How to create a quiz in Kahoot and what are the (free) alternatives?

Kahoot is trending

Kahoot has become one of the most popular "gamification tools. What's unique is that participants can use their smartphones to participate in your quiz. Of course, participating via tablet or computer is also possible. Teachers around the world use the platform to make lessons more engaging for students. We also regularly encounter Kahoot during business presentations to get more interaction with the audience.

How does Kahoot work and how do you create such a quiz? I describe step by step how it works and features + give some possible alternatives:

Making your first Kahoot?

Since corona, Kahoot has been extremely popular. During the lockdown, it was used privately to organize a fun quiz night with friends - from a distance. Making a quiz with Kahoot is child's play. This is thanks to the particularly user-friendly interface.

1. Create Account

To gain access you must first create an account via the website. Once logged in, you will be guided toward creating your first online quiz or survey:

2. Is Kahoot! free?

Yes and no. Kahoot Basic is a formula that allows you to create and play a quiz for free with 3 participants. Since this is insufficient in most cases, you need to take out a paying subscription. This can be done from €10 per month (Kahoot! Starter). Participating in a quiz is free anyway.

Useful for teachers: for them, Kahoot offers customized educational formulas. As for home users.

3. What are the options?

A presentation or quiz is built - as you are used to in PowerPoint - slide by slide. In each case you have the option to choose a 'question' or 'slide'. Depending on this, you have other options:

Opportunities at "Questions:

1. Select question type: quiz, true or false, puzzle, word cloud, etc.
2. Time limit: How much time will participants be given for responding.
3. Answer options: are there one or more correct answers?
4. Title of question: the actual demand
5. Image: add a photo or video

Possibilities at 'Slide':

1. Grand title
2. Title & text
3. Bullets
4. Quote
5. Media
6. Importing existing slides (PDF or PPT and PPTX files)

4. App for iOS & Android

Good to know: a Kahoot App is available for both iOS and Android. With this you can:

• Enter a PIN to quickly participate in a quiz
• Create new games yourself & share them with colleagues or customers

Kahoot for business users

What you may not have known is that Kahoot allows you to do much more than just create quizzes. With a little creativity (or thanks to some handy templates) you can do lots of fun things with it - also for business.

For example:

• Organizing a brainstorming meeting
• Creating interactive presentations
• Creating questionnaires (e.g. feedback customers or colleagues)
• Making all kinds of quizzes

Using Kahoot in Zoom or Microsoft Teams

Finally, below I briefly share how, in an online setting - for example, via Zoom or Microsoft Teams - Kahoot can use:

1. Microsoft Teams

Want to use Kahoot during a Teams meeting? Then follow these steps:

• Open your presentation or quiz through the Kahoot website and click 'Start'
• In Teams, share your browser window or choose to share the entire screen
• Have participants surf via their smartphone or PC to www.kahoot.it
• Now when everyone enters the game pin, the presentation or quiz can begin!

2. Kahoot App for Zoom

Since the end of 2020, Kahoot has been available in the Zoom App Marketplace. This allows you to start your presentation or quiz directly from Zoom. Handy when you only have one monitor available.

Of course, you can also share your screen in Zoom. So the steps described in Teams are also suitable for Zoom.

What are alternatives to Kahoot?

As a final chapter of this blog, I like to share some (free) alternatives to Kahoot:

1. AhaSlides

Unlike Kahoot, with AhaSlides does have a completely free formula. This allows you to create a quiz with unlimited questions, but with up to 7 live participants. AhaSlides also offers you a wide range of templates from which to start.

In terms of features, AhaSlides works very similarly to Kahoot:

• Multiple choice questions
• Open questions
• Word clouds
• Q&A
• Spinner Wheel (à la Wheel of Fortune)
• …

2. Mentimeter

A second alternative is Mentimeter. Unfortunately, again, the options with the free version are limited. Making a whole quiz will not work with this. Asking your audience one or two questions to elicit some interaction will.

Compared to Kahoot and Ahaslides, the possibilities in terms of interaction are the same. Then again, the possibilities towards quiz questions are rather more limited in Mentimeter.

3. Quizizz

Another great tool for creating a quiz is Quizizz. The limitation with a free account is not in the number of questions, but rather in the number of participants (max. 25).

Compared to Kahoot and AhaSlides, the options in terms of question structure are a bit more limited, but otherwise this app works fine. By the way, Quizizz also has modules and templates specifically towards education.

4. TriviaMaker

That TriviaMaker wants to position itself as an alternative to Kahoot is obvious. As such, the interface looks like two drops of water to the original. In addition to education, these American developers are also aiming at home and business users.

TriviaMaker offers a free basic formula with limited features. For only $ 19/year you get the 'Premium' package with all the options. Don't like monthly or yearly subscriptions? Then consider the 'Lifetime' package ($ 199).

Both issue use and appearance, TriviaMaker does look lollygaggingly similar to Kahoot's interface. As with This online platform works and looks very much like the original. As with Kahoot, participants participate via a PC or cell phone. There are a few more options for the "quizmaster," though.

5. Microsoft Forms

Perhaps a little less hip in design, but completely free: Microsoft Forms. This package within the Office 365 Suite from Microsoft is free to use. You only need to log in with a Microsoft account.

Microsoft Forms can be used for both surveys and knowledge quizzes. The difference is mainly in the type of questions and in assigning points to a question. Once your questionnaire is ready, you can easily share a link or QR code to let participants participate. These forms also work great on mobile.

So if you are looking for an app to collect feedback or test knowledge, Microsoft Forms is a great alternative. Looking for a quiz tool to put together a fun evening, better use Kahoot or the alternatives mentioned above. Because, for example, a (intermediate) ranking system does not have Forms.

PS: one last tip to close -> be sure to test the Forms functionality within Microsoft Teams once. A fun way to get more interaction during your online meetings.