10 interactive meeting tools for better collaboration [2024]

Let's face it: Meetings can be a real snoozefest. You zone out while slides whiz by, and the only participation involves strategically stifling yawns. And it’s not really a secret — more than half of North American business leaders report that a lack of attendee participation is their biggest meeting woe.

That’s where interactive meeting tools come in. These boredom busters are the ultimate weapon against this engagement epidemic, and we're here to show you the best ones to keep in your digital arsenal.

Table of Contents:

• Best tools at a glance
• 1. Mentimeter
• 2. Zoom
• 3. Miro
• 4. Spatial Chat
• 5. Google Meet
• 6. Kumospace
• 7. Notion
• 8. SessionLab
• 9. Pigeonhole Live
• 10. Hypercontext
• How to choose the right tool
• Pro tips for using meeting tools

Best interactive meeting tools at a glance

TL:DR? Here’s a quick look at our top choices for interactive meeting tools that’ll keep your audience on their toes.

1. Mentimeter

Great for: Real-time engagement

Price: Free to join, with paid plans starting at $11.99/presenter/month

Struggling to keep your meetings dynamic and engaging? Look no further than Mentimeter, our (shameless) top pick for interactive meeting tools. But we’re not just tooting our own horn here: This web-based platform lets you ditch the one-way presentation format and inject real-time audience participation into your meetings.

With fun interactive features like live polls, quizzes, and Q&As, Mentimeter is perfect for brainstorming sessions, knowledge checks, gathering feedback, or simply boosting energy levels during long meetings. It's a godsend for anyone who wants to move beyond the passive lecture style and foster a collaborative atmosphere.

Top features:

• Multiple question formats: Spice up your presentations with all the good stuff — polls to gauge audience opinion, quizzes to test their knowledge, and word clouds to see what really resonates with them.
• Real-time results: See responses populate instantly with Mentimeter. No waiting around for results — keep everyone on the same page and watch the discussions unfold.
• Customization options: Mentimeter lets you tailor your presentations to your brand or event with custom themes, logos, and backgrounds. 
• Actionable data: Mentimeter doesn't just show you results; it gives you the power to analyze them! Export results for further digging and gain valuable insights from your audience. 

2. Zoom

Great for: Video conferencing

Price: Free to join, with paid plans starting at $13.32/user/month

Zoom needs little introduction — it's become synonymous with video conferencing. But beyond the ability to see and chat with colleagues virtually, Zoom packs a punch when it comes to interactive meetings. This cloud-based platform fosters a more engaging conferencing experience compared to traditional phone calls. 

Zoom solves the problem of feeling disconnected during remote meetings with features like screen sharing and co-annotation, allowing for real-time collaboration on documents and presentations. Breakout rooms enable smaller group discussions within the larger meeting, perfect for brainstorming sessions or project work. 

Top features:

• Screen sharing and co-annotation: Share your screen and collaborate in real time by annotating documents or presentations together.
• Breakout rooms: Need to break off into smaller teams for brainstorming or project discussions? Zoom's got your back.
• Waiting rooms: Control who enters the meeting and maintain a secure environment. No more rogue colleagues crashing your virtual hangout — you decide who gets to join the video call party.
• Virtual whiteboard: Zoom's built-in virtual whiteboard is your digital canvas for brainstorming and idea generation.

3. Miro

Great for: Creative brainstorming

Price: Free to join, with paid plans starting at $8/user/month

Ever feel like your brainstorming sessions are stuck in a creativity black hole? Banish boring meetings with Miro, the ultimate virtual canvas for unleashing your team's inner Picasso. 

Miro breaks the boundaries of physical space and lets your team ideate, mind map, and collaborate visually in real time. No more waiting your turn to scribble on a whiteboard — with Miro, everyone can throw down their digital sticky notes, sketches, and ideas simultaneously. It's great for marketing teams generating campaign ideas, product designers brainstorming features, or any team looking to spark innovation. 

