Top 7 Best PowerPoint Alternatives for 2024

Key Features Missing in Microsoft PowerPoint 

While PowerPoint deserves a lot of credit for its ease of use and ubiquity, there are several useful features that PowerPoint lacks. Here are three that are notably missing from Microsoft PowerPoint.

• Edit History: If you’ve been working on a slide deck for a while, it may be hard to keep track of all the changes you made. PowerPoint doesn’t offer an edit history view where you can easily see a timeline of the edits you made. While it can be worked around by making multiple saves of your file, it may end up cluttering your folders.
• Presentation Progress Bar: It’s easy to lose track of where you are in a presentation. Unless you number them yourself, PowerPoint slides don’t feature slide numbers or a way to see how far into a slide deck you are. A simple progress bar at the bottom of slide decks helps you see how far along you are and lets you make quick adjustments to your presentation.
• Collaboration Features: Sometimes, creating slide decks isn’t a one-person affair. With PowerPoint, you need to pass completed saves between team members or share your screen while other people tell you what to put in. Real-time collaboration features that let multiple people work on a slide deck simultaneously can save a lot of time and effort.

What Makes a Great Presentation Software 

So what makes a great presentation software? Here are four things you should look out for when searching for a PowerPoint alternative:

• Large Design Library: Not all presentation software users are designers. However, building appealing and visually stunning presentations is one of the most important parts of creating a good deck. The best presentation software should have a wide selection of templates, images, and other media items to help users of all skill levels build decks. 
• Multiple Slide Formats: Presentations that are filled with bullet points and texts are boring. The best PowerPoint alternatives offer multiple slide formats where you can add audio to videos, and images to keep the audience engaged.
• Robust Collaboration Features: The nature of remote work nowadays means that not everything can be done in a room together. This means that you can work on slide decks with remote team members without having to meet in person. Instead of passing around saved files, the best PowerPoint alternatives let you work on the same file together in the cloud.
• Device Compatibility: You won’t always have access to your computer. Compatibility with multiple devices is a must-have feature these days because it lets you easily edit slides from your smartphone at a moment’s notice. 

How to Select the Best Presentation Software? 

There’s no one best presentation software for everyone. The best presentation software for you is the one that fulfills all your needs. If you’re looking to switch from PowerPoint, then you should identify what you need out of your new presentation software and find one that provides those features.

How We Choose the Best PowerPoint Alternatives 

Choosing between so many PowerPoint alternatives is tough. That’s why we’ve narrowed it down to several selection criteria. You can also use these factors while looking for your own best picks!

• Design variety: An extensive slide template library helps non-designers create aesthetically pleasing slides.

• Features: The best PowerPoint alternatives don’t just let you make slides – they also offer robust collaboration and sharing features.

• Cost: While most presentation software comes free, some also offer paid premium versions with extra features.

• Compatibility: The best presentation software should be compatible with multiple devices to let you work on slides from anywhere.

Google Slides

Google Slides is a major player in the presentation software industry. It’s a favorite among Google Mail users due to its accessibility – it can be accessed from computers and smartphones without installing anything. You can also expand Google Slides’ functionality by integrating them with thousands of apps through Integrately.

This presentation software also offers advanced features like:

• Custom fonts library: Choose from over 800 Google fonts to personalize your slide deck.

• Audience Q&A manager: Accept audience questions virtually through a custom link.

• Multi-deck connectivity: Create connections between your slide decks through slide links. 

Plans & Pricing

Google Slides can be accessed for free by all Gmail account holders.

Canva

Creating beautiful presentations is what Canva excels at. This presentation software lets you customize slides with thousands of presentation templates and stock images. Canva also allows you to work on a slide with other people thanks to its simultaneous team editing feature. Moreover, Canva also offers these unique features:

• Company brand kit: Store your company’s logo, fonts, and signature colors for easy access. 

