presentation of software

The best presentation software in 2024

These powerpoint alternatives go beyond the basics..

Hero image with logos of the best presentation software

The latest presentation apps have made it easier than ever to format slides and create professional-looking slideshows without giving off a "this is a template" vibe. Even standard PowerPoint alternatives have updated key features to make it easier than ever to collaborate and create presentations quickly, so you can spend more time prepping for your actual presentation.

If, like me, you've used Google Slides unquestioningly for years, it's a whole new world out there. The newest crop of online presentation tools go way beyond the classic slideshow experience, with new features to keep your audience's attention, streamline the creation process with AI, and turn slide decks into videos and interactive conversations.

I've been testing these apps for the past few years, and this time, I spent several days tinkering with 25 of the top presentation software solutions out there to bring you the best of the best.

The best presentation software

What makes the best presentation app, how we evaluate and test apps.

When looking for the best presentation apps, I wanted utility players. After all, slideshows are used for just about everything, from pitch decks and product launches to class lectures and church sermons. With that in mind, here's what I was looking for:

Pre-built templates. The best presentation tools should have attractive, professional-looking templates to build presentations in a hurry.

Sharing and collaboration options. Whether you plan to share your webinar slides later, or you just want to collaborate with a coworker on a presentation, it should be easy to share files and collaborate in real-time.

Flexibility and customization options. Templates are great, but top presentation apps should enable you to customize just about everything—giving you the flexibility to build exactly what you need.

Affordability. Creating compelling presentations is important, but you shouldn't have to bust your budget to make it happen. With capable free tools on the market, affordability is a top consideration.

Standalone functionality. There's no reason to use multiple tools when one can do it all, so I didn't test any apps that require and work on top of another presentation app like PowerPoint or Google Slides.

Familiar, deck-based interface. For our purposes here, I only tested software that uses slides, with the familiar deck-based editor you expect from a "presentation" tool (versus, for example, a video creation app).

Beyond that, I also looked for presentation apps that brought something unique to the table—features above and beyond what you can get for free from a legacy solution like PowerPoint or Google Slides.

Here's what my testing workflow looked like:

I went through any onboarding or guided tutorials.

I created a new deck, scanning through all available templates, noting how well-designed they were (and which were free versus paid).

I added new slides, deleted slides, edited text and images, and played around with other content types.

I changed presentation design settings, like color schemes and background images.

I reviewed and tested the sharing and collaboration options.

I tested out presenter view (when available).

After my first round of testing, I went back into the top performers to test any unique or niche features, like AI, brand settings, and interactive content. With that, these are the best presentation apps I found—each one really brings something different or radically easy to the table.

The best presentation software at a glance

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Canva, our pick for the best free presentation app

Canva pros:

Excellent free plan

Tons of amazing templates for all use cases

Feature-rich

Canva cons:

The AI tools aren't groundbreakingly useful

Canva offers one of the most robust free plans of all the presentation apps I tested. The app delays account creation until after you've created your first design, so you can get started building your presentation in seconds. Choose from an almost overwhelming number of beautiful templates (nearly all available for free), including those designed specifically for education or business use cases.

Anyone who's accidentally scrolled too far and been bumped to the next slide will appreciate Canva's editor interface, which eliminates that problem altogether with a smooth scroll that doesn't jump around. Choose from a handful of preset animations to add life to your presentations, or browse the library of audio and video files available to add. And Canva also has a number of options for sharing your presentation, including adding collaborators to your team, sharing directly to social media, and even via QR code.

Present directly from Canva, and let audience members submit their questions via Canva Live. Once you share a link to invite audience members to your presentation, they can send questions for you to answer. As the presenter, you'll see them pop up in your presenter view window, so you can keep the audience engaged and your presentation clear. Alternatively, record a presentation with a talking head bubble—you can even use an AI presenter here—to share remotely.

Canva pricing: Free plan available; paid plans start at $120/year for 1 user and include additional features like Brand Kit, premium templates and stock assets, and additional AI-powered design tools.

The best presentation app for AI-powered design

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Beautiful.ai pros:

True AI design

No fussing around with alignment

Still allows for customization

Beautiful.ai cons:

No free plan

If you're like me, editing granular spacing issues is the absolute worst part of building a presentation. Beautiful.ai uses artificial intelligence to take a lot of the hassle and granular design requirements out of the presentation process, so you can focus on the content of a presentation without sacrificing professional design. If I needed to make presentations on a regular basis, this is the app I'd use.

Many apps have recently added AI design features, but Beautiful.ai has been doing it for years—and they've perfected the experience of AI design, ensuring the tool's reign as the most streamlined and user-friendly option for AI design.

The editor is a little different from most presentation apps, but it's still intuitive—and you'll start off with a quick two-minute tutorial. When creating a new slide, scroll through "inspiration slides" to find a layout you like; once you choose, the app will pull the layout and automatically adapt it to match the design of the rest of your presentation.

With 10 themes, several templated slides, over 40 fully-designed templates, and more than 20 different color palettes to choose from, Beautiful.ai strikes a perfect balance between automation and customization.

While Beautiful.ai doesn't offer a free plan, paid plans are reasonably priced and offer sharing and collaboration options that rival collab-focused apps like Google Slides. And speaking of Google, you can connect Beautiful.ai with Google Drive to save all your presentations there.

Note: I re-tested the generative AI feature (called DesignerBot) this year. It's great for adding individual slides to an existing presentation—automatically choosing the best layout and matching the design to the rest of the deck—but as with most other apps, it struggled to pull in relevant images.

Beautiful.ai pricing: Plans start at $12/month for unlimited slides, AI content generation, viewer analytics, and more. Upgrade to a Team plan for $40/user/month to get extra collaboration and workspace features and custom brand controls.

The best presentation app for conversational presentations

Prezi pros:

Doesn't restrict you to standard presentation structure

Lots of customization options

Prezi Video lets you display a presentation right over your webcam video

Prezi cons:

Steep learning curve

Struggling to squeeze information into a basic, linear presentation? Give Prezi a try. Unlike nearly all other presentation apps on the market, Prezi Present doesn't restrict the structure of your presentation to a straight line. The editor focuses on topics and subtopics and allows you to arrange them any way you want, so you can create a more conversational flow of information.

With the structural flexibility, you still get all the same customization features you expect from top presentation software, including fully-editable templates. There's a learning curve if you're unfamiliar with non-linear presentations, but templates offer a great jumping-off point, and Prezi's editor does a good job of making the process more approachable.

Plus, Prezi comes with two other apps: Prezi Design and Prezi Video. Prezi Video helps you take remote presentations to a new level. You can record a video where the presentation elements are displayed right over your webcam feed. Record and save the video to share later, or connect with your video conferencing tool of choice (including Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and Google Meet) to present live.

Prezi's generative AI feature works ok, but it's more useful as a wireframe. When I asked it to create a presentation about the Stanley Cup Playoffs, for example, the resulting content read a lot like a student writing a term paper in the broadest strokes possible to avoid doing any actual research.

The best presentation app for video presentations

Powtoon pros:

Timing automatically changes based on the content on the slide

Can toggle between slideshow and video

Can orient presentation as horizontal, vertical, or square

Powtoon cons:

Limited free plan

Powtoon makes it easy to create engaging videos by orienting the editor around a slide deck. Editing a Powtoon feels just like editing a presentation, but by the time you finish, you have a professional video.

You can edit your slides at any time, and when you hit play, a video plays through your deck—the feel is almost like an animated explainer video. Each slide includes the animations you choose and takes up as much time as is needed based on the content on the slide. Powtoon figures the timing automatically, and you can see in the bottom-right of the editor how much time is used on your current slide versus the total presentation. If you ever want to present as a slide deck, just toggle between Slideshow and Movie.

You'll likely need to subscribe to a paid plan to get the most out of Powtoon—like creating videos longer than three minutes, downloading them as MP4 files, and white-labeling your presentations—but doing so won't break the bank. Plus, you'll unlock tons of templates complete with animations and soundtracks.

One of my favorite Powtoon features is the ability to orient your video: you can choose horizontal orientation (like a normal presentation) or opt for vertical (for mobile) or square (for social media). When your presentation is ready, you can publish straight to YouTube, Wistia, Facebook Ads, and any number of other locations.

The best presentation app for collaborating with your team

Pitch, our pick for the best presentation software for collaborating with your team

Pitch pros:

Google levels of collaboration

Assign slides to specific team members

Excellent generative AI feature

Pitch cons:

User interface is a little different than you're used to

Need to collaborate on presentations with your team? Pitch is a Google Slides alternative that gets the job done. As far as decks go, Pitch includes all the beautifully-designed templates, customizability, and ease of use you expect from a top-notch presentation tool. But the app really shines when you add your team.

The right-hand sidebar is all about project management and collaboration: you can set and update the status of your deck, assign entire presentations or individual slides to team members, plus comment or add notes. Save custom templates to make future presentations even easier and faster.

You can also invite collaborators from outside your company to work with you on individual decks. And if you opt for a paid plan, Pitch introduces workspace roles, shared private folders, and version history.

Pitch also offers one of the most impressive generative AI features on this list. It still struggles to pull in relevant images, but I found the AI-generated written content and design to be top-notch.

