Kahoot alternative: omul, compared in the open
Kahoot is the reference for quizzes — and its own terms licence the free plan for non-commercial purposes only. Running a company onboarding or an all-hands on it requires a paid plan, from €180 a year for 50 participants in Germany. omul is open source under AGPLv3, runs on your server, and its licence does not ask what you are using it for.
No credit card · Free self-hosting · Open source (AGPLv3)
- Free plan
- Non-commercial only
- Operator
- Kahoot! AS, Oslo
- Pricing (DE)
- €180 – €828/licence/yr
- Participants
- 50 – 5,000 by plan
The short answer
Is it worth switching from Kahoot?
Kahoot! is operated by Norway's Kahoot! AS (organisation number 997 770 234, Oslo) and is the best-known quiz tool in the category. What decides it for a business, though, is a licence clause rather than a feature: the terms permit the free plan for non-commercial purposes only and require a paid plan for professional or commercial use; advertising, marketing and sales use is allowed only where the plan expressly includes it. Kahoot! 360 Pro costs €180 to €828 a year per licence in Germany, tiered by participant count from 50 to 5,000; Kahoot prices by country and shows $228 to $948 in the United States. omul is open source under AGPLv3, self-hostable, uncapped and carries no purpose restriction — but it has none of Kahoot's quiz showmanship, template library, or course and certificate features.
Running in production at HyHyve events
As part of the HyHyve ecosystem, omul runs live at real events — used by teams from companies like these.
Which one to pick
Kahoot or omul — which fits you?
Both tools put the same audience on screen. The choice comes down to four things: where the data is allowed to live, how many people present, how big the rooms are, and which software you are already standing in.
Choose Kahoot when …
- the quiz itself is the occasion. Music, countdown, speed-based scoring, the podium — nobody has beaten it in years.
- you want to work from a template library rather than write every question.
- learning paths with self-paced study and certificates are part of the format — omul has none of that.
- you work in a school or university and are not using it commercially; then the licence clause does not bite.
Choose omul when …
- you work in a company and would rather not buy a plan simply to be within the licence.
- a poll, a word cloud or a Q&A is the occasion and the quiz is one component among several.
- audience size should not be a purchasing decision — with Kahoot it jumps from 50 to 200 to 1,000 to 2,000.
- the data should sit on your own server and the source should be auditable.
Side by side
omul and Kahoot, criterion by criterion
Each row is a criterion that turns up in a real procurement — Kahoot's answer first, omul's second. Every Kahoot figure comes from the pages listed with their dates under "Sources" below.
| Criterion | Kahoot | omul |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan usable for business | Licensed for non-commercial use only; professional use needs a paid plan | AGPLv3 carries no purpose restriction |
| Runs on your own infrastructure | SaaS only | Docker image, your server |
| Source code readable | Closed source | AGPLv3 |
| Where the data sits | Kahoot! AS in Oslo; privacy notice states global transfers under the DPF or SCCs | Your servers — or EU hosting |
| Participant ceiling | 50 / 200 / 1,000 / 2,000; 5,000 only after onboarding | No limit in the code |
| Price per licence | €180 – €828 a year in Germany, tiered by participant count ($228 – $948 in the US) | Self-hosting: no licence fee |
| Use for marketing and sales | Only with express permission; listed on the top tier on the pricing page | No restriction |
| Quiz showmanship | Music, countdown, speed scoring, podium — the benchmark | Quiz with scoring and a leaderboard, but without the show |
| Template library | Extensive, plus ready-made kahoots | Templates exist, but no comparable library |
| Courses and certificates | Live and self-paced, with certificates | Not built |
| Polls, word clouds, Q&A, scales | Polls from Pro Start; word cloud, brainstorm, scale, open text and Q&A from Pro Standard (€265/year) | All included, plus 2×2 grid, 100-point split, number guesses, pin-on-image |
| Your own logo and colours | From Pro Max (€720/year) | Included |
| Join without a participant account | Yes, by PIN | Yes, six-digit code, link or QR |
| Data export | Per-session reports | Spreadsheet and PDF, in every edition |
In detail
The differences, argued out
Can you use Kahoot free at work?
Kahoot
No, and Kahoot puts it unmistakably in its own terms: "In our Free Service Plans, the License permits use for non-commercial purposes only", and then: "If you wish to use the Kahoot! Services and Resources for professional or commercial purposes you must have a Paid Service Plan." A third clause applies to every plan: advertising, marketing and sales use is prohibited unless the plan expressly authorises it — and on the pricing page that right is listed on the top tier. A team running its onboarding on a free account is therefore outside the licence, and typically only legal notices.
omul
The AGPLv3 carries no purpose restriction. Running omul privately, at a university, in a public body or in a corporation is the same permission, you may use it for marketing, and you may change it. What the AGPLv3 asks in return is something else: anyone who offers a modified version as a service has to publish the source of that version.
trust.kahoot.com/terms-and-conditions, checked 05.09.2026
What does Kahoot! 360 Pro cost?
