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15 software used for mac presentation, 6 online presentation software for mac, does mac have presentation software, how do you create a presentation on mac, is there a mac version of powerpoint, is powerpoint better than keynote, let your presentation talk, related articles, 15 best presentation software for mac [reviewed & ranked].

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Updated on: February 08, 2024

Presentations are integral to any design: how else would you explain your idea to your client or team? People tend to leave presentations as the last possible step of their process and don’t give them as much time and attention as they need.

If you are a designer, architect, artist, businessman, or any other person that regularly makes subpar presentations, take your game to the next level with some of the best presentation software for mac !

You don’t want to download or install any App? Then check these 6 online presentation software for mac .

Here is some of the best presentation software for Mac that you can use to make your ideas and design extraordinary:

Price: Free Best for: Mac users

Keynote is one of the top presentation software for Mac and comes included with most Apple devices.

With its stunning features and powerful tools, you can bring your slides to life and create the most effective presentations for your clients or your boss.

• Best in-built presentation software for Mac
• Simple and intuitive
• Poor compatibility with windows presentation software
• Presentations can take too much storage
• Does not have as many editing tools as PowerPoint

2. FlowVella

Price: Free (limited version) or $10/month Best for: Mac users

This presentation software is excellent to combine words, images, videos, links, PDFs, and other media into a presentation.

This way, having an interactive presentation is easy.

It’s oriented towards marketing, HR professionals, and sales teams.

• Great Drag & Drop Feature
• Dozens of free templates
• You have to buy the software to use all the features and tools

3. Prezi for Mac

Price: Free (limited version) or starting at $10/month Best for: Mac users

Prezi for Mac is another great Mac presentation software that lets you create dynamic presentations. It has a trial version of 14 days.

The bad thing about making presentations is choosing a video or image to put into it. But not with Prezi.

Prezi is a leader in the video presentation movement and allows you to make the most interactive slides for your presentation.

• Great User Interface
• Zoom and overview feature
• Integration with Zoom Software
• It takes time and practice to learn how to work on Prezi.
• Not easy for beginners.

Price: Starting at $35 Best for: Mac users

Deckset is a unique presentation software that lets you put your ideas and thoughts into it and makes the slides for you.

This is great for people that want to spend less time and energy making slides for their presentation but is only for text-based presentations.

It includes a trial version to try before purchasing the complete presentation software.

• It designs your slides for you, taking off most of the pressure of creating a presentation
• Trial Version
• It is a very costly software to buy

5. PowerPoint

Price: Free (With a Microsoft 365 subscription) Best for: Mac users

PowerPoint for Mac is old but gold.

It is one of the oldest presentation software and allows you to create beautiful slides with multiple templates of your choice.

This software has many tools and features that make the presentation process fun and easy.

• Easy and simple to use
• Multiple free templates
• Lack of creativity in the included templates
• Display Compatibility issues

6. LibreOffice’s Impress

In this software for Mac, multiple editing and viewing modes make the process of editing and creating slides versatile and interactive.

This software is great for presentations that are mostly text-based.

• Free software
• It does not put a lot of strain on your system
• Not very good user interface
• Lack of integration with other presentation software

7. iSkySoft Slideshow Maker

Price: $59.95 Lifetime Best for: Mac users

iSkyDoft Slideshow Maker has to be one of the best presentation software for Mac.

It allows the user to add text, photos, and videos to the slides and music, which makes the entire experience of watching a presentation even better.

This presentation software can be used to beautifully commemorate an event, activity, design process, or team activity in one file.

Moreover, the software also has a ton of features and aftereffects that can be added to make the presentation even better.

• Easy-to-use interface with a ton of incredible features
• It has a steep subscription fee that might not be good for beginners or one-time users

8. Focusky 3D

Price: starting at $9.9 Best for: Mac users

If you want to make a presentation on your desktop but also want it to work on other devices, such as your phone or tablet, Focusky is the perfect software for you.

Focusky is a powerful 3D presentation software for Mac with a wide range of tools that allows you to customize your presentation according to your taste.

to customize your presentation according to your taste.

• It works great offline and doesn’t require any internet
• Powerful export functionality (slides into gift/flash)
• Unexciting slide visual effects
• It requires a bit of learning before you can successfully use it

9. TouchCast Pitch

TouchCast Pitch is one of the presentation software that you automatically gravitate towards when you want to make a meaningful, impactful, and interactive presentation.

Pitch turns boring presentations into winning experiences that make it hard to forget.

• It has a huge library of tools and interesting features for your use
• A bit hard to learn and teach students

If you’re trying to make a presentation in less time with the least effort and still hoping it will come out beautiful, Canva is the perfect software to use.

With its extensive features and tools, the software allows you to edit, customize, and create your slides for presentation in record time.

• It is free, simple, and has a good user interface.
• It allows you to create stunning designs in mere minutes
• It is not a specific software for presentations.
• It does not have as many interesting features as other presentation software

Price: Free or $8/month Best for: Mac users

If the presentations that Pitch lets you make are half as interactive and fun as their website, there is no better software for Mac to do presentations.

It has multiple great tools, effects, templates, and designs available for you to use for your presentation or get inspired to create your own.

• Team Collaboration feature
• Great Support Team
• It has a bit of a learning curve, especially for a beginner
• A limited selection of templates

12. WPS Office for Mac

Price: Free (limited version) or $ 25.21 / year Best for: Mac users

WPS Office must be the essential software on your desktop, whether it is Windows or Mac.

The WPS Office for Mac has all the features and tools that let you document your process and create some of the simplest and easiest presentations for your work meetings and project discussions.

• It allows for collaboration
• Easy documentation
• It doesn’t have a lot of tools for PDF editing or grammar-check for text

13. Premast Plus

Price: Free or $5.99/month Best for: Mac users

If you are a designer, or any other creative folk, looking for beautiful graphic presentation software, there is none better than Premast Plus.

It gives you a wide range of tools, templates, illustrations, and icons to use for your presentation to make it the best you can!

• Very simple
• Wide Range of rich templates
• A lot of the tools and features of this software are available only after you purchase a subscription
• A bit unstable.

14. Movavi Slideshow Maker

Price: Free Trial or $37 Best for: Mac users

Movavi Slideshow Maker is great for unconventional presentations as it lets you add images, videos, text, music, transitions, and effects to your file.

It allows you to create a movie out of your work, making the entire presentation fun and engaging.

• It has great and simple user-interface
• It lacks a lot of features and does not have the tools for professional editing and presentation-making

15. Propresenter – Church Presentations

Price: starting at $399 Best for: Mac users

Propresenter is a church presentation software for Mac that allows you to create a beautiful presentation for a sermon.

It can include worship lyrics, sermon notes, videos, images, etc., to create an impactful and powerful presentation.

The best thing about this software is that it is excellent for beginners.

• Perfect presentation software for church
• It has all the tools that you might need to add music, lyrics, sermon, and text.
• Very expensive software and only best for professionals

1. Slidesbean

Slidesbean is an innovative online presentation software for Mac that does most of the heavy lifting while making the presentation.

It has great features and interactive tools that offer everything you need to build the perfect pitch for your presentation!

Great for entrepreneurs who want to create a beautiful pitch deck.

• Great analytics
• The templates look great
• The result looks very professional
• Videos have to be uploaded to third-party platforms
• The AI feature is not too helpful
• Export for PowerPoint only exports as image

2. Renderforest

Looking for a great online presentation software for Mac that allows you to create stunning videos, animations, branding, mockups, presentations, and more?

Renderforest is the perfect site for beginners and professionals.

• High quality & professional looking templates
• Mind-blowing animations
• Video templates look great
• Free version available
• Limited customization
• Can be a bit pricy
• No iOS or Android app
• Video render time can take long

3. Zoho Show

The great thing about this online presentation software for Mac is that it allows for a group/team to collaborate on the process of creating a presentation.

It is a clean, simple, and easy software that makes creating presentations seamless and simple.

• Includes infographics
• Supports real-time collaboration
• It has good template designs
• It has a Chrome web browser extension that makes it easier to work on the slides.
• It allows broadcasting presentations
• Easy-to-use transitions
• Interface can be a bit slow on low-end devices
• Interface could be better
• No desktop App available

Visme is a fan favorite for brands, big and small, to create stunning presentations.

It has numerous templates and color pallets to choose from that make the entire process of making a presentation easy.

• Allows you to create a brand identity with “My brand” feature
• Disk capacity and usage limit can be low on basic and free plans
• No support for collaborators
• Learning curve
• Free version is way too limited
• The interface could be better

5. Google Slides

Google Slides is the most popular online presentation software that is used by millions worldwide.

It provides the basic tools and features necessary to create a striking presentation.

• Fast and easy to use
• Includes real-time collaborative mode
• It’s free
• Connected with Google services like Google Drive
• It doesn’t support non-Google-based fonts
• Limited templates
• Limited transitions and animations
• It won’t provide support for audio imports

Slides are one of the online presentation software that makes your presentation look extremely sleek and professional.

It is a must for all designers and project managers!

If you need to bring project management to the next level, then you must check out the best project management software for Mac .

• Supports custom HTML and CSS
• Supports two directions (vertical & horizontal)
• Smooth and fast interface
• Supports LaTeX
• It doesn’t provide templates
• It doesn’t support PowerPoint exports

Mac has a presentation software already preinstalled in all Apple devices called Keynote. It is completely free and it allows you to create stunning presentations for school projects, your business, your office, etc. It is available for Mac, iPhone, iPad, and even for PCs.

Keynote includes real-time collaboration with your team, which is an essential feature now that everything is done online.

You can create a presentation on Mac with the help of Keynote. To create a keynote presentation follow these 3 steps:

• Choose a theme.
• Add your content to the placeholder images and texts.
• Create a presentation from the slides.

Yes. Microsoft PowerPoint is available for download on Mac and your phone, tablet, or PC, but you would need a Microsoft 365 subscription on your device to use it on Mac. The software isn’t identical to the Windows one but is quite similar with only a few minor differences in menu and layout.

Where PowerPoint is the most common presentation software for everyone worldwide, Keynote has been declared a better presentation software for Mac users, especially for professionals.

But if you are looking for a variety of editing tools, features, and templates for your presentation, there is nothing that trumps PowerPoint.

Creating a powerful presentation is an essential part of your strategy, whether you are a businessman, a designer, an architect, or a project manager.

It would be best if you had a presentation that doesn’t bore your audience and manages to convey all the key information in the best possible way.

All the software mentioned above are some of the most extraordinary presentation software for Mac and can help you create a memorable presentation.

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Presentations that stand out. Beautifully.

With its powerful tools and dazzling effects, Keynote makes it easy to create stunning and memorable presentations, and comes included with most Apple devices. Use Apple Pencil on your iPad to create diagrams or illustrations that bring your slides to life. And with real‑time collaboration, your team can work together, whether they’re on Mac, iPad, iPhone, or a PC.

See what’s new in Keynote

Present your story. Your way.

Keynote sets the stage for an impressive presentation. A simple, intuitive interface puts important tools front and center, so everyone on your team can easily add beautiful charts, edit photos, and incorporate cinematic effects. And Rehearse Mode lets you practice on the go, with the current or next slide, notes, and clock — all in one view.

Start with a gorgeous layout.

