Presentation Software
Let’s be real PowerPoint has been a free legacy tool for creating dynamic presentations. However, there are certain presentation applications that bring unique features to the table such as video presentations, AI design features, extensive customization, and much more.
If you are exploring options for such presentation tools then you’ve landed on the right page as we have made this work easier for you!
This article will provide you with the 10 best presentation tool options that you can pick to create informative and professional-looking yet modern and attractive presentations.
Presentations are used by individuals or business personnel to share ideas, information, concepts, or workflow practices. They keep the audience engaged by providing a backdrop to the speech of a presenter with visuals. Presentation software makes it easier to create, manage and share slideshow presentations.
Traditionally slide shows were limited to text and images and only but nowadays, presentation software is broadened to work with different media options to create more engaging and lively presentations to educate and inform the intended audience.
What is a Presentation Software?
Presentation software is a category of application that allows the user to present their ideas and information about topics by combining text, images, audio, or videos in a form of a slideshow. The slides support the speech or story of a presenter.
Slides in a slideshow can contain text, images, clipart, graphical representations of data (charts), audio, animation, and video as well as links to external sources and other items. These slideshows can be projected onto a screen to add visuals to the speech of a presenter or you can distribute it to the relevant individuals for printing or reading purposes.
Presentation software can be divided into two categories; business presentation software and general multimedia authoring software. However, most presentation programs provide tools and functions that allow users to create both professional-looking business presentations and general multimedia presentations. It depends on the user’s creativity and the requirements of the relevant topic.
Fundamental Functions
Any presentation tool should be able to carry out the following fundamental functions:
- Text editing- to insert the content of the presentation.
- Import function- A powerful import function that lets you add and manipulate images, audio, and videos.
- Slideshow mode- A function that displays the content automatically in a formatted way.
What to look for in Presentation Software?
All presentation software share some basic features that are a must-have. Here is a list of some of the basic features that you need to look for in a presentation editor program:
- Templates- The best presentation software will provide options for attractive yet professional-looking customizable templates to create appealing presentations in a hurry.
- Sharing and collaboration- It should be easy to share a slideshow file to collaborate with the users of the presentation in real-time.
- Flexibility and customization- The best presentation application will let you customize everything, the font, the color scheme, the style of text just everything giving you the flexibility to build what you need.
- Affordability- Creating informative yet attractive presentations is important but you do not have to break your wallet for it. With capable free options available in the market affordability should be the top consideration for you.
The market suggests a lot of good presentation software free or paid each packed with powerful features to create engaging presentations within less time. We have gathered some reliable options for presentation software just for you!
Best Presentation Software 2023:
Here is the list of the Best Presentation Software In 2023 and 2024
- ONLYOFFICE PRESENTATION EDITOR
- CANVA
- VISME
- GOOGLE SLIDES
- PREZI
- ZOHO SHOW
- HAIKU DECK
- SLIDEBEAN
- KEYNOTE
- SLIDES
1. ONLYOFFICE – #1 Presentation Editor:
ONLYOFFICE is an online documentation suite just like Microsoft. It is developed by Ascencio system SIA and is known to be a subsidiary of a Latvia-based company with offices all over the world. The software tools offered by ONLYOFFICE encompass essential documentation tools as that provided by Microsoft such as documents, presentations, spreadsheets, fillable forms, and PDF files. This company also features online document editing tools, a Spreadsheet editor, a platform for document management, corporate communication, mail, and management tools.
ONLYOFFICE presentation editor is a web-based presentation editing tool that allows you to look through and edit presentations directly on your portal. In order to modify data in your presentations you need to create an ONLYOFFICE account and then upload files on your account portal.
You can perform various editing operations like in any desktop editor, print the edited presentations keeping all the formatting details, or download them onto your computer hard disk drive as PPTX, PDF, ODP, POTX, PDF/A, OTP, PNG, JPG files. You can install and use free ONLYOFFICE document editors to edit and view your local presentation offline. The documents application is available for free installation for iOS and Android devices to work on presentations on the go.
Key Features
- Formatting- Express any idea using a wide selection of formatting tools, objects, and style options. ONLYOFFICE Presentation Editor works with PowerPoint presentations and can save them in PDF, PNG, and JPG. PPTX, PPT, ODP, and PPSX files are also supported.
