15 Best Presentation Software for 2020 (Full Comparison Guide)

Some of the best presentation software include Visme, Haiku Deck, Prezi, Microsoft Powerpoint, Canva and Google Slides.

In this comparison guide, we’ll analyze each of these tools and many more to understand what the difference is between them. 

This way, you’ll be able to choose the best presentation maker for your business. 

So, if you want to stand out from run-of-the-mill PowerPoint presentations and have a reliable presentation software that will help you collaborate with team members and design stunning slide decks in a fraction of the time, you’ll need this guide. 

Let’s get started.

 

Table of Contents

What is Presentation Software?

Best Presentation Software: A Visual Comparison

1. Visme
2. Prezi
3. Google Slides
4. Keynote
5. Microsoft PowerPoint
6. Ludus
7. Slides
8. Slidebean
9. Zoho Show
10. Beautiful.ai
11. Genially
12. Canva
13. FlowVella
14. Haiku Deck
15. Microsoft Sway

 

What is Presentation Software?

Presentation software, or a presentation program, is a desktop- or cloud-based application that allows the user to present information to an audience using a sequence of multimedia formats, such as images, video, audio and text. This visual presentation can be used to accompany a live talk or speech, or as a standalone slide deck.

The first and most well-known presentation software that any of us has ever used is Microsoft PowerPoint. Along with its competition, Apple’s Keynote, these two are still widely used.

Nevertheless, the necessity for easier and more accessible presentation software brought along the great collection of choices we have now.

 

Best Presentation Software: A Visual Comparison

When choosing the right presentation software for your projects, there are some things to consider:

• Does the price point fit your budget?
• Is it easy to use?
• Who is the program geared at: businesses, educators, bloggers or social media managers?
• Does it have lots of templates to choose from? Are they good quality and helpful?
• Is the built-in graphic asset library extensive and varied?
• Can you embed content, add videos or GIFs?
• Can you add audio to your presentations?
• Can elements be animated?
• Is it desktop or cloud-based?
• Can you use it to create presentations on any of your devices?
• Can finished presentations be viewed offline?
• Can you have team accounts or business accounts for easy collaboration inside your company?
• Does it include a Brand Kit? Is it easy to use?
• Can the finished presentation be shared online straight from the presentation software?
• Can your presentations be uploaded to the cloud privately with password protection?
• Does the presentation software include analytics to see how your projects perform on social media?
• Can you use the finished presentation as a lead generator straight from the software?

We will look at all these aspects in the following list of best presentation software so you can make your own well-informed decision.

 

1 Visme

Last updated on October 8, 2020.

Visme is one of the most complete presentation software available online.

Making professional presentations is easy and straightforward. Pretty much everything can be customized or moved around. That is not all that Visme can do, though.

You can also use Visme to create other visual content, such as infographics, reports and interactive charts. There are tons of customizable templates that come built-in with the software.

Price Tag

Visme can be used for free to test it out for as long as you want. With a free account, you can create up to three projects.

To access all of Visme's capabilities, you can upgrade to one of the paid plans.

• Standard: $15/month
• Business: $25/month
• Enterprise: Custom

If you're a nonprofit organization, you may qualify for a discount. Visme also offers separate Education plans for students and teachers.

 

Ease of Use

Visme is quite easy to use. Switching from slide to slide is a breeze, and you can even save a slide in the slide library to reuse later.

The editor comes with a handy sidebar that lets you browse graphics and data tools, and drag and drop relevant ones onto your slides. You can also use the search bar to quickly find what you need.

 

Who Is It For

Visme is pretty much for everyone. From large businesses, small companies and nonprofits to educators, students and bloggers.

 

Template Options

The template options in Visme are extensive and varied in style. From minimalistic to photographic, there are many presentation styles to pick from.

Presentation Templates

Red Background Template

Light Blue Background Template

Low Poly Background Template

Black and Green Background Template

Gray Background Template

Dard Purple Background Template

Create your presentation View more templates

You can choose from dozens of fully designed presentations tailor-made for specific industries and topics, or mix-and-match hundreds of slide layouts by choosing a presentation theme.

You can also start with a blank canvas, add new blank slides to existing presentation templates, and save custom slides to use later as your own templates.

 

Graphic Assets Library

The graphic library in Visme includes thousands of free icons, illustrations, stock photos, videos, charts and graphs to include in your presentations.

The best part is that every graphic asset that comes built-in with the Visme editor is fully customizable. Resize, rotate or change colors to fit your brand, content and theme.

 

Videos and GIFs

It is easy to insert or embed videos and GIFs inside a Visme presentation. Browse a selection of animated illustrations and characters to make your presentations engaging.

 

Audio

Adding audio to a presentation is easy on Visme. Either along with a video or as the audio on its own. You can also record a voice over.

