The 10 Best Presentation Software Alternatives to PowerPoint

Whether you’re a working professional or a student, you need to use presentation software to share information in slideshows with your colleagues.

Microsoft PowerPoint is probably your go-to presentation tool because of its free, easy-to-use, and customizable templates. But design-wise, you may think that it falls short a bit.

If you want to create slideshows using presentation tools other than PowerPoint, you’ve come to the right place.

In this post, I’ve ranked and reviewed the best presentation software with excellent design assets and functionalities. I’ll also include my top five picks.

Let’s get into it.

Here are my top five picks for the best presentation software and PowerPoint alternatives.

Canva makes it easy to create stunning presentations even with limited design skills.
Prezi has the right blend of performance and features, making it the perfect app for professional-looking slides.
Vyond uses story-driven, customizable templates to entertain your audience.
Google Slides is like a simplified version of Microsoft PowerPoint, offering fewer templates and other design assets.
Zoho Show has a minimalist, easy-to-use interface that allows you to organize your ideas when making slideshows.
Table of Contents

What Are the 10 Best Presentation Software?

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out of 10

Omar's Take

With Canva’s extensive pre-built templates and graphic assets library, it’s easy to create stunning presentations even for someone with limited design skills.

Best For:
Non-designers
Price:
Starts at $9.95 monthly
Annual Billing:
Starts at $119
Promotion:
Free with limited features, Free Premium Canva features for nonprofits and educational organizations

Canva’s stunning templates and extensive graphic assets library make it hard to create bad presentations, even if you’re not a pro designer. Its drag-and-drop feature and user-friendly interface make it fun to use.

Even if you opt for the free version, Canva remains a valuable and flexible presentation software because of its massive library of free templates, stickers, graphs, frames, and other design elements.

Think of Canva as an all-in-one design tool for non-designers who want to create interactive charts and professional presentations.

canva

Features

Here are some of Canva’s most noteworthy features.

Dynamic Content

As a presentation maker, Canva offers a vast collection of preset animations, frames, shapes, stickers, images, and other dynamic content. It’s the perfect tool for creating video presentations.

Visually Stunning Templates

If you need to create presentations with professional-looking designs, you can never go wrong with Canva because of its extensive collection of visually compelling content.

Its templates and graphic assets allow you to create any type of presentation, from social media posts and resumes to marketing and sales teams’ materials.

Multiple Share Options

With this presentation tool, You can easily share your presentation with your team and on social media. Additionally, it has collaboration tools and even supports QR codes.

Cons

  • All Canva designs are private unless you make them public or share them via a link.
  • However, there is no password-protected sharing.
  • It lacks analytics and lead generation features.
  • Some advanced features are hard to use.
  • It lacks the customizability of PowerPoint. Thus, you may struggle to make presentations with complicated tables, charts, and diagrams.

Pricing

canva pricing plan

Here are Canva’s pricing plans.

  • Free
  • Pro – $9.95 monthly
  • Enterprise – $30 monthly
0
out of 10

Omar's Take

This cross-platform presentation tool has the right blend of performance and features, allowing professional designers and students to create engaging slideshows.

 

Best For:
Topic-oriented presentations
Price:
Starts at $3 monthly
Annual Billing:
Starts at $84
Promotion:
Free plan with basic features, Free 14-day trial, Discount for students and educators

Prezi presentations are ideal if you’re tired of non-linear presentations, making this tool an excellent PowerPoint alternative.

It allows you to string your ideas in a way that makes sense, making it perfect for creating topic-oriented slideshows.

Prezi’s free-form structure may not work for everyone. I find this presentation tool extremely helpful for creating presentations with a more natural and conversational flow.

prezi

Features

Here are some of Prezi’s most noteworthy features.

Interactive Content

Prezi’s interactive presentations prompt viewers to keep watching. The app’s developers designed it to make the information easy to digest.

Video Call Features

While most presentation software work with Zoom and other screen-sharing apps, Prezi has a video call-focused feature that shows you together with your slides as you discuss your presentation.

Advanced Features

Its advanced features include an extensive library of templates categorized into different industries and themes.

