A quiz maker with a timer, shuffle, and auto-submit — free.

Whole-quiz timer or per-question timer?

A whole-quiz timer gives participants one countdown for everything, so they can move quickly through easy questions and spend longer on hard ones. This mirrors most school and professional exams, which makes it the natural choice for tests and mock exams where pacing is part of the skill being practised.

A per-question timer gives each question its own countdown. It keeps everyone moving at the same pace, adds energy, and makes looking up answers much harder. It suits trivia, rapid recall checks, and live classroom rounds far better than longer tests with questions that need real working.

How to estimate a fair time limit

The most reliable method is to take the quiz yourself and multiply your time by two or three, because participants read more slowly and think harder than the person who wrote the questions. As a rough guide, simple recall questions need about thirty to sixty seconds, while calculations or scenario questions may need two to three minutes each.

After the first run, check the quiz detail view: if many participants used almost all of the time or ran out, the limit is probably too tight for what you are trying to measure.

What auto-submit protects

When the timer reaches zero, the quiz submits automatically. This matters for fairness in two ways. Participants who run out of time still receive credit for every answer they have already given, rather than losing the whole attempt, and nobody can keep working past the limit simply by leaving the page open.

Tell participants in the quiz description that answers are submitted automatically when time runs out, so they are not surprised and can plan their pace.

Why shuffle questions

Shuffling gives each participant a different question order. In a classroom, it stops neighbours from comparing answers question by question; online, it makes a shared list of answers far less useful to anyone taking the quiz at the same time. It also stops participants from memorising the order of a practice quiz they have taken before.

Shuffling works best when each question stands on its own, so avoid questions that depend on the one before, such as 'Using your answer to question 4…'.

Combining the three settings

For a graded class test, a common combination is a whole-quiz timer, shuffled questions, one attempt, and OTP verification so each result belongs to a verified participant. For a fast trivia round, use a per-question timer, shuffled questions, and a leaderboard to turn it into a game.

For relaxed practice, you might use no timer at all, allow multiple attempts, and leave questions unshuffled so learners can work through topics in a logical order.

Timers and accessibility

Some participants need more time because of learning differences, reading in a second language, or slower devices and connections. If the quiz measures knowledge rather than speed, generous limits are fairer for everyone. For individuals who need extended time, create a copy of the quiz with a longer limit and share that link with them privately.

This keeps conditions equal for the rest of the group while giving every participant a fair chance to show what they know.

Reading time data afterwards

Time taken appears for every participant in the quiz detail view. Very fast completions with low scores often mean guessing; slow completions with high scores may indicate careful but hesitant participants who would benefit from more timed practice. A question that many people skipped may have been too long for the time available.

Use these patterns to adjust both the time limit and the questions for the next version of the quiz.

Timed practice for competitive exams

Students preparing for entrance and recruitment exams need to practise under the exact timing they will face. Start with slightly generous limits on early topic tests, then move to the official time limit on full mock exams. Over a few weeks, most students become noticeably faster and better at judging when to move on from a hard question.

Shuffled questions ensure that each mock still feels fresh, even when some questions are reused.

A quick setup checklist

Before sharing, confirm which timer type you want and that the limit is realistic, that shuffling suits the questions, that the attempt setting matches the purpose, and that the description explains the timer and auto-submit. Then take the quiz once yourself from start to finish to confirm everything behaves as expected before participants see it.