Top features:

• Infinite canvas: Think outside the (physical) box with an endless virtual space for brainstorming and mind mapping.
• Sticky notes and beyond: Go beyond the basic sticky note with a treasure trove of tools like mind maps, flowcharts, and diagrams.
• Real-time collaboration: Watch ideas unfold as your team contributes simultaneously, no matter their location.
• Template library: Get brainstorming started faster with a library of pre-built templates for various brainstorming activities.

4. Spatial Chat

Great for: Virtual networking

Price: Free to join, with paid plans starting at $3/user/day

Mingle like it’s 2024 with Spatial Chat, the online engagement tool that allows attendees to move around, network, and connect more naturally. This is a game-changer for anyone who wants to make virtual meetings and conferences less, well, virtual — from event organizers looking to boost attendee engagement to coworkers who want to build stronger bonds.

Imagine attending an online conference where you can walk up to different "rooms" to chat with colleagues, check out presentations, or just bump into new connections serendipitously. Spatial Chat recreates a sense of physical space, encouraging organic conversations that foster a more relaxed atmosphere for building relationships. 

Top features:

• Spatial audio: Move around the virtual space and hear conversations fade in and out just like they would IRL. Eavesdrop on interesting discussions or stay laser-focused on one conversation.
• Multiple "rooms": Ditch the one-size-fits-all virtual conference halls. Spatial Chat lets you create designated areas for presentations, breakout discussions, or even casual networking. 
• Move around freely: Forget being stuck in a video call box! Mingle with other attendees, virtually high-five your colleagues (because fist bumps are so last season), and strike up conversations just like you would at an in-person event. 
• Integrations: Connect Spatial Chat with your favorite tools like Miro and YouTube to supercharge your virtual hangout. 

5. Google Meet

Great for: Informal meetings

Price: Free

Need a quick catch-up with a colleague or a casual team huddle without the hassle? Google Meet is your free video conferencing BFF for keeping things casual. This online meeting tool from the Google fam is perfect for those times when a full-blown meeting with fancy features feels like overkill.

Forget wrestling with downloads or creating accounts  — Google Meet lets you jump into a video call with just a link. It's ideal for quick check-ins, brainstorming sessions with a small team, or catching up with a remote work buddy. Google Meet solves the problem of unnecessary formality and clunky interfaces for those casual interactions that keep teams connected. 

Top features:

• Simple interface: Forget wrestling with complicated video conferencing software. Google Meet is user-friendly and easy to navigate, even for your grandma, who just discovered the internet. 
• Easy screen sharing: Need to share a document or presentation? Google Meet lets you do so with a few clicks. 
• Chat functionality: Fire off a quick question, share a hilarious meme, or post a link to that cat video everyone needs to see — Google Meet's chat function keeps the conversation flowing.
• Always free: No hidden fees, no premium plans — Google Meet lets you connect with your team without breaking the bank.

6. Kumospace

Great for: Remote teams

Price: Free to join, with paid plans starting at $16/user/month

Juggling a remote team can feel like wrangling cats across different time zones. Introducing Kumospace, your virtual office lifeline for keeping your distributed crew connected and engaged. This virtual engagement tool goes beyond basic video chat by creating a persistent online workspace where your team can collaborate and socialize, all in one place.

Kumospace tackles the challenges of isolation and communication gaps that often plague remote teams. By fostering a sense of shared space and casual interaction, it keeps your team feeling connected and in sync, no matter where they're located. 

Top features:

• Customizable workspaces: Designate areas for video chats, brainstorming sessions, project deep dives, or even just casual team hangs. 
• Persistent virtual office: Always on, 24/7 access — Kumospace is basically the internet cafe of the metaverse. Your team can drop in and collaborate anytime, anywhere. 
• Video chat and screen sharing: See your team face-to-face in glorious HD (because who wants pixelated colleagues, am I right?). Screen sharing is a breeze, so you can collab on docs and presentations smoothly. 
• Integrations: Connect Kumospace with your favorite project management tools like Microsoft Teams and Hopin.

