Coffee Shop Trivia Your Own Staff Can Run
Most cafes with a quiz night pay a trivia company or a contracted quiz master for it. With Quizado, whoever is not on the machine runs the night with the software, for a fraction of the price. It is quiet, and you do not need to serve alcohol.
Software your staff run, not a host we send. A chalkboard theme for the one TV, one phone for each table.
Your own staff run the night. You stop paying for every show.
One national quiz company starts at $195 a show, on agreements of 16 weeks or more, and the venue supplies the prizes. By our arithmetic, a 16-week agreement at that fee is at least $3,120. Quizado is software your own staff run, for one flat monthly price.
Quizado is not a hosted event, and we do not send a person. Auto-Host runs your trivia night by itself, so no quiz master is needed. Or your bartender runs it from a phone, starting tonight. See the prices.
| A hosted quiz company | Quizado | |
|---|---|---|
| What you pay | A fee for every show. One US national company starts at $195 a show.* | One flat price a month, however many nights you run |
| Four nights a month | $780 at that rate* | The Business plan: see the live price |
| Commitment | Agreements of 16 weeks or more* | Monthly. Cancel when you want, keep the free plan. |
| First night | Lead times from 30 days* | Tonight |
| A second night in the week | A second fee | Included |
| Who hosts | Their host, when one covers your area | Your bartender, your manager or a host you choose |
| Prizes | From the venue | From the venue |
| Teams and results | On their platform | In your account: league, history and guest list |
* From that company's 2026 venue sales sheet. $780 is our arithmetic: 4 shows at $195.
How a night runs in a cafe.
Start early, keep it short, and finish well before closing.
On the chalkboard for good
Keep the same weekday every week and put it on the chalkboard permanently rather than as an event announcement. Regulars need to see the date four or five times before they bring a friend.
All weekStart at six
A pub quiz starts at eight and finishes near eleven. A coffee shop crowd will not do that, and your staff should not have to either. Start at six or half past six.
6:30 pmThree quiet rounds
Everyone Scores is the default: every team answers within the time limit and nothing is a race. Buzzer Race is loud, because people celebrate. Keep it for the last round, or skip it if you share a wall with flats.
6:35 pmDone by half past seven
Eight questions per round and three rounds is twenty-four questions, which is plenty for an hour once you allow for people ordering. A quiz that overruns is worse than one that ends slightly too early.
7:30 pmThe room empties out by four.
A coffee shop earns most of its money before two in the afternoon. The lease, the staff and the machine are paid for all day, but the room empties out by four.
A weekly evening quiz sells filter coffee, pastries, toasties and soft drinks to people who were going to be at home. It is a low-risk experiment: pick a Thursday, tell your regulars, and see who turns up. If nobody comes, you have lost one evening of staffing.
It suits a small room because it makes almost no noise. Questions appear on a screen and on every guest phone, and answers go in by thumb. A cafe with twenty seats and one TV can run a proper quiz without turning into a bar for the evening.
Six things it does for your venue.
Fills a quiet night
A weekly evening event, with no bar needed.
Brings them back
A league that runs itself.
Keeps them for another round
A break slide for coffee and a slice.
Lets you write to your regulars
Players opt in. You send the next quiz night.
Gets you talked about
A post with your name on it, every night.
Keeps the margin
No fee per show. Whoever is not on the machine hosts, for one flat monthly price.
Turn a quiz crowd into regulars.
One good night brings people in once. A season table, the standings in their inbox and a note from your venue give them a reason to come back.
- A league that carries across the weeks. Every Trivia night adds to the season table, so each team has a place to defend next week.
- The standings in their inbox. After each league night, players with a verified email get their team's place and the top five, in your venue's name.
- A note from your venue. Write to the players who opted in about the next game night or an offer, by email and as a notification in the Quizado app.
The full table, the standings mail and messages are part of Business. Your nights count toward the league on every plan.
Three games to start with.
Music Bingo is part of Pro and Business. You hold whatever music licence your venue needs. Quizado does not provide one.