Cons

  • You need to pay for advanced features.
  • The non-linear presentation form does not work for everyone.

Pricing

Basic

basic plan

Individual

Individual plan

Students and Educators

Students and Educators

Business

Business plan

Here are Prezi’s pricing plans

  • Basic – Free
  • Basic Plus – $15 monthly
  • Individual Standard – $7 monthly
  • Individual Plus – $15 monthly
  • Individual Premium – $19 monthly
  • EDU Plus – $3 monthly
  • EDU Pro – $4 monthly
  • EDU Teams – Contact Prezi for quotes.
  • Business Plus – $15 monthly
  • Business Premium – $19 monthly
  • Business Teams – Contact Prezi for quotes.

 

0
out of 10

Omar's Take

Vyond is not your typical presentation software with static slide templates. It uses story-driven, customizable templates that can surely entertain your audience members.

Best For:
Animation-based presentations
Price:
Starts at $25 monthly
Annual Billing:
Starts at $299
Promotion:
Free two-week trial

Did you know that viewers retain 95% of a video’s message compared to 10% when reading text content?

Vyond is one of the best presentation apps and online presentation tools. It’s an excellent tool for creating interactive video presentations involving complex information.

This cloud-based animation software is a popular tool among companies that need to design training and marketing materials and educational institutions that require interactive e-learning slideshows.

vyond

Features

Here are some of Vyond’s most noteworthy features.

Story-Driven Templates

Vyond makes creating engaging animated video presentations easy, thanks to its extensive design library that includes over 180 customizable templates.

User-Friendly Interface

You can easily drag and drop images, videos, and design elements. It has an easier learning curve than most animation programs.

Advanced and Unique Features

Vyond boasts sophisticated features to help you create interactive presentations.

  • A massive collection of characters, movements, and other design elements
  • Advanced audio features (e.g., add multiple audios in a single video, live explainer videos, text-to-speech, etc.)
  • Multiple video sharing and integration options

Cons

  • As an online presentation software, Vyond requires an internet connection. You can’t use this tool offline.
  • The library of characters needs additional actions and generic movements.
  • Its search feature needs some improvement.
  • You can only create presentations using a computer.

Pricing

vyond pricing plan

Here are Vyond’s pricing plans.

  • Essential – $25 monthly
  • Premium – $54 monthly
  • Professional – $92
  • Enterprise – Contact them for a quote.
0
out of 10

Omar's Take

Google Slides is a web-based tool like a simplified version of Microsoft PowerPoint. However, it offers fewer presentation templates and has no built-in asset library.

Best For:
Users migrating from PowerPoint
Price:
Starts at $12 monthly for enterprise clients
Annual Billing:
Starts at $144
Promotion:
Free for individual use

Google Slides is a free presentation software available on all devices.

It’s similar to PowerPoint, making this browser-based app ideal for teams ready to leave PowerPoint but who don’t want to learn complex features.

Most free plans of presentation software have a time-limited trial or significant restrictions on features and capabilities.

Google Slides is different because it’s free unless you’re an enterprise client requiring ample cloud storage. An enterprise plan isn’t necessary for small teams and average users.

google slides

Features

Here are some notable features of Google Slides.

Easy-to-use Presentation Software

If you’re looking for a user-friendly presentational tool, Google Sides is an excellent choice because it’s easy to use and offers enough features and design assets to create no-frill slideshows.

Support for Add-Ons

Although it lacks a built-in asset library, it supports add-ons like any Google app. You can access enhanced features, like solving equations within your slides.

Google Integrations

This PowerPoint alternative makes it easy to collaborate with your team. It has Google integration, letting you search presentations easily, share documents and calendars, and simultaneously edit with your colleagues.

Google Slides is compatible with Android, Windows, Mac, and iOS devices.

Cons

  • Some users find this software presentation a bit clunky.
  • It has basic functionalities compared with PowerPoint.
  • Google Slides has limited templates and features.

Pricing

Google Slides’ pricing plans

Here are Google Slides’ pricing plans.

  • Personal use – Free
  • Business Standard – $12 monthly
0
out of 10

Omar's Take

This presentation software is perfect for teams that need to create simple presentations quickly, thanks to its uncluttered, easy-to-use interface that allows users to organize their ideas.

