ClassroomScreen offers a free Basic plan with 26 widgets, while Chalkbox's free tools, including a dashboard with saved screens, cover the core widgets.
Yes. ClassroomScreen itself has a free Basic plan with all 26 widgets, and free Chalkbox tools cover the same core jobs, one at a time or together on one dashboard. ClassroomScreen Pro is worth paying for mainly to save screens. In the guides we publish here at Chalkbox, we examine classroom software so educators understand their options before introducing new tools to students.
| Classroom Job | ClassroomScreen Basic | ClassroomScreen Pro | Chalkbox Tool | Wheel of Names |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Projection Timer | Included (26-widget dashboard) | Included (saved layouts) | Classroom Timer (presets, draining bar, sound) | None |
| Random Name Picker | Randomizer widget (saves up to 3 lists) | Randomizer widget (unlimited saved lists) | Random Name Picker (paste list, uniform random, remove mode) | Wheel of Names (up to 1,000 names, autosaves wheels) |
| Group Maker | Group maker widget (instant grouping) | Group maker widget (screens can be saved) | Random Group Generator (by size or count, printable) | None |
| Noise Level Meter | Sound level widget included | Sound level widget included | Noise Meter (relative 0-100 level, traffic light, alert) | None |
| Scoreboard & Counters | Scoreboard widget included | Scoreboard widget included | Classroom Scoreboard (2-8 teams, saved in browser) | None |
| Saved Screen Layouts | None (no saved screens on Basic) | Saved and shared screens, plus folders | Classroom Dashboard (named screens saved in this browser) | Autosaves wheels locally on device |
Stay on ClassroomScreen Basic if you want several widgets on your projector at the same time. The free tier gives you access to the timer, sound level meter, scoreboard, and randomizer together. The free Chalkbox dashboard also puts these on one screen and saves named screens, but it has 6 widgets to ClassroomScreen's 26. Move to dedicated individual tools if you open your browser just to project a quick timer or draw a student name. A single-purpose tool shows one job on the screen with no dashboard around it.
The Chalkbox Classroom Dashboard gives teachers a projectable multi-widget board that saves separate layouts without an account. ClassroomScreen reserves saved screens for its Pro subscription at $36 per year, but the Chalkbox dashboard lets you create, rename, and switch between named screens directly in your browser. Each screen stores its layout and widget data locally on your computer, meaning your class lists, timer lengths, instructions, and point totals remain ready for the next period.
The board runs up to six core widgets at once:
If you only need a single tool for your projector, standalone pages for the noise meter and the classroom scoreboard run those exact widgets independently without the rest of the board.
The tradeoff lies in scope and device mobility. ClassroomScreen offers 26 widgets on its free tier, plus an annotation bar and remote poll voting. The Chalkbox dashboard includes only six widgets and skips custom themes, background images, folders, and drawing tools entirely. Because the Chalkbox dashboard saves data exclusively in browser storage, nothing syncs across devices, you cannot share a screen layout with a substitute teacher, and clearing browser data erases every saved screen. Teachers who work from one classroom computer and need only these six widgets can save screens without paying for Pro. Teachers who need poll voting or an annotation bar get both on ClassroomScreen Basic, and teachers who need to share saved screens will find ClassroomScreen Pro better suited.
ClassroomScreen offers a free plan called Basic alongside two paid tiers for individual teachers and schools. The ClassroomScreen Basic plan costs $0 and includes all 26 widgets, an annotation bar, remote poll voting, a custom widget bar layout, and a template library. The Basic plan saves only three name lists and has no saved screens, folders or custom backgrounds.
ClassroomScreen Pro costs $3 per month billed annually as a single payment of $36 per year. Pro removes the storage restrictions of the free plan. Pro adds saving and sharing screens, folders and unlimited name lists. It also adds custom backgrounds, pro backgrounds, background carousels, custom widget themes and a 30-day undo. ClassroomScreen also offers an Organization plan for schools and districts. The Organization plan starts at $525 per year for 25 licenses and includes reassignable licenses for administrative management.
ClassroomScreen Pro is worth the $36 annual cost if you teach multiple subjects or class periods and rely on pre-arranged dashboard templates every morning. Teachers who project a daily agenda, an active timer, classroom expectations, and a sound meter simultaneously save prep time by storing those screens in folders. Without Pro, you cannot save a screen, so you rebuild the widget layout each time you need it.
ClassroomScreen Pro is not worth the cost if you use your projector for direct instruction and only occasionally pull up an individual utility. If your teaching routine involves Google Slides, a document camera, or PDF worksheets, paying for a dashboard service makes little sense. Single-purpose utilities for timers, name draws, and group arrangements are available across the web without paywalls.
Our verdict on ClassroomScreen would change if ClassroomScreen locked its core widgets behind the paid plan or removed the three free saved name lists. Because ClassroomScreen Basic includes all 26 widgets, you can do widget work on the free plan. Pay for Pro when rebuilding screens every day costs you class time.
