Comparison

Nearpod vs NWEA Secure Testing

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Nearpod

This app empowers K-12 teachers to create interactive, student-centered lessons that boost engagement and deepen understanding across all subjects. It offers tools for real-time assessment, flexible teaching modes, and integration with popular platforms, making instruction more effective.

Highlights
  • Interactive lesson creation
  • Live and student-paced modes
  • Polls, quizzes, and VR activities
  • Real-time formative assessments
  • Integration with Google Slides, YouTube, LMS
  • Library of 22,000+ lessons
Features
Read full description

Nearpod: Interactive Lessons That Engage Every Student 

 Nearpod helps K–12 teachers create engaging, student-centered learning experiences that drive participation and deepen understanding. Whether you're teaching math, science, ELA, or any other subject, Nearpod gives you the tools to bring your lessons to life. 
Use interactive features like polls, quizzes, and virtual reality to spark curiosity and keep students involved. Monitor progress with real-time formative assessments and adjust instruction based on instant feedback. With flexible teaching modes, you can lead live lessons or assign student-paced activities that fit your classroom flow. Why Teachers Love Nearpod: 

 Interactive slides, videos, and activities that promote active learning 
 Real-time insights to support data-informed instruction 

 Seamless integration with Google Slides, YouTube, and your LMS 
 Access to 22,000+ standards-aligned lessons and resources 

 Tools for differentiation and student voice 

 
 Nearpod works with the platforms you already use and adapts to your teaching style. Whether you're enhancing your curriculum or building lessons from scratch, Nearpod helps you deliver instruction that sticks. How Nearpod works: 1. Learning experiences are created by teachers from scratch, uploading slides, with AI (on tablet or web), or selected from a catalogue of over 22,000 experiences found in the Nearpod Library.

 2. Students join synchronous learning experiences led by their teachers or learn at their own pace.
 3. Students actively engage in interactive media, formative assessments, and activities such as videos, quizzes, polls, 3D objects, virtual reality, drawing tools, and more. 4. Teachers receive immediate insights into student learning, allowing them to provide feedback, correct misconceptions, and adjust instruction.

5. Students are introduced to content through dynamic multimedia that includes VR Field trips, 3D objects, PhET simulations, BBC videos and more.
 
 
To make your technology integration as seamless as possible, Nearpod has partnered with: Apple Google Microsoft Canvas Schoology Brightspace by D2L Blackboard Moodle Clever ClassLink 
What teachers are saying: 
"Nearpod provides me and my teachers with an excellent tool for engaging students. Activities and the different functions offer opportunities for differentiation and collection of assessment data. Nearpod is a game changer for teachers and students." - Matthew M., Assistant Principal 
"Nearpod gives teachers a wonderful superpower. It allows us to see the answer every students would give to every question we ask in class and allows students to feel more comfortable taking risks with their learning and growth." - Ann K., Instructional Coach 

Nearpod consistently gets me 90-100% engagement by keeping students active in their learning while helping build a stronger learning environment. - Amanda D., High school teacher

 SUBSCRIBING IN-APP: - Subscribe to Nearpod Gold Edition annually ($159.99). You will be charged in your local currency at the prevailing exchange rate as defined by the App Store. - Payment will be charged to your Apple ID account at confirmation of purchase. - Subscription automatically renews unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24-hours before the end of the current period. - Account will be charged for renewal within 24-hours prior to the end of the current period, and identify the cost of the renewal. - Subscriptions may be managed by the user and auto-renewal may be turned off by going to the user’s Account Settings after purchase. - No cancellation of the current subscription is allowed during the active subscription period. - Privacy policy: nearpod.com/privacy-policy - Terms of use: nearpod.com/terms-conditions - Any unused portion of a free trial period, if offered, will be forfeited when the user purchases a subscription. 
 Download Nearpod now and sign up for a FREE account or log in to start experiencing the magic of Nearpod!

About

NWEA Secure Testing

This application allows K-12 students to take standardized assessments on an iPad. It supports various NWEA tests, including MAP Growth and state summative assessments, ensuring a secure testing environment.

Highlights
  • K-12 assessment delivery
  • iPad compatibility
  • MAP Growth support
  • MAP Growth K-2 support
  • State summative assessments
Features
Read full description

The NWEA™ Secure Testing app provides students the ability to complete our K–12 assessments on an iPad®. The app supports MAP® Growth™, MAP Growth K-2 and NWEA state summative assessments.