 

Embed Third-Party Content

There is more content that can be embedded into Visme presentations, like polls, quizzes, forms and any content that can be turned into code to insert in an iframe.

 

Animations

Features inside Visme presentations can be animated. An animation button gives options as to what can be done with animations, from “flying in” to “fading out” and more.

 

Desktop or Cloud

Visme is an online cloud-based app that can be easily used on your computer.

 

Data Widgets

Visme offers a wide selection of data widgets that allow you to creatively visualize statistics and figures in the form of gauges, clocks, pictographs and icon arrays.

 

Offline Viewing

Finished presentations can be viewed offline in four different formats.

The best option is to download it as an HTML 5 file, that way it will maintain all the animations when opened on Google Chrome, even without internet.

Downloading as an HTML 5 file is a premium feature. Presentations can be also downloaded as a collection of JPG or PNG images, as a PDF or as an editable PowerPoint file.

 

Collaboration Possibilities

Visme has a premium teams plan that lets all team members customize and complete projects together.

 

Brand Kit

Visme has a brand kit feature to keep your presentations on brand when your teams are working together.

 

Share to Social Media

Once a presentation is finished, it can be shared to social media seamlessly right from the editor. It can also be downloaded.

 

Privacy and Password Protection

Presentations on Visme can be published privately with password protection so that only the people you want can access it. It is advisable to only use strong passwords for this purpose. There are a few free password managers that could help you do that and keep your account secure.

 

Analytics

When a presentation is shared to social media it can be analyzed for views and sharing.

 

Lead Generation

You can add a signup form to your presentations to collect leads that could potentially become clients.

 

2 Prezi

Last updated on October 8, 2020.

Prezi offers a great alternative to the traditional presentation format that goes slide by slide. The creative idea behind Prezi is you can create an animated, non-sequential flow with topics and subtopics that are hidden until you zoom in.

While Prezi's interface can be slightly complicated to use, it's a good option for people who need to add a creative touch to their presentations.

 

Price Tag

Prezi is free for basic capabilities and limited templates.

For the paid plans, there are three tiers.

• Standard: $3/month
• Plus: $7/month
• Premium: $59/month

There are separate plans available for students and teachers.

 

Ease of Use

Prezi has a slight learning curve, but once you create a couple of presentations, you get the hang of it. However, it doesn't offer too much customizability inside the templates.

 

Who Is It For

Businesses and educators who are in need of a different style of presentation. Prezi offers a “conversational style” of zooming and moving around between information. So, who Prezi is for really depends on who needs this sort of presentation style.

 

Template Options

There are plenty of templates to choose from, and you can also start from scratch. The templates are different in color and style, but the idea of zooming into topics and subtopics is the same.

 

Graphic Assets Library

The assets library has some icons and shapes available, the usual ones like arrows and buttons. Images can only uploaded from your computer.

 

Videos and GIFs

Videos can be uploaded or embedded from YouTube. Embedded videos are not viewable in offline mode. GIFs aren’t supported.

 

Audio

Voice over can be added in premium plans.

 

Embed Third-Party Content

No other content can be embedded into Prezi presentations.

 

Animations

Prezi is all about animations between topics and subtopics. The presentations themselves are viewed as animations.

 

Desktop or Cloud

Prezi is a cloud app but can be accessed to view offline with premium plans.

 

Available to Create on Multiple Devices

Prezi presentations can only be created on a computer but can be viewed on all devices.

 

Collaboration Possibilities

Prezi for teams is available upon demand and has a Slack integration.

 

Brand Kit

Brand Kits aren’t possible inside Prezi but each presentation can be customized to fit your brand with color customizations and some available fonts.

 

Share to Social Media

Prezi presentations can be shared to social media via a special share button at the top-right of the Prezi page. They can be shared to Linkedin, Facebook and Twitter.

 

Offline Viewing

Prezi presentations can only be downloaded from the Prezi app. There are two options, as an EXE file for PC and a ZIP file for Mac. Presentations can then be viewed without internet connection or the need to connect to the Prezi app.

 

Privacy and Password Protection

Presentations are public unless you have a paid account.

 

Analytics

Analytics are available with premium accounts but it only applies to Prezi presentations you share via a link to someone.

 

Lead Generation

There are no lead generation capabilities with Prezi.

 

3 Google Slides

Last updated on October 8, 2020.

Google Slides is the presentation software available via your Google account. Just like you can create documents and spreadsheets with Google Docs and Sheets, you can create presentations with Google Slides.

The setup is very similar to PowerPoint and is free to use for anyone with a google account. There is a business version called G Suite, which includes the same things with more storage and management capabilities.

 

Price Tag

Google Slides is free to use for anyone with a Google account. All features are available to everyone.

