10+ Best Presentation Software To Consider [Ranked]

No matter your profession, you’ll have to create presentations at some point.

This is why it’s a much-needed skill, especially with the recent massive movement to the online space.

Thankfully, you don’t have to bear this burden alone; there are several presentation software to help you create eye-catching slideshows.

As great as that is, you can also get confused about which of these applications can adequately bring the images in your head to life.

This is why we’ve compiled a list of the best presentation software out there.

From premium design tools to collaborative features and fascinating templates, these presentation apps have them all.

Choosing a Presentation Software: Factors to Consider

Every presentation software has a unique selling point that catches your attention. Here are some factors you should consider to ensure that you choose the best presentation software.

• Ease of Use: It’s always better to use presentation software that’s easy to use, especially if you’re a beginner. You can always move to more complex tools once you get better.
• Real-Time Collaboration: It’s a hassle to download and email slideshow drafts, so it’s better to use software that allows several people to access a project simultaneously.
• Accessibility: You can access some presentation tools on any device, while others are limited to a laptop. Choose based on your preference.
• Design Tools: Would you like to spice up your slideshows with highly visual design themes, or are you okay with a basic slide library with just enough graphics and images? The choice is yours.
• Available Templates: Some apps allow anyone to create sophisticated slideshows with modern and pre-designed templates, while others are only accessible to pro designers. Based on your skill level, you can opt for the former or the latter.
• Affordability: You don’t have to empty your pockets to create high-quality presentations. Many free tools can help you create them, so unless you need something more extensive, you don’t have to pay so much for presentation software.

10 Best Presentation Software in 2022

After checking out some high-end features such as collaborative options, available templates, design tools, and more, we’ve listed the ten best presentation software.

1. Google Slides – Best Free Presentation Software

The best part about Google Slides is that you only need a Google account.

And since almost everyone has a Google account, this presentation software is highly accessible.

Google Slides is free and quite similar to Powerpoint, so you won’t have any issues using it if you’ve already interacted with the latter.

Also, you can upgrade to a business version for easy collaboration among team members.

Slides features a basic collection of presentation templates and graphic assets, although they’re limited.

You can upload pictures from your PC, Google Drive, or online.

Similarly, you can upload videos, although the sources are limited to YouTube and Google Drive.

With Google Slides, you can animate elements in each slide and transition from one slide to another.

However, it might not be easy to download and export presentations to different formats.

Pros:

• Simple interface
• Free
• Collaborative
• Easily accessible

Cons:

• Challenging to export to different formats
• Basic and not great for complex presentations

2. Microsoft Powerpoint – A Market Leader in Presentation Designs

Microsoft Powerpoint should be the first on this list, but that’d be too obvious.

Powerpoint is one of the oldest presentation tools and a product of a widely-recognized technology company—Microsoft.

Still, these aren’t the features that make it great for presentations.

For one, it has the most important tools you need in a presentation app, from graphic elements to animated transitions and pre-installed fonts.

Even better, you can customize presentations by uploading your images, fonts, and graphics.

On top of that, this presentation software is part of Microsoft Office, so you can use it in collaboration with other software packages in the fold.

Then, you can create presentations on a mobile device or the web.

Unfortunately, as great as this tool is, it comes with very few templates, so there’s no variety.

This makes most Powerpoint presentations boring and monotonous.

And if you’re using the software as a standalone, you should be ready to pay a hefty fee.

Pros:

• Widely recognized
• Familiar interface
• Easy to use
• Syncs with other programs on Microsoft Office
• Great for slideshow presentations
• Can be used on most devices

Cons:

• Limited templates
• Pricey

3. Keynote – Top Pick for Apple Products

Keynote is to Apple as Powerpoint is to Microsoft.

As long as you have an Apple ID, you can use this presentation software.

And like other Apple applications, Keynote is sleek and has a minimalist interface.

You have access to over 30 themes on Apple Keynote, and you don’t have to be an expert to handle this software.

On top of that, there’s a wide array of customizable templates and classic symbols.

However, you can only add images from your desktop.