- Presentation view- With Presenter View mode you can add notes to highlight important parts of your speech and comfortably navigate by switching to any desired slide with one simple click.
- Beyond basic slides- Using built-in add-ons, enhance your presentations with videos and clip art elements, get a quick translation of any text, insert special symbols, edit images, and more.
- Customization- Make your presentation more interactive with ready-made transitions and animations. You can use clear-cut schemes and sketches with auto shapes, and add customizable charts, tables, and equations for a distinct statistics display.
- Collaboration- Access, share, and co-edit in real-time, leave comments on slide elements, and chat with collaborators online without leaving the ppt editor.
- Password encryption- You can protect your presentations with a password that is required to enter the editing mode by your co-authors. The password can be changed or removed later on.
- Insert equations- ONLYOFFICE presentation editor allows you to create equations using the built-in templates, edit them, and insert special characters (including mathematical operators, Greek letters, accents, etc.).
2. CANVA – Best Presentation Editor:
Canva is a full-on visual editing software that offers dynamic presentation-creating and editing tools. It is considered one of the most amazing graphic design tools. It lets you create anything from print design to banners and presentations. They provide an easy-to-use interface with a huge selection of pre-built designs that you can modify to your liking.
These pre-built elements let you quickly draft a nice presentation even if you have no design skills, but it does require you to drag and drop and arrange the content of your slide, which can become time-consuming. Almost all elements within templates are customizable and you can also start your design from scratch and save it as a template to use later on. Although the free version of the canvas is extensive nevertheless it has a premium version starting from $12.99 monthly.
Key Features
- Templates- There are lots of customizable template options, and each slide inside the templates can be used individually. There are hundreds of template options within 10+ categories.
- Audios and videos- Videos and GIFs can be added to your slides. You can even add music to your slides using the available options from the interface.
- Third-Party Content- Canva offers dozens of integrations and media embed options, including YouTube, Google Maps, Vimeo, Pinterest, Tumblr, Twitter, and more.
- Graphic assets- There are plenty of free options including shapes, icons, photos, frames, and stickers.
- Collaboration- Presentations can be shared with teams for editing.
- Brand kit- Canva has a paid brand kit feature.
- Offline view- Presentations can be downloaded as a group of .png or .jpg images or as a .pdf. You can also download it as an MP4 video for offline viewing.
3. VISME:
Visme is an online tool for creating, editing, and sharing attractive visual content. You can use it to create engaging presentations and slide decks to present your content. You can also create templates for infographics, charts, logos, storyboards, graphics for social media posts and the web, letterheads, and other items.
Visme has the capability to create stunning, dynamic, interactive, and engaging presentations as compared to PowerPoint which has limited features and design elements. Visme comes with various template options and access to lots of stock images, which makes it simple for non-designers to use the app and
get good results. You can choose from 1000+ templates available in 20+ categories. Visme is available to use on the web and as a desktop application for macOS and windows. However, to access maximum usage and all features you need to subscribe to a payment plan.
Key Features
- Templates Gallery- You can choose from dozens of fully designed presentations tailor-made for specific industries and topics, or mix-and-match hundreds of slide layouts. Or you can start with a blank canvas and create a layout from scratch to use later as your own templates.
- Audio- The addition of audio content along with your slides is relatively easy with visme. You can also record a video of yourself presenting your content with access to Visme Presenter studio.
- Graphic assets- From Visme graphic asset library you can choose from thousands of free icons, illustrations, stock photos, videos, 3D graphics, audio clips, charts, and graphs to include in your presentations.
- Animation and Transitions- With Visme you can animate and visualize your content via hover effects and custom animation or motion effects.
- Collaboration- Visme premium plan allows team members to customize and complete projects together. The team members can leave comments and edit subjects simultaneously.
- Third-party content- You can embed content like polls, quizzes, and forms into your presentations with Visme.
4. GOOGLE SLIDES:
Google Slides is Google’s version of Microsoft PowerPoint. This presentation software is accessible from your Google account. This platform is available for free has various integrations and is considered one of the best collaboration systems. With the Slides application installed on your device and integrated with Google Drive, you can view and edit your presentations offline. The online version automatically saves all your changes and you can even view older versions of your document. Google Slides is very easy to use among teams. You can share your slides with other users in view, comment, or edit modes and collaborate on the same presentation in real time. You can even chat in the app and see other people’s cursors, as they make changes.