The best presentation app for conversational AI

Gamma pros:

Creates fully fleshed-out presentations from a prompt

Conversational chatbot-like experience

Can still manually edit the presentation

Gamma cons:

Not as much granular customization

I tested a lot of apps claiming to use AI to up your presentation game, and Gamma's conversational AI features were head and shoulders above the crowd.

Simply give the app a topic—or upload an outline, notes, or any other document or article—approve the outline, and pick a theme. The app will take it from there and create a fully fleshed-out presentation. It's far from perfect, but Gamma produces a very useful jumping-off point. (Last year, it was by far the best, but this year, other apps are catching up.)

Here's the key: Gamma is much more geared toward the iterative, chatbot experience familiar to ChatGPT users. Click on the Edit with AI button at the top of the right-hand menu to open the chat, and you'll see suggested prompts—or you can type in your own requests for how Gamma should alter the presentation.

Once you've done all you can with prompts, simply close the chat box to manually add the finishing touches. While you do sacrifice some granular customizability in exchange for the AI features, you can still choose your visual theme, change slide layouts, format text, and add any images, videos, or even app and web content.

The best presentation app for audience engagement

Mentimeter, our pick for the best presentation software for audience engagement

Mentimeter pros:

Tons of audience engagement features

Simple for participants to interact

Mentimeter cons:

Less granular customizability

Bit of a learning curve

If you need to engage with an audience during your presentation, Mentimeter makes that easy. The app is designed around interactive elements like quizzes, surveys, Q&As, sliders, and more (even a Miro whiteboard!).

Each of these is included in a number of different, professional-looking templates, so you can build a fully interactive presentation super quickly.

When it's time to present, your audience members can scan the QR code with their phone cameras or type in the URL and access code to participate. There's one code per presentation (so they won't have to do this on every slide), which gives access to each slide as you move through the presentation.

There are two main drawbacks to this one, though. First, there's a bit of a learning curve and less familiar editing interface (but I found it pretty easy to learn with some practice). The other drawback is that you can't get as granular with the visual customization as you can with many other presentation tools.

The best presentation app for generative AI

Tome, our pick for the best presentation software for generative AI

Top-tier generative AI features

Simple, customizable templates

Intuitive doc-style editor

There's definitely a learning curve

Tome is one of the new additions to this list that I'm most excited about. If you're looking for generative AI that just genuinely works , it's definitely worth a look. The editor is a bit more stripped down than most presentation apps but intuitive nonetheless—it's almost a cross between your standard deck editor and a Notion-style doc.

To generate an AI deck, click Generate with AI in the top right, and either write your own prompt or choose from the example prompts that cover a handful of common use cases, like sales enablement and company pitches. Edit or approve the suggested outline, then generate the full presentation.

From there, you can edit each slide as a doc via the right-hand menu—without limits on how much information you can include. During the presentation, you simply size down any slides that take up more than the standard amount of space. It's super simple but somehow feels revolutionary in a presentation app.

What about the old standbys?

You might notice a few major presentation players aren't on this list, including OGs Microsoft PowerPoint, Apple Keynote, and Google Slides. These apps are perfectly adequate for creating basic presentations, and they're free if you have a Windows or Mac device or a Google account.

I didn't include them on the list because the presentation space has really developed in the last several years, and after testing them out, I found these behemoths haven't kept pace. If they weren't made by Microsoft/Apple/Google, I might not even be mentioning them. They're pretty basic tools, they're behind the curve when it comes to templates (both quantity and design), and they don't offer any uniquely valuable features like robust team collaboration, branding controls, video, and so on.

In any case, if you're reading this, you're probably looking for an alternative that allows you to move away from one of the big 3, and as the presentation platforms featured above show, there's a ton to gain—in terms of features, usability, and more—when you do.

What about PowerPoint and Google Slides add-ons?

While I focused my testing on tools with full feature-sets—those that can serve as your sole presentation tool—there are a ton of add-on tools you can use atop big name tools like PowerPoint and Google Slides.

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Blog Graphic Design 12 Best Presentation Software for 2024

12 Best Presentation Software for 2024

Written by: Krystle Wong Jan 12, 2024

Whether you’re a student, professional or entrepreneur, having access to the right presentation tools can make all the difference.

When you craft a well-executed presentation , your message becomes more memorable. You’re not just sharing information; you’re weaving a story, painting a picture and leaving a lasting impact on your audience’s minds.

We’re living in the age of information overload, where attention spans are shorter than ever. A good presentation slide takes this into account, breaking down complex information into bite-sized chunks. It guides your audience through a logical flow, allowing them to digest information effortlessly and retain key points without feeling overwhelmed.

To help you stay ahead of the game, I’ve compiled a list of the 12 best software for presentations. These PowerPoint alternatives offer a combination of user-friendly interfaces, stunning visuals, collaboration features and innovative functionalities that will take your presentations to the next level.

Let’s dive in and explore these top presentation software picks!

1. Venngage

Allow me to be a little bit biased here but my top pick is none other than, you guessed it — Venngage! Venngage goes beyond just presentations to focus on data visualization and transforming complex information into visually appealing and engaging visuals.

One of the standout features of Venngage as a presentation software is the extensive library of infographic elements. Gain access to a wide range of pre-designed elements such as icons, charts, maps as well as illustrations to simplify the process of creating data-driven and visually appealing presentations.

You don’t have to be a pro when designing with Venngage. Venngage’s drag-and-drop interface allows you to customize your presentations by simply dragging and dropping elements onto the canvas. You can tweak sizes, colors and layouts with ease, making your presentations visually cohesive and personalized, even if you’re not a design wizard.

Just so you know, some of our features and templates are free to use and some require a small monthly fee. Sign-up is completely free, as is access to Venngage’s online drag-and-drop editor. Here’s how Venngage’s presentation maker can become your secret weapon in the quest for presentation success.

Vast selection of templates

Venngage boasts an extensive library of professionally designed templates, catering to a wide range of industries and presentation purposes. Whether you’re creating a marketing report, educational presentation or business pitch, Venngage’s presentation tool offers templates that provide a solid foundation for your designs.

Save 20+ hours of designing with Venngage’s fully customizable, pre-designed infographic templates. Thes e presentation templates provide a good foundation with well-structured layouts and visually appealing aesthetics.

Data visualization made easy

Venngage simplifies the process of data visualization, making it accessible to users of all backgrounds. With a few clicks, you can transform dull statistics into visually engaging charts and graphs that tell a compelling story.

Seamless real-time in-editor collaboration tools

Venngage brings teamwork to the next level with our seamless collaboration tools designed to foster collaboration across teams, departments and the entire organization. Whether you’re in the same room or across the globe, Venngage enables real-time collaboration that makes working together becomes a breeze.

Consistently brand your designs with smart Autobrand features

Effortlessly infuse your presentation slides with your brand’s colors, fonts and logos with Venngage’s My Brand Kit . Upload your brand assets and create engaging presentations by applying your branding to any template you create on Venngage.

Who is it for

Marketers, designers, educators and businesses that require data-driven and visually appealing presentations.

Key features

Infographic elements, data visualization tools, collaboration options, customizable templates.

Create your first 5 designs with Venngage for free and upgrade to a premium or business plan for $10 USD/month per user and $24 USD/month per user to enjoy premium features. For larger teams who need extra support, controls and security, the enterprise plan starts from $499 USD/month for 10+ seats.

Additionally, there are also plans available for classrooms priced at $99 USD/year for up to 35 students per instructor. Non profit organizations can also apply for a nonprofit discount to any Venngage plan.

2. Microsoft PowerPoint

Source: Screenshot from Microsoft PowerPoint

Even with dozens of presentation software and tools out there, PowerPoint presentations have stood the test of time as one of the best presentation software. In fact, 89% of people still use PowerPoint presentations over competitor services .

Whether you’re a student, teacher, business professional or just a creative soul, PowerPoint’s user-friendly interface allows both beginners and experienced users to create presentations with ease.

PowerPoint delivers captivating and engaging presentations through its advanced animation and transition effects. You can create interactive PowerPoint presentations by captivating your audience and guiding them through your content with seamless transitions and eye-catching animations.

Seamless integration with other Microsoft Office tools is another significant advantage of PowerPoint as a presentation software. As part of the Microsoft Office suite, PowerPoint effortlessly integrates with other familiar applications such as Word and Excel. This integration allows you to incorporate charts, graphs and written content from these tools directly into your presentation.

However, collaboration features in PowerPoint can be somewhat limited compared to dedicated collaboration platforms. While you can share and co-edit presentations with others, the collaboration options may not be as robust as those offered by specialized presentation tools.

Suitable for individuals, students, educators and businesses of all sizes.

Customizable templates, multimedia support, extensive slide editing options, robust animations and transitions.

You can subscribe to PowerPoint as part of your Microsoft 365 subscription with various plans tailored for businesses, ranging from $6 to $22 USD/month. Additionally, there is also the option to purchase an unbundled PowerPoint account separately, priced at $159.99 USD.

