Presentation software from 10-15 years ago looks nothing like what we use today.
Async communication, remote collaboration and, most importantly, AI have fundamentally changed how we create, deliver and consume presentations.
I’ve tested dozens of presentation tools over the last 18 months, and in this article, I’ll break down 11 of the best presentation software options available right now.
I’ll dissect their features, who they’re best for and whether they’re worth investing in 2026.
Visme: Best for creating polished, branded decks and reports with advanced interactivity and AI-powered design.
Prezi: Best for engaging, non-linear storytelling that keeps prospects visually hooked.
Google Slides: Best for quick, collaborative decks that scale easily across distributed teams.
Keynote: Best for corporate-driven presentations within the Apple ecosystem.
Gamma: Best for instantly generating decks and docs from text prompts with AI.
Slidebean: Best for startup founders creating investor pitch decks with AI-powered layouts and pitch analytics.
Microsoft PowerPoint: Best for enterprise-grade, traditional presentations with deep Office integration.
Zoho Show: Best for teams already using Zoho products who need simple, cloud-based presentations with seamless CRM integration.
Beautiful.ai: Best for design-consistent business decks that auto-format with AI layouts.
Canva: Best for fast, visually appealing decks and graphics with massive template options.
Haiku Deck: Best for educators and students who want simple, image-focused presentations without complexity.
*Disclaimer:The comparisons and competitor ratings presented in this article are based on features available as of February 06, 2026. We conduct thorough research and draw on both first-hand experience and reputable sources to provide reliable insights. However, as tools and technologies evolve, we recommend readers verify details and consider additional research to ensure the information meets their specific needs.
Best Presentation Software Comparison Table
Software
Key Differentiator
Best For
Pricing
G2/Capterra Rating
Visme
Comprehensive AI suite, advanced animation and interactivity, branded content hub, extensive design assets
Solopreneurs, marketing teams, agencies, small businesses, enterprises
To give you an idea of how I tested these tools, here’s a quick overview of my process:
Signed up for all tools that offered truly free accounts or trials (no credit card required)
Browsed the templates (if any available)
Created at least one project to try out features of the product, including built-in creative and brand assets, AI capabilities and sharing/collaboration features
Tested the export formats and other sharing options (e.g. embedding or link sharing)
Any features blocked by a paywall, I researched user experiences instead.
This is an article written and edited by humans for humans, no robots were harmed in the making of this article.
Now, let’s look at how the best presentation software in this list stack up.
All of these (and more) make it an incredibly powerful presentation software.
Let’s break down Visme features.
Creative & Brand Assets
Templates
Visme’s presentation template library is outstanding. You get traditional-looking options, but also modern, trendy designs.
You’ll find templates for most use cases, whether you’re building an executive presentation, creating a pitch deck or designing educational materials.
I’m a fan of how well-structured these templates are. They essentially give me a head start on my projects, so I can just plug in my branding, edit the text, replace the visuals and make it my own in minutes.
Asset Library
This is where Visme leaves every other presentation tool behind.
You get a packed icon library with both static and animated options (millions of them, in fact). Every icon is fully customizable, so you can resize, recolor and adjust them to fit your brand perfectly.
You can also find 3D assets to add depth and personality to your presentations.
There’s even a 3D Character Creator that lets you build your own custom characters from scratch. Perfect for storytelling, training materials or making your brand come to life.
Visme’s Brand Kit lets you store all your brand assets in one centralized location. Upload your logos, brand colors, fonts, icons and images and easily apply them to any project you’re working on.
This is especially valuable for teams. Just share your assets with team members so everyone stays on-brand across all projects. This eliminates inconsistencies and you save hours of unnecessary back and forth.
Animation & Interactivity
This is another area where Visme is really strong. Sure, you get dozens of slide transitions, but that’s literally skimming the surface.
Visme comes packed with a comprehensive suite of AI tools that speed up the content creation process significantly.
AI Presentation Maker
The AI Presentation Maker is another one of Visme’s standout features. You can generate complete presentations from a simple text prompt in under two minutes.
Check out this presentation I made using a prompt:
Here’s how it works: describe what you need in detail, choose a visual style from the suggested options and let the AI create a first draft.
The more specific your AI presentation prompt, the better the results. You can even upload documents or insert URLs to pull content directly into your AI-generated presentation.
Visme’s AI Image Generator lets you create custom visuals right inside the editor. Write a text prompt, select an output style (photography, line illustration, 3D and more) and the AI generates unique graphics for your presentations.
All AI-generated images are saved in your “My Files” folder for easy access and reuse across projects.
AI Writer
The AI Writer handles all your text needs. It can generate content from scratch, proofread existing text, summarize long-form content, switch tones and suggest editing improvements. If you’re stuck on what to write, the AI Writer can help you get unstuck fast.
Convert your text into life-like audio with Visme’s AI Text-to-Speech generator. Choose from six different voices, and the tool automatically detects language and generates audio. This is perfect for creating narrated presentations or accessibility-friendly content.
AI TouchUp Tools: Remove backgrounds or unwanted objects from photos, enhance image quality or sharpen blurry images
Brand Wizard: Automatically extracts your brand fonts, colors and styles from your website and applies them across templates
AI Resize: Automatically adjusts your entire project canvas and all content to fit new dimensions in seconds
Edit with AI: Transform any Visme template into a fully customized design using a simple prompt
What I love most about Visme’s AI features is that it doesn’t just tackle one part of the design process, but covers almost everything you need to create a presentation. Generate initial layouts, write the content, pull original branding kit, auto-adjust to fit different use-cases and so on.
Sharing and Collaboration
Publish and Export Options
Visme gives you multiple ways to share and publish your presentations, depending on how and where you want to use them.
You can publish your presentation online and share it via a live link, embed it on your website or post it on social media. For offline use, Visme offers several download formats:
When you share a presentation via a live link, Visme tracks detailed analytics that help you understand how your audience engages with your content.
You can see:
Total views and unique visitors
Time spent on each slide
Viewer location and IP address
Completion rate
Enterprise users get even deeper analytics, including the ability to add registration forms to track exactly who viewed your presentation and cross-reference that data with engagement metrics.
