Top 20 PowerPoint Alternatives Compared

Choosing the best presentation software for your needs can mean the difference between closing an important deal and blowing the opportunity of a lifetime.

Think this is an exaggeration? Just remember how many times a badly designed presentation—with slides chock full of text and outdated animation effects—instantly made you think twice about the credibility of the person presenting their product or idea. Or how a glitch or holdup made you lose your patience.

We’ve all heard of death by PowerPoint. You don’t want to be one of those who blow it because they didn’t choose wisely. Luckily, in a post-PowerPoint world, there are a variety of options for every need imaginable.

 

Top 20 PowerPoint Alternatives

To help you make sense of the dozens of options out there, we’ve summarized the most important features of the best PowerPoint alternatives:

1 Visme

A cloud-based, drag-and-drop presentation software, Visme offers users all the tools they need to create not just compelling presentations, but also infographics, data visualizations, reports, product demos and resumes.

Its ready-to-use templates, with HD backgrounds and professionally designed layouts, give users a breather from the all-too-familiar PowerPoint themes.

Packed with millions of free images, thousands of vector icons, graph tools in any style and hundreds of fonts, Visme allows users to create virtually any type of visual content in Its custom design area.

 

Features:

• Publish and share anywhere: Share URL or embed into a site.
• Manage privacy: Control who can see your projects.
• Present offline: Download presentation as image, PDF or HTML5.
• Add animation and interactivity to any element: Insert call-to-action buttons, videos, surveys, quizzes, etc.
• Quickly search for the exact slides you need from a built-in library with 900+ layouts

• Analytics: Access combined statistics of project views in one place.
• HTML5-based: Runs on any browser and device.
• Import PowerPoint presentations.
• Work as a team: Access collaboration and content management tools.
• Searchable libraries with millions of images and thousands of high-quality vector icons
• Create visual slides quickly using drag-and-drop blocks of content with visual stats, maps, figures and pictographs.

Price: Starting at $12 a month per user

Pros: Users can create virtually any visual content—including infographics, charts, reports and printables—in a single place; add animation, full interactivity and audio

Cons: Due to high level of flexibility and variety of options, might take some time to master all of its features

Ideal for: Marketers, entrepreneurs, educators and individuals in general; corporate teams

Other reviews: Huffington Post, ClearVoice, Crazy Egg

 

2 Haiku Deck

This cloud-based presentation solution is often considered as a mobile alternative to Prezi and PowerPoint. It offers users 27 different templates and 35 million stock photos.

Users can quickly create presentations on the go and access and edit presentations from the iPhone, iPad, PC, Mac, and Chromebook. The templates are characterized by big bold text and strong visuals.

Haiku Deck also offers an Artificial Intelligence helper called Zuru. Users can upload a PowerPoint or Keynote presentation on the platform and Zuru rebuilds it automatically.

Features:

• iPhone remote: View and edit slide decks from your phone or iPad.
• Access templates with big bold text and strong visuals.
• Export presentations to PDF, PowerPoint or Keynote.
• Access professional photos from Getty Images and graph creator.
• Add private talking points or full transcript to published slides.
• View slide galleries with the week’s most popular decks.
• Use the Zuru version for AI-powered presentation building.

Price: Paid plans starting at $9.99 a month per user

Pros: Strong visuals

Cons: Customization options are very limited

Ideal for: Traveling salespeople, students

Other reviews: USA Today, Mashable

 

3 Emaze

A simple-to-use presentation tool that uses HTML5, so it runs on any browser and device, including Chromebooks and tablets.

Designed for those who want to easily create presentations in minutes, Emaze offers professionally designed parallax, 2D and 3D templates, as well as the ability to create video presentations with online accessibility.

Features:

• Create presentations within minutes with ready-to-use templates.
• Share presentations with anyone in the world with automatic translation.
• Access presentations from anywhere with this cloud-based software.
• View and edit your presentations from any device, including tablets, laptops, PCs and smartphones.
• Use the corporate branding option to stay on brand.

Price: Paid plans start at $12.50 / month per user after a minimal free option

Pros: Make sophisticated visualizations with little effort

Cons: Will not work on older devices; very resource-intensive; takes up a lot of memory

Ideal for: Users seeking easy-to-use 3D templates

Other reviews: WebHostingPlanGuide,  Geektime, SitePoint

 

4 Prezi

This cloud-based software is popular for its nonlinear presentations, which pan and zoom from one page to the next without creating the impression of moving to a new slide. It’s a favorite with a lot of students and educators, especially for its ease of use.