• Online video recorder: Record explainer or demo videos straight from Canva’s dashboard.

• Built-in photo editor: Edit photos directly on Canva, no other apps needed.

Plans & Pricing 

Canva offers a free plan with all of its basic features. Meanwhile, its Pro plan costs $12.99/month for a maximum of five users.

Ludus

Ludus is a simple-to-use presentation tool centered on team collaboration. It lets multiple users work on the same document together, minimizing the time needed to finish up a slide deck. Ludus also connects seamlessly with file storage services like Dropbox and Google Drive so you never lose any presentations. This software also offers features like:

• Multiple presentation versions: Avoid showing unvalidated work by controlling who can see the preview version of your slides. 

• In-presentation recordings: Record your voice and video while presenting so you don’t have to present slides live every single time.

• Customizable content blocks: Include any kind of audio and visual content in your presentations – videos, images, music, everything is fair game!

Plans & Pricing

Ludus offers a personal plan at $14.99/month per user. You also get a 30-day free trial to try the software out.

Prezi

One of Prezi’s most unique features is its ability to present live with video. Instead of having separate windows for your camera and presentation, Prezi places presentation slides directly on your camera feed like Youtube videos. This software also offers other features like:

• PowerPoint compatibility: Import your PowerPoint pitch decks into Prezi to continue working on them. 

• Single-page presentations: Zoom in to a specific topic to explain things in detail, then zoom out to show how it fits in the big picture. 

• Robust branding tools: Create color and font templates to represent your company in every presentation.

Plans & Pricing

Prezi offers a 14-day free trial. Its paid plans start at $3/month.

Beautiful.ai

Beautiful.ai lets you create beautiful slide decks effortlessly. It provides hundreds of ready-made slide templates that just need to be filled with information, saving you lots of time on having to design slides yourself. Moreover, Beautiful.ai makes creating slide decks even easier with features like:

• Smart auto-formatting: Resize text and images instantly by simply putting in new content. 

• Team slide syncing: Update information on one slide to reflect it on all related slides.

• Audio recorder: Record voice-overs to explain key parts of your presentation.

Plans & Pricing

Beautiful.ai’s basic plan is free for everyone. Paid plans start at $15/month and come with a 14-day free trial.

Powtoon

Different from the other PowerPoint alternatives, Powtoon is a video-based presentation software. However, you shouldn’t worry – making videos with Powtoon is very easy! In addition to intuitive video-making tools, Powtoon has features like:

• Whiteboard animation creator: Create high-quality whiteboard videos easily.

• Brand character creator: Unify your brand communications by creating a cast of characters for your company.

• PowerPoint conversion: Turn boring PowerPoint slides into dynamic video presentations in a flash.

Plans & Pricing

Powtoon offers a free version with limited video lengths and watermarks. Paid plans start at $19/month, billed annually.

Genially 

Genially is a content designer tool that lets you make interactive presentations, quizzes, infographics, and many other types of content. Its interactive nature makes it perfect for both business people and educators. Here are a few features that make Genially a great choice:

• Cloud storage: Work on your presentations from any device thanks to Genially’s cloud storage.

• Brand templates: Store company assets like your color guide, logo, and fonts to ensure your presentations stay on brand.

• Easy gamification: Create games and quizzes that reward audience participation.

Plans & Pricing

Genially lets you make unlimited presentations even with its free plan. If you need more features, its premium plan starts at $9.9/month.

Which PowerPoint Alternative Is Best for Your Small Business? 

The best PowerPoint alternative for your business depends on your needs and the nature of your work. If you don’t work in a creative field, simple presentation software like Google Slides will suffice. However, if you work in the creative industry or would like to make more than simple slides, creative-focused software like Prezi and Genially would work better.

Closing Thoughts On The Best Powerpoint Alternatives

Microsoft PowerPoint may be somewhat limiting to some users. Since different software offers different features, you should find a PowerPoint alternative that fits your needs.

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