Password Protection and Privacy
Visme lets you control who can access your presentations. You can:
Publish presentations privately with password protection
Share with specific people via email invitations
Mark presentations as read-only to prevent editing
Apply an expiration date for when your published project link will be turned off and no longer able to be viewed
Note: All Visme presentations are private by default, and you control the access level for each project.
Workflow and Collaboration Features
Visme offers advanced collaboration tools that make teamwork an enjoyable, seamless experience for all. You can invite team members to projects with role-based permissions (viewer, editor or admin), so everyone has the right level of access.
The commenting feature is particularly useful. Team members can leave feedback directly on slides or individual elements using different annotation styles.
You can also tag collaborators in comments to notify them, reply in threaded conversations and mark comments as resolved once changes are made.
Prezi offers a unique alternative to traditional slide-based presentations with its dynamic, non-linear format. Instead of moving slide by slide, Prezi presentations unfold on a single zoomable canvas where you pan, zoom and connect ideas through motion.
Let’s look at Prezi’s features in detail.
Creative & Brand Assets
Templates
Prezi offers a good selection of professionally designed templates across different categories. The templates are built specifically for Prezi’s zoomable canvas, so they work with the platform’s unique navigation style.
You can start with a template or build presentations from scratch. Or use AI to customize the templates.
Asset Library
Prezi’s asset library includes hundreds of icons, stickers, GIFS and thousands of images to enhance your presentations. You can also upload your own media files.
It also comes with Story Blocks (my favorite Prezi feature), which can help you visualize content quickly. These are ready-to-use templates for timelines, maps, tables, lists and whiteboards. You can add text, images, shapes and icons to placeholder areas and customize by resizing or rotating.
Prezi also offers data visualization features. You get a variety of charts and graph types, including area, scatter, Gantt and Sankey.
You’ll also find a few data widgets like word clouds and gauges to add some visual flair.
There’s also audio support—upload MP3 or M4A files as background audio or individual clips for specific presentation steps.
Brand Kit
Brand Kits in Prezi are available on Team and Business plans. You can upload your logo, set team fonts and create your brand color palette.
Once published, your team can use these brand elements across all Prezi projects, videos and designs. You can edit or update the brand kit anytime as your branding evolves.
Check out this video to learn how to set up your brand kit in Prezi:
Animation and Interactivity
Prezi’s signature feature is its zoom-based movement. I have been using it for years and I am a fan.
Instead of animating elements on a slide, you animate between frames by zooming in, zooming out and panning across a canvas.
When done well, it creates a cinematic presentation experience that makes a strong impression.
Beyond frame-to-frame transitions, you can animate individual objects with basic effects like fade in, fade out, zoom to and zoom out.
Having said that, the animation system isn’t timeline-based. You don’t get click-to-reveal, hover effects or layered interactions here. There’s also no option to add hotspots or build interactive navigation paths.
So, while Prezi’s movement style is visually unique, it’s rigid when it comes to custom animation control compared to tools with more granular timeline editors.
AI Tools
While not as extensive as Visme, Prezi does offer some solid AI-powered features to speed up presentation creation:
AI Presentation Generator
This is pretty self-explanatory. You enter a prompt with your presentation title and description, and Prezi AI will generate a complete presentation with relevant content and visuals in minutes.
Here’s a presentation I made using the AI presentation generator:
You can also upload PPT, PDF or DOCX files and let AI extract the content to create your presentation.
AI Images
If you don’t want to use a stock photo or don’t have a visual to go with a specific section, then AI images can come in really handy.
Here’s a quick AI image I made to test out this feature:
You also get personalized, AI-powered design suggestions throughout the creation process to improve your presentation. As per my testing, the AI tools worked well.
Sharing and Collaboration
Publish and Export Options
Prezi offers several ways to share and export your presentations. You can generate a shareable link, broadcast live or export as a PDF (where each frame becomes its own slide).
You can also embed specific frames on websites and export as MP4 video or GIF for social posts or asynchronous presentations.
Analytics
Prezi’s built-in analytics dashboard (available on Premium plans and above) tracks views, total view time, average time per view and viewer location data. You can see whether someone is actively watching your presentation and monitor interaction rates like hovers and clicks on visual elements. For general engagement metrics, Prezi does a good job.
Privacy and Collaboration
Privacy settings depend on your account type. Free accounts create public presentations by default. Paid plans offer private sharing and password protection options.
For collaboration, you can invite team members with editing or comment access. Multiple users can work on the same presentation, and you can leave comments on specific frames for feedback.
Who Is It For
Prezi works well for educators, trainers, storytellers and business professionals who need engaging, narrative-driven presentations that stand out from traditional slide decks.
Pricing & Plans
Prezi offers a free plan and several paid options:
Basic: Free
Plus: $15/month
Premium: $25/month
Teams: Contact for a custom quote
There are also discounted plans for students & educators that start at $4/month.
Pros and Cons
Pros
Unique zoomable canvas
Dynamic motion and storytelling capabilities
Large library of templates, icons and images
Cons
Free version is limited with no download options and public-only sharing
Excessive zoom and motion can distract viewers, or may end up looking unprofessional
Performance can slow down with large, complex presentations
Next up is Google Slides—an easy-to-use presentation software available via your Google account. Probably the most straightforward presentation tool on our list.
Similar to how you can create documents and spreadsheets with Google Docs and Sheets, you can create presentations with Google Slides.
Google Slides works directly in your web browser with no software to download, and automatically saves your work to Google Drive.
Let’s put Google Slides’ features to the test.
Creative & Brand Assets
Templates
Google Slides offers a selection of pre-designed templates covering common presentation types like business proposals, pitch decks, education and portfolios. The templates are clean and professional but limited compared to dedicated presentation tools.
The edge Google Slides has over other tools is that you can easily import templates from third-party sources. So, essentially, you have hundreds and thousands of options to choose from (some paid, some unpaid).
Asset Library
The asset library includes basic shapes, lines, arrows and text boxes.