There are plans for business accounts so that teams can be created and information can be managed in a more organized way. Plans start at $6/user/month and go up to $18/user/month.

 

Ease of Use

Google Slides is very easy to use. The controls are very similar to docs and sheets.

 

Who Is It For

Business professionals, educators and students who need fast and easy access to a presentation software that can get things done.

 

Template Options

There is a general collection of templates, but there are not very many. Presentations can also be started from scratch.

 

Graphic Assets Library

The graphic assets are average and simple. The shapes are classic and generic. Photographs can be uploaded from your desktop, your Google Drive, a URL or searched online.

 

Videos and GIFs

Videos can uploaded with a YouTube link or from Google Drive. GIFs can be added just like images.

 

Audio and Embed Third-Party Content

Anything from your Google Drive can be added in. Also there are some available “add-ons” that can be integrated for icons, stock photography and audio.

 

Animations

Elements inside each slide can be animated and so can the transition between the slides.

 

Desktop or Cloud

Google Slides is a cloud-based program.

 

Available to Create on Multiple Devices

Google Slides can be used fully on any device with their respective apps for Android and iPhone. Presentations can be edited and viewed on all devices.

 

Collaboration Possibilities

Collaborating with other people is easy with Google Slides

 

Brand Kit

There is no brand kit feature.

 

Share to Social Media

Presentations can be shared via email or link.

 

Offline Viewing

Google Slides can be viewed offline with a Chrome Extension and the use of Backup and Sync.

 

Privacy and Password Protection

Presentations can be shared privately, but there are no password capabilities, only invitations.

 

Analytics and Lead Generation

These features are not available.

 

4 Keynote

Last updated on October 8, 2020.

Keynote is the native Apple presentation software — one of the original PowerPoint Alternatives. Anyone with an Apple ID can use the Keynote editor. It is the most similar to PowerPoint and also Google Slides.

 

Price Tag

Keynote is free for downloading and also accessing via the cloud with an apple ID.

 

Ease of Use

If you know how to use PowerPoint or Google Slides, Keynote is a breeze.

 

Who Is It For

Keynote is good for businesses, educators and anyone who needs a practical presentation software.

 

Template Options

The templates are limited but come in standard or wide sizes. Templates can also be found outside of Keynote and uploaded into the program.

 

Graphic Assets Library

There are plenty of classic symbols and icons available which are also customizable in terms of color and gradient. Images can only be added from your computer.

 

Videos and GIFs

Videos are not embeddable in Keynote slides but that is sorted with a plug-in like LiveSlides. GIFs can be added as .gif images.

 

Audio

You can upload existing audio files in Keynote to play on specific slides. There's also an option to record your own voiceover to create a narrated presentation.

 

Embed Third-Party Content

Including these is not available

 

Animations

Slides and objects can be animated in a number of ways, including path creation, scaling, bounce or jiggle effects, and more.

 

Desktop or Cloud

Keynote is available on both desktop and cloud.

 

Available to Create on Multiple Devices

You can create keynote presentations on any apple device and PC.

 

Offline Viewing

Keynote presentations can be downloaded as .pdf or as .pptx to view offline.

 

Collaboration Possibilities

Keynote presentations can be collaborated on via a link or email with permission settings set to “can make changes”.

 

Brand Kit, Share to Social Media, Analytics and Lead Generation

None of these are available on Keynote.

 

Privacy and Password Protection

Presentations are private until shared and there is no password protection capabilities.

 

5 Microsoft PowerPoint

Last updated on October 8, 2020.

This list wouldn't have been complete without the most popular presentation software in the world. Even though there are tons of more advanced tools out there now, PowerPoint is still a favorite of many because of its familiarity, ease of use and availability.

 

Price Tag

The desktop-based PowerPoint program is part of Microsoft 365, which has different plans for businesses that start from $5/month and go up to $20/month.

You can download PowerPoint online for free on any device, including on mobile.

 

Ease of Use

Most, if not every, computer user knows how to work a PowerPoint. The traditional sidebar interface is easy to use simply because it's familiar. But for people who are using PowerPoint for the first time, there might be a slight learning curve.

 

Who Is It For

Businesses, individuals, students, teachers and anyone who uses a Windows PC or device. PowerPoint is also a good fit for people who want to create simple, conventional presentations, and aren't looking for fancy new features or capabilities.

 

Template Options

There are dozens of themes that come built-in with PowerPoint, and there are all customizable so you can play around with the styles.

 

Graphic Assets Library

You can browse stock images, icons, stickers and more by searching for relevant keywords in PowerPoint's graphic library.

 

Videos and GIFs

Videos and GIFs can be uploaded from your computer. You can also embed videos from YouTube and other online sources. However, this feature is only available to Windows users.

