Comparison

Nearpod vs NewsMaker

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

NewsMaker

Create and share your own video news with this comprehensive tool. Features include a teleprompter, voiceover capabilities, animated intros, and virtual accessories. Collaborate with friends remotely and host your videos on a personal news channel.

Highlights
  • Teleprompter for scripts
  • Voiceover for videos and images
  • Animated trailer library
  • Background music overlay
  • Virtual accessories
  • Remote collaboration
  • Personal news channel
Features
Read full description

NewsMaker is a tool that lets you create video news. It is also an online platform that lets you share your videos in your very own NewsMaker channel. As a video-creation tool, NewsMaker provides a rich set of features: 1. You can read your script from the teleprompter. 2. You can voiceover videos and images. 3. You can use the animated trailer videos in the library as an opening to your video. 4. You can overlay background music in your news segments. 5. You can put virtual glasses and hat on yourself. 6. You can collaborate remotely with your friends to produce your video news together, regardless of where they are located. And many more… As an online platform, NewsMaker allows you to have your own news channel to share your video news privately with your friends or followers. NewsMaker is ideal to be used in schools, as a tool to allow any student to create school morning news easily. It can also be used as a tool to improve language and presentation skills as NewsMaker is neither grade-level or content specific. If you have any queries, please contact us at support@teevers.com.

Screenshots

Nearpod4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: NewsMaker at 3.6 against Nearpod's 3.1. NewsMaker also leads on iOS requirement (11.0 vs 15.0). Nearpod's advantage is ratings volume (1.9K vs 14) and device support (3 vs 1). On price, review sentiment, update cadence and ads 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 and NewsMaker sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

NewsMaker holds the better App Store score, 3.6 against 3.1. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Nearpod has 1.9K ratings behind it against 14, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 40% of Nearpod's written reviews are positive against 33% of NewsMaker's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Nearpod ships an update monthly, NewsMaker every 2 months. Both last shipped on November 6, 2026.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Nearpod versus NewsMaker: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNearpodNewsMaker
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.1 (1.9K ratings)3.6 (14 ratings) — better
Positive reviews40.4% of reviews — better33.3% of reviews
Number of ratings1.9K — better14
Update frequencyMonthly — betterEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPad
Requires iOS15.011.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size27 MB89 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperNearpodTeevers Pte. Ltd.

Customer experience

Nearpod

All ratings1,887 ratings
Positive50.3%
Neutral5.7%
Negative43.9%
Written reviews188 reviews
Positive40.4%
Neutral12.2%
Negative47.3%

NewsMaker

All ratings14 ratings
Positive64.3%
Neutral0.0%
Negative35.7%
Written reviews6 reviews
Positive33.3%
Neutral0.0%
Negative66.7%

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

NewsMaker

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

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
1 purchases

NewsMaker

One-time1
  • 1-Year NewsMaker Subscription$19.99

Questions

Is Nearpod free?
Nearpod is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is NewsMaker free?
NewsMaker is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Nearpod or NewsMaker?
NewsMaker is rated higher. Nearpod averages 3.1 out of 5 from 1.9K ratings, while NewsMaker averages 3.6 from 14 ratings.
Do Nearpod or NewsMaker have ads?
Neither Nearpod nor NewsMaker shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Nearpod or NewsMaker?
Nearpod ships an update monthly, and NewsMaker every 2 months. Most recently, Nearpod was updated on November 6, 2026 and NewsMaker on November 6, 2026.

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