3. Google Slides

Source: Screenshot from Google Slides

Unlike PowerPoint which requires file sharing and manual syncing for teamwork, Google Slides enables real-time collaboration and easy access from any device with an internet connection.

Google Slides shines in its seamless collaboration capabilities. Multiple users can work on the same presentation simultaneously, enabling real-time editing and fostering efficient teamwork. The integrated commenting feature on Google Slides allows for shared feedback and discussions, enhancing collaboration even further.

Google Slides’ cloud-based storage and auto-saving feature ensures that your work is constantly saved, minimizing the risk of losing progress or important changes. No more panicking over unsaved slides and changes.

But that also means that Google Slides heavily relies on an internet connection for full functionality and access is more limited compared to desktop-based software. Although an offline mode is available, Google Slides has certain limitations and may not provide the same level of functionality as when connected to the internet.

Templates and customization features-wise, Google Slides also have fewer design options compared to other presentation tools. This may limit the level of visual creativity and flexibility for those seeking intricate designs or specialized effects.

Ideal for remote teams, educators, students and anyone looking for easy collaboration and access from any device.

Real-time collaboration, shared commenting, offline mode and built-in sharing options.

Google Slides is accessible to all individuals with a Google account at no cost, providing all users with access to its full range of features. However, for businesses and teams looking for additional organizational capabilities, there are subscription plans available ranging from $6 to $18 USD/month.

4. Keynote (for Mac users)

Source: Screenshot from Keynote

For Apple users, Keynote is a presentation tool designed exclusively for your Apple devices and is available on macOS, iOS and iPadOS. Keynote is known for its sleek and intuitive interface, reflecting Apple’s design aesthetics.

It offers visually appealing templates, animations, and transitions, allowing users to create polished and modern-looking presentations. Keynote users can seamlessly incorporate images, videos, audio files and interactive elements into their presentations. The presentation software also includes a wide range of animations and transitions, enabling smooth and cinematic effects that bring slides to life.

Keynote presentations is known for its seamless integration within the Apple ecosystem. It works effortlessly with other Apple applications, allowing users to combine different elements and data from various sources. Presentations created in Keynote can be easily shared and accessed across Apple devices, ensuring a consistent experience for both the presenter and the audience.

Additionally, Keynote as a presentation software offers collaborative editing capabilities, enabling multiple users to work on the same presentation simultaneously. Users can share their presentations with others, who can then provide feedback, make edits and contribute to the project in real-time.

That said, since Keynote is exclusively designed for Apple devices, it may not be accessible or fully compatible with non-Apple platforms. Hence, sharing presentations created in Keynote with users on different platforms may require exporting or converting the files to a compatible format, which can lead to potential formatting issues or loss of certain features.

Mac users, creatives, professionals, educators and anyone who wants visually stunning presentations.

Elegant templates, advanced multimedia options, cinematic transitions and collaborative editing.

Keynote is available for free on Apple devices, including macOS, iOS, and iPadOS. As it comes pre-installed with these devices, users can access and use Keynote without any additional cost.

Source: Screenshot from Prezi

Known for its distinctive zooming presentation style, Prezi revolutionizes the way you create presentations by offering a visually engaging and non-linear approach.

One of Prezi’s renowned features is its unique zooming and transition effects, allowing presenters to navigate through a virtual canvas seamlessly. This dynamic presentation style enhances engagement by creating a sense of movement and spatial relationship between ideas.

Moreover, Prezi offers cloud-based collaboration, making it easy for multiple users to collaborate on a presentation in real-time. This feature facilitates seamless teamwork, enabling users to collectively develop and refine their presentations regardless of their physical locations.

Prezi presentations also include interactive elements, such as embedded videos, images and hyperlinks. Utilizing these elements would allow presenters to create interactive presentations and engage their audience on a deeper level.

However, Prezi has a steeper learning curve compared to more traditional presentation tools. Users may require some time and practice to become proficient in navigating the canvas, creating smooth transitions and effectively utilizing all of Prezi’s features.

Creative professionals, educators and individuals who want to create visually captivating and non-linear presentations.

Zooming presentation style, interactive elements, cloud-based collaboration and reusable templates.

For individuals & business professionals

Basics: Create and share up to 5 visual projects for free

Standard: Starting at $5 USD/month

Plus: Starting at $12 USD/month

Premium: Starting at $16 USD/month

Teams: Starting at $19 USD/month per user (billed annually)

For Students & Educators

EDU Plus: Starting at $3/month

EDU Pro: Starting at $4/month

EDU Teams: Enquiry required with Prezi sales team

Source: Screenshot from Canva

One of the great things about Canva as a presentation tool is its user-friendly interface, which makes it super easy to use even if you’re not a design pro. You can simply drag and drop elements to create your presentation slides without breaking a sweat.

Canva’s vast collection of pre-designed templates caters to various purposes and occasions. The availability of these templates allows users to jumpstart their design projects with professional-looking layouts, saving valuable time and effort.

For businesses or educational institutions working on group projects or marketing campaigns, Canva also offers collaboration features that enhance teamwork and co-creation. Users can invite team members or clients to collaborate on a design project, enabling real-time feedback and efficient design processes.

While Canva does offer some basic slide transition effects, the range and customization options for transitions may be limited compared to dedicated presentation software like Microsoft PowerPoint or Apple Keynote.

Individuals, students, small businesses and startups seeking professional-looking marketing materials and presentations.

Extensive template options, intuitive drag-and-drop interface, ability to share presentations as downloadable files or online links and built-in multimedia support for adding videos , images, and audio to slides.

The free version of Canva provides a wide range of features and resources, with the only limitations being the use of premium resources that can be acquired either through separate purchases or by subscribing to the Canva Pro plan. The Canva Pro plan is available for $12.99 USD per month or $119.99 USD per year.

For collaborative purposes, Canva Teams is available at a price of $14.99 USD per month, with an additional charge of $14.99 USD per month for every team member beyond the initial five.

7. Adobe Express

Source: Screenshot from Adobe Express

As part of the Adobe Creative Cloud suite, Adobe Express is a presentation software that offers a simplified and user-friendly interface. With its intuitive interface, Adobe Express allows users to create visually stunning presentations with ease. Users can access both design professionals and individuals without extensive design experience.

One of the notable advantages of Adobe Express is its seamless integration with other Adobe products, such as Photoshop and Illustrator. This integration enables users to leverage the power of these industry-standard design tools within their presentations, providing access to advanced design features and a vast library of high-quality assets.

Adobe Express is also great for creating interactive presentations. Its extensive multimedia support, allowing users to incorporate videos, audio files and interactive elements to keep your audience engaged.

That being said, some of its advanced features may require familiarity with other Adobe tools, which can be challenging for beginners who are not already familiar with the Adobe Creative Cloud ecosystem.

Designers, creative professionals, individuals and businesses seeking professional-grade presentation design.

Professional design options, multimedia support, easy integration with other Adobe products and cloud-based collaboration.

While the free version for Adobe Express includes all the core features, users can gain access to premium templates and features when they upgrade to the Premium subscription for $9.99 USD/month.

For businesses and teams, Adobe provides tailored plans that include additional features like collaboration tools, centralized license management and enterprise-level support. The pricing for these plans depends on the number of licenses and the specific needs of the organization. It’s best to consult with Adobe or their authorized resellers to get accurate pricing information for business plans.

8. Haiku Deck

Source: Haiku Deck

Haiku Deck is all about visual storytelling, offering a simple and minimalist approach to designing presentations. With its clean and minimalist templates, Haiku Deck makes it a breeze to create presentations that focus on eye-catching images.

Haiku Deck is a user-friendly presentation software that offers a straightforward and intuitive interface. It’s designed to be easily accessible on both computers and mobile devices, giving you the flexibility to create quick and practical presentations on the go.

Plus, the presentation tool seamlessly integrates with image search engines, making it a piece of cake to find and add high-quality visuals that enhance the overall look and feel of your presentation.

However,if you’re looking for advanced features like complex animations or interactive elements, you might not find them here. While the clean and minimalist templates are gorgeous, they don’t offer as much flexibility for customization.

Educators, individuals and professionals who appreciate the power of visual storytelling and minimalist design.

Image-focused templates, easy-to-use interface, cloud-based collaboration and seamless image search integration.

Haiku Deck offers a free trial that allows you to experience the software with one presentation. If you decide to upgrade, they have different pricing plans available. Additionally, Haiku Deck also offers special pricing to qualifying nonprofit organizations, students and educators.

The Pro plans are available at $9.99 per month with annual billing or $19.99 per month with monthly billing. For those seeking advanced features, the Premium plans are priced at $29.99 per month.

Source: Screenshot from Ludus

Ludus brings together the best of both worlds by offering the traditional slide deck format along with interactive and multimedia elements that take presentations to a whole new level.

The presentation software is rich in multimedia capabilities, allowing users to seamlessly integrate videos, audio and elements to create interactive presentations that captivate the audience.

Ludus offers unique presentation tools that enable users to incorporate interactive elements like clickable buttons, hover effects and embedded web content, enabling a more dynamic and engaging presentation experience.