A dedicated classroom timer gives students a clean visual cue during independent practice, timed reading, or lab transitions without the extra panels of a dashboard. A standalone timer in fullscreen mode fills the screen so every student can see the remaining time.
At Chalkbox, we build practical classroom utilities, including the browser-based Chalkbox Classroom Timer. It offers preset countdown buttons for 1, 2, 5, 10, 15, and 20 minutes, as well as a field for custom minute durations. As time runs down, the displayed digits decrease while a bright colored progress bar drains across the screen. You can toggle audio alerts on or off and switch the display into full-screen mode to eliminate desktop distractions. The standalone timer page shows only the timer. To project a timer next to a writing prompt, add both to a screen on the Chalkbox Classroom Dashboard.
Teachers who want broader routines for pacing class periods can consult our guide on classroom management strategies. When you need a quick transition clock and do not need other widgets, a standalone timer avoids dashboard setup entirely. For a fixed length, the 5 minute timer, 10 minute timer and 15 minute timer open already set, with an optional calm music mode.
ClassroomScreen includes a Randomizer widget that selects student names, but the free tier caps your storage at three saved class lists. If you teach four or five class periods, you must delete and re-enter student names or upgrade to ClassroomScreen Pro. Two free pickers below avoid the three-list cap. The standalone Chalkbox picker saves no lists, while the same picker on the Chalkbox dashboard saves one class list per screen.
Wheel of Names offers an animated spinning wheel that displays up to 1,000 names at once. The Wheel of Names FAQ says all features are free without paywalls, and the site shows ads. You can hide the advertisements during class by using the full-screen mode or clicking the temporary close button. Wheel of Names uses cryptographically secure randomness (crypto.getRandomValues), and its FAQ says the spinner cannot be rigged. An Advanced weighted mode does let you make some entries larger on purpose. Wheels autosave directly to your local device, and logging into an account enables cloud saving across computers. To prevent repeat selections, click the Remove button after each spin to take the winning name out of the rotation.
If you prefer a plain list over an animated wheel, the free Chalkbox random name picker lets you paste your student roster into a text box. It selects names with uniform randomness and includes a "Remove after picking" toggle so no student is called on twice until the entire roster has had a turn. The standalone page does not save your list, so you paste your roster each time you open the tab. On the Chalkbox dashboard, the class list stays saved in that browser with no account. For a full breakdown of roster-selection software, explore our review of random name picker alternatives.
The ClassroomScreen group maker widget splits an active student list into small teams on your board. On the Basic plan you cannot save the screen that holds those groups. Saving screens is a Pro feature.
The Chalkbox random group generator provides a dedicated tool for team creation. You paste your student names into the generator, choose whether you want to sort by group size or by total number of groups, and generate balanced teams instantly. If an arrangement pairs students who should work apart, click Make groups again to reshuffle, or use the print option to produce paper copies for table assignments. The standalone Chalkbox group generator does not save rosters between visits. Added to a screen on the Chalkbox dashboard, it keeps the class list and group size in that browser.
For more software comparisons focused on team formation, see our guide on group generator alternatives. If you also need physical desk arrangements, you can pair team lists with our seating chart generator.
ClassroomScreen is the right choice when your teaching style relies on a centralized command center displayed throughout the entire class period. If you want students to walk in to a five-minute entry timer, a sound level meter and a scoreboard, ClassroomScreen Basic shows them in one window.
Standalone tools are the better option when you only project tools during specific lesson transitions. If you spend most of your instructional time in slide presentations or web applications, open a dedicated timer or name picker in its own browser tab when you need it. Try the free ClassroomScreen Basic plan first to see whether you need saved screens before you pay for ClassroomScreen Pro.
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Yes. ClassroomScreen Basic is a free plan that includes access to all 26 widgets, an annotation bar, remote poll voting, and three saved name lists. It does not allow you to save whole screens, create folders, or upload custom backgrounds.
ClassroomScreen Pro costs $3 per month billed annually at $36 per year. It adds saved screens, folders, unlimited name lists, custom backgrounds, background carousels, custom widget themes, and a 30-day undo history.
Yes, the Chalkbox Classroom Dashboard lets you create and save named screens in your browser without an account or a paid subscription. Each screen saves your widget layout, class lists, timer lengths, and instructions locally on that device using localStorage. However, local storage does not sync between computers or create shareable links, and the Chalkbox dashboard has none of ClassroomScreen's custom backgrounds, folders, annotation bar, or poll voting.
ClassroomScreen Pro is worth the $36 annual fee if you build multi-widget morning boards or lesson stations and need to save screens across different class periods. If you only project a single timer, name picker, or group maker on your board, ClassroomScreen Pro is unnecessary because free single-purpose tools handle those jobs without a subscription.
The free Chalkbox classroom timer runs in your browser with presets from 1 to 20 minutes, a custom minute setting and fullscreen. The numbers count down while a colored bar drains. It does not require a user account or an active subscription.