7. Notion

Great for: Collaborative meeting notes

Price: Free to join, with paid plans starting at $8/user/month

Struggling to keep your project plans and meeting notes organized in a million different places? Notion is a great pick for conquering collaborative project management and meeting madness. This isn't your grandma's note-taking app — Notion lets you ditch the paper trail and create dynamic, interactive workspaces for your team.

Notion acts as a central hub where you can brainstorm project ideas, assign tasks, track progress, and document meeting notes — all in one beautifully organized space. It tackles the woes of scattered information and communication breakdowns by providing a collaborative platform that keeps everyone on the same page.  

Top features:

• Flexible workspace: Build workspaces for projects, team stuff, wikis — anything your team needs to stay organized. 
• Real-time collaboration: Forget email tag and endless version control headaches. Notion lets your team edit docs, notes, and tasks together in real time. 
• Interactive features: Spice up your workspace with polls, Kanban boards, and even calendars. Notion's got all the bells and whistles to keep your team engaged and on track.
• Integrations: Connect to your favorite productivity tools like Jira and Slack.

8. SessionLab

Great for: Structured training sessions and workshops

Price: Free to join, with plans starting at $9/month for individual users

Let’s face it: Corporate training doesn’t always make for an exciting day at the office. But SessionLab can help inject a much-needed dose of interactivity into your presentations, keeping your trainees engaged and learning. 

SessionLab lets you create dynamic presentations with interactive elements like polls, quizzes, and live Q&A sessions with a focus on knowledge retention. This is a great way for trainers, educators, and human resource reps to add some fun to their structured sessions while promoting learning and engagement.

Top features:

• Interactive presentations: Craft presentations packed with polls, quizzes, word clouds — all the good stuff to keep your trainees on the edge of their seats (or keyboards, depending on your setup).
• Live feedback and data collection: No more guessing if your training is landing. SessionLab lets you gather real-time insights from participants.
• Integrations: Connect to your favorite presentation tools or learning management systems for a smooth workflow.
• Reporting and analytics: SessionLab serves up the data to show you what resonated and where you can improve your training game for the next session.

9. Pigeonhole Live

Great for: Live Q&A sessions

Price: Free to join, with plans starting at $8/user/month

Dread the Q&A sessions where crickets chirp louder than the audience? Pigeonhole Live is here to break the awkward silence with engaging Q&A sessions that are anything but boring. 

This online platform lets you engage your audience with real-time questions, upvotes, and discussions. It tackles the problem of low audience participation by creating a safe space for questions that promote active discussion. This is a great online meeting tool for hosting dynamic Q&A sessions that keep everyone on their toes. 

Top features:

• Real-time Q&A: Audience members can submit questions anonymously and upvote the most pressing ones for live discussion.
• Moderation tools: Curate the conversation and ensure a smooth flow with features like question approval and categorization.
• Integrations: Connect Pigeonhole Live with your favorite meeting platforms like Zoom and Webex to integrate Q&As into your presentations.
• Data and analytics: Learn what resonated most with your audience and where you can improve your next Q&A session. 

10. Hypercontext

Great for: Shared meeting agendas

Price: Free to join, with paid plans starting at $5.60/user/month

You know the drill — important details get lost in the pre-meeting email vortex, and nobody remembers what they signed up for by the time the meeting rolls around. Enter Hypercontext, the AI-powered assistant that's here to cure agenda amnesia. 

This nifty online meeting tool goes beyond basic calendar invites, creating collaborative, interactive meeting agendas that keep everyone on the same page. With built-in features like polls and discussion prompts, it tackles the problem of unclear expectations and wasted meeting time by keeping everyone aligned and focused on the topics at hand. 

Top features:

• Collaborative agenda creation: Work with your team to build clear, concise agendas.
• Interactive features: Add polls, discussion prompts, and other dynamic elements to keep everyone engaged.
• Automatic summaries and action items: Never miss a key detail again with AI-powered summaries and automated next steps.
• Integrations: Connect Hypercontext with popular calendar and project management tools like Slack and Google Calendar for a streamlined workflow.

How to choose the right tool

We know that was a lot to take in. Now the question remains: Which interactive tool is right for you?