This makes Ludus a great choice for designers, creatives, marketing professionals, and anyone who wants to create interactive and visually appealing presentations that leave a lasting impression. Collaboration is another area where Ludus excels. The software offers collaborative editing, allowing multiple users to edit presentations simultaneously.

However, it’s worth mentioning that Ludus has relatively limited templates compared to some other presentation software options. While the customization options are vast, users might find themselves starting from scratch or investing more time in creating the initial design. Additionally, for individuals new to the platform, there might be a learning curve involved in fully harnessing all of Ludus’ features and capabilities.

Designers, creatives, marketing professionals and anyone looking for interactive and visually appealing presentations.

Interactive and multimedia elements, collaborative editing, extensive design customization, real-time comments and feedback.

Ludus offers a starting price of $14.99 USD/month per user for teams consisting of 1-15 members with all features included. For larger teams requiring additional licenses, Ludus encourages reaching out for more information on pricing. It’s worth noting that Ludus provides a 30-day free trial, allowing users to explore the platform and its features before committing to a subscription.

10. Slidebean

Source: Screenshot from Slidebean

Slidebean offers a unique approach to slide design by automating the process and simplifying the creation of well-designed presentations. With its automation features, Slidebean streamlines the design process, saving users valuable time and effort.

The highlight of Slidebean is its automated slide design functionality. Using artificial intelligence (AI), the software generates visually appealing slide layouts based on the content provided. Slidebean also offers collaboration options, allowing multiple team members to work on a presentation simultaneously.

Another advantage of Slidebean is its AI-powered content suggestions. The software intelligently analyzes the presentation content and provides helpful suggestions for improving the messaging and overall flow. This feature ensures that users can effectively communicate their ideas and engage their audience.

Unlike Ludus, Slidebean may not cater to users who prefer extensive customization and control over their slide layouts. Certain advanced features are only available in premium plans, which may require an upgrade for those seeking more advanced functionality.

Startups, entrepreneurs, small businesses, and individuals who want to create polished presentations quickly.

Automated design, content suggestions, collaboration tools and pitch deck-specific templates.

The free version offers limited functionalities, but it provides a sufficient opportunity to experience Slidebean’s capabilities and understand its workflow. However, to export your presentation and access advanced features, upgrading to a higher plan is necessary.

The all-access plan is available at $228 USD/year, while additional services such as startup expert consultations and pitch deck and financial model services are available for separate purchase.

11. Beautiful.ai

Source: Screenshot from Beautiful.ai

Beautiful.ai aims to simplify the process of creating visually stunning and professional-looking slides with minimal effort. One of the notable strengths of the presentation software is its collection of smart templates and design suggestions.

Their templates are intelligently designed to provide visually appealing layouts, saving users valuable time and effort in creating presentations. Unlike other types of presentation software, the platform leverages AI-powered technology to offer layout optimization, ensuring that slide elements are positioned optimally for maximum impact.

Beautiful.ai also offers time-saving features that streamline the presentation creation process. The software automatically adjusts the layout and formatting as users add or modify content, eliminating the need for manual adjustments.

As the software provides smart templates and design suggestions, customization options may be somewhat limited. Users may find that certain design elements or layout adjustments are not as flexible as they would like.

Individuals, startups and professionals who want visually impressive presentations without extensive design skills.

Smart templates, automated design suggestions, AI-powered layout optimization and easy slide customization.

Beautiful.ai provides two subscription options for users. The Pro plan is available at a monthly cost of $12 USD /month, while the Team plan is priced at $40 USD/month. Both plans are billed annually. You can also subscribe to the monthly subscription for ad hoc projects and gain access to all pro features for $45 USD/month (billed monthly).

There is a 14-day free trial period that allows users to thoroughly test and explore the features and capabilities of the tool before committing to a subscription.

Source: Screenshot from Pitch

Pitch is a modern video presentation maker that stands out with its collaborative and iterative approach to presentation creation.

One of the key strengths of Pitch lies in its collaborative features. The presentation software provides robust collaboration tools that allow team members to work together in real-time. This makes it easy for users to collaborate on presentation content, provide feedback and make revisions collectively.

Pitch boasts an extensive slide library, offering a wide range of professionally designed templates to choose from. These templates serve as a foundation for creating visually stunning presentations while providing a starting point that saves time and ensures a polished look.

The availability of diverse templates caters to different industries, topics and presentation styles, allowing users to create presentations for their needs.

Seamless integration with project management tools is another advantage of Pitch. The software integrates well with popular project management platforms, enabling users to streamline their workflow by syncing tasks, deadlines and other project-related information with their presentations.

For teams, startups and businesses that value collaboration, feedback and the ability to iterate on their presentations

Collaboration tools, version control, project management integration and template library.

Users can create unlimited presentations and enjoy the starter plan for free or upgrade to Pro for $8 USD/month, billed annually.

There you have it — the top 12 best presentation tools for the year! Whether you value simplicity, collaboration, automation, design versatility or data visualization, these presentation software examples have a solution out there for your future presentations.

Got your mind set on your to-go presentation software? Great! Now it’s time to start creating your slides and ace that presentation.

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The 11 Best Presentation Software to Use in 2023

best presentation software to use in 2021, presentation software list

The ability to effectively share ideas, illustrate a concept, and convince an audience is invaluable whether you’re a student or a C-level executive. These days, the presentation software you use to create presentations is just as important as your public-speaking skills.

On top of that, most companies have transitioned to remote work recently due to the current coronavirus situation, and now need to share their stories online through a virtual conference room with their distributed teams and external audience members.

That’s why we’ve come up with a list of some of the best presentation software available right now, so you can choose a compatible and innovative presentation maker that includes the best presentation tools to suit your specific needs.

Choose the best presentation software by weighing the pros and cons

You’ll see some of the most popular presentation apps: from free to paid subscription platforms, and slideshow applications to full-blown visual design presentation software with interactive features and more.

Each presentation software has its pros and cons, so it’s up to you to figure out which suits your needs best; consider the software learning curve, whether your company is made up of Mac users or Windows users and the software compatibility, if you need an enterprise account or free account, etc.

Let’s dive in!

1. Piktochart

presentation software piktochart, best presentation software

Piktochart is a presentation software that can create a variety of design visuals, from infographics to social media stories.

An area in which Piktochart shines is crafting unique presentations.

On Piktochart, users can choose from a wide range of professionally-designed presentation templates .

These custom templates include everything from monthly marketing reports to employee onboarding templates.

This broad selection of customizable templates is especially useful for those who don’t have much design experience or know-how but need to create a visually stunning unique presentation in a pinch.

Piktochart’s presentation maker also makes it easy to edit presentations and include design elements such as lists, timelines, comparisons, graphs, and different types of charts through drag-and-drop tools.

You can even make visual maps and interactive charts to keep your audience engaged throughout your presentation.

And if your company uses a Piktochart TEAM plan , you can enjoy the platform’s ability to store brand assets , color schemes, and bespoke templates. Here, replicating company-branded visuals is a breeze.

Piktochart comes with a free version but with certain limitations. Active visuals are capped at five per month and published visuals have a Piktochart watermark.

If you want features such as team template collaboration, project sharing, and annotated commenting, you’ll have to get a Team account. To sum it up:

Lots of professionally-designed templates
Good for both design professionals and non-professionals
Easy to store brand assets and bespoke templates for future presentations
Access presentation tools from anywhere via a web browser
Free presentation app version available
Might take some getting used to if you’re used to PowerPoint presentations

2. Microsoft PowerPoint

microsoft powerpoint, powerpoint presentation

Microsoft PowerPoint is often the first presentation software that comes to mind.

Once considered the “O.G.” and best presentation software available, it is still widely used and has a familiar interface—which means most users are comfortable with it.

This presentation app has everything you need to create a presentation: from animated transitions for interactive presentations to pre-installed fonts and graphic elements.

Users can also upload their own fonts, graphics, and images into their finished presentation.

Lastly, it’s available as part of the Microsoft Office software package; and you can work on your presentations via the web and mobile devices, for offline viewing as well as online.

However, PowerPoint is no longer considered the best presentation software, as it has very few templates to choose from, and these tend to fall quite flat compared to modern apps and software.

It’s easy to fall back into boring slideshow PowerPoint files if you don’t know what you’re doing.

And because most people use PowerPoint, you’re likely using the same template as the next guy.

As standalone presentation software, PowerPoint is pricey at US$139.99—and accessible through only one device unless you upgrade your package.

And while PowerPoint is primarily a slideshow application and presentation maker, its strengths are limited to this category.

So if you’re looking for the best presentation software, and bang for your buck for a robust presentation tool, you might want to look elsewhere.

Market leader in slideshow applications to create slides
Widely used and familiar interface for the presentation process
Reliable and usable on most devices as well as being a desktop app
Flat templates
Limitations with its standalone-presentation software price

3. Google Slides

google slides, presentation software example

Google Slides is a slideshow application that is very similar to PowerPoint. But there are three main differences: it’s fully online (while also allowing for offline viewing), collaborative, and free.

The great thing about Google Slides (besides the fact that it’s completely free for anyone with a Google account) is that you can log on via your browser or through its official app.

You can access all Google Slides presentations from any device (mobile, tablet, and desktop), and share them with other people so you can collaborate in real-time.