Choose from over 30 eye‑catching themes that instantly give your presentation a professional look. Or create your own slide designs, background images, and page‑by‑page customization.

Create next-level animations.

Add drama to your presentation with more than 30 cinematic transitions and effects. Make your words pop by adding textures, color gradients, and even photos — with just a tap. And animate objects along a path using Apple Pencil or your finger on your iPhone or iPad.

Make every slide spectacular.

Choose from over 700 Apple-designed shapes, galleries, math equations, and charts. Take a photo or scan a document with your iPhone, and Continuity Camera can send it straight to Keynote on your Mac.

What’s new in Keynote.

Learn about everything you can do in Keynote

Add live video feeds to any slide.

Appear in a window, right on your slides, with a picture-in-picture display during remote presentations. Or include a live feed of your iPhone or iPad screen to show off apps.

Present with your team. Seamlessly.

For slideshows with multiple presenters, you can now take turns controlling a single deck — from anywhere — on Mac, iPad, and iPhone.

Play YouTube and Vimeo videos right in Keynote.

Embed a video from YouTube or Vimeo, then play them right in your presentations, without the need to download or open the video in a media player. *

Present over video conference. Like a pro.

Play a slideshow in its own window so you can access other apps while you present. You can view your presenter notes, upcoming slides, and navigation in a separate window as well.

Outline your presentation. Easier.

With outline view for iPhone and iPad, quickly jot down your thoughts, restructure ideas, and move concepts from slide to slide. Then switch to slide view and start designing.

Turn handwriting into text. Magically.

With Scribble for iPadOS and Apple Pencil, your handwritten words will automatically be converted to typed text. Take notes, edit a presentation, or annotate text quickly.

Present like never before. From anywhere.

With Keynote, presenting remotely can be just as seamless as presenting in person. Say goodbye to saying “Next slide, please” — now multiple people can present together, even remotely, with each person taking control of their section of the deck. Add a live video feed of yourself to any slide for a picture-in-picture experience. Or when presenting on your Mac, include a live feed of your iPhone or iPad screen to walk through your apps. You can even play a slideshow in its own window, so you can simultaneously access your notes and other apps.

Any presentation. Any device. Anytime.

You don’t work in one place on just one device. The same goes for Keynote. Work seamlessly across all your Apple devices. The slides you create using a Mac or iPad will look the same on an iPhone or web browser — and vice versa.

You can also work on presentations stored on iCloud or Box using a PC.

Start using Keynote at iCloud.com

Create and present together. Even when apart.

Work together in the same presentation, from across town or across the world. You can see your team’s edits as they make them — and they can watch as you make yours, too. When presenting as a team, you can also take turns controlling a single deck from anywhere.

Use Apple Pencil when inspiration strikes.

Add color, illustrations, and handwritten comments for more beautiful presentations with Apple Pencil on your iPad.

Plays well with Office.

Teaming up with someone who uses Microsoft PowerPoint? Keynote makes it a great working relationship. You can save Keynote documents as PowerPoint files. Or import and edit PowerPoint documents right in Keynote.

Learn more about Microsoft PowerPoint compatibility

See everything that’s new in Keynote

• What’s new in Keynote for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch
• What’s new in Keynote for Mac
• Keynote for iCloud release notes

Additional Resources

• Get Keynote support
• Learn about Microsoft Office compatibility
• Learn about collaboration for Pages, Numbers, and Keynote
• Use Keynote in a video conference app

Keynote User Guides

• Keynote User Guide for Mac
• Keynote User Guide for iPad
• Keynote User Guide for iPhone
• Keynote User Guide for Web

Build spreadsheets that are bottom-line brilliant.

Create documents that are, in a word, beautiful.

Best presentation software of 2024

Make perfect slides for speeches and talks

Best overall

Best for branding, best for marketing, best for themes, best for media, best unique.

• How we test

The best presentation software makes it simple and easy to create, manage, and share slideshow presentations.

1. Best overall 2. Best for branding 3. Best for marketing 4. Best for themes 5. Best for media 6. Best unique 7. FAQs 8. How we test

Presentation software runs at the heart of business sales, management, and development, so it's important to ensure you have the best presentation software for your needs. This is especially when looking to share ideas, concepts, and workflows, and the ability to present these in a simple and understandable way is essential.

However, while presentation software has been traditionally limited to text and images, it has widened its ability to work with different media such as video and audio. 

Therefore it's important for the best presentation software to not simply be easy and simple to use, but also be able to support additional media so that presentations can be more engaging, lively, and ultimately serve their purpose in educating and updating their intended audience.

Below we've listed the best presentation software currently on the market.

We've also listed the best free presentation software .

The best office software in the world is: Microsoft 365 There are many different office software suites out there, but Microsoft Office remains the original and best, offering an unsurpassed range of features and functionality that rivals just can't match.

Even better, Microsoft 365 - previously branded as Office 365 - is a cloud-based solution which means you can use it on any computer, mobile device, or smartphone, without having to worry about compatibility. All your files are saved in the cloud and synced between devices, so you can begin work on a document at home or in the office, then continue working on it on the go.

You can sign up to Microsoft 365 here .

The best presentation software of 2024 in full:

Why you can trust TechRadar We spend hours testing every product or service we review, so you can be sure you’re buying the best. Find out more about how we test.

1. PowerPoint

Our expert review:

Reasons to buy

For most people, Microsoft 's PowerPoint remains the original and best of all the presentation software platforms out there. While other companies have managed to catch up and offer rival products worthy of consideration, the fact is that PowerPoint's familiar interface and ubiquitous availability means it remains a favorite for the majority of people.

On the one hand, it's long been a staple of the hugely popular Microsoft Office suite, meaning that for most users this is going to be the first - and last - presentation software they are going to need to use.

Additionally, Microsoft has made PowerPoint, along with their other office products, available as free apps (with limited functionality) on both iOS and Android for mobile use, meaning it's even harder to avoid them. And this is before we even consider the inclusion of PowerPoint in Microsoft's cloud-based Microsoft 365.

It does everything necessary that you'd expect of presentation software, allowing you to add text and media to a series of slides, to accompany a talk and other presentations. There are easy-to-use templates included to help spice things up a little, but even a general user with little experience of it is likely to find themselves able to use PowerPoint without much trouble at all.

Overall, it's hard to go wrong with PowerPoint, and although Microsoft 365 has a nominal cost, the apps are free to use even if they do have more limited functionality.

Read our full Microsoft PowerPoint review .

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2. CustomShow

Reasons to avoid.

Branding says a lot about a business, and it’s something firms need to get right from day one – from a good logo to a suitable font. CustomShow is business presentation software that puts all these elements of branding first.

Using the system, you can design and present customized, branded presentations that reflect your company and the products you offer, featuring the aforementioned logo and custom fonts. As well as this, you get a slide library and analytics to ensure your presentations are a success.

What’s more, you can import presentations into the software, and use it to tweak them further. There’s also integration with SalesForce , and because the platform is cloud-based, you can access your presentations on computers, tablets, and smartphones. 

Considering the focus on branding, this offering could be good for marketing and sales teams, and it's used by major companies such as HBO and CBS Interactive.

3. ClearSlide

Just like CustomShow, ClearSlide has a niche focus for companies. The platform is targeted at firms looking to generate successful marketing campaigns, pushing sales via presentations (and more), not least through a range of analytics and metrics to work for sales and marketing.

With the product, you can upload a range of files, including PowerPoint, Keynote, PDF, and Excel. ClearSlide is integrated with other platforms, including Google Drive, Dropbox, and Salesforce.

This system is pretty complex and may offer too many irrelevant features for some businesses, but you can create customized content that reflects your company and the message you’re trying to get out to customers. There are also some good metrics and analysis features, and you can sign up for a free trial before making any decisions.

The real strength of ClearSlide comes from its focus on sales and marketing data, not least being able to track user engagement alongside other metrics.

4. Haiku Deck

Any presentation app will allow you to personalize your slides to at least some extent, but Haiku Deck goes one step further than the competition. It comes with a wide range of themes suited to different needs, and you also get access to 40 million free images from the Creative Commons collection.

When it comes to creating a presentation, you have the option to do so on the web, which means your presentation is accessible across a range of mobile devices as well as desktops. Regardless of the device used, you’re able to select from a variety of different fonts, layouts, and filters to make the perfect presentation.

The great thing about these various customization options is that they’re categorized into different industries and use cases. For instance, you’ll find themes for teaching, cooking, real estate, and startups. Most of the features require you to be online, but hopefully, you’ll have a sturdy net connection wherever you go.

5. SlideDog

It’s all too easy to end up creating a presentation that’s unappealing, and the last thing you want to do is make the audience fall asleep. SlideDog lets you combine almost any type of media to create a rich presentation that’s sure to keep the viewers’ peepers open, avoiding the ‘cookie cutter’ look that makes presentations seem dull.

Marketed as a web-based multimedia presentation tool, it gives you the ability to combine PowerPoint presentations, graphics, PDF files, Prezi presentations, web pages, pictures, videos, and movie clips. You can drag these into custom playlists and display them to your audience with ease.

You’re able to remotely control your presentations and playlists from your smartphone, the web, or a secondary computer, and there’s also the option to share slides in real-time. Audience members can even view your slide from their own devices by clicking a link. That’s a handy feature if you’re looking to create an immersive presentation experience.

SlideDog is probably the cheapest of the presentation software featured, with a free account that will cover the essential features. However, for live sharing and premium support, you need to upgrade.

Read our full SlideDog review .

Prezi is one of the more unique presentation tools. Instead of presenting your graphics and text in a slide-to-slide format, you can create highly visual and interactive presentation canvases with the goal of “emphasizing the relationship between the ideas”.

Presentations can also be tailored to the specific audience, as this is a flexible platform that’s capable of skipping ahead, or veering off into a side topic, without having to flip through all the slides to get to a particular bit.

For business users, there are a variety of handy tools available. By downloading Prezi , you can build and edit presentations with your colleagues in real-time, which is perfect for companies with teams based around the globe.

When you have created a presentation you’re happy with, you can present it live (in HD) and send a direct link to viewers. There are some analysis tools here, too – you can see who’s accessed your presentation, which parts of it, and for how long. The app is available for Mac and Windows devices.

Read our full Prezi review .

Other presentation software to consider

Google Slides  is part of the Google Workspace (formerly G Suite) office platform intended as an online alternative to Microsoft Office. It may seem a little limited by comparison to PowerPoint, but as it's browser-based that means cross-platform compatibility. Additionally, it allows for collaborative work, and Google Slides really works well here. On top of the fact that it integrates with the rest of the Google Workspace apps, not least Google Drive, and you have a contender. 

Zoho Show  is another of the many, many tools and apps that Zoho has made available for business use. It also operates in the cloud so it's accessible to any device with a browser, and it also allows for collaborative work. You can also easily share the link for users to download, or provide a live presentation online. The updated version has a simpler and easier to use interface and comes with a free version and a paid-for one with expanded features.

Evernote  is normally thought of as just note-taking software, but it does provide the option to create a presentation you can share online or with an audience. In that regard, it's a little more limited than the other options in not being dedicated presentation software. However, as an easy and handy way to pull together a presentation quickly, it could serve as a backup or last-minute option, especially if Evernote is already being commonly used by you.