You can insert images from Google Drive, by URL, from your camera or by searching Google’s image library directly within Slides.
For more visual elements, you can access GIFs and stickers directly in Slides. YouTube embeds work seamlessly, and you can upload audio files from Google Drive.
You also get Building Blocks, which are pre-formatted, editable components similar to the feature in Google Docs. These include ready-made layouts for agendas, lists, key statistics, etc.
You can insert them with one click from the sidebar, then customize colors, fonts and content to match your presentation. I love the fact that it completely eliminates formatting friction.
Next, there are charts and diagrams.
It’s important to note here that Google Slides doesn’t have a native chart builder within the presentation tool itself.
Brand Kit
Google Slides doesn’t have a dedicated Brand Kit feature. However, on Google Workspace Business and Enterprise plans, you can create domain templates with your organization’s branding (logos, colors, fonts) that can be applied across your team.
For personal users, you’ll need to manually set up and save your brand elements in each presentation.
Animation & Interactivity
Google Slides offers basic animations and transitions. You can animate objects to appear, disappear or move, and apply slide transitions like fade, slide or flip.
AI Tools
Google Slides comes with its own AI assistant called Gemini. With Gemini in Slides, you can:
Generate Slides
You can create new slides from prompts or by referencing files in your Google Drive. For example, you can ask Gemini questions or enter prompts like “Create a 6-slide overview on Q2 sales performance,” and it’ll generate the slides with relevant content and structure.
It can also pull content from existing documents and emails to build slides automatically.
I had it create a summary slide on a presentation I made earlier. Here’s what it generated:
Solid design. Accurate content. No issues with this, really.
Create Images
Next, you can generate custom images using AI based on your prompts. Simply describe the image you want and Gemini will create it for you.
Other Gemini features in Slides include:
Summarize Presentations: Get executive summaries of your full presentation or generate speaker notes for individual slides
Refine Content: Rewrite text for clarity, adjust tone or make content more concise
Reference Drive Files: Gemini can quickly extract information from your Google Drive files to create slides
Sharing and Collaboration
Publish and Export Options
Google Slides presentations can be shared via link, embedded on websites or downloaded in multiple formats, including PDF, PowerPoint (PPTX), JPG, PNG and SVG.
You can also publish presentations to the web with a unique URL that updates automatically when you edit the source file.
Real-Time Collaboration
Multiple people can edit the same presentation simultaneously, with changes appearing in real time. You can see who’s viewing or editing and what changes they’re making as they work.
Comments and suggestions work just like Google Docs. You can tag collaborators, resolve threads and accept or reject suggested edits.
Privacy and Sharing Controls
You have granular control over who can access your presentations. Share options include:
View only
Comment only
Edit access
You can share with specific people via email, create shareable links or make presentations public. Password protection isn’t available, but you can prevent editors from changing access permissions or downloading, printing and copying files.
Version History
Google Slides automatically saves every change and maintains a complete version history. You can view previous versions, see who made specific changes and restore earlier versions at any time.
Who Is It For
Google Slides works best for students, educators, budget-conscious users and teams already using Google Workspace.
Pricing & Plans
Google Slides is free to use for anyone with a Google account. All features are available to everyone. Paid plans are as follows:
Google Workspace Business Starter: $6/month
Google Workspace Business Standard: $12/month
Google Workspace Business Plus: $18/month
Google One AI Premium: $20/month
Pros and Cons
Pros
Completely free for personal use
Real-time co-editing works flawlessly across devices and platforms
Seamless integration with Google Workspace (Drive, Docs, Sheets, Meet)
Keynote is to Apple, as Slides is to Google. This presentation software comes free with every Apple device, and with the new Apple Creator Studio subscription, it’s probably the most underrated tool on this list.
I signed up for the free trial, and you get a subscription to Final Cut Pro, Logic Pro, Pixelmator Pro, Motion, Compressor and MainStage along with premium Keynote features. So you’re essentially getting a lot from a single subscription.
Let’s take a deep dive into Apple Keynote—one of the original PowerPoint alternatives—features.
Creative & Brand Assets
Templates
Keynote comes with dozens of professional themes right out of the box. Each theme is consistent across fonts, colors, transitions and layouts.
The number of templates may not be as extensive as Visme or Canva, but similar to how you get Google Slides templates from third-party sellers, you can also get Apple Keynote templates from external sources.
Asset Library
Keynote comes with an extensive media library with high-res stock photos that you can insert directly into your presentations.
For graphics and shapes, Keynote offers a solid collection of vector elements that you can customize to fit your design needs.
You can also draw shapes with the pen tool, which unlocks a lot of creative possibilities, especially on iPad with Apple Pencil support.
For data visualization, Keynote supports 2D, 3D and interactive charts. I was pleasantly surprised that they have interactive charts, which, apart from Visme, not many tools offer.
Keynote integrates well with other Apple services like Photos and can pull content from external sources too. And Apple Creator Studio subscribers also get access to the Content Hub with Apple-curated high-quality photos, graphics and illustrations.
Brand Kit
Keynote doesn’t have a traditional brand kit feature like Canva or Visme, but you can save custom themes with your brand colors, fonts and layouts.
Animation & Interactivity
Keynote also lets you add cinematic transitions and high-quality motion effects. You can add smooth animations to text, images and objects with precise control over timing and effects.
You can even set Build In (how objects appear), Action (how objects move or change on the slide) and Build Out (how objects exit) animations.
The Build Order feature lets you control the exact sequence of animations, making it easy to create complex, layered effects.
But the best thing here is Magic Move, which creates stunning effects by automatically animating objects between slides.
You can also embed animated objects, live video feeds and even play embedded animations within USDZ files (3D objects).
Plus, the Rehearse Mode displays notes and slides in one view so you can practice your presentation timing. You can also use your iPhone or Apple Watch as a remote control. Brilliant.
AI Tools
You don’t get any AI functionality in the normal version of Keynote, but if you’ve subscribed to the Creator Studio, then you unlock a ton of AI features.
Generate Presentations
This is powered by OpenAI and works essentially the same way all other AI presentation makers do.