This presentation program also comes with the ability to upload audio files and even record a voiceover yourself.

This is a great feature for narrated presentations.

Other unique features are animation effects like scaling, path creation, jiggle effects, etc.

The icing on the cake is that it’s compatible with other Apple products.

Once your presentation is saved, you can control it from any Apple product, including your iWatch.

Although Keynote is solely available on macOS, non-Apple users can also use an iCloud Drive to create and upload their Keynote presentations.

Still, you should note that Keynote has a different interface from PowerPoint, so if you’re used to the latter, using Keynote might be daunting at first.

Pros:

• Interesting animation effects
• Free for Apple users

Cons:

• More complex than Microsoft Powerpoint

4. Prezi – A Unique Presentation Tool

Once you move away from the big names, Prezi is one of the most unique presentation tools you can find.

One thing that sets it apart from other presentation software is that, unlike the mundane slide-to-slide format, Prezi presentations feature highly visual content, thanks to the different interactive canvases available on the software.

Prezi is flexible, so you can design and edit presentations for different purposes to keep your audience engaged.

You can skip ahead, zoom in and zoom out on different slides, and not have to stick to the arduous task of flipping through the slideshow to reach a slide you’re looking for.

You also have over 100 templates to choose from, and with the drag-and-drop editing style, you don’t have to go through so much stress to get your presentation up and running.

You can create a link and send it to audience members to view the document in real time.

This tool is a top-notch business presentation software because it allows several team members to work on the presentation at the same time.

You have to be careful, though, as too many hands can mess up the whole thing.

Pros:

• Used to create dynamic interactive presentations
• Easy interface
• The collaborative feature is great for businesses with team members around the world
• Highly visual
• Allows for live presentation
• Available on both Windows and Mac devices.

Cons:

• May not be suitable for all kinds of presentations
• Has a slight learning curve

5. Zoho Show – Best for Simple Presentations

When you hear Zoho Show, the first thing that should come to mind is simplicity.

Not only that, it’s an upgrade of Google Slides in terms of features and intuitiveness.

This software allows you to resize content blocks and move them around easily.

You can also view presentations in three ways on Zoho Show, and a grid view lets you see all slideshows side by side.

On top of that, this software allows you to upload videos and audio and animate transitions and elements.

Although Zoho Show doesn’t boast sophisticated library templates, it takes a more professional and modern design approach.

The template can be customized from the start, including fonts and colors, making it a worthy rival of PowerPoint and Google Slides.

With an email invite or shareable link, you can enjoy real-time collaboration with your team members.

Even better, Zoho lets you broadcast your presentation remotely once ready.

This makes it great for business presentations.

Pros:

• The free account allows up to five users
• Compatible with all devices

Cons:

• Basic templates

6. Haiku Deck – Perfect for Customizable Themes

Haiku Deck is one of the presentation apps that has unlocked the secret to highly interactive presentations—images.

This is why the software allows more pictures than text by limiting the number of words appearing on a slide.

With this, you create a simple presentation without being too wordy.

In place of unlimited texts, Haiku Deck offers more than 40 million royalty-free pictures, including unlimited slides to choose from.

While this is great, users who need to use more words to explain facts and figures might not enjoy the text-restrictive feature.

This cloud-based app allows you to create presentations on the web, so you can always access it on any device.

In fact, no matter the device you’re using, you still have unlimited access to various layouts, filters, and fonts.

One distinguishing feature of this presentation app is that it has custom templates for different industries.

For example, there are several themes for cooking, startups, teaching, etc., so you know exactly where to go depending on what you’re working on.

Pros:

• Features a wide array of royalty-free stock images
• Possesses interactive features
• Uses images to capture the audience’s attention
• Easy interface
• Free to use

Cons:

• Limited features
• Doesn’t support Android devices

7. Canva – Best for Free Presentation Designs

One of the most important things that make Canva a favorite among many is the staggering number of beautiful templates available for use, most of which are free.

You can add preset animations to your presentation to spice it up, as well as a well-stocked library of video and audio files for various design purposes.