 

Audio

You can upload audio files from your computer. You can also record audio directly inside PowerPoint, and edit the settings for playback.

 

Embed Third-Party Content

You can embed files created in other Microsoft Office applications, such as charts created in Excel, or any other programs that support Object Linking and Embedding (OLE.)

 

Animations

There are tons of animation and transition options available in PowerPoint, which can actually get confusing at times. However, if you know your way around these options, it gets easier to create a professional-looking slideshow.

 

Desktop or Cloud

There are both desktop and cloud versions of PowerPoint available.

 

Available to Create on Multiple Devices

You can download the PowerPoint mobile apps on both Android and iOS devices.

 

Collaboration Possibilities

It's possible to share your presentation with specific people.

 

Brand Kit

Brand kits are not available, but you can save custom themes.

 

Share to Social Media

Presentations cannot be shared to social media.

 

Offline Viewing

You can download your PowerPoint presentations in various formats, including PPTX and PDF. This makes it easy to access them on any device offline.

 

Privacy and Password Protection

You can mark your presentations as read-only to prevent users from editing the file.

 

Analytics

This feature is not available in PowerPoint.

 

Lead Generation

This feature is not available in PowerPoint.

 

6 Ludus

Last updated on October 8, 2020.

Ludus is one of the best-looking presentation tools available online. The main attractions with Ludus are the clean black screen to edit on and the amount of integrations that give importing capabilities for all sorts of content. From photography, to .svg to code builds.

 

Price Tag

The free plan is pretty extensive but doesn’t include collaborations or offline viewing. The Pro plan is $99/year and the Team plan is $49/month.

 

Ease of Use

Ludus is quite easy to use and includes lots of keyboard shortcuts. It is easy to learn how to use and pretty straightforward. It seems to be easier for designers than for non-designers to use.

 

Who Is It For

This presentation software is geared more towards designers or business owners who have some design knowledge to totally be able to use the broad capabilities.

 

Template Options

There are no templates to choose from. You have to start from scratch or use Smart Blocks that you can create to use over and over easily. Smart blocks are kept in their own library.

 

Graphic Assets Library

Ludus has minimal in-house graphic assets like simple shapes, but the integrations are epic. You can import .svg icons and edit them inside Ludus quite easily. Photos can also be imported via Unsplash, Instagram, Facebook or uploaded.

 

Videos and GIFs

Videos and GIFs are easily imported via the integrations like YouTube, Vimeo, Giphy and more.

 

Audio

Audio can be embedded as an audio file from SoundCloud, Dropbox and other integrations.

 

Embed Third-Party Content

You can pretty much embed anything into Ludus. The integrations are impressive and there are also iframe and HTML options.

 

Animations

Internal elements can’t be animated but there are so many integrations that animations can be done in different ways.

 

Desktop or Cloud

Ludus is a cloud-based app. No need to download anything.

 

Available to Create on Multiple Devices

Presentations can only be edited on computers. Finished presentations can be viewed on all handheld devices that have access to the internet via a URL link.

 

Collaboration Possibilities

Collaborations are possible with the team plans.

 

Brand Kit

With collaborations and smart blocks, a brand kit can be organized quite easily. But it’s not an internal feature.

 

Share to Social Media

Finished presentations can be easily shared to social media straight from Ludus.

 

Offline Viewing

Ludus presentations can be downloaded as .pdf or .html to be viewed offline.

 

Privacy and Password Protection

Pro Plans have password protection.

 

Analytics and Lead Generation

There are no analytics or lead generation capabilities available in Ludus.

 

7 Slides

Last updated on October 8, 2020.

Slides is the only presentation software which promotes itself as being “pixel perfect” as the editor includes a built-in grid to help with composition. Slides has a lower cost at the highest price tag which is good for smaller businesses.

 

Price Tag

Slides is free to use, but finished presentations will be public and available to see and copy in the Browse / Explore tab.

The paid plans start at $5/month and go up to $20/month for features like unlimited collaborators, privacy, shared media library and Google Analytics.

 

Ease of Use

Slides is very easy to use, the editing board is minimal but all tools are at easy reach. No need to get confused with Slides. There are no templates so presentations are built from scratch.

 

Who Is It For

Small business owners or startups. Individuals that know what they want and don’t need templates to help them along. Also for developers because it has HTML and CSS building capabilities.

 

Template Options

There are no templates available. Finished presentations (decks) can be cloned and edited.

 

Graphic Assets Library

The available shapes and icons are common and minimal. Photos have to be uploaded or imported from a URL.

 

Videos and GIFs

Videos and GIFs are easy to add. Videos can be uploaded or linked and GIFs can be uploaded as .gif or .mp4 as video.

 

Audio

Including audio is not possible with Slides.

 

Embed Third-Party Content

Anything with code can be added in an iframe.