So I put it to the test, and here’s what Keynote generated:
This is probably the worst I’ve seen AI do. No visuals (icons, images, data visualizations), no explanations on points (even though I entered enough data) and no variety of slide layouts either.
If an AI presentation generator is a must-have for your workflow, check out this roundup of 15 of the best AI presentation makers.
Generate Images
Image generation in Keynote lets you create custom visuals right inside your presentation. Here’s a sample image I made:
Have to say, of all the AI image generators I’ve tested, the results are probably the most decent. You can also edit the AI images too.
Other AI features include:
Slide Clean Up: Quickly clean up your slide's layout, spacing, alignment and typography with a single tap or click.
Generate Presenter Notes: Automatically generate presenter notes based on context from your entire presentation. They’re added to your existing notes and can be fine-tuned with Writing Tools.
Super Resolution: Upscale images while preserving details and keeping them sharp.
Auto Crop: Get intelligent crop suggestions to help you find eye-catching compositions for photos.
Sharing & Collaboration
Publish and Export Options
You can export presentations in multiple formats, including PowerPoint (PPTX), PDF, movies (MOV or M4V), images and HTML. You can also share via iCloud link or present directly from your device.
Analytics
Keynote doesn’t offer built-in viewer analytics for tracking presentation engagement.
Privacy and Collaboration
Keynote supports real-time collaboration where multiple people can work on a presentation simultaneously across Mac, iPad, iPhone or even a browser (via iCloud.com). You can invite others to edit or comment, and any changes on the project are synced automatically through iCloud.
You can also password-protect your presentations.
Who Is It For
Keynote works best for Apple users who value sleek design, smooth animations and a free, intuitive presentation tool. Professional users with advanced requirements are better suited to look elsewhere.
Pricing & Plans
The basic version of Apple Keynote is completely free. To unlock AI functionality and premium templates, you’ll need to subscribe to Creator Studio at $12.99/month or $129/year.
Note: Apple Creator Studio also includes Final Cut Pro, Logic Pro, Pixelmator Pro, Motion, Compressor, Pages, Numbers and MainStage.
Pros & Cons
Pros
Basic version is completely free for all Apple device users
Cinematic animations and transitions are industry-leading
Seamless integration across Apple ecosystem with iCloud syncing
Cons
Exclusive to Apple ecosystem
Template library not as extensive
AI features require paid Apple Creator Studio subscription
Gamma is an AI-powered presentation tool that creates good-looking slide decks, documents and webpages from simple text prompts.
It uses a card-based, scrollable format that feels more like a modern webpage than a PowerPoint deck.
Let’s take a closer look at Gamma’s features:
Creative & Brand Assets
Templates
Gamma offers templates for common use cases like pitch decks, marketing proposals, user onboarding etc. Designs look basic but work well as a starting point.
It’s important to note that template selection is very limited (~30 in total), so obviously, you’re working with less variety compared to other tools.
Asset Library
Gamma provides a library of icons and illustrations you can search and insert directly into your slides. But, again, the selection is not as extensive as other design tools on the list.
Gamma integrates with Unsplash for stock photos and GIPHY for GIFs, so you always have access to visual elements.
Gamma’s standout feature is its smart layouts that automatically adjust and reformat as you add or remove content. The AI suggests layout options based on your content type.
You can create diagrams like flowcharts, process maps and organizational charts. Gamma’s AI helps structure these automatically, though customization options are limited.
Gamma also includes basic chart types for visualizing data. You can create bar charts, line graphs, pie charts and other standard visualizations. The charts are good, but you don’t get the variety, interactivity or the granular control you get with Visme.
Gamma also supports embedding media from YouTube, TikTok, Spotify and Vimeo, connecting with apps like Airtable and Figma, and adding interactive elements like web pages, forms and buttons to make your presentations more engaging. This also makes Gamma a worthy Genially alternative.
Brand Kit
Gamma doesn’t have a traditional Brand Kit feature. However, on paid plans, you get access to custom branding tools where you can upload logos and set brand colors.
Animation & Interactivity
Gamma’s card-based format is inherently more interactive than traditional slides, with smooth scrolling between sections. But, it lacks advanced animation controls, timeline editors or custom motion paths. The focus is more on layouts rather than complex visual effects.
If you want animation and interactivity in your presentations, you’re better suited going with Visme or even Prezi if you prefer the zoomable canvas approach.
AI Tools
Gamma offers some solid AI features to speed up presentation creation.
AI Presentation Maker
Gamma’s AI presentation maker can generate complete decks from simple prompts, pasted text or uploaded files (PPT, PDF, DOCX, URLs).
You can specify the number of slides, topic and key points, and Gamma builds the structure, writes the content and adds visuals automatically.
Here’s a presentation I made in minutes using a simple prompt:
The results are solid. Clean layouts, good color choices and modern visuals. The copy could be stronger, but that’s true for most AI presentation tools on this list.
AI Images
Gamma can generate custom images using AI based on your prompts. Here’s an AI image I generated:
You can also edit existing images with AI-powered tools to adjust style, crop or enhance visuals to match your presentation theme.
Watch this video to learn everything you need to know about Gamma AI:
Gamma’s AI Agent
Gamma includes an AI agent that helps you refine and improve your presentations:
Fix grammar and spelling errors throughout your deck
Change layouts with AI suggestions for better visual organization
Translate presentations into different languages
Break down dense text into bullet points
Refine tone and adjust writing style for different audiences
Generate multiple options for each edit so you can choose what works best
All in all, Gamma’s AI capabilities are great, and you’ll find no shortage of ways to use AI to speed up your workflow.
Sharing and Collaboration
Publish and Export Options
Gamma presentations can be published as standalone websites, shared via link and exported as PDF, PPTX and PNG images.
Real-Time Collaboration
Paid plans include real-time collaboration features where team members can edit presentations together. You can invite teammates, grant editing access and work simultaneously on the same deck.
Analytics
Gamma provides engagement analytics showing who viewed your presentation and for how long. This is particularly useful for sales decks and proposals where you want to track client engagement.
Who Is It For
Gamma works best for students, startups and teams who need to create quick internal presentations or pitch decks without spending hours on design.