LibreOffice Impress  is part of the open-source suite offered as a free alternative to Microsoft Office, and comes with a powerful array of tools and editing options for your presentation, not least working with 3D images. It's supported by a large community, so it's easy to find an array of additional templates. If there is a limitation it's that it's software you download and install rather than web-based, but any presentations created should be easily portable to the web if needed.

Adobe Spark  does things a bit differently, as rather than just use images it's geared toward video as well. This makes for potentially more powerful multimedia presentations, especially as Adobe also has a big selection of photos and images available for its users. There is a free tier for core features but requires a subscription for custom branding, personalized themes, and support.

Slides  comes with a lot of features in an easy-to-use interface, and involves setting up presentations using drag and drop into an existing grid. It's also internet-based so there's no software to download, and it only requires a browser to use and access. 

Presentation software FAQs

Which presentation software is best for you.

When deciding which presentation software to download and use, first consider what your actual needs are, as sometimes free platforms may only provide basic options, so if you need to use advanced tools you may find a paid platform is much more worthwhile. Additionally, free and budget software options can sometimes prove limited when it comes to the variety of tools available, while higher-end software can really cater for every need, so do ensure you have a good idea of which features you think you may require for your presentation needs.

How we tested the best presentation software

To test for the best presentation software we first set up an account with the relevant software platform, whether as a download or as an online service. We then tested the service to see how the software could be used for different purposes and in different situations. The aim was to push each software platform to see how useful its basic tools were and also how easy it was to get to grips with any more advanced tools.

Read how we test, rate, and review products on TechRadar .

We've also featured the best alternatives to Microsoft Office .

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The best presentation software in 2024

These powerpoint alternatives go beyond the basics..

The latest presentation apps have made it easier than ever to format slides and create professional-looking slideshows without giving off a "this is a template" vibe. Even standard PowerPoint alternatives have updated key features to make it easier than ever to collaborate and create presentations quickly, so you can spend more time prepping for your actual presentation.

If, like me, you've used Google Slides unquestioningly for years, it's a whole new world out there. The newest crop of online presentation tools go way beyond the classic slideshow experience, with new features to keep your audience's attention, streamline the creation process with AI, and turn slide decks into videos and interactive conversations.

I've been testing these apps for the past few years, and this time, I spent several days tinkering with 25 of the top presentation software solutions out there to bring you the best of the best.

The best presentation software

Beautiful.ai for AI-powered design

Prezi for non-linear, conversational presentations

Powtoon for video presentations

Pitch for collaborating with your team on presentations

Gamma for conversational AI features

Mentimeter for audience engagement

Tome for generative AI features

What makes the best presentation app?

How we evaluate and test apps.

Our best apps roundups are written by humans who've spent much of their careers using, testing, and writing about software. Unless explicitly stated, we spend dozens of hours researching and testing apps, using each app as it's intended to be used and evaluating it against the criteria we set for the category. We're never paid for placement in our articles from any app or for links to any site—we value the trust readers put in us to offer authentic evaluations of the categories and apps we review. For more details on our process, read the full rundown of how we select apps to feature on the Zapier blog .

When looking for the best presentation apps, I wanted utility players. After all, slideshows are used for just about everything, from pitch decks and product launches to class lectures and church sermons. With that in mind, here's what I was looking for:

Pre-built templates. The best presentation tools should have attractive, professional-looking templates to build presentations in a hurry.

Sharing and collaboration options. Whether you plan to share your webinar slides later, or you just want to collaborate with a coworker on a presentation, it should be easy to share files and collaborate in real-time.

Flexibility and customization options. Templates are great, but top presentation apps should enable you to customize just about everything—giving you the flexibility to build exactly what you need.

Affordability. Creating compelling presentations is important, but you shouldn't have to bust your budget to make it happen. With capable free tools on the market, affordability is a top consideration.

Standalone functionality. There's no reason to use multiple tools when one can do it all, so I didn't test any apps that require and work on top of another presentation app like PowerPoint or Google Slides.

Familiar, deck-based interface. For our purposes here, I only tested software that uses slides, with the familiar deck-based editor you expect from a "presentation" tool (versus, for example, a video creation app).

While most apps now offer AI features in one way or another, it isn't a universal feature yet—and some apps' AI features leave a lot to be desired. For that reason, I opted not to make AI features a strict must-have for this year (though it probably will be a requirement next time I update the article). That means I've still included some apps that don't offer AI—if you opt for one of those, you can still easily get AI-generated images and text from a separate tool and copy them into your presentation app of choice.

Beyond that, I also looked for presentation apps that brought something unique to the table—features above and beyond what you can get for free from a legacy solution like PowerPoint or Google Slides.

Here's what my testing workflow looked like:

I went through any onboarding or guided tutorials.

I created a new deck, scanning through all available templates, noting how well-designed they were (and which were free versus paid).

I added new slides, deleted slides, edited text and images, and played around with other content types.

I changed presentation design settings, like color schemes and background images.

I reviewed and tested the sharing and collaboration options.

I tested out presenter view (when available).

After my first round of testing, I went back into the top performers to test any unique or niche features, like AI, brand settings, and interactive content. With that, these are the best presentation apps I found—each one really brings something different or radically easy to the table.

The best presentation software at a glance

The best free presentation software, canva (web, windows, mac, android, ios).

Canva pros:

Excellent free plan

Tons of amazing templates for all use cases

Feature-rich

Canva cons:

The AI tools aren't groundbreakingly useful

Canva offers one of the most robust free plans of all the presentation apps I tested. The app delays account creation until after you've created your first design, so you can get started building your presentation in seconds. Choose from an almost overwhelming number of beautiful templates (nearly all available for free), including those designed specifically for education or business use cases.

Anyone who's accidentally scrolled too far and been bumped to the next slide will appreciate Canva's editor interface, which eliminates that problem altogether with a smooth scroll that doesn't jump around. Choose from a handful of preset animations to add life to your presentations, or browse the library of audio and video files available to add. And Canva also has a number of options for sharing your presentation, including adding collaborators to your team, sharing directly to social media, and even via QR code.

Present directly from Canva, and let audience members submit their questions via Canva Live. Once you share a link to invite audience members to your presentation, they can send questions for you to answer. As the presenter, you'll see them pop up in your presenter view window, so you can keep the audience engaged and your presentation clear. Alternatively, record a presentation with a talking head bubble—you can even use an AI presenter here—to share remotely.

Canva has added a number of AI-powered tools , but I wasn't super impressed by them yet. The Magic Design tool, for example, isn't much more useful than the many pre-designed templates already available, while Magic Write is basically just white-labeled ChatGPT. These features will likely improve in time, but for now, you're better off starting from one of Canva's many great templates.

Canva pricing: Free plan available; paid plans start at $120/year for 1 user and include additional features like Brand Kit, premium templates and stock assets, and additional AI-powered design tools.

If you're looking for a capable free presentation tool with a more affordable upgrade, Zoho Show is worth a look. It's completely free for most features, offers a clean, intuitive editor, and includes a number of great templates. Plus, you can automate Zoho Show by connecting it with Zapier .

The best presentation app for AI-powered design

Beautiful.ai (web, mac, windows).

Beautiful.ai pros:

True AI design

No fussing around with alignment

Still allows for customization

Beautiful.ai cons:

No free plan

If you're like me, editing granular spacing issues is the absolute worst part of building a presentation. Beautiful.ai uses artificial intelligence to take a lot of the hassle and granular design requirements out of the presentation process, so you can focus on the content of a presentation without sacrificing professional design. If I needed to make presentations on a regular basis, this is the app I'd use.

Many apps have recently added AI design features, but Beautiful.ai has been doing it for years—and they've perfected the experience of AI design, ensuring the tool's reign as the most streamlined and user-friendly option for AI design.

The editor is a little different from most presentation apps, but it's still intuitive—and you'll start off with a quick two-minute tutorial. When creating a new slide, scroll through "inspiration slides" to find a layout you like; once you choose, the app will pull the layout and automatically adapt it to match the design of the rest of your presentation.

With 10 themes, several templated slides, over 40 fully-designed templates, and more than 20 different color palettes to choose from, Beautiful.ai strikes a perfect balance between automation and customization.

While Beautiful.ai doesn't offer a free plan, paid plans are reasonably priced and offer sharing and collaboration options that rival collab-focused apps like Google Slides. And speaking of Google, you can connect Beautiful.ai with Google Drive to save all your presentations there.

Note: I re-tested the generative AI feature (called DesignerBot) this year. It's great for adding individual slides to an existing presentation—automatically choosing the best layout and matching the design to the rest of the deck—but as with most other apps, it struggled to pull in relevant images.

Beautiful.ai pricing: Plans start at $12/month for unlimited slides, AI content generation, viewer analytics, and more. Upgrade to a Team plan for $40/user/month to get extra collaboration and workspace features and custom brand controls.

If you're a founder looking for an AI presentation tool for your pitch deck, Slidebean is a great Beautiful.ai alternative for startups. The app offers a number of templates; a unique, content-first outline editor; and a generative AI tool that builds a whole pitch deck based on your website. I didn't include it on the list mainly because of the price: the free plan is quite limited, and the paid all-access plan can only be billed annually.

The best presentation app for conversational presentations

Prezi (web, mac, windows, ios, android).

Prezi pros:

Doesn't restrict you to standard presentation structure

Lots of customization options

Prezi Video lets you display a presentation right over your webcam video

Prezi cons:

Steep learning curve

Struggling to squeeze information into a basic, linear presentation? Give Prezi a try. Unlike nearly all other presentation apps on the market, Prezi Present doesn't restrict the structure of your presentation to a straight line. The editor focuses on topics and subtopics and allows you to arrange them any way you want, so you can create a more conversational flow of information.

With the structural flexibility, you still get all the same customization features you expect from top presentation software, including fully-editable templates. There's a learning curve if you're unfamiliar with non-linear presentations, but templates offer a great jumping-off point, and Prezi's editor does a good job of making the process more approachable.

Plus, Prezi comes with two other apps: Prezi Design and Prezi Video. Prezi Video helps you take remote presentations to a new level. You can record a video where the presentation elements are displayed right over your webcam feed. Record and save the video to share later, or connect with your video conferencing tool of choice (including Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and Google Meet) to present live.

Prezi's generative AI feature works ok, but it's more useful as a wireframe. When I asked it to create a presentation about the Stanley Cup Playoffs, for example, the resulting content read a lot like a student writing a term paper in the broadest strokes possible to avoid doing any actual research.

Prezi pricing: Free 14-day trial and a free plan that includes up to 5 visual projects; paid plans start at $7/month and include additional features like private presentations and Prezi Present.

The best presentation app for video presentations

Powtoon (web, ios, android).

Powtoon pros:

Timing automatically changes based on the content on the slide

Can toggle between slideshow and video

Can orient presentation as horizontal, vertical, or square

Powtoon cons:

Limited free plan

Powtoon makes it easy to create engaging videos by orienting the editor around a slide deck. Editing a Powtoon feels just like editing a presentation, but by the time you finish, you have a professional video. 

You can edit your slides at any time, and when you hit play, a video plays through your deck—the feel is almost like an animated explainer video. Each slide includes the animations you choose and takes up as much time as is needed based on the content on the slide. Powtoon figures the timing automatically, and you can see in the bottom-right of the editor how much time is used on your current slide versus the total presentation. If you ever want to present as a slide deck, just toggle between Slideshow and Movie.