Google Drive allows all your presentations to live on the cloud, accessible to all marketing and sales teams, with unparalleled ease of use.

And there’s no need to worry about disruptions as all changes are saved as they happen, as long as you have an active internet connection.

Additionally, anyone familiar with PowerPoint will be comfortable using Google’s iteration and likely be delighted by Google Drive and the slide library available.

It’s also a lot simpler, so even those new to presentation-making will find it easy to navigate.

However, some might find Google Slides too simple as it lacks the wealth of features available on PowerPoint.

These include embedding videos from sources other than YouTube, plus adding audio tracks and sound effects, limiting the ability to create unique interactive presentations.

Some users also encounter issues with downloading and exporting to different formats, including PowerPoint.

Some slides may even turn out completely different from the original version.

All in all, Google Slides is a great option for those who are looking for a free application and only need to create simple presentations.

The free plan supports professional presentations
Web-based and collaborative to create presentations
Simple and familiar interface for an online presentation software
Too simple for advanced presentation making
Difficult to export to other formats
Limited templates and customization options for interactive content

You could say Keynote is Apple’s version of PowerPoint. It’s also a slideshow application—but in typical Apple fashion, it comes with a sleek, minimalist interface and is considered one of the best presentation apps on the market.

There are 30 different themes to choose from, which serve as templates for those who need a quick fix. And it can do most of what PowerPoint can.

Keynote’s main perk is that it’s part of the Apple ecosystem.

That means it has built-in iCloud and Apple Watch support so users can control their presentation from their mobile device or even their wrists with just a click.

This presentation app comes pre-installed on most Mac devices. Otherwise, you can purchase it from the Apple store for just US$9.99 for mobile and US$19.99 for OS X.

The big downside is that Keynote is exclusive to Mac OS.

Non-Apple users can create, upload, and sync their own Keynote presentations through their iCloud Drive, but this presentation app is only truly helpful only for those who use multiple Apple devices.

And if you’re used to working on PowerPoint, you might find Keynote a bit confusing in the beginning, especially when editing presentations.

Sleek, minimalist interface
Free with most Apple devices
No access for PC and Android devices except through iCloud

5. SlideDog

Sliding away from straightforward slideshow applications and other presentation apps, SlideDog is a web-based multimedia presentation tool that lets users combine different types of media to create and edit presentations.

This includes everything from PowerPoint decks to videos and even PDFs that can all be played side by side without any awkward transitions.

It’s also extremely easy to customize a SlideDog presentation.

You just need to upload the files into the SlideDog web browser application, and then drag and drop them according to the order in which you want them to play.

You can control your presentations and playlists from another device, and audience members can view your slideshow on their devices by clicking a link.

SlideDog has a free presentation app version that provides all of the basic features.

However, live sharing and premium support are only available with a Pro account that costs US$99 per year, and not via the free version alone.

While SlideDog is technically considered presentation software, you can’t actually create presentations on it.

You can simply stitch together different pre-made presentations in various formats into what is essentially a playlist.

Lastly, SlideDog supports only Windows devices, so Apple and Linux users can’t use it.

Supports a lot of different media
Provides live-sharing
More dynamic compared to the usual slideshow presentation
Only collates media; doesn’t create them

6. Haiku Deck

haiku deck, presentation software example

Ever come across presentations with size-eight fonts and blocks of indecipherable paragraphs on each slide?

You can avoid such an unfortunate scenario with Haiku Deck.

HaikuDeck is a web and mobile application that favors images over text.

It works by limiting the number of words users can put on each slide, and allowing them to search for images on their platform related to the slide’s main idea.

This makes it ideal for those who want to simplify their thoughts and let the images do all the talking.

Users have over 40 million royalty-free photos to choose from, plus dozens of simple slide layouts on the platform itself.

While this certainly simplifies the process of creating a visually rich presentation, it can be limiting for those who need to include more information into their slides.

It’s a great option for someone giving a TED Talk, for example.

But for others who need to pass on more facts and figures, having a built-in word limit might be too restrictive.

Simple and easy to use
Access to millions of royalty-free stock images
May be too simple for some
No Android support
Limited features

7. Prezi Business

prezi business, business presentation software

Among the other presentation software on this list, Prezi Business might be one of the most unique presentation tools.

Rather than offering a regular slideshow format, Prezi looks more like a 3D interactive mind map where viewers jump dynamically from one idea to the next.

You can zoom in on one “slide” and then zoom out for the next.

Prezi has over 100 templates to choose from and comes with a very simple interface and a drag-and-drop style of editing.

It’s compatible with both Mac and PC desktops as well as smartphones.

It’s also similar to a regular PowerPoint deck in that you can jump back and forth from one “slide” to the next.

And like SlideDog, you can send viewers the link to the presentation as you’re presenting.

Also, up to 10 people can work on a Prezi presentation at the same time, one of its main selling points.

This is great for collaboration, but having so many hands-on deck at once can get messy.

Dynamic and immersive presentations
Highly visual
Easy to use
May not be appropriate for all types of presentations

screenshot of ludus presentation software

In a world of slides and presentations, standing out is the key. Ludus brings the flair of graphic design into the world of presentations.

At its core, Ludus is the bridge between presentation tools and design software. It enables users to infuse their slides with the kind of design elements you’d typically find in advanced design platforms.

Not only can you import assets from design giants like Adobe, but its seamless integration with tools like Unsplash and Giphy makes sourcing visuals a breeze.

It’s a fairly affordable tool for all its features compared to the other paid options in this list, as users pay 12.49 euros monthly (if billed annually).

However, while Ludus’ robust design capabilities can elevate the look of your presentation, those unfamiliar with design tools might find there’s a learning curve.

Merges presentation creation with advanced design tools.
Seamless integration with popular design platforms and visual databases.
Offers a unique edge in presentation aesthetics.
Might be a tad overwhelming for non-designers
Can have a steeper learning curve for those used to more straightforward platforms

9. Slidebean

screenshot of slidebean presentation software

Crafting a compelling presentation demands not only compelling content but also a design that can captivate your audience. Enter Slidebean.

Slidebean offers an intelligent design solution, using AI to transform raw content into professionally styled presentations. This platform streamlines the design process, allowing you to focus on the message rather than fretting over aesthetics.

The basic plan is free and allows you to create a presentation. But if you want to share or download your presentations, as well as unlock the full suite of features, you’ll need to sign up for the All-Access plan priced at $199 per year.

While it provides a quick and efficient method to produce polished slides, it also offers features for sharing, collaboration, and viewer analytics, adding an edge to your presentation strategy.

However, for professionals who prioritize granular design control, the automated design might feel limiting at times.

AI-driven design ensures visually appealing presentations.
Features for collaboration and viewer insights.
Efficient design process reduces time and effort.
Might not offer the detailed design customization some users desire.
Automated choices may not always align with specific branding or style preferences.

10. ClearSlide

screenshot of clearslide presentation software

Having great visuals to drive your point home can be the difference between getting a sale across the line or customers walking away. ClearSlide stands out in this area as a presentation tool for businesses laser-focused on boosting their sales and marketing game.

At its core, ClearSlide is all about leveling up business presentations. Whether you’re marketing a new product or tracking client engagement, it’s got tools that cater to every need.

Whether it’s a PowerPoint, a PDF, or something from Google Drive or Dropbox, ClearSlide makes it simple to upload and work with these files.

The unique edge? ClearSlide’s virtual meeting space pops open with just a click. It’s all about seamless, professional presentations without the hassle.

Beyond just slides, the platform dives deep into metrics and analytics, ensuring every presentation is backed by data-driven insights. And the tool is available for $35 per month, which isn’t too pricey for medium-sized businesses.

However, its complexity isn’t for everyone. For some, the variety of features might seem a tad overwhelming, and its focus on metrics might be a bit much for those just wanting a basic presentation tool.

Seamless virtual meetings and presentations
Integrates with popular platforms
Offers insightful analytics for sales and marketing
Might feel complex for some users
Limited transition and design effects
Mobile experience could be better

screenshot of vyond presentation software

Stepping into the world of animation, Vyond, once known as GoAnimate, allows users to turn their narratives into professional animated videos. For those looking to elevate their content without diving deep into animation complexities, Vyond can be the go-to tool.

This platform is more than just drag-and-drop animations. It integrates AI capabilities with Vyond Go, which transforms text prompts into rough-cut videos.

Fancy a quick draft for your upcoming project? This AI assistant is up for the task. And if perfection is your game, take it to Vyond Studio, filled with an array of characters, templates, and backgrounds.

The Essential Plan at $25 per month is suitable for individuals on a budget. However, if you want to export videos at 1080p and above, have collaboration tools, or different export options, you’ll need to sign up for the Professional Plan at $92 per month.

As robust as the tool is, there are still some kinks to iron out. AI voiceovers might still need some tweaks, and detailed color customizations can be a bit tricky, but the tool’s strengths, especially for businesses, are undeniable.

Hassle-free video creation for beginners to experts
Generous library of pre-made assets
AI-powered video and script creation with Vyond Go
AI voiceovers might feel a bit robotic
Some customization limitations for specific props and scenes

The best presentation software is…

…completely up to you!

