Slido alternatives for live streaming and OBS: what broadcast teams use instead

Richard Frantzen, founder of AskTide · Updated 2026-11-04

Slido is a very good meeting tool. The trouble starts when the Q&A has to go out on a live stream, through OBS, vMix or a hardware switcher, looking like part of the show. These Slido alternatives for live streaming are compared on the things a broadcast team actually needs, with fair notes on where Slido is still the better choice.

Short answer: If you need Slido-style audience questions as a transparent overlay in OBS or vMix, the closest alternatives are AskTide (free during beta, producer-curated, no upvoting) and Q&A Events (transparent overlay on its €15-per-event Pro tier, with upvoting). QuestionWall and H2R Graphics are budget options. If your Q&A happens in a meeting room or in Webex or Teams, Slido remains a strong choice.

Why Slido is great for meetings

Before looking at alternatives, credit where it is due. Slido's live Q&A lets everyone see and upvote each other's questions, offers moderation so you can review incoming questions before participants see them, supports anonymous questions, host replies and labels, and highlights the question being answered. Its interface comes in 40 languages, including Swedish, and it sits naturally inside meeting tools such as Webex, which documents how to use Slido in meetings.

For an all-hands in a meeting app, a conference session on a projector, or a workshop where the room should decide which questions matter most, Slido does the job well and many participants have used it before. If that is your situation, you may not need an alternative at all.

Where broadcast teams hit Slido's limits

Live production has different requirements. A question is a graphic, and graphics in OBS, vMix or TriCaster arrive as browser sources or titles with a transparent background, positioned and styled to match the show. Slido's documentation doesn't describe a native output like that, and its own community shows the gap clearly.

The underlying issue is not quality, it is design target. Slido is built for presenters and rooms; a broadcast Q&A tool is built for a producer and a switcher.

• No direct vMix integration. In September 2025 Slido Customer Care replied that there is "no direct vMix integration", suggested an iFrame, noted that live data export is manual, and moved the XML or RSS feed idea to the wishlist (Slido community).
• The OBS workaround uses chroma key. A December 2024 community thread describes loading the Slido Present page as an OBS browser source, cropping it, and chroma-keying the green background. The poster noted the green doesn't match their brand, and a Slido community manager replied that support often receives questions about it (Slido community).
• The look is Slido's, not your show's. Cropping a presenter view gives you Slido's layout and typography, and a crop that breaks when the window or a question length changes.
• Upvoting can work against you on a public stream. On an open link, the most-voted question is not always the one an editor would choose.

What to look for in a Slido alternative for OBS

• A browser source URL that renders at your output resolution (usually 1920×1080) with a transparent background, so there is no chroma key or crop.
• A moderation queue where one person shortlists and another puts a question on air.
• Styling control: layout, position, fonts and colors that match your lower thirds.
• Audience access by link or QR code, with no app or platform account, so in-room and online viewers end up in one queue.
• Fast updates, so the graphic changes the moment the producer clicks.

The best Slido alternatives for live streaming

1. AskTide

Best for: producer-curated questions as broadcast graphics · Free plan: free during beta, all features

AskTide was built for exactly the gap above. The audience page (link or QR code, no app, no account, name optional, Swedish for Swedish browsers) feeds a queue with New, Selected, On Air and Done columns. A moderator can work from a password-protected link that shows only the questions. The Display output is a transparent 1920×1080 browser source for OBS, vMix or TriCaster that shows the on-air question as a card, lower third, ticker, minimal text or full screen, in one of nine positions, with your theme or custom CSS. The same output carries polls, name tags and a QR code. The trade-off versus Slido: there is no audience upvoting, by design.

• Pro: transparent outputs, no chroma key, updates within a fraction of a second
• Pro: separate Flow grid output for a scrolling wall of questions
• Pro: free during beta with unlimited sessions
• Con: no audience upvoting
• Con: no Teams, Webex or Zoom integration

2. Q&A Events (qna.events)

Best for: Slido-like features plus an OBS overlay, paid per event · Free plan: none (48-hour trial)

If you want to keep upvoting and still get a real overlay, Q&A Events is the closest match. It has upvoting, anonymous questions and moderation with up to five moderators. Its OBS guide uses a 1920×1080 browser source with a transparent background by default and automatic or manual on-air modes. The stream overlay needs the Pro tier at €15 per event, alongside Basic €5 and Extended €10, according to its site.

• Pro: upvoting and a transparent OBS overlay in one tool
• Pro: no subscription, EU-hosted
• Con: overlay only on Pro; no free plan beyond the trial
• Con: Swedish audience UI not stated

3. QuestionWall

Best for: low-budget events wanting room Q&A and some stream graphics · Free plan: 3 events per month

QuestionWall offers upvoting, moderation, anonymous questions, polls and quizzes, plus a broadcast studio with an OBS browser source, lower thirds, ticker, countdown and confidence monitor. Paid plans run around $5 or $10 a month. The site doesn't state whether the browser source is transparent or which plan has the broadcast studio, so test in your switcher first.

• Pro: the most Slido-like feature set at a low price
• Pro: broadcast studio extras
• Con: transparency not stated
• Con: no Swedish in the language switcher

4. H2R Graphics

Best for: teams that need a full free graphics package · Free plan: free forever

H2R Graphics is a desktop graphics app with transparent browser output for OBS, vMix, ATEM, Wirecast and GoStream, covering lower thirds, tickers, timers, scores, QR codes and social chat. Version 3 advertises Audience Q&A, displaying audience responses as graphics. The site doesn't describe moderation or the audience submission page, so check the docs if questions are the main event.