From meeting size to budget, here’s a breakdown of things to look for when choosing the app that best suits your needs. 

Meeting size and purpose

Avoid the one-size-fits-all mentality for your meetings! The right virtual engagement tool depends on who you're wrangling and what you're wrangling them for. 

Have a massive audience? Polling tools like Mentimeter will keep them from zoning out. Smaller crew? Dive deeper with breakout rooms in Zoom. 

The purpose matters, too. Employee workshops might benefit from interactive training tools like SessionLab, while client meetings need clear agendas and real-time notes like Hypercontext offers. By understanding your meeting's size and purpose, you can pick the perfect software to keep everyone engaged — no matter the format. 

Accessibility and ease of use

An interactive meeting shouldn't become an exclusion zone! Accessibility is key when choosing the right tool. Platforms that offer features like mobile compatibility, closed captions for audio elements, and keyboard navigation ensure everyone can participate fully. 

Ease of use is another important factor to keep in mind. Complex interfaces can create a barrier to participation, especially for less tech-savvy team members. Look for tools with intuitive interfaces and clear instructions to guarantee a smooth and frustration-free experience. After all, the goal is to boost engagement, not host a technical hurdle race.

Desired features

Not all virtual meeting tools are created equal. Some are jacks of all trades, packed with features for every scenario. Others are laser-focused, excelling at one specific task. 

Craving a brainstorming bonanza? Look for tools with virtual whiteboards and real-time collaboration features. Need to present like a pro? Interactive presentations and gamification elements might be your jam. The key is to identify what features will make your meetings sing. 

Integrations

Nobody wants to live in a tech silo, switching between a million apps just to run a meeting. When choosing your interactive meeting tool, consider how it works with your existing tech squad. Prioritize tools that integrate with your favorite platforms and avoid the app-switching headaches. 

Does your team swear by Slack for communication? Look for a tool that integrates seamlessly, letting you fire off quick questions or reminders without ever leaving the flow. Project management gurus on your team? Integrations with tools like Asana or Trello can keep tasks and action items flowing smoothly after the meeting ends.

Budget

Budgets aren’t infinite, but there’s an interactive tool out there for every wallet size. Plenty of fantastic options offer free plans or freemium models with basic features to get you started. These can be perfect for small teams or occasional use. 

As your meeting needs grow, you can upgrade to paid plans with more bells and whistles. Remember, you don't need a bazillion-dollar budget to create an engaging meeting. It's all about finding the tool that packs the biggest punch for your price point.  

Pro tips for using meeting tools effectively

Interactive meeting tools are awesome, but they’re only as good as you make them. Here are a few of our top tips to help maximize their impact:

• Set clear expectations and objectives for using the tool: Before diving in, establish how you plan on using your tool. Is it meant to spark brainstorming, gauge audience understanding, or something else entirely? Knowing the goal helps participants engage in the most effective way.
• Prepare activities and prompts in advance: Winging it rarely works in meetings. Prepare activities and prompts in advance. Think about incorporating polls for quick engagement or breakout room discussion questions. This keeps the meeting moving smoothly and ensures everyone gets the most out of the interactive features.
• Make sure all participants are familiar with the tool: No one wants to feel like the odd one out. Before the meeting, make sure all participants are familiar with the tool. Offer a quick tutorial or send out a cheat sheet to avoid technical hiccups and ensure a smooth experience for everyone.
• Facilitate participation and keep discussions focused: Take an active role in facilitating participation and keeping discussions focused. This might involve calling on quieter attendees or using the tool's features to keep everyone on track. Remember, the goal is to leverage interactivity, so don't be afraid to encourage everyone to participate!

End meeting monotony with Mentimeter

Gone are the days of boring text slides and one-sided conversations. Interactive meeting tools transform presentations from passive lectures to engaging experiences, boosting participation and knowledge retention. 

Want to get started with an all-in-one tool? Mentimeter offers a wide range of interactive features, from live polls and quizzes to word clouds and Q&As, all designed to keep your audience engaged and on the ball.