Best :
Polished PowerPoint alternative
Price:
Starts at $3 monthly
Annual Billing:
Starts at $36
Promotion:
Free for up to 5 users

Zoho Show is another free, no-strings-attached presentation software resembling Microsoft PowerPoint’s interface and menu.

If your team already uses Zoho CRM, it makes sense to use Zoho Show to enjoy real-time collaboration with your colleagues.

zoho

Features

Here are some of Zoho Show’s notable features.

Easy-to-use Interface

Zoho Show has content blocks you can choose as themes that you can customize depending on the type of presentations you want to create.

Pre-Built Themes

The program’s themes work more like a visual canvas than a template. And while they don’t come with images, you can customize their colors, layouts, and much more.

Helpful Features

Here are features that make Zoho Show an excellent presentation app.

  • Zoho integration
  • Custom branding (only available in the most expensive paid plan)
  • Offline viewing
  • Analytics capability (only available in the most expensive paid plan)
  • Compatibility with multiple devices (computers, TVs, phones, etc.)

Cons

  • Although the paid versions have analytics capabilities, the app lacks lead generation.
  • Brand kit is only accessible for the most expensive plan.
  • Zoho Shows doesn’t have templates but has themes without images.
  • You can only create presentations on a computer.

Pricing

Zoho Show doesn’t have a pricing table.

0
out of 10

Omar's Take

Keynote is a great presentation app for iOS users looking for a free PowerPoint alternative that has an extensive asset library and template selection.

Best For:
Mac users
Price:
Free (for Apple users)
Annual Billing:
N/A
Promotion:
Free

Apple Keynote is an excellent presentation software if you're an IOS user. It has visually appealing slides and an extensive asset library.

keynote

Features

Here are some notable features and capabilities of Keynote.

Easy Transition

Users can turn their Keynote files into PowerPoint presentations, which makes this app perfect for teams with some members who still prefer this Microsoft tool.

No-Frills Feature Set

While simplicity is at the heart of this, it doesn’t mean this tool doesn’t allow you to create slides stunning Keynote presentations.

Helpful Features

Keynote has a more robust feature set than most PowerPoint alternatives, thanks to its extensive asset library, varied template selection, and better desktop support.

Cons

As a free presentation app, It lacks the versatility of enterprise-facing programs like Canva.
The interface needs some improvement.

Pricing

Keynote has no pricing table because it’s free.

0
out of 10

Omar's Take

Beautiful.ai uses AI technology that follows the basic design principles to help you create stunning presentations in less time.

Best For:
AI-powered presentations
Price:
Starts at $12
Annual Billing:
Starts at $144
Promotion:
Free two-week trial

This presentation software uses artificial intelligence (AI) to arrange your slide’s elements, making them appealing and logical to the human brain. It’s perfect if you often create slideshows and don’t want to spend too much time building them from scratch.

beautiful.ai

Features

Here are some noteworthy features of Beautiful.ai.

Artificial Intelligence Capabilities

Its AI rearranges your elements based on logical flow and importance and helps you track analytics to improve your presentations.

Design Library

Beautiful.ai has over 60 templates, although you can also create custom template libraries to help you build the best presentation for your topic.

Clean Interface

It has a simple and easy-to-navigate interface.

Cons

It’s pricey relative to its limited design assets and templates.

Pricing

beautiful.ai pricing plan

beautiful.ai pricing plan ad hoc project

Here are the pricing plans of Beautiful.ai.

  • Pro – $12 monthly
  • Team – $50 monthly
  • Enterprise – Contact Beautiful.ai for a custom price.
  • Ad hoc project – $45 monthly
0
out of 10

Omar's Take

Like Canva, Visme has extensive design assets, including thousands of templates, images, and videos. It’s perfect for a non-designer who wants to create fuss-free stunning presentations.

Best For:
Complete visual content
Price:
Starts at $12.25 monthly
Annual Billing:
Starts at $147
Promotion:
Free plan, Get six months free with annual subscriptions

Visme is quite similar to Canva in that its design assets are for non-designers. It has a vast library of images, templates, icons, charts, animations, and characters.