You'll likely need to subscribe to a paid plan to get the most out of Powtoon—like creating videos longer than three minutes, downloading them as MP4 files, and white-labeling your presentations—but doing so won't break the bank. Plus, you'll unlock tons of templates complete with animations and soundtracks.

One of my favorite Powtoon features is the ability to orient your video: you can choose horizontal orientation (like a normal presentation) or opt for vertical (for mobile) or square (for social media). When your presentation is ready, you can publish straight to YouTube, Wistia, Facebook Ads, and any number of other locations.

Powtoon pricing: Limited free plan available; paid plans start at $15/month and include white-labeling, priority support, additional storage, and more.

The best presentation app for collaborating with your team

Pitch (web, mac, windows, ios, android).

Pitch pros:

Google levels of collaboration

Assign slides to specific team members

Excellent generative AI feature

Pitch cons:

User interface is a little different than you're used to

Need to collaborate on presentations with your team? Pitch is a Google Slides alternative that gets the job done. As far as decks go, Pitch includes all the beautifully-designed templates, customizability, and ease of use you expect from a top-notch presentation tool. But the app really shines when you add your team.

The right-hand sidebar is all about project management and collaboration: you can set and update the status of your deck, assign entire presentations or individual slides to team members, plus comment or add notes. Save custom templates to make future presentations even easier and faster.

You can also invite collaborators from outside your company to work with you on individual decks. And if you opt for a paid plan, Pitch introduces workspace roles, shared private folders, and version history.

Pitch also offers one of the most impressive generative AI features on this list. It still struggles to pull in relevant images, but I found the AI-generated written content and design to be top-notch.

Pitch pricing: Free plan offers unlimited presentations, custom templates, and live video collaboration; paid plans start at $22/month for 2 users with additional workspace features, presentation analytics, and more.

The best presentation app for conversational AI

Gamma (web).

Gamma pros:

Creates fully fleshed-out presentations from a prompt

Conversational chatbot-like experience

Can still manually edit the presentation

Gamma cons:

Not as much granular customization

I tested a lot of apps claiming to use AI to up your presentation game, and Gamma's conversational AI features were head and shoulders above the crowd.

Simply give the app a topic—or upload an outline, notes, or any other document or article—approve the outline, and pick a theme. The app will take it from there and create a fully fleshed-out presentation. It's far from perfect, but Gamma produces a very useful jumping-off point. (Last year, it was by far the best, but this year, other apps are catching up.)

Here's the key: Gamma is much more geared toward the iterative, chatbot experience familiar to ChatGPT users. Click on the Edit with AI button at the top of the right-hand menu to open the chat, and you'll see suggested prompts—or you can type in your own requests for how Gamma should alter the presentation.

Once you've done all you can with prompts, simply close the chat box to manually add the finishing touches. While you do sacrifice some granular customizability in exchange for the AI features, you can still choose your visual theme, change slide layouts, format text, and add any images, videos, or even app and web content.

Gamma pricing: Free plan includes unlimited users, 400 AI deck credits, and basic view analytics; upgrade to the Plus plan for $8/user/month to get unlimited AI credits, remove Gamma branding, and more.

The best presentation app for audience engagement

Mentimeter (web).

Mentimeter pros:

Tons of audience engagement features

Simple for participants to interact

Mentimeter cons:

Less granular customizability

Bit of a learning curve

If you need to engage with an audience during your presentation, Mentimeter makes that easy. The app is designed around interactive elements like quizzes, surveys, Q&As, sliders, and more (even a Miro whiteboard!).

Each of these is included in a number of different, professional-looking templates, so you can build a fully interactive presentation super quickly.

When it's time to present, your audience members can scan the QR code with their phone cameras or type in the URL and access code to participate. There's one code per presentation (so they won't have to do this on every slide), which gives access to each slide as you move through the presentation.

There are two main drawbacks to this one, though. First, there's a bit of a learning curve and less familiar editing interface (but I found it pretty easy to learn with some practice). The other drawback is that you can't get as granular with the visual customization as you can with many other presentation tools.

Mentimeter pricing: Free plan includes 50 participants per month and 34 different slide types; upgrade to the Basic plan for $11.99/presenter/month to get unlimited participants and slide types, private presentations, and more.

The best presentation app for generative AI

Top-tier generative AI features

Simple, customizable templates

Intuitive doc-style editor

There's definitely a learning curve

Tome is one of the new additions to this list that I'm most excited about. If you're looking for generative AI that just genuinely works , it's definitely worth a look. The editor is a bit more stripped down than most presentation apps but intuitive nonetheless—it's almost a cross between your standard deck editor and a Notion-style doc.

To generate an AI deck, click Generate with AI in the top right, and either write your own prompt or choose from the example prompts that cover a handful of common use cases, like sales enablement and company pitches. Edit or approve the suggested outline, then generate the full presentation.

From there, you can edit each slide as a doc via the right-hand menu—without limits on how much information you can include. During the presentation, you simply size down any slides that take up more than the standard amount of space. It's super simple but somehow feels revolutionary in a presentation app.

Tome pricing: Free plan available for manual editing without AI; upgrade to the Professional plan for $16/user/month to use the generative AI and design tools, plus engagement analytics, branding tools, and more.

What about the old standbys?

You might notice a few major presentation players aren't on this list, including OGs Microsoft PowerPoint, Apple Keynote, and Google Slides. These apps are perfectly adequate for creating basic presentations, and they're free if you have a Windows or Mac device or a Google account.

I didn't include them on the list because the presentation space has really developed in the last several years, and after testing them out, I found these behemoths haven't kept pace. If they weren't made by Microsoft/Apple/Google, I might not even be mentioning them. They're pretty basic tools, they're behind the curve when it comes to templates (both quantity and design), and they don't offer any uniquely valuable features like robust team collaboration, branding controls, video, and so on.

Some of these companies (think: Microsoft and Google) are openly working on some pretty impressive-sounding AI features, but they haven't really been focused on their respective presentation solutions just yet. Rest assured, I'm watching this space, and the next time we update this article, I'll re-test tools like Copilot for PowerPoint and Gemini for Google Slides to see what new features may be available.

In any case, if you're reading this, you're probably looking for an alternative that allows you to move away from one of the big 3, and as the presentation platforms featured above show, there's a ton to gain—in terms of features, usability, and more—when you do.

What about PowerPoint and Google Slides add-ons?

While I focused my testing on tools with full feature-sets—those that can serve as your sole presentation tool—there are a ton of add-on tools you can use atop big name tools like PowerPoint and Google Slides.

If you're looking to expand what you can do with PowerPoint or Google Slides, apps like Marq (formerly Lucidpress), Plus AI , Slidesgo , and Simplified can help you do things like access additional templates, save branded assets, and generate AI presentations from the app you're already using.

Related reading:

Canva AI tools to improve your design workflow

The best online whiteboards for collaboration

How to share a presentation on Zoom without sharing your browser tabs and address bar

This post was originally published in October 2014 and has since been updated with contributions from Danny Schreiber, Matthew Guay, Andrew Kunesh, and Krystina Martinez. The most recent update was in April 2024.

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Kiera Abbamonte

Kiera’s a content writer who helps SaaS and eCommerce companies connect with customers and reach new audiences. Located in Boston, MA, she loves cinnamon coffee and a good baseball game. Catch up with her on Twitter @Kieraabbamonte.

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5 Keynote Alternatives to Make Creative Slideshow Presentations on the Mac

Can't get used to Apple's Keynote app on your Mac? Here are your other options to create stunning presentations.

It's impressive and convenient that all Macs come preinstalled with robust and well-integrated presentation software like Keynote. For most people, it means they do not need to purchase third-party software.

However, while Keynote works great with your Mac and other Apple products, it's often not enough when you want to come up with creative slideshow presentations.

Fortunately, you can explore several Keynote alternatives to find something better. In this guide, we have covered the five best Keynote alternatives to create better slideshow presentations.

1. Microsoft PowerPoint

It has become almost customary for many Mac users to install Microsoft Office when setting up their Mac desktop or notebook. In their defense, Microsoft PowerPoint offers a better environment to build creative slideshow presentations for different purposes. More importantly, PPT files from PowerPoint also get broad support across popular platforms like Windows, Linux, Android, and iOS.

First, PowerPoint offers a richer and more up-to-date collection of templates to choose from. You can also download PPT templates from third-party sources. Second, compared to Keynote, PowerPoint offers more options for customizing the presentation. For instance, you can expect a more versatile collection of fonts, animations, transitions, etc.

We should also remember that PowerPoint uses a UI that most people are familiar with. So, if you use other Microsoft Office products, PowerPoint will be easy to manage than Keynote.

Download : Microsoft Office ($6.99 per month, free trial available)

While Canva is not as old as Keynote or primary alternatives, it helps several times better when you want an eye-catching slideshow presentation. Canva is primarily a web-based designing tool, but its Mac app also does a decent job.

We don't think it's as customizable as PowerPoint, but Canva has many innovative features . You can, for instance, bring in modern design elements and stock photos in a single click. Similarly, you can use design assets from previous projects on Canva. You also have the option to export your presentation into various formats like PDF, PNG, and MP4.

Compared to Keynote, Canva offers a dynamic collection of purpose-oriented templates. So, you can choose between starting from scratch or using a rich template. In the long run, Canva lets you create striking presentations and saves time. While some Canva features are premium-only, the free version works for most people.

Download : Canva (Free, premium subscription available)

3. Prezi Present

Prezi Present is another great option for creating conversational presentation slideshows. It's powered by significant design refreshes and interactive slides, which make everything look more attractive. As a result, it becomes easier to communicate complex concepts through slideshows. So, it is unsurprising that many educators and business professionals use Prezi for Mac.

Even though you can use the web-based app for the same experience, the macOS app of Prezi is pretty impressive, as it's easier to include content stored on your Mac. It is also a better option when you want to present the slideshow from your MacBook. However, despite how aesthetically pleasing Prezi slideshows are, the file formats are not widely compatible.

Nevertheless, you can convert an existing PowerPoint presentation into a Prezi presentation. We should also remind you that a premium subscription for this tool gives you access to a video creation and design suite.

Download : Prezi Present (Free, premium subscription available)

Unlike the other Keynote alternatives we have covered till now, Focusky has a slightly different objective. It is designed to help you create HTML5 slideshow presentations that work great on the web. Most of its core features are aligned with helping you build innovative business presentations. Therefore, you can easily find common elements like flow charts, graphs, and diagrams.

First, you can choose one of the many presentation templates from Focusky, which updates the collection often. But, even if you start with a blank project, you can choose between standard outlines for business presentations. Then, once you start, you can use Focusky to insert almost everything into the presentation, including shapes, screen recordings, images, and documents.

Things become more impressive when you want to export or publish the presentation. For example, you can convert the presentation into HTML5 or create a Windows app, macOS app, PDF, or video.

Download : Focusky (Free, premium subscription available)

5. WPS Office

WPS Office is a competitor to Apple's iWork Suite and a popular alternative to Microsoft Office 365 . So, its presentation app is better than Keynote in many aspects.

More importantly, the presentation app from WPS Office works with popular formats, including Microsoft PPT and Google Slides . However, compared to Keynote or Slides, WPS Office offers a versatile collection of creative templates.

