(No affiliate links. No sponsorship. Just cold, hard truth from someone who renews faster than his car insurance.)
I am that idiot who has personally paid for Gimkit Pro every year since 2019.
Not the school. Not a grant. Me. Out of my actual paycheck.
Every August I click “Renew” before I even pay rent because I already know I’ll make that money back in sanity and weekends by October.
Here is the real 2025 breakdown — no fluff, no corporate script.
Free Gimkit Is Still an Absolute Cheat Code (A-grade tool)
If you only ever use free, you are already beating 90% of teachers using edtech.
Free gives you:
- Unlimited live games
- All the best modes (Classic, Trust No One, Boss Battle, Humans vs Zombies, Floor Is Lava)
- Up to 300 students per game (I’ve hit 298 with zero lag)
- Full shop + power-ups
- Homework mode with cash/time goals
- Basic reports
I taught fully remote in 2020–2021 on free only.
Kids screamed, begged for one more round, and learned just as much.
Free Gimkit = fully loaded Honda Civic. Fast, reliable, zero complaints.
Pro = Tesla Plaid.
You don’t need it to win… but once you floor it, you’ll never drive a Civic again.
The 7 Pro Features That Actually Pay for the Entire Subscription
- Unlimited Kits + Folders/Subfolders
Free limit: 5 active kits
My library in 2025: 84 kits and growing
Organized like this:
Spanish 1 → Unit 3 → Ser/Estar Master (412 questions)
Spanish 2 → Survival Spanish → Airport Drama
AP → Literature → Blood Wedding Quote Bank
Free users live in one endless scroll. After kit #6 it becomes unusable. - Kit Collaborator Links (Department Game-Changer)
One Pro account shared across four Spanish teachers.
I build the master → send link → every edit syncs instantly.
Zero “who has the newest version” email chains since 2021. - CSV Import/Export (The single feature that justifies the entire $180)
Export present-tense kit → run through Google Translate sheet → perfect Korean version in 12 minutes for ELL co-teacher.
Export last year’s final → import into Gimkit → review game ready before first bell. - Advanced Reports & Heatmaps
Free = basic bar graph
Pro = spreadsheet that makes data nerds cry happy tears
I can see exactly that 73% of Spanish 2 still uses “estar” for origin and schedule a 6-minute fix before it becomes cancer. - Custom Thumbnails & Backgrounds
Petty but powerful.
My “Preterite Car/Gar/Zar” kit thumbnail is a student crying while holding a conjugation chart.
Kids see it on the join screen and sprint to their seats. - No “Gimkit Basic” Watermark on Assignments
Psychological hack: when homework says “Gimkit Basic,” kids treat it like busywork.
Pro removes it → completion rate jumped from 67% → 93%. - Priority Support (Actually Human, Actually Fast)
10:17 p.m. Thursday email → Josh from Gimkit replies in 7 minutes → kit restored in 14 minutes total.
Free users wait days.
Features That Sound Cool But Aren’t Worth Upgrading For
- More than 5 active assignments (I never have more than 3)
- Audio questions >10 seconds (keep them under 8 anyway)
- Custom game codes (cute, not critical)
- Unlimited images per question (one is plenty)
If these are your main reasons → stay free forever.
2025 Pricing Reality Check
Gimkit Pro yearly: $179.88 ($14.99/month)
= $0.49 per school day
= less than one Starbucks latte per week
I spend more on Expo markers that walk away forever.
Who Should Stay Free Forever
- First-year teachers
- Anyone with <3 preps
- Middle school teachers who need ≤15 kits total
- Districts that block personal payments (looking at you, certain Texas counties)
You’re not missing anything life-changing.
Who Should Upgrade Tomorrow and Never Look Back
- Department chairs
- Teachers with Spanish 1–AP or any multi-level subject
- World language teachers (CSV import/export is cheating)
- AP/IB teachers doing stimulus-based questions
- Anyone who has ever cried deleting an old kit to stay under the free limit
Final Verdict From Someone Who’s Lived Both Lives
Free Gimkit = solid A
Pro Gimkit = A+ with extra credit, glitter pen, and a hall pass
I will never teach another year without Pro because:
- My weekends are mine again
- My kits are immortal
- My department actually shares resources without Google Drive graveyards
- My data tells me exactly what to reteach before it becomes a problem
If you’re still on the fence → use free for the rest of this quarter.
Count how many times you think “I wish I had folders” or “I have to delete something again.”
When that number hits 10, upgrade.
You’ll renew every August for the rest of your career and never regret a penny.
I haven’t.
And I never will.