Guide · Updated July 2026
Live Q&A and Polling Software for Events (No App Required)
"Raise your hand if you have a question" doesn't scale past thirty people. Here's how to run live Q&A, polls and word clouds where every attendee participates from the phone already in their pocket.
What audience engagement software needs to get right
- Zero friction to join — a QR code or short link, no app store, no account.
- Live results on the big screen — a projector-friendly view the whole room can see.
- Question moderation — a way to filter before anything goes public.
- Upvoting — so the room's most-wanted question rises to the top on its own.
- Reusability — prep once, reuse for the next session or event without rebuilding.
Option 1 — Sticky notes and raised hands
Free and works for small rooms. Breaks down for anything larger: quieter attendees never ask, the moderator can't see volume or sentiment, and there's no record of what was asked afterward.
Option 2 — Enterprise engagement platforms
Slido- and Mentimeter-style platforms are capable and widely used, particularly at large scale. The tradeoff is typically subscription pricing tied to attendee count or event frequency, and feature sets built for large enterprise deployments — more than most single-track conferences or corporate town halls need.
Option 3 — CuePulse
CuePulse covers the core of what a conference or town hall actually needs, fully browser-based:
- Raise-hand Q&A with audience upvoting to surface the most popular questions.
- Question moderation — an optional pending queue reviewed before anything goes public.
- Live polling and a word cloud that grows in real time as responses come in.
- Present View — a projector-friendly screen with results and a join QR code for latecomers.
- Round-table mode — attendees tag their table number, so the host knows exactly which table is asking.
- 8 colour themes applied live across host, Present View and the attendee join page.
- No app required for attendees — any phone browser works.
- Save & load rooms — prep once, reload before the next event from any device.
Side by side
| Raised hands | Enterprise platforms | CuePulse | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Attendee app/account required | None needed | Varies | None — browser only |
| Question moderation queue | No | Yes | Yes |
| Audience upvoting | No | Yes | Yes |
| Live word cloud | No | Yes | Yes |
| Round-table / table tagging | No | Rare | Yes |
| Pricing model | Free | Subscription, often per-attendee | Flat license |
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to install anything to host a session?
No — CuePulse runs entirely in the browser for both host and attendees.
Can I reuse the same question set for a recurring event?
Yes — save the room to your license and load it again before the next session, from any device.
What if I also need a live random draw for prizes?
Pair it with EventSpin — same no-install, phone-join model, built for live giveaways.