Free Whova Alternative 2026

Why EngageLive Is the Best Free Whova Alternative

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Pricing

EngageLive: Free for 50 participants, all 9 activity types included.
Whova: Event-based pricing — expensive

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No Account Needed

EngageLive requires no sign-up, no password, no credit card. Enter your email and host in under 60 seconds.

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Privacy-First

Zero session data stored on EngageLive servers. All responses pass through Firebase in real-time and auto-delete. Whova stores all your data.

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Free Integrations

Microsoft Teams native tab and PowerPoint add-in — both completely free. Install in under 5 minutes.

💬 Q&A — Features No One Else Offers Free

EngageLive's Q&A goes far beyond basic question collection. These features are typically locked behind enterprise plans at Slido and Mentimeter:

✅ Hand raising — participants raise hand digitally, host sees live list of raised hands

✅ Participant-to-participant replies on questions

✅ Host replies publicly to any question

✅ Moderation mode — host approves questions before they go public

✅ Question limit per participant — host sets max questions allowed

✅ Upvoting — participants upvote best questions, auto-sorted by votes

✅ Anonymous or named submissions (host chooses)

✅ Pin top questions to top of list

✅ Mark questions as answered

✅ Kick/remove disruptive participants

✅ Host reveals/replays any activity at any time

About Whova

Whova is a full event management platform — app, registration, networking, agenda, exhibitor management, and audience engagement in one. Overkill for regular meetings.

Key limitation: Enterprise-only pricing ($1,500+/event), full event platform not a meeting tool, no quiz leaderboards, no free plan

Feature-by-Feature Comparison

Feature	EngageLive	Whova
Free participants	50 per session	Not available
Paid plan price	₹299/month	Custom pricing (typically $1,500-$5,000/event)
Monthly billing	✅	❌ Annual only
Live polls	✅	✅
Quiz with leaderboard	✅	❌
Word cloud	✅	❌
Survey (multi-question)	✅	✅
Q&A with moderation	✅	✅
Q&A upvoting	✅	✅
Q&A hand raising	✅	❌
Hotspot activities	✅	❌
Ranking / Prioritisation	✅	❌
Match the Following	✅	❌
Microsoft Teams	✅ Free	❌
PowerPoint add-in	✅ Free	❌
Google Slides	✅ Free	❌

When to Choose EngageLive Over Whova

You need monthly billing without annual commitment
You want all 9 activity types including hotspot, ranking, and match-pairs
You need hand raising in Q&A — only EngageLive offers this free
You use Microsoft Teams or PowerPoint — both integrations are free on EngageLive
You run frequent sessions that exceed Whova's participant or session limits
You need in-session participant boosts without upgrading your whole plan
You want quiz leaderboards broadcast to all participants (not just host-view)

When Whova Might Be the Better Choice

Whova has specific features not in EngageLive: Whova is a full event management platform — app, registration, networking, agenda, exhibitor managem...
Your organisation has already standardised on Whova and switching costs are high
You specifically need features unique to Whova (check their feature list above)

All 9 Activity Types — Completely Free

No limits on activities per session, questions per activity, or responses. Add images and videos to every activity type free.

📊Live Poll

Types: Single choice, Multiple choice, Image-choice poll, True/False, Rating scale, Ope

Add images or video links per option
Correct answer marking
Anonymous or named responses
Timer per poll
Participants can reply to each other's responses
Live bar chart results instant update

💬Q&A (Slido-style)

Types: Anonymous Q&A, Named Q&A, Moderated Q&A

Participants upvote questions
Hand raising — any participant can raise hand, host sees raised hands live
Participants can reply to other participants' questions
Host can reply to any question publicly
Host moderation — approve questions before they appear publicly
Host can set maximum questions per participant

🎯Quiz with Leaderboard

Types: Single choice questions, Multiple correct answers, True/False questions, Image q

Up to 15 questions per quiz
Add images or video links per question
Timer per question (custom)
Live leaderboard after each question
Host controls leaderboard — show, hide, or replay anytime
Correct/wrong feedback with explanations

☁️Word Cloud

Types: Live growing word cloud

Custom prompt
Max words per person (host-controlled)
Word exclusion list
4 colour themes (multicolour, warm, cool, mono)
Add image or video links to prompt
Live animated cloud updates

