SpeedQuizzing or Thinking Cap?
SpeedQuizzing is a mature smartphone pub quiz system: teams answer on its app against a ten-second clock, the host’s laptop scores it, and every quiz comes with a fresh question pack. Thinking Cap is a free alternative where tables type their answers in a browser and the host keeps the pace.
Side by side
| SpeedQuizzing | Thinking Cap | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | Paid per quiz night, per host: a Pro night is 3 credits, about £15 to £24 plus VAT depending on the bundle (US$19 to US$30). | Free for the host and the room. Optional monthly hosting plans and AI rounds for hosts. |
| How players join | The free SpeedQuizzing app on iOS, Android or Kindle Fire. | A browser on any phone, with the room code or the QR on the TV. No app, no account. |
| What the host needs | The SpeedQuizzing Pro desktop app on a Windows 10/11 or macOS laptop (not a Chromebook); an optional Hub for venues without good internet. | A browser on a laptop, tablet or phone. Nothing to install. |
| Answers | Tapped on a keypad: multiple choice, the first letter, a number, or a sequence. No whole typed answers. | Typed answers marked for spelling: near misses are forgiven, real doubts go to the host in one tap. |
| Teams | One device per team. | One answer sheet per table, live on every phone at it; the captain locks in. |
| The big screen | Optional: questions, pictures and scores show in the app. The host reads over a PA. | Optional: every phone shows the question. |
| Pace | Fast: ten seconds to lock in, with bonus points for the quickest answers. | The host reads; the clock is a suggestion. An optional speed bonus round. |
| Questions | A unique pack of 70+ questions with each night; write your own too. | A free, checked question bank and ready-made nights, or your own. |
Pick SpeedQuizzing if
- You want a fast, high-energy quiz where speed scores points.
- You want a new question pack delivered with every night.
- Your venue has unreliable internet and you want a Hub that runs without it.
Pick Thinking Cap if
- You want tables to type their answers, with spelling forgiven, rather than tap a letter.
- You do not want to pay per night, or ask players to install an app.
- You host from a Chromebook, a tablet or a phone.
- You want the room to talk it through before the captain locks in.
What we say about SpeedQuizzing comes from its own pages, read on 23 October 2026: prices and limits change, so check theirs before you decide. Sources: pricing, compare plans, what you need, keypad games, playing. Spot something out of date? Tell us at [email protected].