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What is the best presentation software?
1. Slidebean.
Slidebean is an online presentation tool that harnesses the power of artificial intelligence to create amazing slides. It offers excellent ease and customization options for great results.
Features
- Automation : Slidebean's algorithm automates formatting and finds the most appropriate design layout for each element on the slide. This level of automation saves a lot of time when creating sophisticated, feature-rich presentations.
- Model gallery : You can take advantage of its rich gallery of presentation templates for numerous uses, including classroom presentations, business proposals, thesis presentations, and startup launch presentations.
- Examples of presentations : It offers a plethora of sample models from major companies, including Uber and Airbnb, to keep users up to date with the latest trends.
- Easy integration : it can be easily integrated into websites using a simple HTML script, without additional plugins or installations. It is also compatible with all operating systems.
- As it is a cloud application, users can use it from any location and from any machine via the Internet.
- Users can easily export it to PPT or PDF for offline use.
- It offers rich color palettes and top-quality fonts.
- Slidebean is equipped with tracking features and user information to assess the reach of content.
- It is equipped with all the professional capabilities to effectively create professional slides by including bullets, quotes, titles, text, videos, images, fillings, icons, charts, tables, among others.
Pricing
Slidebean offers a free trial. Its Essential and Premium subscription plans are available for $29 and $45 per month. Its Corporate formula is customizable and based on quotes.
2. Prezi.
Prezi is positioned as a more creative alternative to PowerPoint. It's more suited to users who want to make conversational presentations organically.
Features
- Native desktop applications : The web suite offers native desktop applications for Windows and Mac to enable online editing of a presentation. It also offers separate visualization applications for Android and iOS.
- Easy to use : A steep learning curve is not required to use all of Prezi Next's features. It offers a very simple and straightforward interface that allows users to create visually appealing presentations.
- Control : It offers total control in terms of size, angle, images, and font size, among other things, without worrying about the logical sequence or order of your content.
- Conception : Instead of the usual presentation formats, Prezi encourages users to innovate and make presentations more innovative by exploiting its large digital canvas and zoom functions.
Pricing
Prezi offers a free version and a free trial for users. Paid plans start at $5 and go up to $59.
3. Google Slides.
Google Slides is available for free to anyone using either Gmail, G Suite, or your Google account. It offers excellent flexibility and convenience while helping users manage their presentations with impressive features including themes, fonts, embedded videos, and animations.
Features
- Cloud-based : It allows you to collaborate, create, and edit presentations that are automatically saved in the cloud.
- No Installation : It works as software as a service (SaaS). So you don't need to install software on computers or mobile applications. Slides can be accessed from any machine and anywhere in the world.
- Support : Slides are accessible from multiple browsers, including Firefox, Internet Explorer 11, Chrome, Microsoft Edge, and Safari (for Mac).
- Available models : Offers several free slide templates to easily create engaging presentations.
Pricing
Google offers a free version of its Slides software. However, if you want full access to its premium features, you'll need to sign up for a paid subscription of $6 per month, with a free trial.
4. Zoho Show.
Zoho Show is a web-based office suite that allows users to create, collaborate, broadcast, present, and publish presentations instantly from your web browser. It is a flexible and customizable tool of the suite Zoho, the famous CRM software.
Features
- Dedicated applications : It comes with specialized apps for Android and Apple TV that allow users to stream their professional presentations directly to the TV.
- Collaboration : Live collaboration is very useful for working with multiple users in real time. Add feedback, resolve, and reopen discussions whenever you want.
- PowerPoint support : It is one of the few office suites that offer seamless and seamless import of PPT files without much risk of content degradation. You can easily convert them into Zoho presentations or export them as PDFs.
- Chrome extension : The extension dedicated to the Chrome browser improves the speed and the work experience compared to other online editors.
Pricing
Zoho Show is available for personal use at no charge. Standard and Premium plans are available for $5 and $8 per month per user.
5. Apple Keynote.
Apple offers Keynote pre-installed on its Mac and iPhone devices. It offers an intuitive user interface that allows users to create elegant but eye-catching presentations without much effort.
Features
- Tools for presenters : Its presentation tools, such as voice-over narration, help you improve the presentation experience for both the presenter and the audience.
- Slide design : It offers a plethora of slide designs, including icons, animated presentations, and slide transitions.
- Cloud-based version : It also provides a cloud-based version that can be accessed from any device and any location.
- PowerPoint format support : Users can easily export Keynote presentations to PowerPoint. They can also open, edit, and save PPT files in Keynote.
Pricing
It comes free with Apple devices, including iPhone, iPad, and Mac computers.