📋Multi-Question Survey

Types: Single choice, Multiple choice, Open text, Star rating, Yes/No, Slider, Dropdown

Up to 20 questions per survey
Add images or video links per question
Required fields
Progress bar
Download analytics as Excel or PDF

⭐Rating & NPS

Types: Stars 1-5, Stars 1-10, NPS 0-10 with detractor/promoter/passive breakdown, Slide

Live distribution chart
Full analytics download Excel or PDF
Detractor/promoter/passive breakdown for NPS

🏆Ranking / Prioritisation

Types: Drag-and-drop reorder

Up to 12 items
Add images per item
Weighted aggregate scores shown live as ranked chart
Host reveals leaderboard anytime

🎯Hotspot / Image Activities

Types: Click-to-Reveal — invisible hotspot on image, participants click to find hidden

Upload images or add image/video links
Drag-and-drop hotspot editor for hosts
3 unique sub-modes
Rare feature — most competitors don't offer this
Industry-specific use: safety drills, product spotting, map reading, training

🔗Match the Following

Types: Drag-and-drop matching pairs

Up to 10 pairs
Add images per pair
Immediate correct/incorrect feedback
Score shown on completion
Full session analytics Excel or PDF

📢Announcements

Types: Text announcements, Image/GIF announcements, Link announcements

Broadcast instantly to all participants
Add image or GIF URL
Add clickable link with custom label
Appears as overlay on participant screen

🔌 Microsoft Teams & PowerPoint Integration — Both Free

EngageLive provides native integrations for Microsoft Teams and PowerPoint. Both are completely free — no paid plan required. No Microsoft store approval needed for internal deployment.

🟦 Microsoft Teams

Free

Native Teams tab in channels and meeting sidebar
Auto-fills host email from your Teams account
QR code displayed in meeting window for participants
One-click join link sharing in Teams chat
No Microsoft store approval needed — sideload in minutes
Company-wide via Microsoft 365 Admin Centre
Works on Teams desktop, browser, and mobile

📊 PowerPoint Add-in

Free

🎯 EngageLive button in PowerPoint ribbon (Home tab)
Insert QR code directly onto current slide — one click
Host / Join / Session panel in sidebar
Quick-launch Poll, Quiz, Q&A, Word Cloud from inside PPT
Works on PowerPoint Online (office.com) — all versions
Microsoft 365 desktop: Windows & Mac
Company-wide via Microsoft 365 Admin Centre

🟦 How to install the Teams integration

Download the Teams app package (zip file containing the manifest and icons):
⬇ Download manifest.json

For your own testing (sideload): Open Teams → Apps (left sidebar) → Manage your apps → Upload an app → Upload a custom app → select the zip file containing manifest.json, icon-192.png and icon-32.png from /engagelive/teams/

For company-wide deployment (IT admin): Go to admin.microsoft.com → Settings → Integrated Apps → Upload custom apps → upload the manifest.json. Deploys to all users automatically — no individual action needed.

EngageLive tab appears in Teams channels and meeting sidebar → enter email → session starts instantly with QR code for participants.

📊 How to install the PowerPoint add-in

Download the manifest file:
⬇ Download manifest.xml

PowerPoint Online (office.com — works on all versions): Open PowerPoint → Insert → Office Add-ins → Upload My Add-in → select manifest.xml → EngageLive panel opens immediately.

PowerPoint desktop (Microsoft 365 subscription): Insert → Get Add-ins → My Add-ins → Upload My Add-in → select manifest.xml.

Company-wide deployment (IT admin): admin.microsoft.com → Settings → Integrated Apps → upload manifest.xml → deploys to everyone automatically.

The 🎯 EngageLive button appears in the PowerPoint ribbon → click → panel opens → start session → click "Insert QR onto slide" → QR placed on your current slide automatically.

EngageLive Advantages Over Whova

Free account required — takes 60 seconds — host in under 60 seconds
Free for up to 50 participants forever
No limit on number of activities per session
No limit on number of questions per activity
No limit on number of responses
No limit on activity types — use all 9 types in one session
Free images and videos in every activity type — polls, quizzes, surveys, hotspots
QR code join — participants scan and join, no code typing
Zero data stored on servers — all session data via Firebase, auto-deleted at session end
PDF and Excel export — all analytics downloadable