asked on Slido, one of the best Q&A apps

3. Mentimeter

Mentimeter is an audience platform to use in a presentation, speech or lesson. Its live Q and A feature works in real-time, making it easy to collect questions, interact with participants and gain insights afterwards. Despite a slight lack of display flexibility, Mentimeter is still a go-to for many professionals, trainers and employers.

Key Features

  • Question moderation
  • Send questions anytime
  • Stop question submission
  • Disable/show questions to the participants

Pricing

  • Free: Up to 50 participants per month
  • Business: From $12.5/month
  • Education: From $8.99/month

Overall

Q&A featuresFree plan valuePaid plan valueEase of useOverall
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️15/20
mentimeter Q&A presentation editor

4. Vevox

Vevox is considered one of the most dynamic anonymous questions websites. It's a highly rated polling and Q&A platform with multiple features and integrations to bridge the gap between presenters and their audiences. However, there are no presenter notes or participant view modes to test the session before presenting.

Key Features

  • Question upvoting
  • Theme customisation
  • Question moderation (Paid plan)
  • Question sorting

Pricing

  • Free: Up to 150 participants per month, limited question types
  • Business: From $11.95/month
  • Education: From $7.75/month

Overall

Q&A FeaturesFree Plan ValuePaid Plan ValueEase of UseOverall
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️14/20
A list of questions on a Q&A slide on Vevox, one of the best Q&A apps
Best Q&A apps

5. Pigeonhole Live

Launched in 2010, Pigeonhole Live fosters interaction between presenters and participants in online meetings. It's not only one of the best Q&A apps but also an audience interaction tool that uses live Q&A, polls, chat, surveys, and more to enable excellent communication. Although the website is simple, there are too many steps and modes. It's not the best intuitive questions and answers tool for first-time users.

Key Features

  • Display the questions that presenters are addressing on the screens
  • Let participants upvote others' questions
  • Question moderation
  • Allow participants to send questions and the host to address them before the event starts

Pricing

  • Free: Up to 150 participants per month, limited question types
  • Business: From $11.95/month
  • Education: From $7.75/month

Overall

Q&A featuresFree plan valuePaid plan valueEase of useOverall
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️11/20
Best Q&A apps
A list of questions from an audience using Pigeonhole Live
Best Q&A apps

How We Choose a Good Q&A Platform

Don't get distracted by flashy features you'll never use. We only focus on what truly matters in a Q&A app that helps facilitate great discussions with:

  • Live question moderation
  • Anonymous questioning options
  • Upvoting capabilities
  • Real-time analytics
  • Custom branding options

Different platforms have different participant limits. While AhaSlides offers up to 50 participants in its free plan, others might limit you to fewer participants or charge premium rates for more feature usage. Consider:

  • Small team meetings (under 50 participants): Most free plans will suffice
  • Medium-sized events (50-500 participants): Mid-tier plans recommended
  • Large conferences (500+ participants): Enterprise solutions needed
  • Multiple concurrent sessions: Check simultaneous event support

Pro tip: Don't just plan for your current needs – think about potential growth in audience size.

Your audience's tech-savviness should influence your choice. Look for:

  • Intuitive interfaces for general audiences
  • Professional features for corporate settings
  • Simple access methods (QR codes, short links)
  • Clear user instructions

Ready to transform your audience engagement?

Try AhaSlides free today and experience the difference!

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I add a Q&A section to my presentation?

Login to your AhaSlides account and open the desired presentation. Add a new slide, head to the "Collect opinions - Q&A" section and select "Q&A" from the options. Type your question and fine-tune the Q&A setting to your liking. If you want participants to give questions at any time during your presentation, tick the option to show the Q&A slide on all slides.

How do audience members ask questions?

During your presentation, audience members can ask questions by accessing the invitation code to your Q&A platform. Their questions will be queued for you to answer during the Q&A session.

How long are questions and answers stored?

All questions and answers added during a live presentation will be automatically saved with that presentation. You can review and edit them any time after the presentation as well.