6. LibreOffice Impress.
LibreOffice is a free, open-source suite managed by the community. It is incredibly flexible and is constantly being updated, with new features being added regularly. It's one of the best free office suites out there.
Features
- Interface : LibreOffice offers the possibility of choosing between a traditional system of icons and toolbars or the NotebookBar, which offers the same functionalities as the ribbon used in Microsoft Office 2007.
- Regular updates : As free software with a strong developer community, LibreOffice is regularly updated with new features.
- Support for multiple file formats : It supports multiple file types, including DOC, DOCX, PPT, PPTX, among others, for secure collaboration with users using other office suites.
- Plugins : Users can add plugins to get features like additional language packs, grammar tools, improved accessibility options, and mind mapping tools, among others.
Pricing
It is an open-source office suite that is available for free.
7. Slides.com.
Slides is a cloud-based presentation management offering that comes with a minimalistic user interface that makes it easy to create beautiful presentations. It offers excellent flexibility and agility to develop presentations with effortless collaboration.
Features
- Customisable : Exported or downloaded presentations are purely CSS, HTML, and JavaScript to allow users to host the files themselves and freely customize them.
- Accessible : Being a cloud-based service, users don't need to install software and can access slides from any machine and any location.
- Effective collaboration : It offers a team account that offers analysis, collaboration, and shared models. It is available as an on-premise installation (intranet) to eliminate its dependence on the Internet.
- Advanced functions : It has its own “developer mode” that allows users to unlock its advanced features. However, you need to be familiar with HTML and CSS to take advantage of this feature.
Pricing
Slides.com's basic plan is available for $7 per month. Pro and Team plans are available for $14 and $18, respectively. You also get a free version with limited features and a free trial of the software.
8. Microsoft Sway.
Microsoft Sway is able to change your presentation style instantly thanks to its tight integration with specific PowerPoint tools. Sway helps you stay focused, unlike other tools where you may get distracted due to the multitude of features.
Features
- Simple start : Users can tap on its smart “Start from a Topic” feature to get presentation templates related to the topic. They include, among other things, areas to be covered, definitions, images, uses, and suggestions for related topics.
- Simple user interface : Microsoft has worked well to reduce complexity and make the application intuitive and simple so that users can easily create engaging presentations.
- Efficient : You can use Sway to tell stories by taking advantage of its narrative structure. Its design flows from left to right and from top to bottom, and it can be freely scrolled using a mouse cursor, unlike conventional presentations where the up and down keys are used to change pages.
- Adding new content : Sway introduced maps to add new content to the presentation. There are several maps, including a video, text, grid, or title, and each map is intended to download a specific type of information.
Pricing
It comes with Office 365 as part of a $6.99 per month subscription.
9. Haiku Deck.
Haiku Deck offers one of the quickest and easiest ways to create beautiful and engaging presentations. It's easy to use and offers great templates and image options.
Features
- Patterns : Its huge gallery offers more than 40 million royalty-free images allowing users to improve the appearance and usability of their presentations.
- Customization : Users can easily embed YouTube videos and add audio narration. Its function of recording as a video allows you to create a presentation in any scenario.
- Simplicity : Its slides offer a simple and clear layout that allows users to create attractive slides while remaining minimalistic.
- Supers Designs : it offers features that people who are not very good at designing can use to create models with amazing design tools.
Pricing
Haiku Deck offers a free version. Its Edu, Pro, and Volume subscription plans are available for 5, 10, and 100 dollars per month, respectively.
10. Slidedog.
Slidedog allows its users to present all of their files in a single presentation. It helps users create dynamic presentations while maintaining a simple and attractive layout.
Features
- Multi-file support : It is capable of mixing multiple file types, including PowerPoints, Prezis, videos, PDFs, websites, etc. without requiring the presenter to pause their speech to present the next item on the screen.
- Sleek design : Its easy-to-use interface offers a clean design for greater engagement while reducing the need to get to know the tool in depth.
- Drag and drop : Users can simply drag and drop various files onto presentation slides without worrying about compatibility.
- Design : Users can make the presentation more engaging by integrating YouTube videos, pools, web pages, and objects from live chat.
Pricing
The Pro version of Slidedog is offered at the price of an annual subscription of 99 dollars per year. It also offers a free plan.
11. CustomShow.
CustomShow is a design-focused presentation builder designed to create sales results. Sales and marketing teams use it to develop lively and engaging presentations.
Features
- Highly engaging: It is equipped with excellent editing tools that allow users to incorporate all the visual details for highly professional and branded presentations.