 

Animations

All elements and features can be animated to fade in, fade out etc. Length of duration can be customized.

 

Desktop or Cloud

Slides is a cloud-based presentation software that can only be used online.

 

Available to Create on Multiple Devices

Slides can be used on the computer and handheld devices. To edit and to view.

 

Collaboration Possibilities

Paid plans have very capable collaboration possibilities.

 

Brand Kit

There is no set section for a brand kit but branded decks can be created and then cloned to use as a template.

 

Share to Social Media

Yes, quite easily.

 

Offline Viewing

A Slides presentations can be downloaded as a ZIP file with an .html file inside that can be viewed offline on any browser.

 

Privacy and Analytics

Possible with paid plans.

 

Lead Generation

This is not possible on Slides.

 

8 Slidebean

Last updated on October 8, 2020.

Slidebean is an easy-to-use presentation software with interesting templates and customizable content blocks.

The highlight of this presentation software is that it uses artificial intelligence (AI) to help you put together the best possible slide layouts and configurations.

 

Price Tag

The free plan has limited capabilities but it's enough to see how Slidebean works. To export your presentation, you'll need to upgrade.

There are three price levels from $8/month to $19/month to $149/month. The last one is the Founder's Edition plan, which includes help from the experts on your presentations.

 

Ease of Use

Slidebean is quite easy to use. You can choose between templates or start from scratch. Adding content is simple and to the point from a a pop up.

Editing can be done in outline or design mode. The editing is limited to how the content blocks are set up, but there are lots of choices. There's no free size changing or moving around.

 

Who Is It For

Startups, small businesses and entrepreneurs.

 

Template Options

There are plenty of template options. They are organized in sections and niche. The template collection has presentations by known brands like Snapchat and Buzzfeed.

 

Graphic Assets Library

There are plenty of icons and images to choose from. However, there are no shapes, but icons can be used as shapes.

 

Videos and GIFs

GIFs can be added via the Giphy integration in a content block. Video can be added in the paid plans.

 

Audio

There are no audio capabilities.

 

Embed Third-Party Content

The code snippet content block has lots of options so a lot of different kinds of third-party content can be added in.

 

Animations

Content blocks and their elements can be animated with a couple features.

 

Desktop or Cloud

Slidebean is an online program on the cloud.

 

Available to Create on Multiple Devices

It can be used to edit or view on any device.

 

Collaboration Possibilities

Collaboration is possible in the paid plans.

 

Brand Kit

This feature is available in the paid plans.

 

Sharing to Social Media

This feature is available in the paid plans.

 

Offline Viewing

Slidebean presentations can be exported to download as both .pdf and .html files to view offline.

 

Privacy and Password Protection

This feature is not available.

 

Analytics

Analytics are available in the paid plans.

 

Lead Generation

This feature is not available.

 

9 Zoho Show

Last updated on October 8, 2020.

Zoho Show is a presentation software that mimics Microsoft PowerPoint in the way it is set up, with a menu up top for all the actions. However, Zoho's version is much nicer and polished.

Zoho is a complete CRM for businesses and the company offers different types of apps for teams and office use — Zoho Show is only one of their programs.

 

Price Tag

Creating a presentation with Zoho Show is free for up to 5 users. For more professional features and storage, paid plans start from $4/user/month and go up to$6.4/user/month.

 

Ease of Use

Zoho Show is pretty easy to use. The content blocks can be chosen as themes but they can also be moved around freely and resized. The presentation can be viewed in three ways, with a handy grid view to see all slides next to each other.

 

Who Is It For

Businesses, entrepreneurs, educators and students. Anyone who needs to make a presentation.

 

Template Options

There aren’t exactly templates, but there are themes. These do not come with images or lorem ipsum but are more like visual canvases that can be customized in terms of color, layout and more.

 

Graphic Assets Library

The shapes are pretty good, there are quite a bit to choose from. An added bonus is the possibility to draw shapes or scribble anything yourself with the trackpad.

 

Videos and GIFs

Videos can be added via the YouTube integration and GIFs can be added as an image.

 

Audio

Audio can be added via Soundcloud with an embed code.

 

Embed Third-Party Content

There are a number of sites that are supported via Embed codes but not that many. Zoho Show says that you can ask your needs to be added in the permitted list.

 

Animations

All elements and transitions can be animated.

 

Desktop or Cloud

Zoho Show is a cloud bases program and can be broadcast from anywhere and on any device. The live broadcast includes a chat window and the audience can download the presentation if they want to.

 

Available to Create on Multiple Devices

You can only create presentations on a computer.

 

Collaboration Possibilities

Teams can easily use Zoho Show, even in the free version.

 

Brand Kit

Custom branding is only available in the highest paid plan.