We also love that the presentations app uses a UI design similar to that of Microsoft Office. So, if you switched from Windows to macOS, you can retain your workflow. The collection of transitions, fonts, and effects is also impressive. So, you'll find it easy to create a lesson plan for your course, a pitching presentation at work, or something out of the box.

Unlike Keynote, WPS Office works well with other third-party apps and offers multiple export options. Therefore, it will be easier when you want to convert your presentation into a video or PDF file.

Download : WPS Office (Free, in-app purchases available)

Creating a Better Presentation Without Keynote

While each Keynote alternative on this list packs a unique set of features, you should understand that having a good presentation app is only one part of the story.

You should also employ effective communication methods and professional tips to make your slideshow presentation engaging.

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Best Presentation Software of 2024

Table of Contents

• Best Presentation Software
• Things To Consider When Buying
• How We Chose

Everyone has a message to share in some form. With presentation software, you can communicate that message a little easier and with more spark. If you don't have design and animation skills, don't worry; apps like Google Slides and Microsoft PowerPoint make it easy to craft a slideshow that helps people understand the concepts you're trying to convey.

Many of the apps in this buyers' guide are geared toward business presentations since that is often the primary use case. However, a few provide some slick tools for educators, entrepreneurs, community groups, and even family members to make a photo slideshow for a family reunion. Read on for the best presentation software available today.

• Best Overall: Google Slides »
• Most Compatible: Microsoft PowerPoint »
• Best For Mac Users: Apple Keynote »
• Most Flexible: Prezi »
• Best Budget: Visme »
• Best For Entrepreneurs: Slidebean »
• Most Powerful: Canva »

Best Overall: Google Slides

Highly integrated With Other Apps

Totally free

Not integrated with Microsoft products

Minimal support

When Google Slides debuted in 2006, it took the world by storm. That’s because it was integrated even back then with Gmail, Google Docs, and other popular Google apps many of us use in business, at school, and in our personal lives.

Google Slides is entirely free, and there are no hidden costs or upgrade plans. What’s surprising, though, about Google Slides is that it is a highly capable app for presentations – easy to use, with plenty of templates, fonts, animation options, and integrations.

Apart from that, the key feature here is real-time collaboration. Other users can join you as you create and edit slides. They can comment and make suggested changes, or simply start editing the slides on their own. (You can decide if other users can suggest changes or make them directly.) You also can view speaker notes on a laptop when you run the slideshow on an HDTV or projector. Google Slides integrates nicely into the online meeting app Google Meet, and it can open Microsoft PowerPoint files and export in that format as well.

Overall, Google Slides wins extra points because of how intuitive it is. There’s hardly any learning curve with the app, and since it runs in a browser window, everything you create and edit will be saved automatically. For business users, teachers, or just about anyone in a hurry to share a complex message, creating a Google Slides presentation is a snap – which is why it is our overall top pick.

Specifications:

• Operating systems are supported: Windows, Mac, Web, iOS, Android, Linux
• Number of templates and designs available: 23
• Integrated apps: Adobe Creative Cloud, Dropbox, Box, LumApps
• Collaboration features: Live editing, suggested edits
• Multimedia supported: Photos, videos, audio, GIFs, and stickers
• Export options: PDF, PowerPoint, Webpage, JPEG
• Customer support options: Google Workspace only
• Added features: Google Duet AI
• Interface enhancements: Real-time editing and collaboration

Most Compatible: Microsoft PowerPoint

Highly compatible

Online and desktop versions

Easy to use

No free version

Templates are not as trendy

Microsoft PowerPoint is the app you want for compatibility with other apps and programs. Released in 1990, this presentation app is well-known in business circles and runs on just about any computer in the world. Because it’s so compatible, you will likely not have any trouble running the app on your phone or a tablet, in a browser, or even on seriously outdated PC laptops and desktops.

While apps like Prezi add slick animations and transitions that make a presentation come to life, PowerPoint is more like a trusted business partner; it works on just about any computer, the interface is well-known and straightforward, and it’s likely that everyone you know and collaborate with is already familiar with the app. Every other presentation app we reviewed also supports PowerPoint in terms of directly opening or importing the file, and exporting as a PowerPoint file.

You'll need a Microsoft 365 Personal Edition subscription to use PowerPoint. It may be an app that’s already installed and included with a new computer, at least for a trial period.

• Operating systems are supported: Windows, Mac, Web, iOS, Android
• Integrated apps: Adobe PDF, Shutterstock, YouTube, and many others
• Multimedia supported: Photos, videos, audio
• Export options: PowerPoint, XML, PDF, JPEG, and many more
• Customer support options: Personal or business support
• Added features: Integrated live camera, Microsoft Teams integration
• Interface enhancements: Microsoft Copilot, speaker coach

Best For Mac Users: Apple Keynote

Exceptional designs

Desktop only

Graphic designers love Apple Keynote, mostly because the included templates and design options are so stellar. Your presentation will really come to life, helping you communicate about even complex subjects with flair and a trendy look.

Using the app feels a bit like you're the late Steve Jobs creating an award-winning presentation that will grab an audience. Jobs had a way of captivating those in the audience, and Keynote helps you do that with some of the best presentation templates around. For example, there are 40 templates to choose from, many of them full of color and using the trendiest fonts. Keynote also includes 100 transitions and animations to liven up a presentation. The app also includes 700 different shapes and icons that will help you enhance your slides.

Apple Keynote is powerful enough for any user, but it’s important to know the limitations. For starters, Keynote only runs on Mac computers. That makes it less compatible with Google Slides or Microsoft PowerPoint. You can export the presentation from Keynote as a PowerPoint file, which is fine, but it means no one can edit the Keynote slides directly; they will have to use PowerPoint.

Keynote also only runs as a desktop app. That means you won’t benefit from the live editing and commenting features of Google Slides, where you can collaborate with anyone in real time on the same file. Instead, Keynote is more static, as slideshows can't be edited as a group in a browser window. It’s still incredibly powerful and intuitive but with a few key downsides.

• Operating systems are supported: Mac, iOS
• Number of templates and designs available: 50
• Integrated apps: FaceTime, WebEx, Zoom, iCloud
• Collaboration features: Collaborate through iCloud
• Multimedia supported: Video, audio, images, 3D objects, stickers
• Export options: PDF, PowerPoint, Movies, animated GIFs, images
• Customer support options: Online help, support communities
• Added features: Cinematic transitions, Keynote Remote on iPhone
• Interface enhancements: Inspectors help with formatting

Most Flexible: Prezi

Unique concept

Trendy visuals

Unique design templates

Harder to learn

There’s something very compelling about Prezi, the presentation app that provides the most flexibility in terms of the message you are communicating. For starters, this is an app that knows it’s all about the message, whether you're an educator, business owner, entrepreneur, or even a scientist or engineer. Instead of a slideshow, you create a “canvas” with topics and subtopics. Think of it as a way to augment what you are saying with animated annotations, swoosh effects, and charts.

Prezi is the best at guiding you to the most powerful design features and giving you the tools to make even a complex subject more interesting and easier to understand. Part of this extreme flexibility has to do with how you're not creating slides at all, but enhancing a topic. Another way to think of Prezi is more like an animated whiteboard; when you show a presentation, it can come to life as you speak through a webcam.

All of this flexibility means you aren't limited to a boring slideshow, although there may be times when you are asked to make a slideshow and nothing more. For example, a school assignment or a boss might dictate that you need to create basic slides, not an animated whiteboard session. This is where you have to decide if Prezi matches the goals of the message you are communicating about.

• Pricing options and plans: Standard ($7/month), Plus ($15/month), Premium ($19/month)
• Operating systems are supported: Windows, Mac, Linux
• Number of templates and designs available: 210+
• Integrated apps: Google Drive, Slack, Canva, Zoom
• Collaboration features: Real-time editing, comments
• Multimedia supported: Photos, icons, video, GIF
• Export options: PNG, JPG, PDF, GIF, and MP4.
• Customer support options: Knowledgebase, online support
• Added features: Offline mode, analytics
• Interface enhancements: Broadcast link, tool tips

Best Budget: Visme

Free version available

Added visual tools

Good overall value

It takes more time to learn

Expensive pro plans

Visme is the best budget option because there is a free version that still provides many of the features you might need. It’s also a good value, because (similar to Canva) you can access all of the graphic design features to create infographics, brochures, logos, and rich documents all without paying for the premium version.

Even more important, Visme is a good value if you do choose the Starter or Pro plans because you can then unlock advanced features you might only find in Adobe Visual products. For example, at the Pro level, you can create an entire brand kit for a company including logos, brochures, and flyers that all have the same look.

While it's called an all-in-one marketing design platform and has hints of Canva, the first tool you would likely use is for creating presentations (e.g., It's the most prominent tool listed on their site). Because everything is geared more toward marketing and sales, Visme templates emphasize things like growth metrics, charts, and bullet points used to explain a product or service. Visme is also meant more for a group of business users. You can collaborate in real-time, leave comments on presentations, and even follow a workflow to mark presentation tasks as in progress or done.

Like Canva, because the Visme app is part of a suite of visual design products, it might take a little more time to learn all of the added tools. The presentation tool is just one of many included, even if this tool alone is easy to learn.

Visme is an extensive product with an upgrade path that unlocks more templates, customer support, and more supported file formats. Overall, it’s a good value because you can still create presentations without having to pay extra.

• Operating systems are supported: Mac, PC, iOS, Android
• Number of templates and designs available: 13,000
• Integrated apps: Google Drive, Vimeo, Dropbox, Survey Monkey, and many more
• Collaboration features: Real-time collaboration, assign tasks
• Multimedia supported: Photos, videos, audio, GIFs, 3D graphics
• Export options: JPEG, PNG, PDF, MP4, GIF, PPTX, HTML5
• Customer support options: Email, chat, in-app
• Added features: AI features, forms
• Interface enhancements: Tool tips, video training

Best For Entrepreneurs: Slidebean

Design for entrepreneurs and salespeople

Unique features

Not as powerful as some

Not as well-known

Most presentation software is flexible and powerful enough for any message and for any purpose. However, Slidebean focuses on a more narrow segment. The app is designed to create a “pitch deck,” which is something an entrepreneur or salesperson uses to pitch a product.

For example, let’s say your company sells a new widget. Using Slidebean, you can explain the features and benefits, include a slide about pricing, and use the tools that are intended more for selling a concept than perhaps merely explaining it.

Once you finish creating the pitch deck, you can share it as a link for others to view. You can then measure how much time people spend viewing the slides, including time spent on specific slides in the presentation. Another major differentiator with Slidebean is that you can work with professional designers and writers (for a fee, of course) who will create the pitch desk and write all of the copy for you.

• Operating systems are supported: Windows and Mac browsers
• Number of templates and designs available: 160
• Integrated apps: None
• Collaboration features: Editing (not simultaneous), sharing
• Multimedia supported: Images, icons, GIFs
• Export options: PPT, PDF, and HTML
• Customer support options: Knowledgebase
• Added features: Consult with experts, finance templates
• Interface enhancements: Startup video lessons

Most Powerful: Canva

Thousand of templates

Integrates with other Canva tools

Limited export options

Known as an “online graphical design platform” for everyday users, Canva provides plenty of tools for creating logos, brochures, postcards, and presentations.

