Softwr

LMS · head to head

Pear Deck vs Screencastify

Pear Deck logo

Pear Deck

LMS

Interactive presentations that engage every student

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Screencastify logo

Screencastify

LMS

Simple video creation for everyone

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Pear Deck the Teacher Dashboard, draggable and drawing responses and Reflect and Review require Teacher Premium at $149 per year; Screencastify limited to Chrome browser only, cannot record on Firefox, Safari, or Edge
  • They diverge on capability: Pear Deck covers Interactive slides, Screencastify covers Screen recording.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Pear Deck and Screencastify actually diverge.

Attributes where Pear Deck and Screencastify differ
AttributePear DeckScreencastify
PlatformsWeb, Chrome ExtensionChrome Browser
Founded20142013

Identical on both: starting price (Free), pricing model (freemium), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (LMS).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Pear Deck

  • Interactive slides
  • Real-time responses
  • Formative assessment
  • Student-paced mode
  • Dashboard
  • Audio responses
  • Drawing
  • Vocabulary

Only in Screencastify

  • Screen recording
  • Video editing
  • Drawing tools
  • Google Drive export
  • Chrome support
  • Edge support

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Pear Deck

  • Interactive classroom presentations for teachersnot Screencastify
  • Student practice and assessment toolsnot Screencastify
  • Standards-aligned content delivery for schoolsnot Screencastify

Screencastify

  • Recording lessons for flipped classroom instruction without external toolsnot Pear Deck
  • Creating product demos and explainer videos for sales teamsnot Pear Deck
  • Documenting technical processes for customer support tutorialsnot Pear Deck
  • Collecting and grading video assignments from students with rubricsnot Pear Deck
  • Adding interactive assessments to video content to measure understandingnot Pear Deck

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Pear Deck

  • The Teacher Dashboard, draggable and drawing responses and Reflect and Review require Teacher Premium at $149 per year
  • Pear Assessment Premium is a separate $125 per year purchase from Pear Deck Premium
  • Standards aligned content, district library and efficacy reports are only in the Schools and Districts plan
  • SIS and LMS integration is only in the Schools and Districts plan
  • School and district pricing is by quote with no published rate

Screencastify

  • Limited to Chrome browser only, cannot record on Firefox, Safari, or Edge
  • Free version watermark appears on all videos and requires upgrade to remove
  • Free tier limited to 10 videos total before requiring paid plan
  • Maximum 1080p resolution at 30fps, no support for higher framerates or 4K
  • No free educator license for educational institutions

Pricing, plan by plan

Pear Deck

Free
  • Pear Start FreeFree
    • 40+ AI tools for teachers
    • unlimited usage
  • Pear Deck FreeFree
    • basic interactive presentations
    • anonymous responses
    • student-paced mode
  • Pear Deck Premium$149/year
    • Teacher Dashboard with named responses
    • drawing/draggable features
    • Reflect & Review
  • Pear Assessment FreeFree
    • basic assessment creation
    • autograding

Screencastify

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Up to 10 videos
    • 30-minute recording limit
    • Browser tab, full screen, and webcam recording
  • Starter$7/month
    • Unlimited videos
    • 60-minute recording limit
    • Basic editing
  • Pro$10/month
    • Unlimited videos
    • 180-minute recording limit
    • AI video enhancements
  • Enterprise & EDU$null/month
    • Custom pricing
    • Central admin controls
    • LMS integrations

Which should you pick?

Choose Pear Deck if

  • You need interactive slides.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Chrome Extension.
  • You also want real-time responses.
Pear Deck review

Choose Screencastify if

  • You need screen recording.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Chrome Browser.
  • You also want video editing.
Screencastify review

Questions people ask

Is Pear Deck or Screencastify better?
Neither clearly leads. Pear Deck starts at Free and Screencastify at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Pear Deck or Screencastify?
Pear Deck starts at Free and Screencastify at Free.
Does Pear Deck or Screencastify run on more platforms?
Pear Deck runs on Web, Chrome Extension. Screencastify runs on Chrome Browser.
Can I use Pear Deck for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Pear Deck best used for?
Pear Deck is most often used for interactive classroom presentations for teachers, student practice and assessment tools, standards-aligned content delivery for schools. Of those, interactive classroom presentations for teachers and student practice and assessment tools are not what Screencastify is typically brought in for.
What can Pear Deck do that Screencastify cannot?
Pear Deck covers Interactive slides, Real-time responses, Formative assessment, Student-paced mode. Screencastify covers Screen recording, Video editing, Drawing tools, Google Drive export.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Pear Deck: What is the price for individual teacher subscriptions?

Pear Deck Premium: $149/year; Pear Assessment Premium: $125/year. Pear Practice and Start have custom pricing for paid tiers.

Source
Screencastify: What's the free tier limit?

Free plan allows 10 total videos up to 30 minutes each, with watermark. After 10 videos, you must upgrade.

Source
Pear Deck: Are there free versions available?

Yes, all Pear Deck products offer free teacher plans: Pear Start, Pear Deck, Pear Practice, and Pear Assessment are free for educators.

Source
Screencastify: Is Screencastify limited to Chrome?

Yes. Screencastify is exclusively a Chrome extension and does not work on other browsers like Firefox, Safari, or Edge.

Source
Pear Deck: What features require payment in Pear Assessment?

Free version includes basic assessment creation and autograding. Premium ($125/year) adds advanced security, accessibility tools, state test interface mimicry, and rubric scoring.

Source
Screencastify: What's the maximum video quality?

Maximum resolution is 1080p at 30 frames per second. Videos can only be exported to MP4, audio to MP3, or as GIF.

Source
Pear Deck: Do schools get discounted pricing?

Yes, schools and districts receive custom pricing with additional features like standards-aligned content, shared libraries, and LMS integration.

Source
Screencastify: Does Screencastify work for educational use?

Screencastify lacks a free educator license for schools or non-profits, unlike some competitors who offer discounted or free plans for educational institutions.

Source
Share

Related pages

More on Pear Deck

More on Screencastify

Keep looking

Other head to heads