PowerPoint rocked the world when it showed up in 1987 and quickly started edging out cumbersome flip charts and other manual presentation tools. But now, a whole host of exciting PowerPoint alternatives have appeared to fight for the title of the best presentation software out there.
All of these options occupy a niche, and each has its pros, cons, and dedicated fanbases. From classic slide presentation software to non-linear options and simple solutions that fit into your current tech ecosystem, you need to know the market well before making a decision.
That’s why we’ve collected 12 of the top PowerPoint alternatives out there for a close analysis.
1. Prezi — Dynamic, non-linear presentations
Prezi is nothing new in creative presentation software, but it still stands out from both a user and audience perspective. Its non-linear presentation format zooms into the topics you want to explore and reveals strands and nodes that look into more detailed elements.
Prezi is a great all-rounder, but educators and students can really benefit from its ability to go into increasingly fine detail. Drag-and-drop usability makes it one of the easiest digital presentation tools to manage, and you can produce dynamic, visually stunning presentations with very little design skill.
The free version is enough to whet your appetite, with basic features and a selection of templates. However, once you get started, you’ll soon realize that Prezi is designed to be a paid app as many of the cool presentation tools are tantalizingly just out of reach for free users.
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2. Google Slides — Collaborative presentations you can edit in your browser
Like so many Google tools, Slides is incredibly similar to its Microsoft counterpart in its user interface and capabilities. It is heavily based on the classic PowerPoint look and feel, with intuitive usability and plenty of online guides due to its popularity.
In truth, Google Slides doesn’t stand out from the crowd of PowerPoint alternatives too much in terms of presentation software options, but it certainly does in its usability. Based on the cloud, you can collaborate with other approved users in real time, with all drafts kept in the revision history in case you need to look back at previous versions.
Google Slides’ main selling point is that it comes free with a Gmail account, which is ideal for users who want a familiar, and no-nonsense platform. If you’re already a Google user, save presentations on Google Drive and set access permissions for people to edit, suggest, or simply view your file.
3. Keynote — Apple’s alternative to Microsoft PowerPoint
As Google Slides is to the Google ecosystem, so Keynote is to Mac users. A huge amount of themes lay the groundwork for attractive presentations and transitions are very similar to PowerPoint slide presentation software. However, users do say that it’s easier to integrate sounds and videos into Keynote.
In comparison with other PowerPoint alternatives, Keynote doesn’t adapt too well to life outside the Apple ecosystem. With its own file format, it can be complicated to convert directly to Microsoft and Android devices.
As it comes pre-installed on Mac devices, Keynote is a more-than-passable free tool for anything less than the most ambitious presentations. If you’re prepared to constantly export it as a PowerPoint when sending it to others, there’s no need to look elsewhere for your digital presentation tools.
4. Canva — Presentations and much more on a single platform
Canva is a graphic design tool at its core, but it can be adapted to a presentation software option. With a drag-and-drop interface, customizable aspect ratios, and an extensive template library, you can add images, graphics, stock photos, text, and video even if you don’t have design experience.
Canva’s free version offers a great deal of options, although branded logos, colors, fonts, and graphics are behind the paywall. On the plus side, you can export straight to socials, offer a public link to watch it on a browser, or export it in various formats.
Canva Premium is a tempting proposal, with top-quality collaterals, a video background remover, scheduled social posts, and video editing, alongside your trusted brand kit. Even without these features, it’s still easy to create an impressive presentation without upgrading.
5. Microsoft Sway (Web-based) —A fresh twist on traditional slide decks
It might seem strange to see another Microsoft product among our PowerPoint alternatives, but Sway differentiates itself as a presentation rather than a slideshow app. This means it’s based on a continuous “page” as opposed to individual slides, and you build your content on blocks.
Most users use Sway via their browser and it has a much simpler interface designed for fast output. You can’t dig deep into the details of beautiful transitions, but you’re still able to add text, images, videos, audio, and embedded content.
Microsoft Sway excels for educational purposes, as it doesn’t require a presenter. Therefore, your audience can guide themselves through the presentation on their web browser, putting it among the most accessible presentation software options on this list.
6. Visme — Versatile, interactive presentations with generative AI
Visme has jumped on the AI bandwagon with its all-in-one visual design and content-authoring software to generate presentations with a simple prompt. Like templates offered by other PowerPoint alternatives, this helps to cut out needless steps and get to the editing and refining stage more quickly.
Visme goes beyond just cool presentation tools to give you all kinds of graphic design elements, such as infographics, charts and graphs, forms and surveys, documents, and whiteboards. This makes it ideal for data-rich storytelling presentations, particularly to non-technical audiences.
Users often see Visme as alongside the more engaging alternatives to PowerPoint due to its focus on design, but it also works hard behind the scenes. If you step up to the paid versions, you unlock a brand kit, analytics, and a wide array of integrations.
7. Powtoon — Video creation and animation meet presentations
Powtoon has established itself as a specialist in animation and video creation, making it one of the more cooler presentation tools available. You don’t need any design or technical skills to get started, and you can try your hand at animations, whiteboard doodling, screen recordings, custom characters, and cartoons. The amount of movement makes it great for explainer videos and marketing presentations where the objective is to keep your audience engaged.
Powtoon is exclusively a web-based app, which makes editing and delivery relatively easy. Like many more forward-thinking online presentation platforms, it allows you to share your creations directly on social media or download them to your devices for offline presentations.