Pricing & Plans
You can get started with Gamma for free. The individual paid plans are as follows:
Plus: $10/month
Pro: $18/month
Ultra: $90/month
The paid team plans are as follows:
Team: $20/month
Business: $40/month
Pros and Cons
Pros
Modern, web-style card format
Well-rounded AI features
Easy media embedding (YouTube, TikTok, Spotify, Vimeo)
Cons
Limited template library
Limited brand control, customization and animation capabilities
Next on our list of the best presentation software is Slidebean. It’s also an AI-powered pitch deck software, just like most other tools on the list, and comes with cool built-in templates and customizable content blocks.
One thing that separates Slidebean apart from its competitors is their team of experts who can both write and design pitch decks for you (if you don’t want to take the DIY route).
Let’s look at the features:
Creative & Brand Assets
Templates
Slidebean offers pitch deck templates based on successful funded startups (YC, 500 Startups). Templates are organized by industry and use case, with particular focus on investor-ready presentations.
Asset Library
The built-in media library has an extensive collection of stock photos, GIFs and icons.
The only thing to note here is that the process of adding icons is a bit different. You have to Insert → Image → Icon to access the library (the same goes for other assets too).
You also get some basic data visualization options.
If data is essential to your presentations, then you’re better off looking at the other tools on the list.
You can also add voice-over narrations and background music to your slides.
Brand Kit
Slidebean offers customizable branding options, so you can add brand colors, fonts and logos.
Similar to Visme’s brand wizard, you can also simply enter your website URL to let AI pull colors and fonts from your website.
Animation & Interactivity
Animations work a bit differently here too. You don’t get granular control, but you can choose from the built-in slide transitions and animations.
If you’re after basic animations, you’ll appreciate the drag-and-drop functionality Slidebean has incorporated into the animations.
AI Tools
While not as extensive as some of the other tools on the list, Slidebean also features some handy AI functionality:
AI Layout Design: Enter your content in blocks, click “Arrange with AI” and the system automatically generates multiple layout options. The AI evaluates thousands of slide designs to find the best arrangement for your content.
AI Pitch Deck Generator: Provide your website URL or business summary, and Slidebean’s AI creates a functional pitch deck covering problems, solutions, financial projections etc. I wasn’t able to try this myself since this is a paid feature, but from what I’ve read online, the results are functional but text-dense and require significant editing to make it work.
Financial Modeling Templates: Built-in AI-assisted templates help you create financial projections, unit economics and forecasting for your funding round.
Content Suggestions: The platform provides intelligent recommendations to enhance the quality and relevance of your presentation content.
Sharing & Collaboration
Publish and Export Options
Once you’re done with your project, you can export your presentations as HTML, PPT and PDF.
You can also present directly from the web browser or share via link (no software required on recipient's end).
Analytics
Pitch analytics track how long viewers spent on your presentation, which slides they viewed, and how many slides they completed. This is invaluable for understanding investor engagement.
Privacy and Collaboration
Slidebean also lets you collaborate on projects in real time. Online collaboration keeps presentations synced automatically.
Who Is It For
Slidebean works best for startup founders, entrepreneurs and small businesses creating pitch decks for investors.
Pricing & Plans
You can get started with Slidebean for free. The paid plans are as follows:
All-Access: $12/month
Accelerate: $99/month
Pros & Cons
Pros
Built specifically for pitch decks with investor-proven templates
Pitch analytics show which slides investors spend time on
AI auto-design handles layout so you focus on content
Cons
Limited customization options compared to traditional tools
Microsoft PowerPoint is the world’s most widely used presentation software and for a long time, it was considered the ultimate standard for slide-based presentations.
It has gone through several changes over the years (especially with AI), so let’s break it down:
Creative & Brand Assets
Templates
PowerPoint comes with dozens of built-in professional themes and templates right out of the box. While not as extensive as Visme or Canva, the templates are good enough to get you started.
Similar to Google Slides and Apple Keynote, there are tons of third-party websites from where you can purchase PowerPoint templates too.
You can also save any presentation as a custom template (.potx file) to reuse for future projects, making it easy to maintain brand consistency across your organization.
Asset Library
PowerPoint features an extensive built-in media library with thousands of high-resolution stock photos, icons, illustrations and 3D models.
The Insert tab gives you access to shapes, SmartArt graphics (for org charts, process diagrams, cycles and more), charts (bar, line, pie, scatter and more), tables, text boxes and WordArt for creative text effects.
One standout feature: PowerPoint’s 3D model library lets you insert and manipulate 3D objects directly on slides, rotating them 360 degrees for dynamic visual presentations. You can also embed videos (including YouTube videos with improved controls that avoid ads), audio files, screen recordings and live web content.
Brand Kit
While PowerPoint doesn’t have a traditional “Brand Kit,” you can save custom themes (.thmx files) with your brand colors, fonts, logo placements and layouts. These themes can be applied across presentations to maintain consistent branding.
For enterprise teams, PowerPoint integrates with SharePoint Organization Asset Libraries (OAL) and Templafy libraries to automatically pull approved brand assets when Copilot generates slides. This way all your presentations are on-brand, every time.
Watch this video by Simon Sez IT to learn how to edit Slide Master in PowerPoint:
Animation & Interactivity
PowerPoint’s animation capabilities are really strong. You get smooth, cinematic transitions and precise motion effects that rival professional video editing software.
You can apply animations at three levels:
Entrance (objects appear)
Emphasis (objects move or change)
Exit (objects disappear)
The Animation Pane lets you control exact timing, duration, delays and sequences. You can also create custom sequences and even draw.
PowerPoint also supports:
Embedded videos and audio with playback controls
Hyperlinks for non-linear navigation between slides
Action buttons for interactive presentations
Slide zoom to create dynamic, non-linear storytelling
Presenter View with speaker notes hidden from audience
Rehearse Timings to practice delivery
Slide show recording with narration and annotations
For educators and trainers, PowerPoint’s trigger-based animations let you create interactive quizzes, games and choose-your-own-adventure style presentations.