Kahoot
The price is tied to audience size, in steps — these are the figures Kahoot shows in Germany: Pro Start €15 a month for up to 50 participants, Pro Standard €22 for 200, Pro Plus €40 for 1,000, Pro Max €60 for 2,000, Pro Ultra €69 for 2,000 — and 5,000 only after onboarding. Billed annually on 06.09.2026 that came to €180, €265, €480, €720 and €828 per licence, excluding tax; three of the five were reduced from list prices of €300, €828 and €1,068. Open the same page from the United States and the numbers differ: $228 to $948 a year, with a different set of tiers discounted. Kahoot prices by country, so check the ladder your own market is shown. What is notable is where the formats sit: polls are on every tier, word cloud, brainstorm, scale, open text and Q&A from Pro Standard, and moderated Q&A and the NPS scale only from Pro Plus.
omul
With omul, self-hosting carries no licence fee, only the server, and audience size changes nothing — there is no tier you fall into at 51 or at 201 people. The hosted edition is planned as a flat per-workspace price; its billing is still being built, and the pricing page carries a waiting list today.
kahoot360.com/pricing, German price view, checked 06.09.2026
Is omul as good at quizzes as Kahoot?
Kahoot
No, and saying so costs nothing. Kahoot's quiz is a production: music, a countdown, points for answering fast, the podium at the end. It is why the product works in classrooms and at company parties, and nobody in this category has done it better.
omul
omul has a quiz with correct answers, scoring and a leaderboard — but not the show around it. If the evening depends on the tension of the quiz, Kahoot is the better tool. omul is built for the other case: a presentation containing polls, word clouds, scales and Q&A, in which the quiz is one component among several.
Which Kahoot plan has word clouds and polls?
Kahoot
Tiered, and more finely than is usually claimed. Polls are on every tier, including Pro Start at €180 a year. The word cloud starts one step up, on Pro Standard (€22 a month, billed at €265 a year on 05.09.2026), together with brainstorm, scale, open text and Q&A. Only moderated Q&A and the NPS scale require Pro Plus, at €480 a year. So if you need the word cloud you are not buying the entry tier — if you only need polls, you are.
omul
With omul, polls, word clouds, open text, scales, ranking and Q&A are in every edition, plus four formats Kahoot does not have: a 2×2 grid, a 100-point split, number guesses with a tolerance, and pin-on-image.
kahoot360.com/pricing, German price view, checked 06.09.2026
Is Kahoot GDPR-compliant?
Kahoot
The starting point is good: Kahoot! AS is based in Oslo, organisation number 997 770 234, so inside the EEA and under the GDPR. Its own privacy notice qualifies that, though: Kahoot collects information globally and transfers it "to wherever we or our third-party service providers operate", covered by the EU-US Data Privacy Framework or standard contractual clauses. "Norwegian, therefore fine" would be too quick — the transfers are explained, but they happen.
omul
With a self-hosted omul there is no transfer because there is no recipient: the database is on your machine. If you would rather not run it yourself, the EU-hosted edition comes with a DPA.
Can omul do courses and certificates like Kahoot?
Kahoot
Kahoot can, from Pro Plus: courses live or self-paced, with certificates at the end, plus a large library of ready-made kahoots and the ability to import and sync slides from Google and Microsoft tools.
omul
omul does none of it. There is a self-paced mode for presentations, but no courses, no certificates, no import and no comparable template library. If training with proof of completion is your use case, Kahoot is the better tool for it.
No credit card · Free self-hosting · Open source (AGPLv3)
What it costs
A worked example: omul against Kahoot
What sets the tier here is audience size, not the format: polls are on every tier and the word cloud arrives at Pro Standard — but 300 participants require Pro Plus regardless. Here is the same case on both sides, using prices read on 05.09.2026.
ScenarioA company runs a monthly internal format for 300 participants — a mix of quiz, polls and a word cloud.
| Scenario | Kahoot | omul |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan permitted? | No — licensed for private use only | Yes |
| Plan needed for 300 participants | Pro Plus (up to 1,000) | Self-hosted |
| Word cloud included | from Pro Standard | always |
| Licence cost | €480/year | €0 |
| Server | included | your bill |
| Per year | €480 | €0 + server |
Kahoot prices exclude tax and are the figures Kahoot shows in Germany, per kahoot360.com/pricing on 06.09.2026: Pro Plus at €40 a month, €480 billed annually, for up to 1,000 participants. The same page shows different amounts in the United States — Kahoot prices by country. The tier is set here by audience size, not by the word cloud — that arrives a step lower on Pro Standard; moderated Q&A, however, only from Pro Plus. The first row is the most important one and is therefore at the top: Kahoot's terms permit the free plan for non-commercial purposes only, so it is out for this case. A self-hosted omul costs no licence but does cost a server and the time to run it — and it has none of Kahoot's quiz showmanship, template library or certificates.