When it comes to presentation software, the world is your oyster.

Each of these tools either has a free or trial version for you to check out, so you don’t have to commit just yet.

When it’s time to choose, consider the following aspects to find the right presentation software for you:

Ease of use. Is it easy for you to understand or will it require lots of training before you can start creating presentations?
Accessibility. Can you access your presentation software from any device or are you limited to carrying your laptop to every presentation?
Real-time collaboration. Can multiple people work on the same project or do you have to keep downloading and emailing drafts?
Create design tools. Can you create presentations with dynamic design elements or are you stuck with the same kind of slide each time?
Template availability. Is this tool only accessible to a design professional or can anyone create stunning presentations through pre-designed and updated templates?

Piktochart , for example, would be a fantastic presentation software choice among the long list of PowerPoint alternatives for teams looking for a variety of eye-catching designs without requiring much technical know-how. Meanwhile, Microsoft PowerPoint might be the best presentation software for those who are just looking to play it safe.

Hopefully, this best presentation software list sheds some light on the tools at your disposal. Choose wisely!

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The 10 Best Presentation Software for 2023: Complete Guide

There are literally hundreds of presentation software tools in the market today and keeping track is getting increasingly hard. Most of them have been optimized for a specific purpose or type of user from a wide range of possibilities, and it's very likely that THE ideal tool for you is actually one that you've never heard of.

We've created this best presentation software list to shed some light and to give you a comprehensive presentation software list to ensure you make the right call in the platform you select. This article is the result of several weeks of research and review of 50+ presentation tools currently available on the web.

What is a presentation software?

A presentation software is defined as an application built to display information in the form of a slide show. Any presentation tool must have three fundamental functions:

‍ A text editor: to input the contents of the presentation.
‍ An import function: to insert and manipulate images and other content.
‍A slide-show or presenter mode: that displays the content in a nice, formatted way, sometimes synced in real time with the presenter across devices.

Slide shows often consist of a combination of text, video, images and charts. Their primary function is displaying clear, readable and summarized data to an audience.

Most presentations are shared and presented on a larger screen or through a digital projector. In rare occasions, slide presentations are printed out as a replacement for text documents, but this is a really inefficient way to review data, that Garr Reynolds calls ‘ PresDocs ’ (Garr Reynolds is the author of Presentation Zen, one of the most important go-to reference for successful presentations).

Related Read: What Makes Up the Best Presentation Templates?

What makes a good presentation tool?

The functions and results of presentation programs have evolved significantly in the past decades, since the original launch of ‘Presenter’ (the PowerPoint predecessor) in 1984. In 1987 PowerPoint 1.0 was released for the Macintosh and it started a revolution in the way we prepare and consume content in meetings.

For the purposes of this article we are going to classify all presentation tools using 3 variables that we consider extremely important:

Ease of use: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

This rating looks at the learning curve, or time required to learn to use the platform. An easy to use interface is fundamentally important to ensure that users feel confortable working with the platform and doesn’t require complex training to take advantage of its features. This also accounts for the average time it takes to build a presentation.

Customization: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

The ability to customize a presentation to the smallest details. This varies depending on the number of advanced features in the platform, like the ability to set different transitions to each slide, the ability to add customized elements or to design/code the final outcome of the slides to the last font size and color code.

Final result: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

This indicator looks at the outcome of a finished presentation, assuming the user is an average person with basic design skills and intermediate knowledge on the tool itself.

Best PowerPoint Alternatives (Death by Power Point)

As we mentioned before, PowerPoint is the most used presentation builder in the market today. It is distributed by Microsoft as part of their Office Suite, which is estimated to have over 500 million users worldwide. Microsoft has also revealed that approximately 35 Million presentations are delivered every single day, that’s a staggering 400 presentations per second.

But still, PowerPoint’s popularity has decreased significantly in the past few years. Their boring presentation templates, the large learning curve and complexity as well as the terrible slides many users end up making have started the Death to PowerPoint movement.

What presentation software is better than PowerPoint?

For this section, we summarize the top PowerPoint alternatives and examples, that is, presentation tools that work in a fairly similar manner and that provide similar (but significantly better) results. If you are an avid PowerPoint user, then migrating to these platforms should be rather easy for you.

Best 10 presentation software alternative list for 2023

(Updated December 2022)

Keynote presentation
Google Slides

1- SLIDEBEAN PRESENTATION SOFTWARE

Ease of use: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ - Fantastic!

Customization: ★ ★ ★ ★ - Very Good

Final result: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ - Fantastic!

Slidebean is an online presentation tool that uses artificial intelligence to design beautiful slides. Simply add content blocks to your presentation without worrying about formatting. Slidebean’s AI finds the best possible design for every element on your slide. This level of automation allows you to create a professional looking presentation in a fraction of the time it normally takes on PowerPoint.

When comparing it to PowerPoint, Slidebean’s interface is much easier to learn and work with, and it lets you create fantastic looking presentations really fast. The platform is web based and allows you to export to both PowerPoint and PDF format. It also lets you track viewer interactions and activity from people you share your slides with!

Slidebean also has a unique advantage which is a rich gallery of presentation outline templates. These are pre-filled decks that work for numerous purposes, like business proposals, classroom decks, thesis presentations and even startup pitch decks : all you need to do is import them and fill in your content.

You can sign up free for Slidebean here

SIGN UP FREE

2- apple keynote.

Ease of use: ★ ★ ★ - OK

Customization: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ - Fantastic!

Final result: ★ ★ ★ ★ - Very Good

Keynote is what PowerPoint should have been all along. Apple's version of the popular presentation tool has improved significantly in the last few years, and has recently included a cloud version that works on any browser on any computer (as long as you have at least one Apple device).

Keynote is basically an improved PowerPoint, it offers the same approach to creating slides, but offers nice and clean customizable templates, a simple interface and great details like smart guides.

The biggest issue with Keynote is the long learning process that it requires. Similar to Microsoft's tool, you'll need to sit down for a few hours to learn to use the platform, and another larger set of hours to make a professional presentation.

More info about Apple Keynote is available here

Final result: ★ ★ ★ - OK

Visme is a web based platform for building presentations. Their familiar interface is similar to PowerPoint, but they have successfully simplified a complex UI to a nicer and more understandable navigation. Still, you'll need to spend a few hours to get a good grasp of where all the customization options can be found.

The platform offers an interesting (but certainly limited) gallery of images, but they succeed at delivering beautiful infographic elements (which they call ‘Charts and Graphs’) that you can use to add some color and make your slides much more dynamic.

You can read more about them here . ‍

4- GOOGLE SLIDES

Customization: ★ ★ - Passable

Google's version of PowerPoint is hosted as part of the Google Apps suite, that you can access from Google Drive or from Google Apps for Work. Sadly, their presentation builder feels like a limited version of PowerPoint, with less features, limited fonts and very little customization options.

Still, Google's platform is available for free, has a lot of integrations and probably one of the best online collaboration systems out there. Checking it out is easy, just visit your Google Drive.

You can find a more detailed review here .

5- FLOWVELLA

Ease of use: ★ ★ - Passable

Customization: ★ ★ ★ - OK

Flowvella is available on the Mac App Store as a desktop application. It provides a simple interface (certainly cleaner than Microsoft PowerPoint and somewhat similar to Apple Keynote) and some very nice design templates, which set good grounds so you can start building a nice looking set of slides on top of them. This is by far their biggest strength! If you want to start from scratch, however, you might feel a little lost creating something that looks good.

We found, however, that the oversimplified interface makes some basic options hard to find, like changing the color of a shape. Also, while running as a desktop app it still requires an Internet connection to download some elements, which can lead to a slower performance than a 100% desktop tool.

Update: We also read recently that they launched a tvOS app for the new AppleTV, making them, as far as we know, the first presentation tool to leverage the new platform.

You can find more details here .

Customization: ★ ★ ★ -

Pitch offers an innovative solution for fast-paced teams looking to quickly create effective, stylish presentations. With a combination of productivity features and design elements, Pitch makes it easy to get professional results—quickly

You can find more information about them here .

Final result: ★ ★ ★ ★ - Very Good!

The premise of Canva is an ‘amazingly easy graphic design software'. It lets you create anything from print design to banners and presentations. They provide an easy to use interface with a huge selection of pre-built designs that you can modify to your liking.

These pre-built elements let you quickly draft a nice presentation even if you have no design skills, but it does require you to drag and drop and arrange the content of your slide, which can become time consuming.

Canva has been gaining significant popularity in the last few years, especially after they hired Guy Kawasaki as a Chief Evangelist. Their platform is beautiful, you can find more about them here .

8- HAIKU DECK

Ease of use: ★ ★ ★ ★ - Very Good

Haiku Deck launched as an iPad app in 2011. They made a big bet towards mobile productivity and came up with a solid iPad application that allowed you to create slides in less time than the then-only alternative of Keynote for iOS.

Haiku Deck has a nice set of custom templates that you can use as a guideline for your slides, and their content input system is clear and easy to learn.

Still, we believe their approach that focused on mobile devices could only take them so far and they've since been working on a web version of their platform that works for any computer. As we mentioned, the personal computer continues to be a much more efficient productivity platform.