AI Tools
PowerPoint’s AI engine is called Copilot. Let’s break down what you can do with it:
AI Presentation Generator
Generate complete presentations from text prompts or by extracting content from Word documents, Excel spreadsheets, Loop pages or PDF files. You can control presentation length, narrative tone, slide style and image preferences.
The Agent Mode enables multi-turn conversations where you refine presentations iteratively instead of writing detailed one-shot prompts.
Check out this video to learn what the Office Agent can do:
Other AI features include:
AI Image Generation: Generate custom images right inside PowerPoint using DALL-E 3 integration. Describe what you need (slide backgrounds, icons, illustrations, photos) and get multiple AI-generated options instantly.
Content Refinement: Copilot can review and update slide content for better flow, adjust writing style to align with brand guidelines, rewrite text in different tones and summarize lengthy slides.
Speaker Notes Generation: Generate context-aware speaker notes for each slide with one prompt.
Translation: Translate entire presentations into over 40 languages with a single prompt.
Design Suggestions: Microsoft Designer integration automatically suggests clean layouts, color schemes and design improvements.
Sharing & Collaboration
Publish & Export
Once you’re ready to get your presentation out in the world, you can export it as:
PowerPoint (.pptx)
PDF
Video (MP4 or WMV)
Images (PNG, JPEG, GIF)
HTML
You can also share via OneDrive links, email presentations directly from PowerPoint or present online in real-time via Microsoft Teams or PowerPoint Live.
Analytics
PowerPoint doesn’t have built-in viewer analytics. However, when presentations are shared via SharePoint or Microsoft Stream, administrators can track views and engagement through those platforms.
Privacy & Collaboration
PowerPoint supports real-time co-authoring when saved to OneDrive or SharePoint, so several users can edit simultaneously with live cursors and change tracking.
Team members can leave comments on specific slides, @mention colleagues and track who made what changes with version history and Review mode. You can set password protection, expiration dates and download restrictions on shared links.
Who Is It For
Microsoft PowerPoint is perfect for business professionals, educators, students and anyone looking for an easy-to-use, versatile presentation software.
Pricing & Plans
You can use the online version of PowerPoint for free. The desktop-based PowerPoint program is part of Microsoft 365 (bundled with Word, Excel, Outlook, OneDrive, OneNote, Publisher), which has different plans for businesses:
Microsoft 365 Business Basic: $6/user/month ($27 with Copilot)
Microsoft 365 Business Standard: $12.50/user/month ($33.50 with Copilot)
Microsoft 365 Business Premium: $22.00/user/month ($43 with Copilot)
You can also buy a standalone version of PowerPoint for $179.99.
Pros and Cons
Pros
Seamless Microsoft 365 ecosystem integration
Powerful Agent Mode for iterative AI-powered presentation creation
Zoho Show is a cloud-based presentation software that’s part of the Zoho Workplace suite. The interface is eerily similar to PowerPoint. So, if you’re comfortable with PowerPoint, you’ll have no issues with Zoho Show.
Let’s look at its features:
Creative & Brand Assets
Templates
Zoho Show comes preloaded with dozens of professional-looking templates covering startup pitch decks, sales presentations, business proposals and more.
You won’t find extensive template libraries like Visme’s or Canva’s, but the ones you do get are high-quality and should be sufficient for most business needs.
Asset Library
Zoho Show offers a wide range of tools for organizing and enhancing data visually. The built-in asset library includes formatted text boxes, shapes, diagrams, images, themes, videos and GIFs.
You also get several data visualization options.
You can also embed multimedia elements like videos and audio clips directly into slides.
Brand Kit
Zoho Show lets you maintain brand consistency by customizing presentations with company logos, colors and fonts. You can save custom themes and templates for reuse across your organization.
For enterprise teams, admins can push branded templates to a central repository where team members can access pre-approved slides and templates with one tap.
Animation & Interactivity
Zoho Show also comes with PowerPoint-like animations and transitions. You can apply transitions between slides, animate individual objects (entrance, emphasis and exit effects) and control timing for each animation.
Additional interactive features include audio recording, hyperlinks, text highlighting and custom image cropping.
AI Tools
Zoho Show’s AI-powered assistant is called Zia. Let’s see what you can do with it:
AI Presentation Generator
Turn a simple idea into a presentation in seconds. I entered a prompt and was given this text-only presentation.
Sure, you can add visuals manually using Zoho, but compared to the level of quality other AI presentation makers are producing, this one was below average.
Other Zia AI Features Include:
AI Image Generation: Generate custom images for slides. Describe the style, tone or mood and Zia creates images that match your presentation’s theme.
AI Writing Assistant: Generate slide content, expand or shorten text, rewrite for different tones, and refine messaging. Includes contextual grammar checks and writing suggestions to improve clarity.
Design Suggestions: Zia provides design recommendations to align elements, suggest layouts and enhance overall presentation quality and consistency.
Sharing & Collaboration
Publish & Export
Zoho Show lets you export presentations in multiple formats including:
PowerPoint (PPTX, PPT)
OpenDocument (ODP)
PowerPoint Show (PPSX, PPS)
Zoho’s native Zslides format (preserves all formatting).
You can also export as images or embed presentations directly on websites and blogs.
Analytics
Zoho Show does not have built-in viewer analytics. However, when used with Zoho CRM or other Zoho apps, you can track engagement through those platforms’ reporting features.
Privacy & Collaboration
Zoho Show supports real-time collaboration where multiple team members can co-edit presentations simultaneously with instant syncing.
You can leave comments on specific slides, @mention colleagues and track revision history.
The platform includes secure sharing with access-based permissions and password protection for sensitive presentations.
Who Is It For
Perfect for small to medium-sized businesses, freelancers, educators and teams already using Zoho products who need straightforward presentation software.
Pricing & Plans
You can get started with Zoho Show for free. Paid plans start at €2.50.