This free PowerPoint alternative will include its branding on all of your presentations and won’t let you export. As you climb up the pricing tiers, you unlock AI tools like script writing, video assistants, and text-to-speech.
8. Haiku Deck — Visual storytelling with a focus on simplicity
Straight out of the gate, the first thing you need to know about Haiku Deck is that it aims to reduce instances of “death by PowerPoint”. In practical terms, this means the text on your slides is limited, pushing creators to communicate more succinctly and provide a more engaging presentation.
Haiku Deck provides no free version beyond the initial trial but justifies its payment through a massive bank of more than 40 million royalty-free images and thousands of templates. You can set up your company’s branding, embed YouTube videos, and use Haiku Deck’s Zuru AI assistant to speed up the creation process.
All of these features play their part in removing those small, time-consuming tasks that turn presentation building into a chore. Instead, focus your attention on refining the intricacies of your message.
9. Zoho Show — A solid online presentation platform from the Zoho universe
Zoho Show is part of the Zoho Office Suite and provides a collaborative presentation software option with extensive templates. The free version is aimed at individuals and comes with a strong feature list compared to other PowerPoint alternatives, while the Professional Plan has a low starting cost and expands access to other apps in the Zoho Office Suite.
Based on the cloud, Zoho allows you to collaborate on presentations before broadcasting them remotely or publishing them onto your platform. Zoho Show knows its users need more than just text slides, so provides charts, tables, and videos, but doesn’t exactly stand out as a game-changer.
Zoho Show’s main selling point is the fact it has a free version and won’t break the bank when you upgrade. If you’re already a Zoho user, it’s well worth exploring this option, but there are better apps on offer if you’re looking for something radical.
10. LibreOffice Impress — The open-source alternative to PowerPoint
If LibreOffice Impress has a suspiciously similar look and feel to Microsoft PowerPoint, it’s probably because it’s the creative presentation software arm of LibreOffice— a free, open-source alternative to Microsoft Office. This already makes it an attractive proposition for freelancers and teams on a budget, and the fact that it works with the same range of file formats means the differences are pretty slim.
The downside of being open-source is that it doesn’t bring the technical support that Microsoft and other big hitters on this list do. You can’t use it on mobile either, and although presentations are still more suited to a big-screen format, it’s one less channel to present your ideas through.
Still, if you’re looking for a free PowerPoint alternative with customizable templates, dynamic animations and transitions, and compatibility with other presentation formats, you could do a lot worse than LibreOffice Impress.
11. Ludus — The best presentation software for designers
Ludus is a presentation tool created with designers in mind. It integrates seamlessly with popular design apps like Sketch, Figma, and Adobe Creative Cloud, allowing you to import your creations directly into your presentations for high-quality visuals.
Ludus is one of the PowerPoint alternatives on this list that doesn’t have a dedicated free version but there is a 30-day trial to see if it’s worth investing in. Pricing isn’t based on features, it is linked to the amount of users you have on the system. Therefore, if you’re a solo educator, event organizer, or freelancer, you can run presentations without your budget running away from you.
Even so, it is significantly more expensive than other paid online presentation platforms on this list, and it would be difficult to say it deserves the price tag. Many users say the system has stagnated somewhat, with few product updates in recent times.
12. Slides (Slides.com) — Top-quality slides for interactive presentations
Slides.com (not to be confused with Google Slides) is a feature-packed, cloud-based presentation tool that keeps things simple on the user interface. You can live stream, use your phone as a remote control, add freehand annotation, click to get extra information, and much more to make your presentations incredibly interactive.
They’ve made the creation side easy too, with artificial intelligence to refine your writing, generate slides, and automatically animate transitions. If you’re aiming to release your presentation out into the world, a Google Analytics integration will show you key performance metrics and where your viewers are coming from.
The Slides.com free plan comes at the cost of your presentations being publicly viewable and may include ads. This is fine for students presenting to their peers but could look very unprofessional if you’re pitching to clients or investors.
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FAQs
What are the best alternatives to PowerPoint for creating presentations?
The best alternatives to PowerPoint for creating presentations include:
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Prezi
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Google Slides
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Keynote
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Canva
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Microsoft Sway
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Visme
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Powtoon
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Haiku Deck
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Zoho Show
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LibreOffice Impress
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Ludus
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Slides.com
They all offer various features to suit changing presentation needs.
Do alternatives to PowerPoint provide templates and design tools?
Most alternatives to PowerPoint come with a wide range of templates and design tools. These resources help users create professional and visually appealing presentations with ease.
How do PowerPoint alternatives compare in terms of features and usability?
In terms of features and usability, all PowerPoint alternatives allow you to create a presentation. However, they focus on diverse elements such as non-linear presentations (Prezi), interactivity (Visme), and advanced design tools (Ludus).
Usability varies, with many tools offering intuitive drag-and-drop interfaces, customizable templates, and integrations, making them accessible for both beginners and advanced users.
What are some cool presentation tools for making engaging slides?
Cool presentation tools for creating engaging slides include:
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Prezi, for its dynamic, zoomable canvas
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Canva, for its extensive design capabilities and media library
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Powtoon, for adding animations and characters.
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Ludus, for its integration with design tools
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Slides, for its ability to turn data into stories
Can alternatives to PowerPoint be used offline?
Many alternatives to PowerPoint offer offline functionality, allowing you to create and edit presentations without an internet connection. This feature is beneficial for working in environments with limited or no internet access.