 

Share to Social Media

Sharing to social media is not possible, unless downloaded as a PDF file and then uploaded to something like SlideShare.

 

Offline Viewing

Presentations can be downloaded as .pptx or .pdf files for offline viewing.

 

Privacy and Password Protection

Yes, this is possible on all plans.

 

Analytics

Analytics are possible on the paid plans.

 

Lead Generation

This feature is not available.

 

10 Beautiful.ai

Last updated on October 8, 2020.

Beautiful.ai is a presentation software that helps you create great-looking slides with the help of Artificial Intelligence. This means that your presentation will look professional every single time, regardless of who designs it.

 

Price Tag

There's a free plan with plenty of features. But there's a catch — you can't remove Beautiful.ai's branding from your presentations. To do that, you'll need to upgrade to one of the paid plans.

Beautiful.ai currently offers a Pro plan at $12/month and a Team plan at $38/month.

 

Ease of Use

This is probably the best thing about Beautiful.ai — it's incredibly simple to use. All you need to do is add smart slides, plug in your content, and choose from different preset layouts.

Of course, that also means that you have limited customization options. But if you're looking for a simple solution and you don't trust your design skills, this may be a good option for you.

 

Who Is It For

Beautiful.ai is a great tool for absolute beginners and non-designers who are looking for a no-nonsense presentation software.

For example, startups and entrepreneurs can use this software to create a nice-looking pitch deck or proposal quickly without any design help.

 

Template Options

There are a handful of slide themes available, but they're mostly basic in terms of design. You can play around with the layouts inside each theme to put together a unique presentation.

 

Graphic Assets Library

The graphic assets library comes with a bunch of free stock photos and icons to choose from, but the options are pretty limited.

 

Videos and GIFs

Videos and GIFs can be uploaded from your computer. You can also import videos from YouTube and Vimeo to embed in your slides.

 

Audio

Audio can be uploaded from your computer.

 

Embed Third-Party Content

It's not possible to embed third-party content into Beautiful.ai presentations. However, you can add interactive links to your slides.

 

Animations

Each slide comes with a preset animation style that you're unable to customize. However, you can change the speed, timing and triggers for the animations. 

 

Desktop or Cloud

Beautiful.ai is a cloud-based application.

 

Available to Create on Multiple Devices

The software only works on your desktop computer.

 

Collaboration Possibilities

You can invite people to collaborate on your presentation by either giving them "view" or "edit" access. Collaborators must have a Beautiful.ai account to view or edit the presentation.

 

Brand Kit

While there's no brand kit feature available, you can customize a theme (colors and fonts) and save it to your library to use in future presentations.

 

Share to Social Media

There are several options to share your presentations. Send an email invite, share a public or private link, generate an embed code or share directly to social media.

 

Offline Viewing

You can export your presentations to PDF or PowerPoint to view offline.

 

Privacy and Password Protection

There is no password protection, but you can use the Secure Viewing option to only share your presentation with other Beautiful.ai users via an email invite.

 

Analytics

This feature is only available in the paid plans. You can access a number of viewing and usage statistics for your presentations.

 

Lead Generation

This feature is not available in Beautiful.ai.

 

11 Genially

Last updated on October 8, 2020.

The main idea behind the Genially presentation software is interactivity.

This program is good not only for presentations and video presentations, but also for other visual graphics. It’s great for adding a modern, interactive feel to your presentations.

 

Price Tag

There is a free plan in Genially, which gives you unlimited creations but limited resources.

There are two types of paid plans; education and professional. The education plans start at $1.25/month and go up to $20.82/month. The professional plans start at $7.49/month and go up to $79.15/month. You can also ask for custom plans by reaching out.

 

Ease of Use

Genially is easy to use if you are accustomed to programs with lots of choices. There is a lot that can be done with the features in Genially.

Any change can be applied to all slides with a single click of the button in the menu. When editing, there is a ‘design view’ and a ‘layers view’.

 

Who Is It For

Professionals and educators of any field who can benefit from interactive presentations.

 

Template Options

There are plenty of template options. Some are free and some are only available via the premium plans. Presentation templates are also available as ‘video presentations.’

 

Graphic Assets Library

The graphic assets in Genially are quite varied, there is plenty to choose from. Images can be uploaded or found on the Pixabay integration.

 

Videos and GIFs

Videos can be added via a YouTube link and GIFs can be imported with the Giphy integration.

 

Audio

Audio can be uploaded from your computer, added via SoundCloud and a couple of other integrations, or recorded directly in Genially.

 

Embed Third-Party Content

Third party content can be added to your presentations with Genially integrations. For example, you can add an interactive map via Google Maps.

 

Animations

All elements can animated as can the transitions between slides. Animation effects are quite extensive. There is a similar tab called “interactivity” which are pop-ups and hyperlinks supplied with lots of button choices.