Key Features
- Templates- there is a general collection of templates but options are limited. You can also create your own templates from scratch.
- Animations- Animations can be added within each slide as well as the transitions.
- Videos- Videos can be added via a YouTube link or from Google Drive. GIFs can be added as images within slides.
- Graphics- Graphic assets are simple and very basic. Photographs can be uploaded from your desktop, your Google Drive, a URL, or searched online.
- Audio- You can add anything via Google Drive. Also, there are some available “add-ons” that can be integrated for icons, stock photography, and audio.
- Privacy- Presentations can be shared with users privately but there is no password encryption feature. However, you can invite others to your presentation document.
5. PREZI:
Prezi is a multimedia presentation tool that is used to design creative and engaging slideshows. Prezi is suitable for people for demand creativity in their content. It offers unique features that make it a good alternative to traditional presentation software. Prezi makes use of one large canvas that allows for panning and zooming to various parts of the canvas to emphasize the ideas presented there. The creative idea behind Prezi is you can create an animated, non-sequential flow with topics and subtopics that are hidden until you zoom in. However, Prezi’s interface can be complicated for beginners. The drawback for Prezi is its pricing plan. Prezi is free for basic capabilities and limited basic templates. The pricing plan has three tiers starting from $12 per month. It also offers separate plans for teachers and students.
Key Features
- Templates- There are plenty of templates to choose from and you can also start from scratch. The templates are different in color and style, but the idea of zooming into topics and subtopics is the same.
- Animations- Prezi is all about animations and transitions within slide decks. You can animations between topics and subtopics.
- Audio- Voiceover can only be added to premium plans.
- Graphic assets- Free version has limited graphic assets just the usual ones like arrows and buttons. The premium plan gives access to over 80,000+ icons.
- Videos- Youtube links can be embedded in slides. Embedded videos cannot be viewed offline. GIFs are not supported by Prezi.
- Collaboration- Prezi for teams is available upon demand with slack integration.
- Privacy- Your presentations are public unless you have a paid account.
- Creation- Presentations can only be created on a computer but they are available to view from any other device.
6. ZOHO SHOW:
Zoho is a complete CRM for businesses and the company offers different types of apps for teams and office use. Zoho Show is only one of their programs. Zoho show is an online presentation tool that has a PowerPoint interface. Zoho allows you to create presentations, collaborate with your team in real time, and publish slides directly on your confluence pages. The presentation can be viewed in three ways, with a handy grid view to see all slides next to each other. You can import your PowerPoint files and edit them using Zoho show features. It is ideal for businesses, teachers, and students. Literally, anyone can create an engaging presentation from this tool due to its user-friendly interface. However, creating presentations on the Zoho show is only free for up to five users. For more features and storage plans, payment is required. Paid plan for the Zoho show starts from $5 per user per month.
Key Features
- Templates- Zoho does not really have template options, it offers themes. These themes are more like visual canvases that can be customized in terms of color, layout, and more.
- Graphics- Zoho has a pretty good graphic asset library. You can also draw shapes and scribbles of your own using the trackpad feature.
- Audio and video Videos can be embedded via Youtube integration and GIFs are added as images. You can audio from SoundCloud as well.
- Animations- All elements and transitions can be animated.
- Creation- Presentations can only be created from a computer.
- Collaboration- Teams can easily integrate with the Zoho show even in the free version.
- Password encryption- This feature is available for all plans.
7. HAIKUDECK:
Haiku deck was originally launched as an iPad application in 2011. Haiku Deck is a presentation software that is straightforward with a simple interface that makes quick and practical presentations. Haiku Deck has a nice set of templates that you can use as a guideline for your slides, and their content input system is clear and easy to learn. Regardless of the device used, you’re able to select from a variety of different fonts, layouts, and filters to make the perfect presentation.
Haiku Deck 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. The drawback of this presentation software is that it is not available for free. You can try Haiku Deck for free on one available presentation. The payment plans start from $7.99 per month.
Key Features
- Templates- Templates on this program are more like collections of photographs for a specific niche with suggestions on where to place the text.
- Audio and Video- Video can be embedded in Haiku Deck. GIFs cannot be added however you can save the presentation as a video or GIF. Narrations and voiceovers can be easily recorded on Haiku Deck.
- Animations- Features cannot be animated on Haiku Deck.