Visme is also better than PowerPoint in functionality and intuitiveness since most users can learn its basics in just a few minutes.

visme

Features

Here are some of Visme’s noteworthy features.

Extensive Design Library

Visme offers thousands of presentation templates with varying themes and “industries,” in addition to millions of images, videos, and audio files to let you create stunning slideshows.

Shareability

If you work with a team, Visme is an excellent presentation software that allows you to share projects, edit with your colleagues, and receive feedback. The most expensive plan even lets you create personalized roles.

Brand Design Tools

You can upload all your branding assets (e.g., logo and fonts) to your Visme account and input your site URL to let the app pull in all your visual identities.

You can also access branded templates already filled with your logo, fonts, images, colors, and other visual identities.

Cons

The free plan has limited features, and its presentations have Visme’s logo.
It’s a bit expensive, especially for freelancers.

Pricing

visme pricing plan

Here are Visme’s pricing plans.

  • Basic – Free
  • Starter – $12.25
  • Pro – $24.75
  • Visme for Teams – Contact sales
0
out of 10

Omar's Take

As a stand-alone tool, SlideDog won’t let you create presentations. The basic idea behind this app is to support a vast range of multimedia sources and the best presentation software to make stunning slideshows.

Best For:
Media-rich presentations
Price:
Starts at $19
Annual Billing:
Starts at $99
Promotion:
Discount for educational institutions, Volume discount

SlideDog’s drop-and-drag simplicity works perfectly well with its capability to combine multimedia assets from PowerPoint and Prezi.

SlideDog works with a vast range of media and other presentation software because you can’t create presentations with this tool alone. Consequently, this app is not for everyone.

slidedog

Features

Here are some of the notable features of SlideDog.

Smooth Integration

Since you can integrate assets from other software and multimedia sources, SlideDog can help you create unique presentations without distracting your audience members by switching tabs.

User-friendly Interface

Thanks to its drag-and-drop feature, making unique and stunning presentations is quick and easy.

Immersive Presentation Experience

Your audience members can view your slides from their devices by clicking a link. You can also remotely control your presentations from your phone or secondary computer.

Cons

  • The software only works on Windows.
  • You need to install this presentation software on your computer.

Pricing

slidedog pricing plan

Here are SlideDog’s pricing plans.

  • Monthly – $19
  • Annually – $99
  • Lifetime – $299
0
out of 10

Omar's Take

Haiku Deck makes it easy to create elegant and minimalistic presentations. Nevertheless, it has enough functions, templates, images, and diagrams to make it a solid presentation app.

Best For:
Minimalist presentations
Price:
Starts at $9.99
Annual Billing:
Starts at $119.88
Promotion:
Free 7-day trial

Haiku Deck offers presentation templates that appear elegant or minimalistic. However, its simplicity doesn’t mean limited design assets and dull-looking templates.

On the contrary, this presentation app boasts over 35 million stock photos, numerous templates, intuitive interface.

Haiku Deck

Features

Here are some notable features of Haiku Deck.

Ease of Use

It’s easy to create engaging presentations with Haiku Deck’s intuitive interface. Moreover, the menus are easy to follow, with specific text placement choices and word size limiters for each slide.

AI System

Like some of the presentation apps mentioned earlier, Haiku Deck also uses an AI system to create engaging presentations from PowerPoint files or outlines.

Extensive Graphic Assets Library

You can find millions of photos and countless font styles, graphs, and charts from this app’s graphic assets library.

Cons

The free trial still requires your credit card details.
There are only limited slide adjustments.

Pricing

Haiku Deck’s pricing plans

Here are Haiku Deck’s pricing plans.

  • Pro – $9.99 monthly billed annually or $19.99 billed monthly
  • Premium – $29.99 monthly (billed annually)

 

How I Choose the Best Presentation Tools

Over the years, I’ve used various presentation apps to share information with my colleagues and clients. Some have pre-built templates and interactive interface, while others only have rudimentary design features.

Thanks to my first-hand experience with presentation software, I know which apps are worth their price and which fall short in user-friendliness, design capability, and functionality.