 

Desktop or Cloud

Genially is a cloud based presentation program.

 

Available to Create on Multiple Devices

This program is only available to edit on computers but can be viewed on any device.

 

Collaboration Possibilities

It seems that a professional plan allows 5 team members, but the pricing plan shows that all plans have collaborative capabilities. Collaborators can be added in the dashboard where  all creations are stored.

 

Brand Kit

Brand kits are available in the premium plans. It is an internal feature with easy access.

 

Share to Social Media

Finished presentations can be shared to social media.

 

Offline Viewing

Finished presentations can be downloaded as a set of .jpg images, as a .pdf or as an .html5 file which will keep all animations.

 

Privacy and Analytics

Premium plans have these features.

 

Lead Generation

This is not available in Genially.

 

12 Canva

Last updated on October 8, 2020.

Canva is not only a presentation software, but also a full editing program for all visual needs. Presentation creation is only one of the possibilities with Canva. It has become a favorite with bloggers and home-based businesses.

 

Price Tag

The free version of Canva is pretty extensive.

The only restrictions are the use of premium resources that can be either bought separately or through the Canva Pro plan. Canva Pro is charged at $9.95/month.

 

Ease of Use

Canva is easy to use as all elements are easy to find and are mostly customizable. Presentations are viewed scrolling; there is no master view and you can’t change something on all slides at once.

 

Who Is It For

Bloggers, small home based businesses and startups

 

Template Options

There are lots of customizable template options, and each slide inside the templates can be used individually.

 

Graphic Assets Library

There are plenty of options in the graphic assets library, including shapes, icons, photos, frames and stickers. Some are free while others are paid.

 

Videos and GIFs

Videos and GIFs can be uploaded to Canva.

 

Audio

You can add music to your presentations using the available options inside Canva.

 

Embed Third-Party Content

Canva offers dozens of integrations and media embed options, including YouTube, Google Maps, Vimeo, Pinterest, Tumblr, Twitter and more.

 

Animations

There are several animation options that apply to entire slides inside Canva. You can also add animated stickers to your slides.

 

Desktop or Cloud

Canva is a cloud-based app. Presentations can be seen on any device.

 

Available to Create on Multiple Devices

Canva is available as an iPhone app and an android app for editing capabilities.

 

Collaboration Possibilities

Presentations can be shared for editing with team members.

 

Brand Kit

Canva Pro has a brand kit feature.

 

Share to Social Media

Presentations can be shared to Twitter and Facebook.

 

Offline Viewing

Presentations can be downloaded as a group of .png or .jpg images or as a .pdf. You can also download it as an MP4 video for offline viewing.

 

Privacy and Password Protection

All designs on Canva are private unless they are made public or shared via a link. There is no password protected sharing though.

 

Analytics and Lead Generation

These features are not available in Canva.

 

13 FlowVella

Last updated on October 8, 2020.

FlowVella is a downloadable presentation software that can be used offline. The main attraction of FlowVella is the Kiosk Mode in which you can create interactive presentations like they ones used in museums or information counters at malls or hotels.

 

Price Tag

FlowVella is free to try out. You can use it free forever but the options are limited and the finished presentations has a watermark.

 

Ease of Use

FlowVella is pretty easy to use, the controls are straightforward and uncomplicated.

 

Who Is It For

This presentation software is for professionals and educators that need to be able to create presentations offline. Also for those who can take advantage of the Kiosk Mode.

 

Template Options

The template options are quite varied and well designed.

 

Graphic Assets Library

The graphic assets library is very limited. Photographs and images need to be uploaded from your computer.

 

Videos and GIFs

Videos can be uploaded or found via the YouTube, iCloud and Dropbox integrations when online. GIFs can be added as images.

 

Audio

Audio can be uploaded from your computer, or added via iCloud or Dropbox.

 

Embed Third-Party Content

You can add PDF files.

 

Animations

Only the transitions are animated minimally.

 

Desktop or Cloud

This is a desktop based application. It must be downloaded.

 

Available to Create on Multiple Devices

There are iPad and device apps available for editing on those devices as well.

 

Collaboration Possibilities

Paid premium plans can work with teams.

 

Brand Kit

Brand kits are not available.

 

Share to Social Media

Presentations can be shared on Facebook and Twitter.

 

Offline Viewing

Since this is a desktop application, offline viewing is not a complication.

 

Privacy and Analytics

These features are available in the paid plans. Analytics can be viewed once the presentation has been published online.

 

Lead Generation

This feature is not available on FlowVella.

 

14 Haiku Deck

Last updated on October 8, 2020.

Haiku Deck is a presentation software that is straightforward with a simple interface that makes quick and practical presentations. Presentations can be created on the computer and on mobile devices.