'Slides' is a nice website that lets you create and share presentations online. Formerly slides(dot)io and slid(dot)es, they finally settled for slides(dot)com. This startup was founded by Hakim El Hattab and Owen Bossola in Stockholm, Sweden, and it makes use of the reveal.js framework that we mentioned above.

Slides has a nice web interface that encourages you to create a nice and clean presentations, however, it still depends on the user’s ability to manipulate the elements and arrange them in a nice style. Still, their pre-defined formats and their grid system help guide you to a better result.

The platform also allows for custom HTML and CSS coding, which lets experienced users with coding skills, customize their templates even further.

Some more info about them here .

Ease of use: ★ - Bad

Prezi has been around for years and they have had a huge head start compared to any other online presentation tool out there. Their unique zoom styling makes it immediately obvious to the audience that they are looking at a Prezi deck.

Prezi has the advantage of allowing you to create really stunning interactive presentations if you know how to leverage their zoomable, infinite canvas. However, this can become a double edge sword if users overuse the feature and come up with a presentation that is literally capable of making people dizzy.

Still, Prezi's biggest weakness is on its ease of use. There's a long learning curve towards dominating their interface and even if you do, you need to be a designer to make a great presentation on the platform.

This is a huge company that is not going away anytime soon. With 50+ million users, they have proven the world wants and needs a PowerPoint alternative, and we have huge respect for them for doing so.

More information about them here .

‍Which one to pick?

In the world of presentation software, there's a big bunch to pick from. It's kind of like a crowded market with lots of options. And guess what? The best one for you might not even be on your radar.

Our list is here to help you out. We've put together this bunch of presentation software choices after digging into over 50 of them on the internet. We're here to give you the scoop on what's out there, so you can pick the one that suits you best.

Now, remember, presentation software is like your helper to make cool slideshows. These slideshows could be for showing stuff to people, like at school or work. These helpers, or software, should be good at a few things: putting words and pictures on slides, making things look nice, and showing your stuff in a cool way on a screen.

The options we've found have different things they're good at. Some use fancy computer thinking (AI) to make your slides look great without you doing much. Others let you customize your slides a lot, which is nice if you want them to look exactly like you want. And finally, how your slides look when you're done is super important too.

Picking the right presentation tool is a bit like picking the best tool for a job. You wouldn't use a hammer to write a story, right? So, whether you want something easy, something that lets you be creative, or something that gives you good results, our list has got you covered. Your choice will help you make cool presentations that people will remember. Our recommendation is to give Slidebean a try, but is up to you to consider the options. So, pick smart and happy presenting.

Try Slidebean

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Check out our list of the top free presentation websites that offer unique features and design options. Discover the best platform for your next presentation now.

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Best Presentation Software of 2024

Table of Contents

Best Presentation Software
Things To Consider When Buying
How We Chose

Everyone has a message to share in some form. With presentation software, you can communicate that message a little easier and with more spark. If you don't have design and animation skills, don't worry; apps like Google Slides and Microsoft PowerPoint make it easy to craft a slideshow that helps people understand the concepts you're trying to convey.

Many of the apps in this buyers' guide are geared toward business presentations since that is often the primary use case. However, a few provide some slick tools for educators, entrepreneurs, community groups, and even family members to make a photo slideshow for a family reunion. Read on for the best presentation software available today.

Best Overall: Google Slides »
Most Compatible: Microsoft PowerPoint »
Best For Mac Users: Apple Keynote »
Most Flexible: Prezi »
Best Budget: Visme »
Best For Entrepreneurs: Slidebean »
Most Powerful: Canva »

Best Overall: Google Slides

Highly integrated With Other Apps

Totally free

Not integrated with Microsoft products

Minimal support

When Google Slides debuted in 2006, it took the world by storm. That’s because it was integrated even back then with Gmail, Google Docs, and other popular Google apps many of us use in business, at school, and in our personal lives.

Google Slides is entirely free, and there are no hidden costs or upgrade plans. What’s surprising, though, about Google Slides is that it is a highly capable app for presentations – easy to use, with plenty of templates, fonts, animation options, and integrations.

Apart from that, the key feature here is real-time collaboration. Other users can join you as you create and edit slides. They can comment and make suggested changes, or simply start editing the slides on their own. (You can decide if other users can suggest changes or make them directly.) You also can view speaker notes on a laptop when you run the slideshow on an HDTV or projector. Google Slides integrates nicely into the online meeting app Google Meet, and it can open Microsoft PowerPoint files and export in that format as well.

Overall, Google Slides wins extra points because of how intuitive it is. There’s hardly any learning curve with the app, and since it runs in a browser window, everything you create and edit will be saved automatically. For business users, teachers, or just about anyone in a hurry to share a complex message, creating a Google Slides presentation is a snap – which is why it is our overall top pick.

Specifications:

Operating systems are supported: Windows, Mac, Web, iOS, Android, Linux
Number of templates and designs available: 23
Integrated apps: Adobe Creative Cloud, Dropbox, Box, LumApps
Collaboration features: Live editing, suggested edits
Multimedia supported: Photos, videos, audio, GIFs, and stickers
Export options: PDF, PowerPoint, Webpage, JPEG
Customer support options: Google Workspace only
Added features: Google Duet AI
Interface enhancements: Real-time editing and collaboration

Most Compatible: Microsoft PowerPoint

Highly compatible

Online and desktop versions

Easy to use

No free version

Templates are not as trendy

Microsoft PowerPoint is the app you want for compatibility with other apps and programs. Released in 1990, this presentation app is well-known in business circles and runs on just about any computer in the world. Because it’s so compatible, you will likely not have any trouble running the app on your phone or a tablet, in a browser, or even on seriously outdated PC laptops and desktops.

While apps like Prezi add slick animations and transitions that make a presentation come to life, PowerPoint is more like a trusted business partner; it works on just about any computer, the interface is well-known and straightforward, and it’s likely that everyone you know and collaborate with is already familiar with the app. Every other presentation app we reviewed also supports PowerPoint in terms of directly opening or importing the file, and exporting as a PowerPoint file.

You'll need a Microsoft 365 Personal Edition subscription to use PowerPoint. It may be an app that’s already installed and included with a new computer, at least for a trial period.

Operating systems are supported: Windows, Mac, Web, iOS, Android
Integrated apps: Adobe PDF, Shutterstock, YouTube, and many others
Multimedia supported: Photos, videos, audio
Export options: PowerPoint, XML, PDF, JPEG, and many more
Customer support options: Personal or business support
Added features: Integrated live camera, Microsoft Teams integration
Interface enhancements: Microsoft Copilot, speaker coach

Best For Mac Users: Apple Keynote

Exceptional designs

Desktop only

Graphic designers love Apple Keynote, mostly because the included templates and design options are so stellar. Your presentation will really come to life, helping you communicate about even complex subjects with flair and a trendy look.

Using the app feels a bit like you're the late Steve Jobs creating an award-winning presentation that will grab an audience. Jobs had a way of captivating those in the audience, and Keynote helps you do that with some of the best presentation templates around. For example, there are 40 templates to choose from, many of them full of color and using the trendiest fonts. Keynote also includes 100 transitions and animations to liven up a presentation. The app also includes 700 different shapes and icons that will help you enhance your slides.

Apple Keynote is powerful enough for any user, but it’s important to know the limitations. For starters, Keynote only runs on Mac computers. That makes it less compatible with Google Slides or Microsoft PowerPoint. You can export the presentation from Keynote as a PowerPoint file, which is fine, but it means no one can edit the Keynote slides directly; they will have to use PowerPoint.

Keynote also only runs as a desktop app. That means you won’t benefit from the live editing and commenting features of Google Slides, where you can collaborate with anyone in real time on the same file. Instead, Keynote is more static, as slideshows can't be edited as a group in a browser window. It’s still incredibly powerful and intuitive but with a few key downsides.

Operating systems are supported: Mac, iOS
Number of templates and designs available: 50
Integrated apps: FaceTime, WebEx, Zoom, iCloud
Collaboration features: Collaborate through iCloud
Multimedia supported: Video, audio, images, 3D objects, stickers
Export options: PDF, PowerPoint, Movies, animated GIFs, images
Customer support options: Online help, support communities
Added features: Cinematic transitions, Keynote Remote on iPhone
Interface enhancements: Inspectors help with formatting

Most Flexible: Prezi

Unique concept

Trendy visuals

Unique design templates

Harder to learn

There’s something very compelling about Prezi, the presentation app that provides the most flexibility in terms of the message you are communicating. For starters, this is an app that knows it’s all about the message, whether you're an educator, business owner, entrepreneur, or even a scientist or engineer. Instead of a slideshow, you create a “canvas” with topics and subtopics. Think of it as a way to augment what you are saying with animated annotations, swoosh effects, and charts.

Prezi is the best at guiding you to the most powerful design features and giving you the tools to make even a complex subject more interesting and easier to understand. Part of this extreme flexibility has to do with how you're not creating slides at all, but enhancing a topic. Another way to think of Prezi is more like an animated whiteboard; when you show a presentation, it can come to life as you speak through a webcam.