Pros and Cons
Pros
Completely free for individuals
Seamless integration with entire Zoho ecosystem (CRM, Projects, Mail, WorkDrive)
Zia AI assistant helps generate presentations, images and content
Cons
Limited template library
Limited design flexibility
AI features are helpful but not as advanced as some of the other competitor tools
Beautiful.ai is an AI-powered presentation tool that ditches the manual layout work and uses Smart Slides to automatically handle design as you add content.
You type in your content and the slide auto resizes, realigns and adjusts spacing on the fly without you touching a single text box.
Let’s look at the features.
Creative & Brand Assets
Templates
You get dozens of prebuilt templates with Beautiful.ai. Not as extensive as Visme or Canva, but still good enough to get you started.
Asset Library
The platform includes millions of free stock photos, icons, illustrations and videos accessible directly within the editor.
You also get built-in slide layouts that let you swap quickly between different formats. There’s also an option to add callouts.
My favorite tool here is the Smart Slide options that automatically handle design as you add content.
Brand Kit
The Theme Builder lets you set custom brand colors, fonts, logos, icons and footers across all decks. You can lock brand elements into slide templates to keep everyone on brand, and switch entire presentation themes with one click.
Animation & Interactivity
You don’t get advanced animation and interactivity features, but you can add in-slide animations on click, auto or custom. You can set timing for transitions, too.
You can also embed videos and audio directly into slides and even embed entire websites into a slide.
AI Tools
Beautiful.ai’s AI features are powered by DesignerBot. Here’s what you can do with it:
AI Presentation Generator
It works the same way as other presentation makers do. Enter a prompt and let AI do the heavy lifting for you. Here’s a presentation I made using it:
I like the results here. It basically takes care of appropriate text, layouts, photos, icons and design. And I can just go in and make my edits.
Other AI features include:
AI Image Generator: Generate unique custom images by describing the image style, tone and mood you want. This is powered by OpenAI’s DALL-E.
AI Writing Assistant: DesignerBot can also generate new headings, titles and key takeaways, elaborate on or summarize content, and rewrite text to match different brand tones or languages.
Sharing & Collaboration
Publish and Export Options
You can export presentations as PDF or PowerPoint (PPTX) or share them via a live web link. There’s also a PowerPoint Add-In and a Simple Offline Player available.
Analytics
Beautiful.ai also lets you track viewer analytics such as unique viewers, total views, average time per slide, completion rate (percentage viewing full deck), individual slide engagement duration and sharing history.
Anonymous viewer tracking captures engagement metrics without requiring a viewer login.
Privacy and Collaboration
Beautiful.ai supports real-time co-editing where multiple team members can work on the same deck simultaneously. You can assign slides, leave comments with @mentions and track slide status too.
You can also add password protection to your presentations.
Who Is It For
Beautiful.ai is ideal for consultants, agencies and corporate teams who need ‘beautiful’, on-brand presentations quickly.
Pricing & Plans
Beautiful.ai offers a 14-day free trial. Their paid plans are as follows:
Pro: $12/month
Teams: $40/month
Enterprise: Contact sales for a custom quote
Pros and Cons
Pros
Smart Slides save 50-75% of design time
Uses AI to automatically adjust the design based on content
Solid collaboration features for teams working on presentations
Cons
Smart Slides are rigid and you can’t freely adjust layout elements outside their predefined structure
Canva is a visual design platform that lets you create everything from social media graphics and videos to presentations and websites.
While it’s known primarily as a graphic design tool, its presentation features are surprisingly robust with thousands of templates available in multiple formats.
Let’s look at the features in detail.
Creative & Brand Assets
Templates
Canva’s template library has over 10,000 professionally made templates for presentations spanning pitch decks, sales proposals, marketing campaigns, training materials and more.
Apart from that, Canva also allows designers and creators to share their own templates on the platform, which means designs are always fresh and trendy.
Asset Library
Canva gives you access to millions of icons, shapes and graphics to enhance your presentations.
You also get millions of stock photos and videos that you can search and add directly to your slides.
For data visualization, you get multiple chart types, including bar charts, line graphs, pie charts and more.
Beyond the basics, you also get forms, 3D elements, sheets, tables and mockups to add depth and functionality to your presentations.
Brand Kit
You can store your brand colors, fonts, logos, templates and more inside Canva to keep all your designs consistent across projects.
Teams can also lock brand elements and set permissions to control who can create and modify templates.
Animation & Interactivity
You can set animations to entire pages or to specific objects. Canva lets you apply entrance effects, transitions and motion graphics without needing animation expertise.
You can also create custom animations with full control over timing and effects.
Canva allows you to link slides to each other for non-linear presentations. It also supports embedding videos directly into slides.
AI Tools
Canva’s AI features are bundled under Magic Studio, which includes 25+ AI-powered tools:
Magic Design
If you want to create presentations using AI, Magic Design generates complete presentation drafts from simple text prompts.
Here’s a quick presentation I made:
The results are okay at best. Some visuals aren’t relevant to the topic, copy leaves much to be desired, but the content structure and layout is solid.
Magic Write
Generate copy for presentation slides tailored to specific audiences and brand voices. You can also rewrite, shorten or adjust tone.
Canva also lets you generate quizzes and AI voices.
Other AI features include:
Magic Media: Text-to-image and text-to-video generator that produces custom visuals based on descriptions.
Magic Eraser: Removes unwanted elements from images while intelligently filling the background.
Magic Expand: Extends image boundaries naturally when you need to adjust aspect ratios without cropping.
Canva AI Code: Generates code snippets and helps with coding tasks directly within the platform.
Sharing & Collaboration
Publish and Export Options
You can export presentations in multiple formats, including PDF, PNG, JPEG and PowerPoint (PPTX). You can also share via live web link or present directly from your browser.
Canva supports integration with Google Drive, Dropbox, Slack and more.
Analytics
Canva offers built-in analytics for presentations that track total unique visitors, total visits and external traffic sources (public view links, social media, website).
You can see the average time spent on the design and per page. You can also export these analytics to a Canva sheet.
Privacy and Collaboration
Canva supports real-time collaboration where multiple team members can work simultaneously.
You can share folders, manage permissions and leave comments for team feedback. Version history is available too.
