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LMS · head to head

Pear Deck vs Skilljar

Pear Deck logo

Pear Deck

LMS

Interactive presentations that engage every student

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Skilljar logo

Skilljar

LMS

Customer education platform that treats training completion as a commercial signal in the CRM

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Pear Deck has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • 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; Skilljar pricing is an enterprise annual commitment, so a first certification pilot costs more than it can demonstrate and teams should prove the programme elsewhere first.
  • They diverge on capability: Pear Deck covers Interactive slides, Skilljar covers Branded course catalogue.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where Pear Deck and Skilljar differ
AttributePear DeckSkilljar
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelfreemiumquote
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, Chrome ExtensionWeb, iOS, Android
Founded2014Unknown

Identical on both: 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 Skilljar

  • Branded course catalogue
  • CRM data write-back
  • Certification with expiry
  • Domain and theme control
  • Self-paced and instructor-led
  • Engagement analytics

What people use each for

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

Pear Deck

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

Skilljar

  • A software company whose support ticket volume is driven by customers who were never trainednot Pear Deck
  • Customer success teams that want training engagement visible next to renewal risk in Salesforcenot Pear Deck
  • Partner certification programmes where credentials must expire and be renewednot Pear Deck
  • Reducing time to first value during onboarding by giving customers self serve training before implementationnot 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

Skilljar

  • Pricing is an enterprise annual commitment, so a first certification pilot costs more than it can demonstrate and teams should prove the programme elsewhere first.
  • The commercial value depends on the Salesforce integration being properly configured, and companies with messy CRM data get engagement reporting joined to accounts that do not reflect reality.
  • It is built for external audiences, so using it for internal employee compliance means paying for capability that internal training does not need.
  • Content authoring is not a strength, so most customers licence an authoring tool separately and run two content workflows.
  • Attribution remains contested. The platform shows that trained accounts renew better, but establishing that training caused the renewal rather than that engaged customers train more is a problem the reporting cannot solve for you.

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

Skilljar

On request
  • Skilljar$undefined/year
    • Annual enterprise contract, quoted
    • Entry point sits well above self-serve course platforms
    • Implementation and integration services quoted separately

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 Skilljar if

  • You need branded course catalogue.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want crm data write-back.
Skilljar review

Questions people ask

Is Pear Deck or Skilljar better?
Neither clearly leads. Pear Deck starts at Free and Skilljar at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Pear Deck or Skilljar?
Pear Deck has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Pear Deck and On request for Skilljar.
Does Pear Deck or Skilljar run on more platforms?
Pear Deck runs on Web, Chrome Extension. Skilljar runs on Web, iOS, Android.
Can I use Pear Deck for free?
Yes. Pear Deck has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Skilljar starts at On request.
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 Skilljar is typically brought in for.
What can Pear Deck do that Skilljar cannot?
Pear Deck covers Interactive slides, Real-time responses, Formative assessment, Student-paced mode. Skilljar covers Branded course catalogue, CRM data write-back, Certification with expiry, Domain and theme control.

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
Skilljar: How is Skilljar different from a corporate LMS?

A corporate learning platform reports on employees for compliance. Skilljar reports on customers for retention and expansion, and writes that activity into the CRM so account teams see it.

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
Skilljar: Do learners need accounts before they can browse?

No. Catalogues can be public so prospects and customers browse and enrol without a sales conversation, which is a large part of the self serve onboarding case.

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
Skilljar: Is it worth it for a small customer education team?

Usually not at the start. The contract floor assumes an established programme, so prove the value on a cheaper platform and move once retention or revenue evidence exists.

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
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