- Graphics- The available graphic assets library in Haiku Deck are millions of photographs, numerous font choices and charts, and graphs.
- Privacy- Password encryption is available with payment plans.
8. SLIDEBEAN:
Slidebean is a free web-based presentation tool that lets users create powerful presentations with just a few clicks. By separating the content creation from the slide design, Slidebean allows users to focus on what matters most while taking care of everything else automatically. Slidebean allows anyone to create a professional slide presentation with barely any effort on the design end, so that presenters can devote their energies to the information that matters most. Slidebean has a large focus on startups and has dozens of pre-filled decks that serve common purposes, like business proposals, investor pitch decks, and investor updates. This program also lets you track when, how many times and how much time your investor spent viewing your slides. Pretty cool right? The free plan of Slidebean has very limited features. You will need an upgrade to export your document. There are three levels to pricing starting from $8 per month. You can also take help from experts with your presentations it will take $29 per slide or $1999 per project.
Key Features
- Templates- The various templates within the slide bean are organized in sections and niches.
- Video and audio GIFs can be added from the GIF integration dialog and videos are added in paid plans only. Audio capabilities are not available in Slidebean.
- Animations- Content blocks and their elements can be animated.
- Graphics- There are plenty of icons and images to choose from. There are no shapes available but the icons can be utilized as shapes.
- Collaboration- This feature can only be availed with paid plans.
- Offline view- Slidebean presentations can be exported as both .pptx and HTML for offline view.
9. KEYNOTE:
Keynote is Apple’s version of PowerPoint. Anyone with Apple ID can easily use the Keynote editor. It is the most similar to PowerPoint and Google Slides. It offers nice and clean templates and a smart user interface with details like smart guides. The software comes with a library of over 30 thematic templates, over 30 impressive cinematic transitions for your design elements, interactive charts and stunning animations, over 700 editable shapes, and more exciting assets. Although Keynote is similar to PowerPoint and Google Slides it can still take a long process to learn and hours for a professional profile. Keynote is free for downloading and accessing via the cloud with an Apple ID.
Key Features
- Templates- Templates are limited but you can find templates from outside and edit them in Keynote.
- Videos and Audio- You can upload existing audio files in Keynote to play on specific slides. You can also record your own voice and use it as narration.
- Graphics- There are plenty of classic symbols and icons available which are also customizable in terms of color and gradient. Images can only be added from your computer.
- Animations- Slides and objects can be animated in various ways.
- Offline view- Keynote presentations can be downloaded as .pptx or.pdf to view offline.
- Collaboration- collaborations are allowed via a link or email with permission settings set to “can make changes”.
10. SLIDES:
Slides are another brilliant option for online presentation generation and editing. It has a web interface that encourages you to create nice and clean presentations, however, it still depends on the user’s ability to manipulate the elements and arrange them in a nice style. It has a minimal editing bar but the tools are easy to reach. The slide is an open-source program that allows for custom HTML and CSS coding, which lets experienced users with coding skills, customize their templates even further. Slides are overall free to use but the finished presentations are public. It also has a premium plan starting from $5 up to $20 per month with additional features like unlimited collaborators, privacy, a shared media library, and Google Analytics.
Key Features
- Templates- Slides have a limited handful of template options.
- Graphics- The available shapes are common and minimal photos can be uploaded or imported via URL.
- Audio and Video- Inserting audio is not possible in Slides. Videos and GIFs are easy to add. Videos can be uploaded or linked and GIFs can be uploaded as .gif or .mp4 as video.
- Animation- All features and elements can be animated with trade-in and trade-out.
- Collaboration- It is only available for paid subscriptions.
- Third-party content- Anything with code can be added in an iframe.
FINAL VERDICT
Presentations are a useful source of delivering your ideas and information to the audience with visuals for increased audience engagement. However, to create an attractive and engaging slideshow you need a powerful program with robust features to make your presentation lively for your audience. To decide which presentation software is suitable for you need to identify your degree of use. Highlight whether you will use presentations for your business, school, or multimedia showcase.
If you need to use advanced tools, you may find that a paid platform is much more worthwhile than a free platform because free platforms sometimes only offer basic options. Additionally, higher-end software can really meet every need, so make sure you have a good idea of the features you think you might need for your presentation needs.
Free and budget software options can sometimes prove to be limited in terms of the variety of tools available. Scroll up to find reliable options for both paid and free options!