Because these tools are all integrated, Canva is powerful enough for any message you want to communicate. It’s ideal for business, personal use, and schools. If you decide to build a presentation, you can also incorporate logos, fonts, clip art, and animations that are built into Canva. It means the palette for creating a presentation is more flexible because all of the other design tools are right at your fingertips. Let’s say you want to create a pitch deck about a new startup. You can create the logo, choose the colors and fonts, and then create the slideshow. Most presentation apps in our buyers' guide other than Visme don’t provide this level of flexibility and power in one online app.

Canva lets you run the presentation from within Canva itself, or you can export the slides and use them in Microsoft PowerPoint. There are thousands of templates available. Once you select a look and feel for your presentation, you can pivot and use those same graphics, fonts, and designs in a brochure or other material.

With all of this power in terms of visual design software comes a slight learning curve. Canva is intuitive and the interface is well-designed, but there are so many tools available that it takes some time to learn them all.

• Operating systems are supported: PC, Mac, iOS, Android, browser
• Number of templates and designs available: Thousands
• Integrated apps: Google Drive, Dropbox, Slack, HubSpot, and many more
• Collaboration features: Real-time editing, whiteboards
• Multimedia supported : Photos, icons, graphics, data visualizations, media elements
• Export options: PDF, JPG, PNG, PPTX, MP4
• Customer support options: Email
• Added features: Magic Switch, Magic Write, Magic Animate
• Interface enhancements: Search for designs, generate with Magic Design

The Bottom Line

If you're short on time and just need to create a presentation without a lot of hassle, Google Slides is the app for you. It’s completely free without any trial versions of “pro” upgrades, yet it's also quite powerful and intuitive to learn. Google Slides is also our top pick because it integrates into other Google apps like Gmail and Google Docs, is widely used and highly compatible, and still gets the job done when the main goal is to finish a slideshow and share your message.

Things To Consider When Buying Presentation Software

Features and functionality: When it comes to presentation software, it’s all about the templates. As you are considering which app to use, it’s a good idea to evaluate which templates are available and if they meet your needs. We’ve also noted how many templates are included with each app. Beyond that, look for the supported file formats since that will determine who can use and open the presentation. Collaboration features are also important, making it easier to work on a presentation within a group and make comments for everyone to see.

Ease of use and user interface: Creating a presentation shouldn't feel cumbersome. When you start the app, it should be easy to create the first slide from a template, add more slides, fill in the text and images, and finish the entire project without having to learn complex features. Apple Keynote is a good example of an app that's intuitive at first, and then you can always explore more advanced features later on.

Compatibility with different file formats: The most well-known presentation app is Microsoft PowerPoint. So it’s important that the app you choose supports the popular PowerPoint format. Beyond that, look for software that also supports PDF files in case you want a printed version of your slideshow or to share it online.

Collaboration and sharing capabilities: With presentation software, being able to work on a slideshow with a group of people all at the same time can be a time-saver but also produce better results. It should also be easy to leave comments for others to review. Once you're done with the presentation, it should also be easy to share the file or an online version of the presentation with others.

Customization options for design and branding: Visme and Canva allow you to customize the graphics and even make logos and experiment with a variety of fonts. All presentation apps provide ways to edit graphics, resize photos, and even incorporate video into your slideshow. Not every app makes it as easy to edit graphics as Google Slides does, however.

Availability of templates and pre-designed layouts: As with many software programs, templates save time and effort. An app like Microsoft PowerPoint includes pre-designed templates and graphics you can use to enhance a slideshow. Visme is a good example of an app with extensive templates (it has thousands built-in). While Apple Keynote doesn't have as many templates, the ones that are included tend to be more well-designed and trendy.

Pricing and licensing: Most presentation apps offer a monthly subscription to help you get started making a slideshow. In some cases, such as Visme and Slidebean, there’s a basic free version to help you experiment with the app right away. Only Google Slides is entirely free with no extra pricing options. Microsoft also offers a fully licensed version of PowerPoint as opposed to paying for a monthly subscription. The full licensed version costs $159.99.

Customer support and training resources: Microsoft is arguably one of the best companies to choose if you're interested in customer support. Because the product costs a little more – especially if you purchase the full licensed version – it includes extensive technical support. That said, even though Google Slides is free and customer support can be hit or miss, there are so many people using that product that you can usually find answers to questions by doing a simple Google search or asking on public support forums. Also, training videos are more readily available for Google Slides and Microsoft PowerPoint because they're both so popular.

Integration with other software and tools: Integration is key when it comes to presentation software because you want to be able to access important graphics, photos, and videos easily. Canva is perhaps the most integrated option for that reason alone. It's a graphics platform for creating graphics and other design materials, so when you make a presentation, you can easily find what you need.

Security and privacy features: Security and privacy might not be the first concern when it comes to presentation software, since you might be making a simple how-to for employee orientation or a photo slideshow of your vacation. However, for a business creating a new product or for a new startup that has not launched yet, be sure there is a way to protect your presentation from prying eyes.

How We Chose The Best Presentation Software

Our contributor John Brandon poured over specifications and features for the best presentation software around. He’s used presentation apps since the debut of Microsoft PowerPoint and Google Slides. He also consulted with business owners who have started companies and need to communicate about their firms. This includes David Ciccarelli, an entrepreneur who started a company called Voices (an audio and video tech startup) and is the CEO of Lake , a vacation rental business. He also tapped Stephen Gagnon, a web designer with the search engine optimization company Web Scour , who has visual design and branding experience.

WHY SHOULD YOU TRUST US?

John Brandon worked in the corporate world for 10 years, often creating presentations for large teams and at corporate functions. He worked as an Information Design Director at Best Buy Corporation. Since then, he has tested and reviewed thousands of tech products including presentation apps, Wi-Fi routers, televisions, office products, and everything in between. His writing has appeared in Wired magazine, Inc. magazine, FoxNews.com, LAPTOP magazine, and many others.

For anyone who wants to communicate about a new product or service, help new employees with onboarding, or even share photos from a recent vacation, presentation software helps you communicate visually. The basic idea is that you can create a slideshow that augments and enhances what you have to say.

Presentation software is designed to help you communicate a message to an audience, either in a classroom, a conference room, or at home. You create a slideshow, insert graphics, photos, and videos, and then run the slideshow full-screen. When you run the presentation, you can click the mouse button or press the arrow keys on a computer to go back and forth in the slideshow.

Most modern presentation apps charge a monthly fee, usually around $8 or $12 per month. Google Slides is the exception to this rule since it is entirely free. Typically, with higher costs for the pro and premium plans, you gain access to more templates, more graphics, and the ability to export in more file formats, such as HTML or video files. At the high end, Microsoft PowerPoint also offers a fully licensed version, as opposed to a monthly charge.

The classic, tried-and-true presentation apps like Microsoft PowerPoint and Apple Keynote are available as a desktop version you install. In most cases, you will sign up for the app and then download the installation file and run that installer. However, more modern apps like Google Slides and Canva run in a browser window and don't require any installation.

PowerPoint is sometimes included on a Windows laptop. However, if you're looking for a fresh start with new templates and features for animation and video that go beyond PowerPoint and Keynote, you might consider upgrading. Also, presentation tools are now included in apps like Canva and Visme, making them more integrated.

U.S. News 360 Reviews takes an unbiased approach to our recommendations. When you use our links to buy products, we may earn a commission but that in no way affects our editorial independence.

Keynote User Guide for Mac

• What’s new in Keynote 14.0
• Intro to Keynote
• Intro to images, charts, and other objects
• Create a presentation
• Choose how to navigate your presentation
• Open or close a presentation
• Save and name a presentation
• Find a presentation
• Print a presentation
• Undo or redo changes
• Show or hide sidebars
• Quick navigation
• Change the working view
• Expand and zoom your workspace
• Customize the Keynote toolbar
• Change Keynote settings on Mac
• Touch Bar for Keynote
• Create a presentation using VoiceOver
• Add or delete slides
• Reorder slides
• Group or ungroup slides
• Skip or unskip a slide
• Change the slide size
• Change a slide background
• Add a border around a slide
• Show or hide text placeholders
• Show or hide slide numbers
• Apply a slide layout
• Add and edit slide layouts
• Change a theme
• Add an image
• Add an image gallery
• Edit an image
• Add and edit a shape
• Combine or break apart shapes
• Draw a shape
• Save a shape to the shapes library
• Add and align text inside a shape
• Add 3D objects
• Add lines and arrows
• Animate, share, or save drawings
• Add video and audio
• Record audio
• Edit video and audio
• Add live video
• Set movie and image formats
• Position and align objects
• Use alignment guides
• Place objects inside a text box or shape
• Layer, group, and lock objects
• Change object transparency
• Fill shapes and text boxes with color or an image
• Add a border to an object
• Add a caption or title
• Add a reflection or shadow
• Use object styles
• Resize, rotate, and flip objects
• Move and edit objects using the object list
• Add linked objects to make your presentation interactive
• Select text
• Copy and paste text
• Use dictation to enter text
• Use accents and special characters
• Format a presentation for another language
• Use phonetic guides
• Use bidirectional text
• Use vertical text
• Change the font or font size
• Add bold, italic, underline, or strikethrough to text
• Change the color of text
• Change text capitalization
• Add a shadow or outline to text
• Intro to paragraph styles
• Apply a paragraph style
• Create, rename, or delete paragraph styles
• Update or revert a paragraph style
• Use a keyboard shortcut to apply a style
• Adjust character spacing
• Add drop caps
• Raise and lower characters and text
• Format fractions automatically
• Create and use character styles
• Format dashes and quotation marks
• Format Chinese, Japanese, or Korean text
• Set tab stops
• Format text into columns
• Adjust line spacing
• Format lists
• Add a highlight effect to text
• Add mathematical equations
• Add borders and rules (lines) to separate text
• Add or delete a table
• Select tables, cells, rows, and columns
• Add or remove rows and columns
• Move rows and columns
• Resize rows and columns
• Merge or unmerge cells
• Change the look of table text
• Show, hide, or edit a table title
• Change table gridlines and colors
• Use table styles
• Resize, move, or lock a table
• Add and edit cell content
• Format dates, currency, and more
• Create a custom cell format
• Highlight cells conditionally
• Format tables for bidirectional text
• Alphabetize or sort table data
• Calculate values using data in table cells
• Use the Formulas and Functions Help
• Add or delete a chart
• Change a chart from one type to another
• Modify chart data
• Move, resize, and rotate a chart
• Change the look of data series
• Add a legend, gridlines, and other markings
• Change the look of chart text and labels
• Add a chart border and background
• Use chart styles
• Animate objects onto and off a slide
• Animate objects on a slide
• Change build order and timing
• Add transitions
• Present on your Mac
• Present on a separate display
• Present on a Mac over the internet
• Use a remote
• Make a presentation advance automatically
• Play a slideshow with multiple presenters
• Add and view presenter notes
• Rehearse on your Mac
• Record presentations
• Check spelling
• Look up words
• Find and replace text
• Replace text automatically
• Set author name and comment color
• Highlight text
• Add and print comments
• Send a presentation
• Intro to collaboration
• Invite others to collaborate
• Collaborate on a shared presentation
• See the latest activity in a shared presentation
• Change a shared presentation’s settings
• Stop sharing a presentation
• Shared folders and collaboration
• Use Box to collaborate
• Create an animated GIF
• Post your presentation in a blog
• Use iCloud Drive with Keynote
• Export to PowerPoint or another file format
• Reduce the presentation file size
• Save a large presentation as a package file
• Restore an earlier version of a presentation
• Move a presentation
• Delete a presentation
• Password-protect a presentation
• Lock a presentation
• Create and manage custom themes
• Transfer files with AirDrop
• Transfer presentations with Handoff
• Transfer presentations with the Finder
• Keyboard shortcuts
• Keyboard shortcut symbols

Create a presentation in Keynote on Mac

To create a new presentation, you first choose a theme to use as a starting point. Themes use coordinated fonts and colors for a unified look and often include placeholders that you can replace with your own content.