Features:

• View and edit your presentations from any device.
• Store all your presentations in the cloud.
• Share and collaborate with others.
• Download for offline use.
• Use advanced image editing tools.
• Manage privacy.

Price: Paid plans starting at $5 / month per user

Pros: Create nonlinear presentations with ease

Cons: Not fully customizable; can only create non-linear presentations; can actually cause motion sickness in some viewers

Ideal for: Students, educators, speakers, companies

Other reviews:  SmallBizTrends, PCMag.com, PC World

 

5 Keynote

Apple’s alternative to PowerPoint, Keynote is everything you would expect in an Apple product: sleek, sophisticated and intuitive.

Packed with powerful features—such as the ability to create interactive charts, add reflections and picture frames—Keynote makes it easy to create presentations with cinematic-like transitions between slides.

After the release of the iPad Pro and Apple Pencil, Keynote is even more intuitive. Presentations are stored in the cloud and available on all devices.

Features:

• Access more than 30 cinematic effects for text and objects.
• Make interactive and animated charts.
• View and edit your presentations from an iPad or iPhone.
• Easily share and collaborate.
• Access more than 30 polished templates and designs.
• Import and edit PowerPoint files.
• Save Keynote presentations as PowerPoint files.
• Use on iPad Pro with Apple Pencil.

Price: Free for all Mac computers

Pros: Compatible with PowerPoint

Cons: Desktop software, not online-based; no slide library

Ideal for: Mac owners

Other reviews: PCMag.com, Macworld

 

6 Slides

This cloud-based presentation software offers a solid and user-friendly alternative to PowerPoint. Its sleek editor workspace allows you to add background images, use a variety of designs and themes, collaborate easily with others and customize any of 10 default slide templates.

You can even other people’s presentations and use them as a template. Slides.com is not to be confused with Slides.ai.

Features:

• Edit and access presentations from any device.
• Manage privacy.
• Present offline.
• Access to analytics.
• Fork presentations.
• Access to revision history.
• Display math formulas.
• Define your own theme with custom CSS editor.
• Add GIFs from Giphy and images from Unsplash.
• Lots of Team features like branded templates and user management.

Price: Paid plans starting at $5 / month per user

Pros: User-friendly; includes beginner’s tutorial; users can copy other people’s design and layout as templates for their own content (this preference can be turned off when creating presentations).

Cons: Create only linear presentations; limited design options such as professional templates and types of slides; no graphs or infographic widgets available.

Ideal for: Startups, students, teachers, individuals

Other reviews: TechCrunch, SitePoint

 

7 Slidebean

This PowerPoint alternative is a good option for all those who don’t have the time to design their own slides.

Slidebean has recreated pitch decks from big-name startups and offers them as ready-to-use templates. There are more themed templates available for users to simply plug in their content.

Features:

• Ready-to-use content templates for different purposes (marketing, business, startups).
• Search and insert curated images or GIFs from Unsplash and Giphy within the software.
• Access to thousands of flat icons.
• Import CSV data to create charts.
• Share and collaborate with others.
• Use the chat feature to communicate with others.
• Browse curated color palettes.
• Access viewers’ actions for each presentation.

Price: Paid plans start at $96 / year per user

Pros: Allows you to focus solely on the content

Cons: No animation

Ideal for: Those who want to create presentations in as little time as possible, startups

Other reviews:  PresentationPanda, TechCrunch, The Next Web

 

8 Zoho Show

Part of a suite of online applications called the Workplace Bundle, Zoho Show provides users with a traditional presentation tool that's online-based.

Like the other alternatives listed here, this presentation software allows users to create and access presentations from any browser or device connected to the Internet.

Features:

• Apply eye-catching animations and transitions.
• Embed live tweets, YouTube videos, and Flickr images.
• Use charts for visualizing data.
• Publish your presentations on websites and blogs.
• Import multiple file types, including .ppt, .pptx, .pps, .ppsx, .odp and .sxi.
• Use collaborative tools to allow others to edit and comment on your content.
• Broadcast your presentation from anywhere on any device.

Price: Paid plans of the Workplace Bundle start at $4 / month per user

Pros: Import multiple file types; conferencing option

Cons: Limited animations and transitions; only standard presentation functionality

Ideal for: Business users, students, educators

Other reviews: ZDNet, Blinklist

 

9 Google Slides

Google Slides is the most popular PowerPoint alternative because it’s completely free with a Google account. When logged into Google, Slides is available at any time, even from the email dashboard.

The design process on Google slides is simple and to the point. There are hundreds of templates in different color themes to choose from.

