This article has gathered popular presentation software and compared them with their key features. We hope the presented information will help you choose the best service with no additional time lost.
Presentation software
Plans and prices below are described by shape rather than by figure, because every vendor here has changed its tiers more than once. Check the current numbers on the vendor site before you commit.
Canva
Price
- Free use is possible, though templates and pictures without the Free label are charged individually unless you take a monthly subscription.
Advantages
- Simple use. Use Canva as a construction kit: combine fonts, photos, icons, and diagrams in one presentation.
- Out of all services presented in this review, Canva offers the largest number of templates.
- Modern templates reflect the latest design tendencies.
Disadvantages
- Practically no standard templates.
- You cannot change the image size.
General Impression
If you want to create a nice presentation, this presentation software is your choice. With the help of this service, you can create modern and beautiful slides. Canva is convenient and pleasant to use.
Prezi presentation software
Price
- Paid monthly, with several tiers from a modest personal plan up to a business one.
Advantages
- Collaborative work on presentation available.
- Software is available offline, too.
- Slides from PowerPoint can be uploaded and further processed here.
Disadvantages
- During the registration for a trial package, payment information is required.
- Created presentations take much disk space.
General Impression
In Prezi, work is done not on the separate slide but on the whole work zone, where you can put elements (pictures, texts, icons and videos) as you wish to. After you get some kind of construction, you can make a separate slide out of it and set the way of transition to other slides.
Apple Keynote for presentations
Price
- Free
Advantages
- 30 beautiful themes created by designers from Apple.
- Possibility to take ready styles for text or use your own settings for designing slides.
- Synchronization with all your Apple devices: you create your presentation on one device, and it automatically appears on the rest of them.
Disadvantages
- Only for Mac, iPad and iPhone users.
General Impression
Keynote contains everything necessary for creating a solid presentation. Creating slides is equally easy using your computer, tablet or smartphone. It is a perfect solution for Apple users.
Haiku Deck for simple presentations
Price
- Paid annually, with a cheaper individual tier and a pricier professional one.
Advantages
- Maximum intuitive interface.
- Numerous nice templates and over 35 million stock photos.
- The service works fast. When you open the editor, you can immediately draft headlines, pictures and texts to your slides.
Disadvantages
- Even if you want to use the trial period, you need to indicate your payment card details when registering.
- Limited possibility of changing or adjusting slides.
General Impression
This presentation software allows for the creation of elegant and minimalistic presentations. Notwithstanding its simplicity, Haiku Deck contains all necessary functions and the richest library of templates, pictures and diagrams.
SlideDog
Price
- Free with limited features.
- The full features are paid, and there has been both a yearly plan and a one-time purchase.
Advantages
- The app builds presentations that can hold video, images, web pages, text or Excel files alongside the slides themselves.
- Possibility to demonstrate your presentation to colleagues or partners.
Disadvantages
- You should install the application on your computer.
- Only Windows is supported.
General Impression
The app differs from the familiar PowerPoint or Google Slides. Here, you upload different types of files (pictures, videos, presentations) and make a playlist out of them. This is what will make your presentation. The software is easy to master. One of SlideDog’s features is the free use of paid tools for 15 minutes per visit.
Slides presentation software
Price
- Paid monthly, with a personal tier and a team tier above it.
- Free use of the service is possible, but all presentations created will be available for public viewing and use.
Advantages
- Pop-up windows with explanations will help you get acquainted with the service faster.
- A large set of tools for presentation editing.
Disadvantages
- Poor selection of templates.
- Getting acquainted with the service takes more time when compared to, let’s say, Canva or Prezi.
- No mobile version.
General Impression
The work with this presentation software is done online, with no local installation. The Slides interface is complicated and takes time to master, though it contains the whole range of basic tools for creating presentations.
Slidebean
Price
- Paid, from an individual tier up to an agency one at many times the price.
- There is a free plan.
Advantages
- Online support.
- Very easy to use: you add text and pictures, while the software transforms this into a slide.
- Works on any device.
Disadvantages
- Long template loading.
- Limited possibility of customizing the service to meet your preferences.
General Impression
The peculiarity of Slidebean is a separation of design from content. You mess around with the presentation’s content while Slidebean takes care of the design. This is convenient for those willing to quickly prepare a nice and neatly designed presentation without deep diving into technical stuff. Select your template, add text and pictures for each slide into special fields, and your presentation is ready.
Microsoft PowerPoint
Price
- PowerPoint comes as part of the Microsoft Office package.
- Sold either as an annual subscription or as a one-off perpetual licence.
Advantages
- Universal availability: the Office package by Microsoft, which contains PowerPoint, is installed on almost all computers running Windows.
- Popularity. You must have created something using PowerPoint or at least heard of this app.
- The significant number of instruments.
Disadvantages
- Because of the app’s popularity, PowerPoint templates are very recognizable.
- This is why slides can sometimes look boring and stale.
General Impression
PowerPoint is the classic of the category. It first appeared in 1987 and reached Windows in 1990, and the early releases were clumsy enough that the slides people built with them tended to look drab. That has long since changed. Now, using this app, you can create modern, stylish slides, even if you are no designer at all.
Google Slides pros and cons
Price
- Free
Advantages
- Using Google Slides is possible on computers, smartphones and tablets.
- You can work either online or offline with no live Internet connection.
- Collaborative work available: create or edit presentations together with your colleagues.
Disadvantages
- You need a Google account to use the service.
- The theme gallery is modest next to what Canva or PowerPoint offer, though you can adjust backgrounds and fonts to build your own.
- No direct support. You will be looking for answers online yourself.
General Impression
Using this presentation software is easy, because the interface looks much like a regular text editor. Its feature set is limited next to the heavyweights, but a simple presentation that is pleasant and easy to follow is well within reach.
Advantages and disadvantages of PowToon
Price
- Paid monthly, with tiers from individual up to business.
- Free package available.
Advantages
- 24/7 online support.
- A large collection of interesting templates, diagrams, sound effects.
- Working with software is very simple.
Disadvantages
- You cannot create standard static slides here at all.
- The result resembles a video rather than a conventional presentation.
General Impression
PowToon is designed to create animated presentations and videos. With this tool, you can craft captivating and visually stunning presentations.
Summary of presentation software
So, we have covered 10 presentation tools. The services are very diverse in terms of tools, approach to creating presentations, templates, and price. We have spoken about the pros and cons of each of them. Now, you choose.
FAQ
What kinds of presentation-software services are covered here?
We cover a variety of presentation-software services that differ in their tools, approaches to creating presentations, templates, and pricing structures.
How should you choose a presentation software service?
After reviewing the pros and cons of each service you compare your own needs and pick the one that best fits you without wasting extra time.
Why might some presentation-software services feel limited despite being easy to use?
Some services are designed for simplicity and quick results but they offer limited customization options or fewer templates in comparison to more advanced tools.
What is one disadvantage of using a very popular presentation tool?
Because a very popular tool has many users and many templates, presentations created with it can sometimes look generic or "recognizable" rather than fresh and unique.
Can you use presentation-software services regardless of your device or operating system?
Yes, some of the services discussed allow you to work online or offline and on different devices, compatibility or template quality may vary from one service to another.
