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How to import questions into Kahoot from a PDF

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Make quiz questions from a PDF, notes or web page and import them into Kahoot with its spreadsheet importer, including Kahoot's length limits and time settings.

Kahoot is great for a lively class quiz, but typing in twenty questions and answers is slow. Kahoot can import questions from a spreadsheet, so if you can get your questions into the right format, you can build a whole kahoot in a couple of minutes. Here is how to do it from a PDF, your notes or a web page.

Step 1: Make the questions

Open the multiple choice question generator and add the reading, chapter or handout your lesson is based on. You can also paste text or give a web page link. Choose how many questions you want and a difficulty that suits your class, and keep the question type on Multiple choice or True or false: those are the types a Kahoot quiz uses. Then press Generate quiz.

Read through the questions before exporting. Taking the quiz yourself is the quickest way, and it shows you how hard it will feel for students.

Step 2: Download the Kahoot spreadsheet

On the quiz page, under Export to, press Kahoot. A spreadsheet (.xlsx) downloads, laid out the way Kahoot's importer expects: the question, up to four answers, a time limit and the number of the correct answer on each row.

Kahoot limits questions to 120 characters and answers to 75. Anything longer is shortened, and the site tells you how many questions were affected so you can tidy them up in Kahoot. Fill-in-the-blank and short-answer questions are left out, because a Kahoot quiz can't use them.

Step 3: Import it into Kahoot

  1. Sign in to Kahoot and create a new kahoot.
  2. Choose Add question, then Import spreadsheet.
  3. Upload the file you downloaded and confirm the questions.
  4. Add a title, cover image and any pictures you want, then save.

Time limits are set to 30 seconds for multiple choice and 20 seconds for true or false. Change them in Kahoot for questions that need more thinking time.

Tips for a better kahoot

  • Keep it to 10 to 15 questions for a lesson starter or plenary; longer games lose energy.
  • Mix easy and hard questions so everyone gets some right early on.
  • Pause after tricky questions to discuss the explanation. It is where most of the learning happens.
  • Share the online version of the same quiz afterwards, so students can retry the questions they missed at home.

Other ways to use the same questions

The same questions can also become a self-marking Google Form, a printable worksheet with an answer key, or a set of flashcards for revision.

Try it with your own PDF. Free, no sign-up, and your file never leaves your device.

Make a quiz

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