- Controls brand appearance: It includes a combination of a full-featured slide builder and an enterprise-level library. It allows the user to manage presentations globally and deliver the right content every time while controlling the brand message.
- Simple user interface: Its simple user interface makes it easier to create feature-rich and branded multimedia presentations.
- Easy access: It allows the presenter to organize online meetings, share links via email, and present the slides offline via personal computers and iPads.
Pricing
A free version is available. However, to take advantage of all the premium features, users need to sign up for a paid subscription by requesting a demo. Then, sales managers will contact you to reveal the subscription price.
Note: Other tools that aren't on this list yet are Powtoon, Visme, and Adobe Spark.
What is presentation software?
Before computers arrived, presenters used drawings or posters to show relevant images and graphics to their audience. Later, speakers began using slide projectors with slide carousels to project images for the audience.
Today, presenters can create virtual presentations very attractive with rich media formats. Presentation software tools are specifically developed so that users can create presentations by joining different slides that contain text, graphics, images, audio, and video.
What are the benefits of presentation software?
Powerful presentation tools help users create visually stunning presentations that can have a lasting impact on viewers.
Here are some of the key benefits of presentation programs:
1. Flexibility.
Effective presentation applications offer the ability to easily edit or edit any type of content to change the presentation. Businesses can use the same presentation for different purposes by simply changing the relevant facts and statistics to suit their needs.
2. Commitment.
Stunning images and engaging videos can increase viewers' interest in your presentation. Clear bullet points and a conclusive summary can help viewers understand the logic and purpose of the presentation.
In addition, the theatrical tone of the presentation makes it possible to attract more attention from the spectators and to ensure a more effective dissemination of the message. Additionally, some tools provide business intelligence and data reports to understand the impact of your presentation on viewers.
3. Coherence.
Presentation creators help users create amazing presentations with absolute consistency in the format, design, and layout of each slide.
The presentation allows the user to present information in a very structured way to ensure that the most important information is placed in a conspicuous place. It also reduces information congestion to avoid confusion and redundancy.
4. Creativity.
Presentations help businesses use their creative thoughts to get their message across to viewers more effectively. Presenters can use animations, emojis, videos, and images to keep the viewer focused until the end of the presentation.
The new presentation applications also allow viewers to participate in polls and discuss the presentation in real time to increase user engagement.
How does presentation software work?
The various presentation software packages come with unique features and benefits to meet the different needs of users. However, some of the basic features of presentation software still remain the same.
You need to be familiar with the basic features of a presentation tool to be ready to learn more sophisticated features.
Here's how presentation software works:
1. Select the model.
To create a new presentation, first of all, you need to select a relevant template that should meet your needs.
Think about the purpose for which you are creating a presentation. You can also consider the number of images and videos that you will add to the presentation to ensure that they are properly contained in the layout of the selected template.
For example, take these Apple Keynote templates:
Some presentation tools also offer templates based on the theme or subject of the presentation to avoid users having to choose the right template.
2. Insert content.
The next step is to insert the content. You can add any type of content, including text, image, animation, graphics, or video, to a presentation slide.
Presentation tools offer several types of files. You should check the names of compatible file types before uploading videos and images. Presentation software tools also allow you to add textual content to images and videos. Users can also add multiple photos and other graphics to the slide, as well as audio and video elements.
3. Edit text.
The presentation software offers the possibility of changing the font, color and size of the text, the distance between the letters, the opacity, the rotation, the filling and the height of the lines, among other characteristics. It allows for complete customization to help you insert the text according to your needs.
4. Add slide templates in multiple formats.
With the software, presenters can add multiple format templates to make the presentation more engaging and intriguing.
5. Insert graphics.
Users can insert infographics to present data in a more engaging format. Intuitive graphics can make the presentation more visually appealing.
6. Save in various formats.
The final version of the presentation can be saved either on the cloud or in system memory. The final file can be processed in multiple formats including PDF, PPT, MP4, and HTML5, among others.
Summary.
From an organizational or personal point of view, it is not a question of choosing the best tool based solely on specific characteristics. Rather, it's about choosing the one that's best for you, comfortable with, and makes your life easier.
Before making your final decision, here are a few questions to ask yourself:
- Do you need to collaborate with multiple stakeholders remotely or not?
- Are you looking for a presentation tool that is modern in its approach with videos, animations, and advanced features?
- Are you planning to pay for the software or are you looking for a free, open source tool?
- Do you have the IT infrastructure to install the software, or would a cloud-based service be more appropriate?
Further reading: If you're looking for other popular business software, check out my reviews of the best whiteboard animation software And the best photo management software for use with your presentations.