I went through onboarding and guided tutorials before I tested multiple presentation tools to see how their design settings work and the availability of critical features such as collaboration options.

Factors To Consider When Picking Your Presentation Software

Each year, developers release new presentation tools claiming to be an excellent PowerPoint alternative. Some offer a free version, while others have advanced features that justify the high price tag.

The best presentation software primarily depends on the users. For instance, sales and marketing professionals typically need offline access, IA suggestions, seamless collaboration, and quick sharing options on social media.

By contrast, students and average users can benefit more from apps that offer user-friendly interface, affordable price, and customizability.

While presentation tools come in all shapes and sizes, the best ones share these features.

Ease of Use

No one wants to spend countless hours learning how to make basic slide presentations. Thus, picking an intuitive, user-friendly tool with drag-and-drop features is essential.

While it’s true that more professional-grade presentation apps take more time to master, it’s rare to find one that’s difficult to learn the basic.

Extensive Collection of Pre-Built Templates

If your presentation app has a massive collection of pre-built templates, it allows you to create stunning presentations in just a short time, even if you lack visual design skills.

Free presentation software offers limited templates, while some programs lock their best designs behind a premium subscription.

Aside from the templates, you may also want to consider a program’s graphic assets, which should be extensive and varied.

Customizability

While a vast collection of templates is a nice feature, enterprise users and business professionals must customize every aspect of their slide presentations to reflect their brand.

Professional users need presentation software that allows them to change the background color and capture the exact pixel position of their logos and other visual branding identities.

Affordability

If you create presentations only once or twice a year, it’s probably best to use a free version. If your job requires you to create slideshows regularly, investing in a paid app you like using is better.

In general, the more advanced features a presentation software offers, the more expensive it is.

Added Features and Capabilities

Whether opting for a free version or a subscription-based presentation tool, consider these features.

  • Ability to support embedded videos, GIFs, third-party content, and dynamic elements
  • Audio support
  • Cloud-based capability
  • Collaboration tools
  • Brand kit integrations
  • Advanced features like social media analytics and quick sharing options
  • Compatible with multiple devices (iOS, PC, and Android)

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

frequently asked questions

What Is Presentation Software?

This software allows you to create presentations of your ideas by stringing together text, images, videos, audio, and other dynamic content.

There are two types of presentation apps: business and general multimedia. However, most programs today have features that allow you to create both progressional-looking presentations and creative slides.

Which Presentation Software Is Best for Me?

The best presentation software for you primarily depends on your needs. If you’re just an average user, free plans with basic options are usually enough.

If you’re a business owner or a client-facing staff, you need a professional presentation to earn credibility and trust in your industry. Thus, it makes sense to invest in higher-end software.

Why Do Most Users Prefer PowerPoint?

There is a reason why PowerPoint is the most commonly used presentation app in the market: It provides excellent tools for collaboration and has a user-friendly interface.

There are more than 500 million PowerPoint users who, on average, create 30 million presentations every day.

Is Canva Better Than PowerPoint?

Canva and Powerpoint offer equal value. If you’re more focused on creating visually stunning presentations quickly and are not a pro designer, Canva is generally a better option.

Nevertheless, PowerPoint beats Canva in terms of niche tools because it integrates with Microsoft 365 app. As a result, it’s easier to work with 3D models, equations, and complicated graphs with this Microsoft tool.

Is PowerPoint Free?

Yes, but only if you have a Microsoft account (e.g., msn.com or outlook.com) or a Microsoft 365 work or school account. You can only access PowerPoint presentations for free in a web browser.

How Much Does Presentation Software Cost?

The price varies drastically from software to software. However, most programs listed here cost between $10 and $25 for their lower-tier plans.

Apps like Google Slides and Keynote are free, while others offer a free version with limited features.

The Bottom Line

I hope my list of the best presentation software helps you decide which tool suits your unique needs.

Don’t hesitate to take advantage of free trials (if available) to test features before committing to a paid presentation program.

Are you looking for other tools that can assist you with presentations? The best data visualization tools can help you, especially if you’re a business owner or marketer who analyzes and manages numerous data points.

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Omar Founder of OJ Digital Solutions

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