The Poll Everywhere alternative without response caps 2026
Looking for a Poll Everywhere alternative in 2026? Poll Everywhere is common in US higher education and offers all question types on the free tier — which, however, caps at 40 responses per poll and runs in the US cloud. By contrast, omul offers the same live formats, runs on your servers or in the EU, is open source (AGPLv3) and has no response limits. This comparison shows both sides — including where Poll Everywhere is ahead.
No credit card · Free self-hosting · Open source (AGPLv3)
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.
The short version
Where omul makes the difference
- Your data stays in the EU or on your servers — instead of a US cloud.
- No 40-response-per-poll ceiling — omul doesn't cap.
- Self-hostable and open source (AGPLv3) — full control instead of pure SaaS.
- Transparent pricing instead of per-presenter licenses with audience caps.
Feature by feature
The comparison table
Same core formats, same live experience. The table below shows where omul and Poll Everywhere differ — based on publicly available information.
| Feature | omul | Poll Everywhere |
|---|---|---|
| Self-hosting on your own servers | yes | no |
| Open source | AGPLv3 | no |
| Data residency | EU or your servers | US cloud |
| Participant limit per event | Unlimited | 40 responses/poll free |
| Join without a participant account | yes | yes |
| Polls, word clouds, quizzes, Q&A, scales | yes | yes |
| SSO / OIDC | yes | Higher tiers |
| Pricing model | Transparent, predictable | Per presenter, audience cap |
| Data export | yes | yes |
Explained in detail
omul vs. Poll Everywhere: every feature explained
Is Poll Everywhere GDPR-compliant?
Poll Everywhere is a US cloud service and therefore potentially exposed to US government access. A GDPR-compliant deployment is possible with a DPA, but the third-country transfer needs review. You run omul self-hosted or EU-hosted — the data stays in the EU or with you.
What is Poll Everywhere's response limit?
Poll Everywhere limits the free tier to 40 responses per poll. Paid plans cap the audience by tier (up to around 700). With omul neither responses nor participants are capped.
What does Poll Everywhere cost?
Poll Everywhere bills per presenter and tiers the maximum audience by plan. Every extra presenter raises the cost. With omul self-hosting is free, and the hosted option is transparently priced with no audience cap.
Can you self-host Poll Everywhere?
No — Poll Everywhere only runs in their US cloud and is closed source. Not so with omul: open source under AGPLv3 and built for self-hosting — full data control, no vendor lock-in.
Does Poll Everywhere offer SSO?
Poll Everywhere unlocks single sign-on only on higher tiers. With omul, SSO/OIDC is part of the offering without forcing you onto an expensive plan.
Which formats do Poll Everywhere and omul offer?
Both cover live polls, word clouds, quizzes, Q&A and scales — Poll Everywhere unlocks all question types on the free tier and limits the response count instead. With omul you get the same formats with no response limit, platform-independently via code join.
No credit card · Free self-hosting · Open source (AGPLv3)
What it means in practice
The four differences that matter day to day
Privacy & data residency
Poll Everywhere is a US cloud service and therefore potentially exposed to US data access. You run omul self-hosted or EU-hosted — your participants' data stays in the EU or with you.
More on GDPR & self-hostingParticipant limits
Poll Everywhere limits the free tier to 40 responses per poll. With omul there is no cap — no matter how many vote.
Self-hosting & lock-in
Poll Everywhere only runs in their cloud. Not so with omul: open source (AGPLv3), running on your infrastructure — no vendor lock-in, full data control.
Pricing model
Poll Everywhere bills per presenter and caps the audience by plan (up to ~700). With omul the pricing is transparent, with no audience caps — and self-hosting stays free.
Staying fair
Where Poll Everywhere is (still) ahead
Poll Everywhere has real strengths, especially in US academia. Two areas where it leads omul today:
All question types on the free tier
Poll Everywhere unlocks the formats for free and instead limits the response count. If you only test small groups, you get far without paying.
Adoption in US higher education
Poll Everywhere is established at many US universities and integrated into their teaching workflows. In the DACH region, and wherever self-hosting is required, omul is the more natural choice.
Frequently asked questions about the comparison
Is omul a full Poll Everywhere alternative?
For the core interactive formats — live polls, word clouds, quizzes, Q&A and scales — yes. Poll Everywhere is strong in US higher education; on data ownership, self-hosting and response limits, omul leads.
What's the biggest difference between omul and Poll Everywhere?
Data ownership and limits: omul is self-hosted or EU-hosted, open source (AGPLv3) and has no response limits, whereas Poll Everywhere is a US cloud service with a 40-response free cap.
Is omul cheaper than Poll Everywhere?
Self-hosting is free and has no audience caps. For the hosted option, omul uses transparent pricing with no per-presenter surcharges — a difference especially for large groups.
What is Poll Everywhere's response limit?
Poll Everywhere limits the free tier to 40 responses per poll. With omul neither responses nor participants are capped.
What does Poll Everywhere cost?
Poll Everywhere bills per presenter and caps the audience by plan (up to around 700). With omul self-hosting is free and the hosted option has no audience cap.
Is Poll Everywhere GDPR-compliant?
Poll Everywhere is a US cloud service; a GDPR-compliant deployment is possible with a DPA, but the third-country transfer needs review. With omul, self-hosting or EU hosting settles it.
More alternatives
See all comparisons- Vevox alternativeStrong anonymous Q&A and Teams integration — but a cloud SaaS with a restricted free tier.
- Kahoot! alternativeThe quiz-gamification classic — but participant-capped, closed source and quiz-focused. omul's edge: unlimited & open.
- Mentimeter alternativeThe well-known market leader with a large template library — but a closed cloud, not self-hostable.
See for yourself
Try the GDPR-compliant Mentimeter alternative
Create your first live poll in under a minute — no setup, no credit card.
No credit card · Free self-hosting · Open source (AGPLv3)