Create a presentation from a theme

To open Keynote, click the Keynote icon in the Dock, Launchpad, or the Applications folder.

If the theme chooser (shown below) doesn’t appear, click New Document in the bottom-left corner of the dialog. You can also choose File > New (from the File menu at the top of your screen).

Note: If you’d like the ability to format table and chart data using the conventions of another language, choose the language in the bottom-left corner before choosing a theme. See Format a presentation for another language .

In the theme chooser, browse the themes by category, then double-click the one that looks closest to what you want to create. To narrow the choices, click a category along the sidebar on the left.

Some themes aren’t downloaded to your computer until you choose them or open a presentation that uses one. If your connection is slow or you’re offline when this happens, placeholder images and slide backgrounds in the presentation may appear at a lower resolution until you’re online again or the theme finishes downloading.

Each slide layout offers a different arrangement of text and images that you use as a starting point for your content.

To add your own content to the presentation, do any of the following:

Add text: Double-click placeholder text and type your own.

Choose File > Save, enter a name, choose a location, then click Save.

Keynote automatically saves your changes as you work, so you don’t need to worry about saving your presentation manually. However, it’s a good idea to rename your presentation so you can easily find it the next time you want to work on it. You can change the name of the presentation or change where it’s saved at any time.

If iCloud Drive is set up on your Mac, Keynote saves the presentation to iCloud Drive by default.

To end the presentation, press the Esc (Escape) key. For more ways to show a presentation, see Play a presentation on your Mac .

To close the presentation, click the red close button in the top-left corner of the window.

Select a default theme for new presentations

You can set Keynote to always open a new presentation in a particular theme instead of from the theme chooser.

Choose Keynote > Settings (from the Keynote menu at the top of your screen).

Click General at the top of the window, then select “Use theme” in the For New Presentations controls.

The name that appears after “Use theme” is the currently selected theme.

Click the Change Theme button, select a theme, then click Choose.

To close the window, click the red close button in the upper-left corner.

After you change this setting, you can still open a new presentation with a different theme. Hold down the Option key, then choose File > New from Theme Chooser (from the File menu at the top of your screen).

A simple guide to slideshows

Learn what slideshows are, how they’re used, common features, and how to choose a slideshow maker. Get started creating your own slideshows today with Microsoft PowerPoint.

What is a slideshow?

What are slideshows used for.

Meetings and presentations

Slideshows are most frequently used to create professional presentations for business meetings, conferences, and educational purposes. A  slideshow program  allows people to organize content, include visuals, and enhance the overall impact of their message.

Visual storytelling

Because slideshows sequentially display engaging visuals, text, and other multimedia, they’re a strong way to tell a cohesive and compelling narrative from start to finish.

Content creation

Slideshows give content creators a versatile and efficient way to organize information, increase visual appeal, and communicate effectively across different contexts.

Photo and video sharing

Slideshow makers are popular for creating photo and video presentations, especially for events like weddings, birthdays, and vacations. People can add transitions, music, and captions to fully bring the photo-sharing experience to life.

Training and tutorials

Slideshows help break down complex information into digestible chunks with the support of visuals and text, making them ideal for instructional materials, tutorials, and training modules.

Collaborative projects

In collaborative settings, teams use slideshow makers to create joint presentations or reports. The best slideshow makers enable multiple contributors to add their content simultaneously, which helps ensure a cohesive and unified presentation.

What are the features of a slideshow creator?

Slideshow creators vary in what they offer but ideally include:

A library of templates, themes, and images.

If you’re not a designer, this feature is huge. Simply browse the options available in your slideshow maker library to create a polished, professionally designed presentation in a flash. Be sure to confirm that access to the library is free and the images are approved for unrestricted usage.

Audio and video compatibility.

Keeping your audience engaged is key to any successful slideshow presentation. To mix things up, being able to add a multimedia element—like a song or a video clip—will help people stay focused and interested.

Presentation tools.

Handy presenter tools go a long way toward making your slideshow experience seamless. For example, straightforward slide navigation, slideshow keyboard shortcuts, pen and highlighter markup, and adjustable resolution settings.

AI assistance.

With AI revolutionizing content creation, using a slideshow maker that has AI capabilities will enhance efficiency and innovation. Depending on the slideshow app you have, creating an entire slideshow could be as easy as a quick prompt, like “Make a presentation about the benefits of sustainable fashion that has 15 slides.” 

Animations.

Like audio and video, animations give your audience a bit of sensory surprise that can capture their attention. 

Slide transitions.

Add some pizzazz to how you change slides with visual effects like fading, wiping, and zooming. 

Screen recording.

Being able to record your screen in a slideshow maker is helpful when giving an instructional talk, software demonstration, and other types of presentations that require visual aids.

A place to put speaker notes.

Having somewhere to jot a few notes down will help remind you of everything you want to cover as you present.

Different viewing options.

Looking at different views—for example, a presenter view, an audience view, and a high-level view of slide order—is useful when organizing your slideshow’s structure and understanding and preparing for what you’ll see versus what your audience will see.

How do I choose the right slideshow maker?

When choosing a slideshow maker, keep the following questions in mind to make sure you get the most for your money:

Is it scalable with your business?

As your organization grows and changes, it’s important to have flexible technology that adapts to new needs. Having certain features—such as cloud-based collaboration, compatibility with other work apps, and a mobile app—will help ensure that no matter how your business changes, the slideshow maker is up to the task. This also applies to pricing plans. Consider choosing a slideshow app that has a subscription plan (so the software is always up to date), volume-based pricing, or enterprise-level pricing.

Does it have a variety of visual elements?

It’s pretty much a given that a slideshow maker will allow you to add images, but think outside the JPEG box—what other visual elements are available to you? Features like preset themes, free templates, SmartArt, a built-in clip art library, shape tools, background styles, 3D models, and charts and graphs provide diverse ways to switch up how a slideshow looks without relying solely on adding your own images.

Is it easy to use?

You could have the most feature-rich slideshow maker on the market, but if it isn’t easy to use, you probably won’t use it. Or you will, but you’ll be frustrated, waste valuable time, and have difficulty convincing people you work with to use it. As you research slideshow makers, look for videos that show the apps’ interfaces in action to help you decide if they’re intuitive and will have a shorter learning curve.

Does it have collaboration and sharing options?

Because making a slideshow is often a collaborative effort, it’s worthwhile to find a slideshow creator that was designed with this in mind. Pick one that offers editing controls and commenting, as well as the ability to work on a slideshow at the same time as someone else. Having a cloud-based slideshow maker will be key here. You’ll not only save yourself time but also keep things simple by not having multiple versions of the same slideshow.

Explore more about slideshows and slideshow makers

Copilot in powerpoint.

Transform how you make slideshows with the versatile AI in Copilot for PowerPoint.

Improve your presenting skills

Practice presenting with an AI speaker coach to get feedback on body language, repetition, and pronunciation.  

Six slideshow tips and tricks

Read up on tips about how to finesse your slideshows to give your most confident presentations.

Get free PowerPoint templates

Show your style with PowerPoint templates in more than 40 categories.

How to make a branded slideshow

Create a cohesive visual identity for your brand that goes beyond adding a logo to every slide.

Try a photo album template

Relive your favorite memories with photo album templates designed for all your unforgettable moments.

The benefits of visual aids in slideshows

Discover why using visual aids helps communicate ideas and messaging more effectively.

Slideshows that reach all learners

Explore the different ways that people learn and how to include all learning styles in your presentations.

Frequently asked questions

How do i make a good slideshow.

Making a good slideshow in PowerPoint is easy:

Plan what you’d like to include in your slideshow.

Launch your slideshow creator.

Choose the theme you’d like.

Import media.

Add text, music, and transitions.

Record, save, and share your slideshow.

Learn more about how to make a slideshow .

How do I add music to a slideshow?

To add music to a slideshow, first make sure that you’re using a slideshow maker with music compatibility. In PowerPoint, follow these steps:

Open your PowerPoint presentation and select the slide where you want to add music.

Click on the Insert tab in the ribbon menu.

Click on the Audio button and select Audio on My PC.

Browse to the folder on your computer where the audio file is located and select it.

Click on the Insert button.

How do I record a slideshow?

The steps for recording a slideshow in PowerPoint will vary depending on the version that you own. Get help with slideshow recording based on your version. 

What types of files can I add to a slideshow?

File compatibility in PowerPoint includes the use of JPEGs, PNGs, TIFFs, GIFs, PDFs, MP3s, WAVs, MIDIs, MPEG-4 Videos, and Windows Media Videos.  

How do I share my slideshow?

To share your PowerPoint slideshow, follow these steps:

Open your presentation and click Share at the top right of your screen.

If your presentation isn't already stored on OneDrive, select where to save your presentation to the cloud.

Choose a permission level, like Anyone with a link , or maybe just people in your company. You can also control if people can edit or just view the doc. 

Select Apply.

Enter names and a message.

Select Send.

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Microsoft Office’s apps like Word, Excel, and PowerPoint are now less than $25

Whether you’re a student, professional, or just a casual user, you’ve likely heard of Microsoft Office. Why? Because it’s the world’s leading productivity suite.

If you’re looking to invest in lifelong tools or want to update an older device, this deal for Microsoft Office 2019 may interest you. Through May 22, lifetime subscriptions for Mac and Windows are less than $25.

Although you won’t be getting the latest version of Microsoft Office, the 2019 edition may be sufficient for your needs, especially if you have an older or refurbished laptop or computer. 

Upon your one-time purchase, you’ll get the following apps: the 2019 editions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and OneNote.  Create home or professional budgeting sheets with Excel , crisp slide decks with PowerPoint, or stay on top of email correspondence with OneNote.

There are additional apps you’ll get depending on your device. For instance, Mac users will get Teams Classic 2019, an app designed to support virtual collaboration via video calls. Meanwhile, Windows users will gain the 2019 iterations of Access and Publisher.

Just be sure that your device meets the system requirements for smooth installation.

You have until May 22 at 11:59 PM Pacific to grab:

• Lifetime access to Microsoft Office Home and Business 2019 for Mac  for just $24.97.
• Lifetime access to Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2019 for Windows  for just $24.97.

Microsoft Office 2019 for Mac and Windows

Only $24.97 at Macworld

StackSocial prices subject to change.

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How to get VMWare Fusion Pro 13 for free

VMware Fusion Pro 13 running on a Mac Studio (Source: Broadcom)

VMWare's new owner Broadcom announced that it was acquiring the company in 2022 , and the deal was completed in November 2023. Now Broadcom says that it wants to simplify how it sells its Windows virtualization apps, and that includes for personal use.

