Mentimeter vs Slido: live polls vs live Q&A
Mentimeter is the better pick for interactive presentations: it offers 20-plus slide types including word clouds, scales, and quizzes in a polished slide editor, with a free plan capped at 50 participants per month. Slido is the better pick for audience Q&A in corporate meetings, with best-in-class upvoted Q&A and deep PowerPoint, Google Slides, Teams, and Zoom integrations; its free plan allows 100 participants per event but only 3 polls and 1 quiz. Choose Mentimeter to build interactive content, Slido to manage audience questions.
Mentimeter and Slido overlap on live polling, but each grew up around a different job. Mentimeter is a presentation builder where the slides happen to be interactive; Slido is a meeting companion where audience Q&A is the headline act. Knowing which job you're hiring for makes the choice straightforward.
| Mentimeter | Slido | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | 50 participants per month; unlimited presentations; 23 slide types; no result export | 100 participants per slido (event); 3 polls and 1 quiz per event; no data exports; no Q&A moderation |
| Paid from | $11.99/mo (Basic, billed yearly) — unlimited participants, exports, imports | $12.50/mo (Engage, billed annually at $150/yr) — 200 participants, unlimited polls and quizzes, exports |
| Standout features | 20+ interactive slide types, Menti AI builder, slide-style editor, PowerPoint/Teams/Zoom integration | Best-in-class upvoted live Q&A, deep PowerPoint/Google Slides/Teams/Zoom/Webex integration, fast code/QR join |
| Best for | Live interactive presentations and meeting polls | Audience Q&A and polls in corporate meetings and events |
How do the free plans compare?
They cap different things, which tells you what each company expects you to use. Mentimeter's free plan limits participants — 50 per month across your presentations — but gives you unlimited presentations and access to its many slide types, with no result export. Slido's free plan limits content — 3 polls and 1 quiz per event — but allows up to 100 participants per slido. So Mentimeter free suits frequent small sessions with rich interactive slides; Slido free suits a one-off larger event where you only need a couple of polls and want Q&A.
Polls and interactive content
Mentimeter wins on variety and polish. Its slide editor offers more than 20 interactive types — word clouds, scales, ranking, open-ended, quiz competition, and more — and the Menti AI builder can draft a presentation for you. The result feels like a presentation tool, because it is one. Slido's polls are clean and fast but fewer in type; on the free plan you're limited to 3 polls and 1 quiz per event, which signals where Slido's priorities lie.
Audience Q&A
Slido wins decisively here. Its live Q&A with audience upvoting is the category benchmark: attendees submit questions, the room upvotes, and the best questions rise to the top so the speaker addresses what people actually care about. Mentimeter includes live Q&A too, but it's a feature within a presentation tool rather than the main event. If your core need is running questions in a town hall, all-hands, or conference panel, Slido is built for exactly that — though note that Q&A moderation controls sit behind its higher Professional tier.
Integrations and joining
Both integrate with the major presentation and meeting platforms. Slido, owned by Cisco, embeds deeply into PowerPoint, Google Slides, Teams, Zoom, and Webex, and participants join fast via a code or QR with no app. Mentimeter integrates with PowerPoint, Teams, and Zoom and can import from PowerPoint, Keynote, and Google Slides on paid plans. For a Cisco/Webex shop, Slido is the natural fit; for a slide-first workflow, Mentimeter's import and editor feel more native.
Watch the billing terms, not just the headline price. Slido's Engage plan is billed annually only — there's no monthly option — so the '$12.50/month' is really $150 up front. Mentimeter's Basic at $11.99/month is also billed yearly. If you run live sessions only occasionally, factor in that you may be paying for a full year to cover a handful of events.
Choose Mentimeter if…
- Your main need is interactive presentation content — word clouds, scales, quizzes, ranking
- You want a slide-style editor and AI-assisted presentation building
- You run frequent small sessions and the 50-participant monthly free cap fits
- Polished, varied interactive slides matter more than dedicated Q&A management
Choose Slido if…
- Audience Q&A with upvoting is the core of what you need
- You live in PowerPoint, Google Slides, Teams, Zoom, or Webex and want deep embedding
- You run corporate meetings, town halls, and conferences more than interactive lessons
- A larger single-event audience (up to 100 free) matters more than many slide types
Where Formkii fits
Formkii is the free third option when participant caps are the thing holding you back. Both Mentimeter and Slido throttle their free tiers hard — 50 participants a month for one, 3 polls and 1 quiz per event for the other — whereas Formkii's live polls and audience Q&A are free with no participant cap, and you also get surveys, forms, and auto-scored quizzes in the same account. For a classroom, meetup, or all-hands where you just want to poll the room and take upvoted questions without worrying about a limit, it covers the job at no cost.
Formkii is not the right pick if you need Mentimeter's depth of interactive slide types and AI presentation building, or Slido's native embedding inside PowerPoint, Teams, Zoom, and Webex. If your polls must live inside an existing slide deck or meeting platform, those tools are purpose-built for it; Formkii participants join a shared link or QR code instead.
The verdict
Pick by the job: Mentimeter to build interactive presentations, Slido to manage audience questions. The polling overlap is real but secondary — each tool's free-plan limits push you toward its strength. And if the participant caps are what's actually stopping you, a free uncapped option is worth trying before you commit to an annual plan.
Frequently asked questions
Is Mentimeter better than Slido?
Neither is universally better — they optimize for different jobs. Mentimeter is better for interactive presentations with 20-plus slide types and an AI builder; Slido is better for audience Q&A with upvoting and deep meeting-platform integration. Pick Mentimeter to build interactive content, Slido to manage audience questions.
What's the difference between Mentimeter and Slido free plans?
Mentimeter's free plan caps participants at 50 per month but gives unlimited presentations and many slide types. Slido's free plan allows up to 100 participants per event but limits you to 3 polls and 1 quiz per event with no Q&A moderation. Mentimeter free suits frequent small interactive sessions; Slido free suits a single larger event.
Does Slido or Mentimeter have better Q&A?
Slido has the stronger Q&A. Its upvoted live audience Q&A is the category benchmark, surfacing the most-wanted questions to the top, which is why it's favored for town halls and conferences. Mentimeter includes Q&A but as a feature within a presentation tool rather than its main focus. Note Slido's Q&A moderation sits on a higher paid tier.
How much do Mentimeter and Slido cost?
Mentimeter's paid plans start at $11.99/month for Basic, billed yearly. Slido's paid plans start at $12.50/month for Engage, billed annually at $150/year with no monthly option. Both unlock more participants and result exports over their free tiers.