Screenshots

Nearpod4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Nearpod at 3.1 against NWEA Secure Testing's 1.5. Nearpod also leads on update cadence (monthly vs every 8 months) and review sentiment (41% vs 18%). NWEA Secure Testing's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 10). On price, ratings volume, ads and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Nearpod sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $159.99 per year. NWEA Secure Testing asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Nearpod holds the better App Store score, 3.1 against 1.5. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1.9K and 1.4K respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 41% of Nearpod's written reviews are positive against 18% of NWEA Secure Testing's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Nearpod ships an update monthly, NWEA Secure Testing every 8 months. The most recent releases landed on October 11, 2026 and October 15, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Nearpod versus NWEA Secure Testing: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNearpodNWEA Secure Testing
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.1 (1.9K ratings) — better1.5 (1.4K ratings)
Positive reviews40.6% of reviews — better17.9% of reviews
Number of ratings1.9K — better1.4K
Update frequencyMonthly — betterEvery 8 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPad
Requires iOS15.015.0
Further details — not scored
Size27 MB0 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperNearpodNWEA

Customer experience

Nearpod

All ratings1,887 ratings
Positive50.3%
Neutral5.7%
Negative43.9%
Written reviews187 reviews
Positive40.6%
Neutral12.3%
Negative47.1%

NWEA Secure Testing

All ratings1,350 ratings
Positive11.9%
Neutral1.5%
Negative86.7%
Written reviews223 reviews
Positive17.9%
Neutral4.9%
Negative77.1%

User reviews

Nearpod

From 1.9K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Engaging and interactive
  • 👍 Great for student participation
  • 💡 Useful for differentiated instruction
  • 🚀 Effective for virtual/hybrid learning

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent crashes and glitches
  • 🔍 Limited functionality in mobile app
  • 🔍 Clunky and unintuitive user interface
  • 🔍 Reliability issues, especially on iPads

NWEA Secure Testing

From 1.4K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 📊 Accurate assessment of student progress
  • ⏱️ Efficient testing experience
  • 💻 Works well on computers

Room to improve

  • 🤯 Overly difficult and stressful questions
  • 🔒 Restrictive app lock feature
  • 🕰️ Inconsistent test duration
  • 🤢 Caused health issues for some users

Bugs and requests

Nearpod

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Inability to save progress and resume lessons
  • Drawing/annotation tools not working as expected
  • Login issues, especially with Google accounts
  • Slides not syncing properly across devices

Requested features

4 requests
  • Ability to create and edit content on mobile app
  • More question types beyond multiple choice
  • Improved device compatibility and cross-platform support
  • Enhanced student reporting and analytics

NWEA Secure Testing

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Frequent app crashes and freezes
  • Compatibility issues with certain devices
  • Inconsistent test results

Requested features

3 requests
  • Allow going back to previous questions
  • Provide more detailed feedback on performance
  • Adjust question difficulty to grade level

In-app purchases

10 purchases

Nearpod

Subscriptions1
  • to Nearpod Gold Edition$159.991 Year
One-time9
  • NPP "Authors: Decimals and Fractions"$2.99
  • NPP "Authors: Drawing Inferences"$4.99
  • NPP "Authors: Energy "$4.99
Show 6 more
  • NPP "Authors: What are Cells?"$4.99
  • NPP "Authors: The Rock Cycle"$4.99
  • Social Studies: Causes of the American Revolution$4.99
  • Authors: Subtraction with Regrouping Part 1$4.99
  • Authors: What Makes a Tree Trunk?$4.99
  • Authors: Reading Maps$4.99
None

NWEA Secure Testing

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Nearpod free?
Nearpod is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is NWEA Secure Testing free?
NWEA Secure Testing is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Nearpod or NWEA Secure Testing?
Nearpod is rated higher. Nearpod averages 3.1 out of 5 from 1.9K ratings, while NWEA Secure Testing averages 1.5 from 1.4K ratings.
Do Nearpod or NWEA Secure Testing have ads?
Neither Nearpod nor NWEA Secure Testing shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Nearpod or NWEA Secure Testing?
Nearpod ships an update monthly, and NWEA Secure Testing every 8 months. Most recently, Nearpod was updated on October 11, 2026 and NWEA Secure Testing on October 15, 2026.

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