"The most exciting part is that Fusion Pro and Workstation Pro will now have two license models," wrote Broadcom's Michael Roy in a blog post . "We now provide a Free Personal Use or a Paid Commercial Use subscription for our Pro apps... [so] everyday users who want a virtual lab on their Mac, Windows or Linux computer can do so for free simply by registering and downloading."

There are several steps to registering and downloading, though.

• Go to Broadcom's support website
• Click on Register at top right
• Sign up then when asked to build a profile, click "I'll do it later"
• Now go to a separate download page
• Click on the latest version number (current 13.5.2)
• Tick the box to agree to the terms and conditions
• Click on the download icon next to VMware Fusion 13.5.2 (for Intel-based and Apple silicon Macs)
• When asked about "additional verification," click Yes
• Broadcom displays all your registration details, but now add in your full postal address
• Check that the page has selected I agree , then click Submit
• Lastly, you're returned to the download page where you need to now click the same download icon again

Note that at time of writing, Broadcom's servers appear to be under some strain. Downloading will take a long time to start. And, in our trials, it timed out a few times.

What VMWare Fusion Pro 13 does is specifically give you the ability to run alternate operating systems in a bottle — like the ARM version of Windows on your Mac. Without delving into the differences between the two, Windows for ARM is not the same as the full Intel Windows so you have to get the correct version of Windows to run on VMWare, and for the most part, the correct apps.

But then even if a great deal of business software was originally on Windows and may not have come to the Mac, much of it is now online. With a cloud version of an app, you don't need any Windows virtualization and can just work from any browser on the Mac.

Also, much business software actually has come to the Mac. So for instance it is better to run the native version of Microsoft Word or Excel than it is to get the Windows ARM edition.

Plus if the reason to get Windows is to play games, then a much better option than VMWare is to use Whisky .

I have "Account verification is Pending. Please try after some time." since yesterday when I try to download Fusion for personal use. Anyone else getting that?

I've been using it for a while; I ditched Parallels.  It has the same built-in download Windows 11 ARM (which is extelemy well featured as of this beta and the interface is, I suspect, Windows 12 for Intel machines) and runs flawlessly for me on my Mac Studio Ultra.  It runs Windows and Applications faster than most of my PCs.  It was also far easier to set up bridged networking (its own LAN IP) for the VM than Parallels. I also set up secondary PC VM drives; the interface is easy to use yet allows powerful control. I found Parallels aimed at novice users and frustrating at times.   VMware is free for personal use; it is unbelievable.  I give VMware eleven out of ten stars. :) For anyone interested in playing around with running Opensimulator, where avatars own land (for free), can build amazing stuff, and walk around inside (think Second Life or OSGrid on your computer), I am a beta tester for DreamGrid, which is a Windows-only system (link below). My Windows servers are dual Xeon Dell Precision Workstations with 192 GB RAM running Windows 10 or 11 Pro. To my amazement, I could set up a massive Grid within Windows 11 ARM Pro using a VMWare VM on my Mac Studio M2 Ultra and an M2 Max.  After port forwarding my router, the access allowed visits from avatars worldwide and from the Mac side of the Mac Studio running FireStrorm OS Viewer.  This was the first such test of the system on an Apple Silicon Mac, and it passed with flying colors; in fact, it was as fast as the Dell servers.  What is cool is that instead of potentially spending thousands of dollars at Second Life, this setup (assuming you have an M-class Mac and 16 GB or more RAM) is 100% free.  Colleges and Universities take note!  I am happy to share details of how to set such a grid up with anyone interested. https://www.outworldz.com/outworldz_installer/Grid/

Xed said: I have "Account verification is Pending. Please try after some time." since yesterday when I try to download Fusion for personal use. Anyone else getting that? I am also getting this error since yesterday. No VMware Fusion love for me! :-(

samads said: Xed said: I have "Account verification is Pending. Please try after some time." since yesterday when I try to download Fusion for personal use. Anyone else getting that?

I already had an account with VMWare before the takeover by Broadcom; I was surprised mine worked, given the changes there.  I'd try starting over with a different email; it sounds like a database glitch on their end to me.

Thank you so much for the helpful instructions to get the personal, free version of VMWare Fusion (esp the "download page" link). Some of the instructions did not exactly match the web-page presentation but they were close enough to figure out what was needed. The major (fundamental) difference between Parallels and VMWare Fusion is the Fusion requirement to only run ARM software on ARM engines. When I upgraded from Intel MacBook Pro to ARM (M1 then) kit I could no longer run previously VMWare-hosted operating systems, which were all Intel code. I had to find various ARM implementations of Linux and Windows operating systems to carry on working in VMWare. In those days (ahhh, so long ago) Windows ARM was even more experimental and it was not clear that Microsoft would actually properly support ARM architecture. I switched to Parallels to avoid alpha testing Windows-ARM for MS on ARM architecture. It is still the case that Parallels runs Intel code but VMWare does not. Linux is certainly stable enough on both  Intel and ARM architectures, running in both Parallels and VMWare virtual hosting environments, but I'll have to spend some time seeing how much Windows-ARM has improved in VMWare as Windows-Intel still appears to only be an option in Parallels. But hey... free is pretty cheap :-)

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Presentify - Screen Annotation 4+

Screen draw. highlight mouse‪.‬.

• 4.3 • 80 Ratings
• Offers In-App Purchases

Screenshots

Description.

The best screen annotation app recommended and used by Harvard and MIT professors. Featured by Apple three times. A macOS menu bar app that helps you give better presentations, online classes, or video tutorials by letting you annotate any screen, highlight your cursor, and more. You can annotate anything on the screen, be it images, videos, pdfs, code, you name it. Presentify is quite helpful for online teaching, recording video tutorials, giving a demo, working remotely, and the list goes on. FEATURES ======== ANNOTATION - You can draw on or annotate any screen you wish. Select `Annotate Screen` from the menu bar and start doodling. - A lot of drawing shapes to choose from. You can even write Text now. - Draw with random gradient colors instead of just plain colors. - Auto-erase your annotations. Perfect for emphasizing something specific or explaining your thoughts. Also, toggle its behavior by pressing the Control Key. - You can draw even when other applications are running in full-screen mode. Great for live presentations and during video calls when working remotely. - New Interactive Mode: This opens up Presentify in the background letting the user use other apps and allowing them to annotate by pressing and holding the Fn key. - Now users can interact with the underlying apps when annotating (in default mode) with Presentify. Just press and hold the Fn key to do so. You no longer have to toggle Presentify to advance your presentation slides, play/pause videos, etc. - Highlighter feature lets you highlight portions of text without obscuring it. - You get a Straight Line by pressing and holding the Shift Key while Freehand drawing. And, you can fill the Rectangles and Circles with a semi-transparent color by pressing and holding the Option Key. - Works on iPad connected to a Macbook via Sidecar, Astropad, or Duet. - Works with Keynote (even in Presentation mode). - Compatible with all video calling software like Zoom, Google Meet, Skype, etc. - Works with drawing tablets like XP-Pen, Wacom, etc. WHITEBOARD - Draw on a whiteboard (and not over other apps) if you wish. - You can even change the color of your whiteboard to whatever you feel like. ANNOTATE CONTROLS - A handy control panel to switch between different annotate tools and colors. - Move the control panel anywhere on the screen by dragging it. - Completely hide the control panel. UNDO/REDO SUPPORT - Do not have to worry about mistakes while annotating. KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS - You can start annotating the screen, highlighting your cursor, changing pencil colors and shapes, etc. from any app with simple keyboard shortcuts. - Customize the key shortcuts as you like. HIGHLIGHT YOUR MOUSE POINTER - With Presentify you never have to keep moving your cursor to grab the attention of your audience. - Change your cursor highlight color, opacity, size, and more. - You can even choose to highlight only when you move your cursor/mouse. UPCOMING FEATURES ================= ANNOTATION - Ability to cut and move annotations - Spotlight feature - Zoom MOUSE HIGHLIGHT - New mouse highlight designs and animations OTHERS - Change the slides of your presentation from your iPhone - And, many more PRESS ===== Featured by Apple multiple times. Also, on Hacker News, Reddit, Product Hunt, and various other blogs like ifun.de, igeeksblog.com, etc. with more than 230 upvotes in each. CONTACT ======= For any questions or concerns, you can head to presentify.compzets.com and see the faq page or click on the Support link.

Version 4.2.0

ANNOTATE - Two new favorite color options. This makes the total number of favorite colors to five. - You can now choose between two keys for Interactive mode. Choose Fn if you're a fan of press & hold, or Caps Lock if you prefer to press it just once. OTHERS - Minor bug fixed where the key shortcut wasn't getting displayed for Cursor Highlight in the dropdown menu. - Sharp new menubar icon.

Ratings and Reviews

Really close to perfect, just needs more color buttons and keystroke eraser.

This app is the closest answer I've gotten to my perfect annotator prayers. It's clear that the developer has thought this app through carefully and worked hard on it. It's so incredibly functional, fast, and easily accesible. The hotkeys, in particular, are very well thought out and puts other apps to shame. Please, please consider adding the below 2 items to get this app to top-tier level. I'll gladly rate up to 5 stars. 1. Add more color buttons to the tool bar. I use 4 colors on a daily basis and this is sorely needed. 5 would be even better. If toolbar size is a concern, perhaps make it an option to display 3, 4, or 5 color selections at a time. 2. Keystroke eraser with eraser size option (like the [ ] function) is needed so that can erase selected items only.

Pretty good - couple recommendations

Overall, decent app, and am happy I purchased it. With that being said, here's a couple recommendations for the developer to make this a 5-star application: 1. Add the ability to erase under cursor (as opposed to only being able to clear the entire screen or edit undo currently). There are manu scenarios where I want to erase something written down several minutes ago as part of problem solving. 2. When using "Interactive Mode", allow us to configure in the preferences whether we want to "hold" the button down as it is today, or instead use said button as a "toggle" to flip between so that we don't need to hold down the button for the duration. 3. Add thin, medium, thick (customizable) to the toolbar to allow for quick switching between thicknesses (I frequently need to switch between the thinnest for regular writing, and a super fat thickness when using the highlighter mode).

Developer Response ,

Thanks for such a detailed review. I will definitely work on them. However, just fyi, you can change thickness easily by pressing [ and ] keys. Have you tried it? Best, Ram

Great! Needs a keystroke eraser and one more thing to be 5 Star

Great app - I use it everyday as a virtual classroom teacher. It's minimal design isn't distracting from what I'm teaching and demonstrating. For me though, it needs 2 things. 1. A keystroke eraser - Right now its either erase everything or use the control z undo. If I need to erase something from the beginning of the writing, I have to undo every stroke or just erase it all. 2. A pointer/click/mouse ability - I cannot interact with any button while I'm writing. I would love to be able to switch back to my pointer mouse without turning off presentify and everything erasing everything.

Thanks for your insightful review. The two features you have requested are currently being developed. Will be live soon. I can update this comment once I release them. Stay tuned and thanks again for using and reviewing Presentify. Cheers, Ram

App Privacy

The developer, Ram Patra , indicated that the app’s privacy practices may include handling of data as described below. For more information, see the developer’s privacy policy .

Data Not Collected

The developer does not collect any data from this app.

Privacy practices may vary, for example, based on the features you use or your age. Learn More

Information

English, German, Russian

• High Five $8.99
• Salute $17.99
• Cheers $3.99
• Developer Website
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