Switching
How much work is moving off Kahoot?
Leaving Kahoot is less a technical decision than a dramaturgical one: you are trading a quiz show for a tool for interactive presentations. Knowing that, the move takes an hour.
Rebuild the questions
omul reads neither kahoots nor PowerPoint files. A twenty-question deck is about an hour's work. An importer is logged as a requirement but not built.
Plan without a template library
Kahoot's strength is the volume of ready-made kahoots. In omul the questions are written by hand — but they come out exactly as you need them.
The show goes away
No countdown sound, no podium, no speed-based points. omul has quiz scoring and a leaderboard, but not the production. If your format lives off that, plan something else in its place.
The licence question disappears
The one place switching saves work: with omul you never have to explain to anybody whether your use counts as "commercial". The AGPLv3 does not ask.
Staying fair
Where Kahoot is (still) ahead
Kahoot leads its discipline, and it is clearly ahead of omul in four places:
The quiz itself
Music, countdown, points for answering fast, the podium. Kahoot's production is the category benchmark; omul has quiz scoring and a leaderboard, but not the show.
The template library
A large collection of ready-made kahoots and templates you can start from immediately. In omul the questions are written by hand.
Courses, self-paced study, certificates
Kahoot bundles live sessions and self-paced courses with certificates, and imports and syncs slides from Google and Microsoft tools. omul has none of it.
Recognition
An audience that already knows the PIN screen needs no explanation. That is a real advantage, not a marketing line.
Frequently asked questions about the comparison
Can you use Kahoot free at work?
No. Kahoot's terms state: "In our Free Service Plans, the License permits use for non-commercial purposes only", and require a paid plan for professional or commercial use. Advertising, marketing and sales use is additionally permitted only where the plan expressly includes it. With omul, the AGPLv3 carries no such purpose restriction.
What does Kahoot! 360 Pro cost per year?
In Germany, €15 (Pro Start, up to 50 participants), €22 (Pro Standard, 200), €40 (Pro Plus, 1,000), €60 (Pro Max, 2,000) and €69 (Pro Ultra, 2,000 or 5,000 after onboarding) per licence per month, excluding tax and billed annually. On 06.09.2026 that came to €180, €265, €480, €720 and €828 a year — three of the five reduced from list prices of €300, €828 and €1,068. Kahoot prices by country: the same page shows $228 to $948 in the United States. Per kahoot360.com/pricing.
Which Kahoot plan includes word clouds and polls?
Polls are on every tier, including Pro Start at €180 a year. The word cloud starts on Pro Standard (€22 a month), together with brainstorm, scale, open text and Q&A; moderated Q&A and the NPS scale only on Pro Plus. With omul, polls, word clouds, open text, scales, ranking and Q&A are in every edition.
Is Kahoot GDPR-compliant?
Kahoot! AS is based in Oslo and is therefore subject to the GDPR. Its own privacy notice also says information is transferred globally, covered by the EU-US Data Privacy Framework or standard contractual clauses. A compliant deployment is possible; ruling out third-country transfers entirely means self-hosting or EU hosting.
Can you self-host Kahoot?
No. Kahoot is SaaS only and its source is not public. omul is open source under AGPLv3 and built to run on your own infrastructure.
Is omul as good at quizzes as Kahoot?
No. omul has a quiz with correct answers, scoring and a leaderboard, but not Kahoot's production of music, countdown, speed points and a podium. If the quiz is the occasion, Kahoot is the better tool; if it is one component of a presentation, omul is.
How many participants does Kahoot allow?
It depends on the plan: 50 on Pro Start, 200 on Pro Standard, 1,000 on Pro Plus, 2,000 on Pro Max and Pro Ultra, and up to 5,000 after onboarding. omul has no ceiling in the code.
Evidence
Sources
Every number on this page comes from a publicly available vendor page. Here is which one — and when we last opened it. Vendors change their prices; if something here is out of date, tell us.
- Kahoot! 360 — business plans and feature comparison (prices as shown in Germany)checked 06.09.2026
- Kahoot! — terms and conditions (free-plan licence)checked 05.09.2026
- Kahoot! — privacy notice (Kahoot! AS, transfers)checked 05.09.2026
More alternatives
See all comparisons- Particify alternativeThe open-source German peer — the same position; compared as hosted services, not as self-host versus SaaS.
- Mentimeter alternativeThe market leader, European and mature — but closed, not self-hostable, and billed per presenting person.
- Slido alternativeMature Q&A, deep in Webex and Teams — but closed, annual-only, and capped hard on the free tier.
See for yourself
Try the open-source Kahoot alternative
Create your first live poll in under a minute — no setup, no credit card.
No credit card · Free self-hosting · Open source (AGPLv3)