• Pro: excellent value for general graphics
• Pro: wide switcher support
• Con: Q&A workflow details not described on the site

5. Stagetimer

Best for: getting questions to the host and stage screens · Free plan: 3 audience questions

Stagetimer takes audience questions via a submit link or QR code, anonymous allowed, and a moderator can show, edit or delete them. The shown question appears on viewer and moderator screens. OBS output for questions isn't described, so it suits stage management more than the stream graphic.

• Pro: timer and questions in one show-calling tool
• Con: OBS or vMix overlay not described

6. Mentimeter, Vevox or Pigeonhole Live

Best for: staying in the meeting and conference world · Free plan: yes, limits vary

If what you really want is a different presenter tool rather than a broadcast one, these are the usual Slido alternatives. Mentimeter puts Q&A in interactive slides (free plan up to 50 participants), Vevox suits town halls with Teams and Zoom integrations (free up to 100 participants per session), and Pigeonhole Live suits multi-track conferences (free up to 100 participants). None of their Q&A pages describe a livestream or OBS overlay. Our best live Q&A tools ranks them by use case.

• Pro: upvoting, moderation and anonymity, like Slido
• Con: same broadcast limitation as Slido: no native overlay described

Slido vs Mentimeter vs AskTide and other alternatives

(checked November 2026) Competitor facts come from the vendor pages linked above. "Not described" means we found no mention, not that the feature is missing. We don't print Slido or Mentimeter prices because their pricing pages need JavaScript and couldn't be verified; see Slido pricing and Mentimeter plans.

Decision guide: which Slido alternative should you pick?

• Pick AskTide if an editor or producer should decide what goes on air, you need a transparent browser source in OBS, vMix or TriCaster, and you want it free while the beta runs.
• Pick Q&A Events if you want audience upvoting and a transparent OBS overlay, and you run a few events a year where €15 per event is fine.
• Pick QuestionWall if budget is the main constraint and you can test its browser source in your switcher before the show.
• Pick H2R Graphics if you need lower thirds, scores and timers first, and Q&A is a minor element.
• Pick Stagetimer if questions go to the host's screen rather than to the stream.
• Pick Mentimeter, Vevox or Pigeonhole Live if you're replacing Slido in a room, in slides or in a meeting app, not on a stream.
• Stay with Slido if the Q&A happens in Webex or a conference room, and only a recording goes out.

Can I use Slido in OBS anyway?

You can, with the community workaround. It is worth knowing the steps and the failure points before you rely on it in a live show.

1. Open the Present view. Open the Slido event's Present page in a browser and confirm the Q&A view shows what you want on air.
2. Add it as a browser source. In OBS, add a Browser source with the Present page URL at your canvas size. See the OBS Studio guide for browser source basics.
3. Crop to the question. Use the source's crop or transform settings to cut away everything except the question area. Longer questions may change the layout, so test several lengths.
4. Key out the background. Apply a chroma key filter to remove the green background, as described in the Slido community thread. Watch for fringes around text.
5. Rehearse with real questions. Run a rehearsal with real audience questions. If the crop breaks or the key looks rough, consider a tool with a native transparent output instead.

A cleaner pattern for hybrid events is to keep Slido for the room if your organization requires it and run a broadcast tool for the stream. For setup without the workaround, see how to show audience questions on screen in OBS and the vMix audience questions guide.

Is there a free Slido alternative for live streams?

Yes. AskTide is free during its beta with all features, including the transparent outputs. QuestionWall has a free plan of 3 events a month, and H2R Graphics is free forever for general graphics. Q&A Events has no free plan beyond a 48-hour trial. For more options, including StreamYard and Restream chat overlays, see the best Q&A tools for live streaming.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best Slido alternative for OBS?

For moderated questions as a transparent OBS overlay, AskTide and Q&A Events are the closest fits. AskTide is free during beta without upvoting; Q&A Events has upvoting and charges €15 per event for its overlay tier.

Does Slido integrate with vMix?

Not directly. Slido Customer Care said in September 2025 that there is no direct vMix integration and suggested an iFrame, with live data export being manual.

How do I show Slido questions on a livestream?

The community workaround is to add the Slido Present page as an OBS browser source, crop it and chroma-key the green background. It works, but the look is Slido's and the crop can break with longer questions.

Is there a free Slido alternative?

Yes. AskTide is free during its beta, QuestionWall has 3 free events a month, and Vevox and Pigeonhole Live have free plans for up to 100 participants.

Slido vs Mentimeter: which is better for live streaming?

Neither describes a native broadcast overlay on its Q&A pages; both are built for rooms and presentations. For a stream graphic, use a broadcast Q&A tool alongside or instead of them.

Which Slido alternative has upvoting and an OBS overlay?

Q&A Events has both, with the overlay on its Pro tier, and QuestionWall has upvoting plus an OBS browser source whose transparency isn't stated. AskTide has a transparent overlay but no upvoting.

Read next

• The 9 best Q&A tools for live streaming and broadcast in 2026 (OBS and vMix-ready)
• The best live Q&A tools in 2026 (and which ones work on air)
• How to show audience questions on screen in OBS (transparent overlay, no chroma key)
• vMix Q&A: put moderated audience questions on air with the Web Browser input