Features:

• All work is saved automatically on the Google servers.
• An entire presentation can be changed as a whole with the color and theme picker.
• Collaborate in real-time with team members.
• Open PowerPoint slides and export finished presentations as PowerPoint files.
• Plenty of templates and themes to choose from.
• Helps users concentrate on the actual slides without frills.

Price: Free for everybody, as long as they have a Google account

Pros: It’s free and easy to use

Cons: Design capabilities are limited to standard features

Ideal for: people who appreciate Google products and need to create presentations with remote teams

Other reviews: ConsumersAdvocate, EnvatoTuts

 

10 Canva

Canva is an easy-to-use alternative to PowerPoint. The presentation templates come ready with numerous slides. All you need to do is choose the slides you want to use and switch out the content.

Along with the basic presentation features, animated presentations are also possible if you purchase the Canva for Work plan.

Features:

• Lots of presentation templates to choose from.
• Millions of available images in the paid plan.
• Presenting option right from Canva.
• Download in multiple file formats, including PowerPoint.
• Easy to share to social media profiles.
• Millions of icons to choose from.

Price:  “Free” but assets cost $1 or more to use. Canva for Work is $12.95 / month per user

Pros: Easy to use and lets you create nice-looking presentations fast

Cons: The best features are in the Canva for Work plan; complete presentations can’t be colorized as a whole.

Ideal for: Pretty much anyone

Other reviews: CMSCritic, Capterra

 

11 Ludus

Presentations created with Ludus tend to have an artsy and creative look to them. The program’s templates include blocks with photos and color overlays.

The best feature in Ludus is the smart alignment tool, which helps the user place objects in the best place along a grid.

Features:

• When inserting code, users can choose the code language.
• Three basic templates with artsy color overlays on some of the slides.
• Smart alignment tool.
• Users can embed pretty much anything into their slides.
• Presentations can be exported as HTML files.
• Users can password protect their presentations.
• Pencil tool to doodle or handwrite on the slides.

Price: The Solo plan starts at $14.99 / month

Pros: The slides look nice out of the box

Cons: There are no images available inside the editor

Ideal for: Creative types that need to make a presentation fast

Other reviews: Havaian

 

12 Beautiful.ai

Beautiful.ai is a PowerPoint alternative with a twist. The design of the slides is controlled by Artificial Intelligence. Their pitch is that presentations will look great every time without much work from the user. On the other hand, customization possibilities are limited.

Features:

• AI-powered presentation building system.
• Customizing options for each type of slide.
• Color theme picker for the entire presentation.
• Users can password protect presentations for private sharing.
• Collaboration capabilities with an email invitation.
• Export to PDF or PowerPoint.
• Presenter view and speaker notes.

Price: Free. Pricing tiers to be announced sometime in 2019

Pros: AI helps create better presentations fast

Cons: Very limited design capabilities

Ideal for: Students, educators, startups

Other reviews: Techradar, ThePowerpointBlog

 

13 Focusky

This presentation software is all about creating HMTL5-powered slide decks that look like animated videos. Safe to say, Focusky presentations can include 3D animations and transition effects.

The program is a desktop app available for both Windows and Mac and must be downloaded to a computer to work.

Features:

• It’s a desktop app.
• Lots of animations and effects.
• Hundred of templates in different categories.
• 3D backgrounds and transitions.
• Animated characters.
• Narration recording.
• Can be downloaded in different formats; PPT, MP4, PDF and more.

Price: $9.90 / month

Pros: Interesting animations and 3D transitions

Cons: Program needs to be downloaded; animations can get overwhelming

Ideal for: Educators, office meetings

Other reviews: Techprevue

 

14 Microsoft Sway

Sway is Microsoft’s own alternative to their PowerPoint software. It’s everything that PowerPoint isn’t. In fact, it is so different, you can’t really tell it’s made by the same company.

Sway is a cloud-based app, which can be accessed through any Microsoft account, such as Hotmail and Outlook.

Features:

• Remix! A function that changes everything at random.
• The default view is a vertical scroll; can be changed to horizontal or slide view.
• Font and color customization for the entire presentation
• Thousands of images available inside the program through online search.
• Animated transitions with custom speed settings.
• Storyline editing.
• Outline and Accessibility views.
• Available in multiple languages.

Price: Free with a Microsoft Account

Pros: A presentation can look like a website, a newsletter or a classic slide presentation

Cons: No tools or options to present data

Ideal for: Students, NGOs

Other reviews: AvePoint, Laptop Mag

 

15 Powtoon

Powtoon used to be far from a professional presentation maker. As a PowerPoint alternative, it didn’t really fit the bill. It used to be all about animations and cute characters in explainer videos.

But things have changed. Users can now make professional-looking presentations as well as slide decks full of cute animated characters.

