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Pear Deck vs Xara Designer Pro+

Pear Deck logo

Pear Deck

Software

Interactive presentations that engage every student

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Xara Designer Pro+ logo

Xara Designer Pro+

Software

Desktop publishing, web design, photo editing and graphic design in one workspace

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; Xara Designer Pro+ compatible with Windows only; the product page states no Mac version

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Pear Deck and Xara Designer Pro+ actually diverge.

Attributes where Pear Deck and Xara Designer Pro+ differ
AttributePear DeckXara Designer Pro+
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelfreemiumone-time
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, Chrome ExtensionWeb
Founded2014Unknown

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Unknown).

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 Xara Designer Pro+

Nothing recorded that Pear Deck does not also cover.

What people use each for

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

Pear Deck

  • Turning slide decks into interactive lessons with student responsesnot Xara Designer Pro+
  • Running formative checks for understanding during classnot Xara Designer Pro+
  • Student paced review activities and assessmentsnot Xara Designer Pro+

Xara Designer Pro+

No use cases recorded yet. See the Xara Designer Pro+ review.

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

Xara Designer Pro+

  • Compatible with Windows only; the product page states no Mac version

Pricing, plan by plan

Pear Deck

Free
  • FreeFree
    • 5 question types
    • Real-time responses
    • Student-paced mode
  • Premium$149.99/month
    • All question types
    • Audio responses
    • Flashcard factory
  • School/District$undefined/month
    • All Premium
    • Admin dashboard
    • Rostering

Xara Designer Pro+

On request

No published plan breakdown. See the Xara Designer Pro+ review.

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 Xara Designer Pro+ if

Nothing in the data separates Xara Designer Pro+ from Pear Deck on the points above - pick on price and on how each one feels to use.

Xara Designer Pro+ review

Questions people ask

Is Pear Deck or Xara Designer Pro+ better?
Neither clearly leads. Pear Deck starts at Free and Xara Designer Pro+ at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Pear Deck or Xara Designer Pro+?
Pear Deck has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Pear Deck and On request for Xara Designer Pro+.
Does Pear Deck or Xara Designer Pro+ run on more platforms?
Pear Deck runs on Web, Chrome Extension. Xara Designer Pro+ runs on Web.
Can I use Pear Deck for free?
Yes. Pear Deck has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Xara Designer Pro+ starts at On request.
What is Pear Deck best used for?
Pear Deck is most often used for turning slide decks into interactive lessons with student responses, running formative checks for understanding during class, student paced review activities and assessments. Of those, turning slide decks into interactive lessons with student responses and running formative checks for understanding during class are not what Xara Designer Pro+ is typically brought in for.
What can Pear Deck do that Xara Designer Pro+ cannot?
Pear Deck covers Interactive slides, Real-time responses, Formative assessment, Student-paced mode.
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