Canva is so fast that you can create a professional-grade presentation within an hour.

With it, you don’t need to consult other programs like Photoshop to create top-notch visual content—Canva has it all.

From video presentations to social media presentations and more, there’s no shortage of things you can create on this app.

And with its latest updates, you can present your slideshows directly through the app.

You can also share slideshows on social media.

Unfortunately, you can’t use it to design complicated diagrams, charts, and tables.

Also, getting used to it might take a while, especially if you’re already used to a more familiar interface like PowerPoint.

Pros:

• The free version has awesome features
• Beautiful templates
• Brand kit support
• Simple interactive content
• Fast for presentation creation

Cons:

• Advanced tools can be difficult to use
• Not suitable for all presentations
• Offline use is limited

8. SlideDog – Best for Interactive Presentations

SlideDog is that software that has deviated from the norm.

Rather than being a typical slideshow application, it allows you to use several kinds of media for presentations.

Some of these media include PDF files, videos, and even files from PowerPoint decks.

With SlideDog, you can customize your presentation without issues.

All you need to do is upload the files on the web app and use the drag-and-drop style to arrange them in the order you want them played.

In fact, with this software, you can control your playlists and presentation from a different device, and with a shareable link, your target audience won’t have an issue viewing your slideshow.

While you can get all the basic tools you need on the software’s free version, you can only have access to other features like premium support and live sharing by upgrading to its Pro version.

And you should also note that SlideDog isn’t an actual presentation maker.

This means that you can’t create presentations right from scratch on it.

The only thing you can do on it is put together several already-made presentations in various formats and create a playlist out of them.

Pros:

• Allows live sharing
• Highly interactive
• Can accept different media
• Doesn’t use the typical slideshow style

Cons:

• Can be used only on Windows devices
• Can only collect media and not create presentations from scratch

9. Beautiful.ai – AI-Powered Presentation Software

Beautiful.ai has a feature that most presentation apps don’t have—Artificial Intelligence.

This assistant allows users to make presentations with little fuss and in no time.

There’s also a two-minute tutorial available for anyone just starting, so you don’t have to worry if you’ve never created a presentation.

The app offers ten themes, more than 40 designed templates, more templated slides, and 23 color schemes.

This combo helps you customize presentations even while automating your designs at the same time.

However, this library isn’t feature-rich like other presentation software, but it makes up for that by creating modern, appealing content types.

With the AI assistant, you can tailor your designs to match the information you want to pass across and even save the custom templates for future presentations.

Paid plans on this presentation software offer unique features like unlimited creations, viewer analytics, revision history, etc.

A Team plan is also available to help you collaborate with other people and create branded presentations.

Pros:

• Modern and updated features
• Clean interface
• Simple to use

Cons:

• Limited template library
• Need to upgrade to paid plans to enjoy better features

10. Genially – Best for Animated Presentations

Genially is that presentation app that allows animated templates to take the lead, so you can only expect to have highly interactive content on this software.

It has many interactive buttons to help you navigate the platform and present your slideshow to people.

Not only does it offer a plethora of searchable templates, but they’re also tailor-made for different purposes, including reports, business proposals, social media presentations, etc.

Genially takes its presentation game to another level by including smart blocks, which are content blocks for components like image galleries and data visualizations.

You can create branded presentations on this app by including your business’s logo, image, color scheme, and more.

Finally, the app supports infographics, training materials, interactive pictures, and more, all of which you can preset according to your needs.

Pros:

• Highly interactive
• Great for animations
• Easy interface
• Many template options
• Can create video presentations

Cons:

• Advanced tools are only available on paid plans

To Wrap Up

Choosing the best presentation software is entirely up to you; all we can do is push you in the right direction.

There are many more presentation apps available than we can count, but you can never create anything less than the best slideshows with the apps in this roundup.

If you want to play it safe, you can stick to popular names like PowerPoint, Keynote, and Google Slides.

And if you’d like to explore more possibilities and access stronger features, you should consider alternatives like Prezi, Canva, and Haiku Deck.