Features:

• Over 20 animated transitions.
• Whiteboard and animated character explainer videos.
• Square presentations and videos.
• Thousand of images available inside the program.
• Video backgrounds.
• Thousands of icons, called “props”.
• Animated text effects.

Price: Starting at $19 / month, billed annually

Pros: Lots of different templates and styles; customization options

Cons: All the choices can be overwhelming and lead to "Death by Powtoon"

Ideal for: Educators, creative entrepreneurs, students

Other reviews: ConsumersAdvocate, LifeWire

 

16 Genially

Genially is a tool for creating different kinds of content, including presentations. This alternative to PowerPoint is equipped with branding capabilities for professional creators.

Users can create both fun and vibrant slide decks as well as professional pitches. Viewing can be in video form or as a slideshow.

Features:

• Lots of templates in different styles.
• Thousands of images and icons.
• Embeddable content from various places, like Wikipedia and Behance.
• Interactive features, like tooltips and popup windows.
• Trendy illustrations in vibrant color gradients.
• Finished presentation is easily shareable to social media.
• Branding capabilities.

Price: Starting at $8.50 / month with an annual plan

Pros: Very creative presentation maker with lots of interactive elements

Cons: Too much interactivity can be overwhelming

Ideal for: Educators, creative startups

Other reviews: AgoraPulse

 

17 FlowVella

Flowvella is a downloadable app for making presentations. It can be used on both desktop computers and mobile devices. It’s practical and fast but also very simple. Users will not find animation and interactivity with FlowVella.

Features:

• The app is available for desktop and mobile devices.
• Users can add PDFs to their slides.
• Audio can be added from a file.
• All elements are easy to customize, resize and move around.
• Add links to other slides or other flows.
• Users can track analytics.
• Imports PowerPoint presentations.
• Presenter view with notes.

Price: $10.00 / month billed annually

Pros: The app can be used on any desktop or mobile device

Cons: It’s a bit simple; only "gets the job done"

Ideal for: Students, personal projects

Other reviews: TechCrunch

 

18 Libre Office Impress

Libre Office Impress is part of the Libre Office suite of open-source software for professionals. It doesn’t have a beautiful dashboard but it’s a favorite with people who appreciate open-source programs.

It is compatible with PowerPoint files and can do quite a bit even if it looks like it can't, such an animation and 3D design.

Features:

• Open-source software.
• Templates are available on GitHub.
• Compatible with all Microsoft products.
• Animations, 2D and 3D designs.
• All versions are available for Linux, Windows, and Mac.
• Viewer App for Android.

Price: Free

Pros: It’s compatible with all Microsoft programs and files

Cons: Might not be the right presentation tool for non-developers

Ideal for: Developers, people who love open-source software

Other reviews: PCWorld

 

19 Vyond (Previously GoAnimate)

Previously known as GoAnimate, Vyond is a program that lets you create video presentations for work, education, and training.

As a Powerpoint alternative, Vyond is different from a classic slide deck. The choices are mostly animated videos or whiteboard explainers.

Features:

• Animated videos with or without characters.
• Whiteboard explainer videos.
• Animated characters sync their mouth movements to audio.
• Download as video or as a GIF.
• Lots of options for animated characters; positions, emotions, clothing.
• Lots of props and settings for the scenes.
• The video is edited scenes by scene.

Price: $49 / month per user

Pros: Finished videos are fun and entertaining

Cons: Videos cannot be viewed as slides one by one

Ideal for: Training and on-boarding

Other reviews: Top10MarketingTools, EditingInsider

 

20 CustomShow

CustomShow is a cloud-based app for making professional presentations and is part of the Zoomifier suite of programs.

This PowerPoint alternative is a pretty versatile option, not only for presentations, but also for organizing meetings. Another cool feature is that CustomShow presentations can be easily tracked with analytics.

Features:

• Slide Library.
• Design-centered editing.
• Brand Management for marketing teams.
• View on any device.
• Track all views and changes in the presentations.
• Integration with Salesforce.com.
• Control presentations for meetings with the desktop app.

Price: $39 / month for a two-year plan

Pros: Branded Slide Library for everyone on a team to use

Cons: No free trial or free tier

Ideal for: Professionals, Marketing teams

Other reviews: Techradar

This is our take on the best PowerPoint alternatives out there right now. Which of these top-rated PowerPoint alternatives best suits your needs?

 

Your Turn

Want to stay up to date with the latest trends in visual communication and visual storytelling? Don't forget to sign up for our weekly newsletter below.

And if you have any feedback on any of the tools listed above, we'd love to hear from you. Drop us a line in the comments section below, and we'll get back to you.