Questions and answers.
What does a weekly trivia night cost?
With a quiz company, a fee for every show: one national company starts at $195 a show, on agreements of 16 weeks or more. With Quizado, one flat monthly price, however many nights you run, billed monthly with no contract. See the prices. The free plan lets you run a real night before you pay.
Who runs the night? Do you send a host?
Auto-Host runs it, or your bartender does. We do not send a person and we do not run events: Quizado is software. Auto-Host runs a trivia night by itself: it opens answering, runs the clock, locks, reveals, scores and moves to the next question, so no quiz master is needed. The questions show on the screen; Auto-Host does not read them aloud. Or your bartender, your manager or any host you choose runs the night from a phone, tablet or laptop, with Host Coach, free on every plan, showing what to do now and one line to say out loud.
How long is a game, and how simple is it to run?
You pick the length. The night builder builds a Trivia night to the length you choose (up to 30 minutes on the free plan), and on a paid plan the AI writes a game of 30 minutes to 2 hours. On the night you press start. With Auto-Host on, Trivia opens answering, runs the clock, reveals, scores and moves to the next question by itself.
How many teams or phones can play?
On the free Home plan, Trivia takes up to 4 player phones a game, with 2 game starts in 24 hours. Teams you score yourself, without phones, are not capped. Paid plans have no limit on players.
Do my guests need an app?
No. They scan the QR code on the screen or type the join code into a browser. No download, no account.
Can the game show on more than one screen?
Yes. Copy the screen link in the host app and open it on each TV or computer, and every screen shows the same game. Chromecast, Apple TV, Android TV and an HDMI cable work too.
Can we run music rounds and themed nights?
Yes. Catch That Tune puts music questions inside Trivia: teams pick the song from a clip. Music Bingo is part of Pro and Business; you hold whatever music licence your venue needs, and Quizado does not provide one. For themed nights there are premium packs such as Halloween Fright Night and 80s Rewind, from Starter up, and on every paid plan the AI writes questions on any topic you give it.
Do I need to serve alcohol to run a trivia night?
No. A quiz is people in your room answering questions on their phones. Serving alcohol is a separate decision with its own local rules. A dry quiz sells coffee, soft drinks and food instead.
Is it too noisy for a small cafe?
Not if you choose the right rounds. Everyone Scores needs no buzzing and no shouting. Skip Buzzer Race if you have neighbours above you, since that is the round where people cheer.
How long should a coffee shop quiz run?
About an hour. Three rounds of eight questions with short breaks fits a six or half past six start and finishes well before a cafe closing time. You choose the number of rounds and set the timers, so the length is yours to set.
Who hosts it if I only have two staff on?
Auto-Host can run a trivia night by itself: it opens answering, runs the clock, reveals, scores and moves on, so nobody has to leave the machine. Or whoever is not on the machine runs it from a phone. Scoring happens automatically, so it is a task you can pick up and put down between orders rather than a performance.
Can I keep the questions family friendly?
Yes. You choose which packs to play, and you can write your own questions on every plan; hosting a pack you wrote needs Pro or Business. If you run an early evening slot for families, review the round before the night the same way you would check a menu.
Does it work without internet?
Trivia needs a connection, because players answer on their phones. Family Face-Off, QuizoParty and Territory run with no internet from the desktop app and the iOS and Android host apps, on a paid plan or in the trial. A browser cannot host offline.
Will a game night bring more people in?
We cannot promise a number, and you should doubt anyone who does. What we can say: a weekly game gives people a reason to choose your venue on a quiet night, the league gives teams a reason to return, and the recap gives them something to post. The free plan lets you test it on a real night before you pay.
Can I contact the players afterwards?
Yes, the ones who agree. A player can opt in on their phone to hear from your venue. On Business you write to those players from Quizado, by email and as a notification in the Quizado app, and you can download the list. League players also get the standings by email in your venue's name.
Pick a Thursday and see who turns up.
Open a ready-made night and put the code on the TV. The free plan needs no card. Choose a plan after you have counted the tables.