 

Price Tag

Haiku Deck can be tried for free with one available presentation. The Public plan is USD 7.99 a month, Pro plans are USD 9.99 a month billed annually and USD 19.99 billed monthly, and Premium plans are USD 29.99 a month.

 

Ease of Use

Haiku Deck is quite easy to use and menus are easy to follow. There are word size limiters and specific text placement choices for each slide. Charts are simple to create and can be customized. The editor can be connected via cloud to all devices. The new addition, Zuru, is an Artificial Intelligence system that creates creative presentations from simple PowerPoint files or outlines.

 

Who Is It For

The Haiku Deck presentation software is geared mostly at educators and classrooms. Businesses and bloggers can also use it for practical purposes.

 

Template Options

Templates on Haiku Deck are more like an inspiring collection of photographs for a specific niche with some suggestions on where to place the text and what charts to include.

 

Graphic Assets Library

The available graphic assets library in Haiku Deck are millions of photographs, numerous font choices and charts and graphs.

 

Videos and GIFs

YouTube videos can be embedded easily in a Haiku Deck. GIFs cannot be added to Haiku Decks but a finished presentation can be turned into a video or into a GIF.

 

Audio

Narrations and voice overs are easily recorded on a presentation in Haiku Deck.

 

Embed Third-Party Content

Only videos can be embedded.

 

Animations

Features can't be animated in Haiku Deck

 

Desktop or Cloud / Available to Create on Multiple Devices

Haiku Deck is a cloud based app which is available for editing and viewing on your laptop and also as an app on phones and tablets.

 

Offline Viewing

Haiku decks can be downloaded as .pptx files for offline viewing.

 

Share to Social Media

Presentations can be easily shared to social media from the editor.

 

Collaboration Possibilities

Haiku Deck offers team possibilities upon request.

 

Brand Kit

There is no brand kit but you can add your logo to the finished product.

 

Privacy and Password Protection

Pro and Premium plans have private and password protected capabilities

 

Analytics

Premium plans have analytics for who has viewed your presentations.

 

Lead Generation

Emails cannot be captured with Haiku Deck but slides and presentations can be sent with invitations to your existing email contacts.

 

15 Microsoft Sway

Last updated on October 8, 2020.

 

Microsoft has its own alternative to PowerPoint — Sway.

This online presentation software is completely different from PowerPoint and introduces a new concept of building "Sways" instead of "presentations."

 

Price Tag

Sway is free to use for anyone who has a Microsoft account.

 

Ease of Use

It's super easy to use Sway, and kind of fun too. It has a non-traditional storyline editor, which lets you add "blocks" of content that the software configures into layouts.

 

Who Is It For

Sway is mostly for people who don't want to spend too much time designing a complex presentation. For example, students and nonprofit organizations.

 

Template Options

There are several templates for different purposes, such as photo slideshows, sales trainings and even personal portfolios.

 

Graphic Assets Library

You can upload your own media or search from the various sources inside Sway, including Flickr and Bing Images. There are no shapes and icons included.

 

Videos and GIFs

You can upload videos from your device or embed from YouTube.

 

Audio

You can add audio to Sway by uploading or dragging and dropping the audio file onto your storyline from your computer.

 

Embed Third-Party Content

You can embed images, videos, maps and other content from tons of websites, including Google Maps, Soundcloud, Twitter, Facebook and more.

 

Animations

Sway automatically adds animations to your slides. You cannot change or customize them, you can only increase or decrease the level of animation added to your Sway.

 

Desktop or Cloud

Sway is an online, cloud-based software.

 

Available to Create on Multiple Devices

Sway works on any device with an internet browser.

 

Collaboration Possibilities

You can invite people to view or edit your Sway presentation.

 

Brand Kit

Brand kits are not available.

 

Share to Social Media

Sway presentations can be shared directly to Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.

 

Offline Viewing

You can download your Sway as a Word or PDF file to view offline.

 

Privacy and Password Protection

There is no password protection available, but you can choose to share your Sway with specific people, anyone with a link or only people in your organization who have a link.

Analytics

You can view reader statistics for your Sway if you have a Microsoft Office 365 subscription.

 

Lead Generation

This feature is not available in Microsoft Sway.

 

Looking for a Presentation Software?

The best presentation software for you depends on your budget, needs and number of users. If you're looking for an easy-to-use presentation maker that also comes with unique features that you won't find in most other tools, Visme might be a great option.

You can look for the right pricing plan for your needs, and even apply for a discount if you're a nonprofit organization. And if you just want to try out Visme to see if it's a good fit, sign up for a free account and use it for as long as you like — no strings attached.

Which of these best presentation software options fits your needs? If you have any questions or comments, we'd love to hear from you below.