Who Is It For
Canva works best for marketers, small business owners, social media managers and content creators. If you’re already using Canva for social graphics and ads, adding presentations to your workflow makes sense.
Pricing & Plans
You can get started with Canva for free. The paid plans are as follows:
Haiku Deck is a cloud-based presentation software designed around simplicity and visual storytelling. Let’s look at its features:
Creative & Brand Assets
Templates
Haiku Deck offers dozens of professionally designed templates organized by use cases.
The templates feature stylish fonts, layouts and image filters with consistent formatting that applies across your entire presentation in a single click.
Asset Library
Haiku Deck gives you access to an extensive library of royalty-free Creative Commons images. Enter a few keywords and Haiku Deck searches and suggests relevant images that suit your content.
You also get very limited data visualization functionality.
Haiku Deck Pro subscribers can search for and insert YouTube videos in their presentations. They can also record audio right inside the editor.
Brand Kit
You can upload your custom branding to Haiku Deck to maintain consistent formatting across your presentation. Important to note that this is a Pro feature.
Animation & Interactivity
You don’t get any animation capability in Haiku Deck. However, you can embed YouTube videos, third-party links, add charts and graphs and record audio narration directly within the platform.
AI Tools
Haiku Deck Zuru
Haiku Deck’s AI technology is called Zuru (only available to Pro subscribers).
Once you enter your prompt, Zuru then analyzes it, sifts through images, applies relevant color palettes and uses machine learning to perfect results.
Sharing & Collaboration
Publish & Export
Haiku Deck presentations are hosted automatically online with options to share publicly, restrict to those with the link, or keep private (only visible when signed in).
You can export presentations as PowerPoint (.pptx), PDF, or MP4 video with audio narration.
Analytics
Haiku Deck Premium subscribers get access to analytics that track audience engagement, though specific metrics aren’t detailed in available documentation.
Privacy & Collaboration
Free presentations are public and searchable on the web. Pro subscribers get privacy controls to choose between public, restricted (link-only) or private access.
Haiku Deck supports collaboration through shared links and integration with Google Classroom for educators.
Who Is It For
Good pick for educators, teachers and students who value simplicity and speed over advanced customization. But for most professional and even private use cases, tools like Visme, Gamma, Prezi and Canva are much better picks.
Pricing & Plans
Haiku Deck can be tried for free with one available presentation. The paid plans are as follows:
Pro: $9.99/month
Premium: $29.99/month
Pros & Cons of Haiku:
Pros
Massive template library
Intuitive drag-and-drop interface
Extensive AI capabilities
Cons
Limited animation and multimedia options
Can feel restrictive for advanced customization
Limited data visualization capabilities
Presentation Software FAQs
Still have questions? We've compiled answers to some of the most frequently asked questions about the best presentation tools available.
Before we get into the tools, let me quickly brief you on what exactly presentation software is. Presentation tools are web, desktop or mobile-based applications that enable users to visually present ideas or share knowledge.
You can typically deliver these presentations as a series of slides (or a slideshow) using a combination of text, images and other graphic elements.
Can you use it to create presentations on any of your devices?
Can finished presentations be viewed offline?
Can you have team accounts or business accounts for easy collaboration inside your company?
Does it include a Brand Kit? Is it easy to use?
Can the finished presentation be shared online straight from the presentation software?
Can your presentations be uploaded to the cloud privately with password protection?
Does the presentation software include analytics to see how your projects perform on social media?
Can you use the finished presentation as a lead generator straight from the software?
There are many presentation tools out there but Visme stands out as a top pick and a creative presentation app with a full suite of advanced features tailored to the needs of individual users and businesses. Visme offers real-time collaboration, interactive and animated elements, hyper-customization options, robust data visualization tools and a brand wizard to maintain brand consistency across your presentations.
Visme is often considered a top presentation software and offers several advantages as a PowerPoint alternative. Its intuitive interface and extensive template library make creating visually stunning presentations seamless, even for beginners. The collaboration features are superior, allowing teams to work seamlessly. On top of that, it’s packed with advanced interactive and animated elements to keep your audience hooked.
PowerPoint and Prezi each have strengths and are suited for different presentation styles. PowerPoint is easy to use, has a clear structure, and is widely available, making it suitable for traditional slide decks and formal presentations. On the other hand, Prezi excels at non-linear, visually engaging presentations with its zooming and panning features, making it ideal for creative or storytelling presentations. The best choice depends on your content, audience and desired presentation style.
Visme offers a powerful presentation app that allows you to create, edit and present your slides from anywhere. Its mobile app is designed for on-the-go editing and presenting, ensuring you always have your presentation at your fingertips.
Canva and PowerPoint are tailored to suit the diverse preferences and requirements of different users.
Generally, Canva is known for its drag-and-drop interface, extensive library of design-focused templates and emphasis on visual appeal. It is an excellent choice for those who value aesthetics and want to create content quickly. On the other hand, PowerPoint offers more traditional features and is super flexible. It is often preferred due to its integration and compatibility with other Microsoft Office tools.
Looking for a Presentation Software?
Choosing the best presentation program for your business is a great first step towards better and more effective slide deck development. In this guide, you learned about 15 different types of presentation software and we gave you a checklist to help you decide.
If you're looking for an easy-to-use presentation maker that also comes with unique features that you won't find in most other tools, Visme might be a great option.
You can look for the right pricing plan for your needs and even apply for a discount if you're a nonprofit organization. And if you just want to try out Visme to see if it's a good fit, sign up for a free account and use it for as long as you like — no strings attached.
*All logos, trademarks, and brand names used in this article are the property of their respective organizations. Their inclusion is for identification purposes only and does not imply any endorsement or association with our organization.
Meet Zain: freelance writer for B2B SaaS by day and YouTube content creator by night. He specializes in transforming complex, technical ideas into simple, engaging and actionable content. When he’s not working, he’s busy being a dad, playing soccer or planning his next family trip around the world. He’s currently based in Antalya where he lives right next to the beach. Connect with him on LinkedIn or check out his portfolio.
I like the results here. It basically takes care of appropriate text, layouts, photos, icons and design. And I can just go in and make my edits.