All of this flexibility means you aren't limited to a boring slideshow, although there may be times when you are asked to make a slideshow and nothing more. For example, a school assignment or a boss might dictate that you need to create basic slides, not an animated whiteboard session. This is where you have to decide if Prezi matches the goals of the message you are communicating about.

Pricing options and plans: Standard ($7/month), Plus ($15/month), Premium ($19/month)
Operating systems are supported: Windows, Mac, Linux
Number of templates and designs available: 210+
Integrated apps: Google Drive, Slack, Canva, Zoom
Collaboration features: Real-time editing, comments
Multimedia supported: Photos, icons, video, GIF
Export options: PNG, JPG, PDF, GIF, and MP4.
Customer support options: Knowledgebase, online support
Added features: Offline mode, analytics
Interface enhancements: Broadcast link, tool tips

Best Budget: Visme

Free version available

Added visual tools

Good overall value

It takes more time to learn

Expensive pro plans

Visme is the best budget option because there is a free version that still provides many of the features you might need. It’s also a good value, because (similar to Canva) you can access all of the graphic design features to create infographics, brochures, logos, and rich documents all without paying for the premium version.

Even more important, Visme is a good value if you do choose the Starter or Pro plans because you can then unlock advanced features you might only find in Adobe Visual products. For example, at the Pro level, you can create an entire brand kit for a company including logos, brochures, and flyers that all have the same look.

While it's called an all-in-one marketing design platform and has hints of Canva, the first tool you would likely use is for creating presentations (e.g., It's the most prominent tool listed on their site). Because everything is geared more toward marketing and sales, Visme templates emphasize things like growth metrics, charts, and bullet points used to explain a product or service. Visme is also meant more for a group of business users. You can collaborate in real-time, leave comments on presentations, and even follow a workflow to mark presentation tasks as in progress or done.

Like Canva, because the Visme app is part of a suite of visual design products, it might take a little more time to learn all of the added tools. The presentation tool is just one of many included, even if this tool alone is easy to learn.

Visme is an extensive product with an upgrade path that unlocks more templates, customer support, and more supported file formats. Overall, it’s a good value because you can still create presentations without having to pay extra.

Operating systems are supported: Mac, PC, iOS, Android
Number of templates and designs available: 13,000
Integrated apps: Google Drive, Vimeo, Dropbox, Survey Monkey, and many more
Collaboration features: Real-time collaboration, assign tasks
Multimedia supported: Photos, videos, audio, GIFs, 3D graphics
Export options: JPEG, PNG, PDF, MP4, GIF, PPTX, HTML5
Customer support options: Email, chat, in-app
Added features: AI features, forms
Interface enhancements: Tool tips, video training

Best For Entrepreneurs: Slidebean

Design for entrepreneurs and salespeople

Unique features

Not as powerful as some

Not as well-known

Most presentation software is flexible and powerful enough for any message and for any purpose. However, Slidebean focuses on a more narrow segment. The app is designed to create a “pitch deck,” which is something an entrepreneur or salesperson uses to pitch a product.

For example, let’s say your company sells a new widget. Using Slidebean, you can explain the features and benefits, include a slide about pricing, and use the tools that are intended more for selling a concept than perhaps merely explaining it.

Once you finish creating the pitch deck, you can share it as a link for others to view. You can then measure how much time people spend viewing the slides, including time spent on specific slides in the presentation. Another major differentiator with Slidebean is that you can work with professional designers and writers (for a fee, of course) who will create the pitch desk and write all of the copy for you.

Operating systems are supported: Windows and Mac browsers
Number of templates and designs available: 160
Integrated apps: None
Collaboration features: Editing (not simultaneous), sharing
Multimedia supported: Images, icons, GIFs
Export options: PPT, PDF, and HTML
Customer support options: Knowledgebase
Added features: Consult with experts, finance templates
Interface enhancements: Startup video lessons

Most Powerful: Canva

Thousand of templates

Integrates with other Canva tools

Limited export options

Known as an “online graphical design platform” for everyday users, Canva provides plenty of tools for creating logos, brochures, postcards, and presentations.

Because these tools are all integrated, Canva is powerful enough for any message you want to communicate. It’s ideal for business, personal use, and schools. If you decide to build a presentation, you can also incorporate logos, fonts, clip art, and animations that are built into Canva. It means the palette for creating a presentation is more flexible because all of the other design tools are right at your fingertips. Let’s say you want to create a pitch deck about a new startup. You can create the logo, choose the colors and fonts, and then create the slideshow. Most presentation apps in our buyers' guide other than Visme don’t provide this level of flexibility and power in one online app.

Canva lets you run the presentation from within Canva itself, or you can export the slides and use them in Microsoft PowerPoint. There are thousands of templates available. Once you select a look and feel for your presentation, you can pivot and use those same graphics, fonts, and designs in a brochure or other material.

With all of this power in terms of visual design software comes a slight learning curve. Canva is intuitive and the interface is well-designed, but there are so many tools available that it takes some time to learn them all.

Operating systems are supported: PC, Mac, iOS, Android, browser
Number of templates and designs available: Thousands
Integrated apps: Google Drive, Dropbox, Slack, HubSpot, and many more
Collaboration features: Real-time editing, whiteboards
Multimedia supported : Photos, icons, graphics, data visualizations, media elements
Export options: PDF, JPG, PNG, PPTX, MP4
Customer support options: Email
Added features: Magic Switch, Magic Write, Magic Animate
Interface enhancements: Search for designs, generate with Magic Design

The Bottom Line

If you're short on time and just need to create a presentation without a lot of hassle, Google Slides is the app for you. It’s completely free without any trial versions of “pro” upgrades, yet it's also quite powerful and intuitive to learn. Google Slides is also our top pick because it integrates into other Google apps like Gmail and Google Docs, is widely used and highly compatible, and still gets the job done when the main goal is to finish a slideshow and share your message.

Things To Consider When Buying Presentation Software

Features and functionality: When it comes to presentation software, it’s all about the templates. As you are considering which app to use, it’s a good idea to evaluate which templates are available and if they meet your needs. We’ve also noted how many templates are included with each app. Beyond that, look for the supported file formats since that will determine who can use and open the presentation. Collaboration features are also important, making it easier to work on a presentation within a group and make comments for everyone to see.

Ease of use and user interface: Creating a presentation shouldn't feel cumbersome. When you start the app, it should be easy to create the first slide from a template, add more slides, fill in the text and images, and finish the entire project without having to learn complex features. Apple Keynote is a good example of an app that's intuitive at first, and then you can always explore more advanced features later on.

Compatibility with different file formats: The most well-known presentation app is Microsoft PowerPoint. So it’s important that the app you choose supports the popular PowerPoint format. Beyond that, look for software that also supports PDF files in case you want a printed version of your slideshow or to share it online.

Collaboration and sharing capabilities: With presentation software, being able to work on a slideshow with a group of people all at the same time can be a time-saver but also produce better results. It should also be easy to leave comments for others to review. Once you're done with the presentation, it should also be easy to share the file or an online version of the presentation with others.

Customization options for design and branding: Visme and Canva allow you to customize the graphics and even make logos and experiment with a variety of fonts. All presentation apps provide ways to edit graphics, resize photos, and even incorporate video into your slideshow. Not every app makes it as easy to edit graphics as Google Slides does, however.

Availability of templates and pre-designed layouts: As with many software programs, templates save time and effort. An app like Microsoft PowerPoint includes pre-designed templates and graphics you can use to enhance a slideshow. Visme is a good example of an app with extensive templates (it has thousands built-in). While Apple Keynote doesn't have as many templates, the ones that are included tend to be more well-designed and trendy.

Pricing and licensing: Most presentation apps offer a monthly subscription to help you get started making a slideshow. In some cases, such as Visme and Slidebean, there’s a basic free version to help you experiment with the app right away. Only Google Slides is entirely free with no extra pricing options. Microsoft also offers a fully licensed version of PowerPoint as opposed to paying for a monthly subscription. The full licensed version costs $159.99.

Customer support and training resources: Microsoft is arguably one of the best companies to choose if you're interested in customer support. Because the product costs a little more – especially if you purchase the full licensed version – it includes extensive technical support. That said, even though Google Slides is free and customer support can be hit or miss, there are so many people using that product that you can usually find answers to questions by doing a simple Google search or asking on public support forums. Also, training videos are more readily available for Google Slides and Microsoft PowerPoint because they're both so popular.

Integration with other software and tools: Integration is key when it comes to presentation software because you want to be able to access important graphics, photos, and videos easily. Canva is perhaps the most integrated option for that reason alone. It's a graphics platform for creating graphics and other design materials, so when you make a presentation, you can easily find what you need.

Security and privacy features: Security and privacy might not be the first concern when it comes to presentation software, since you might be making a simple how-to for employee orientation or a photo slideshow of your vacation. However, for a business creating a new product or for a new startup that has not launched yet, be sure there is a way to protect your presentation from prying eyes.

How We Chose The Best Presentation Software

Our contributor John Brandon poured over specifications and features for the best presentation software around. He’s used presentation apps since the debut of Microsoft PowerPoint and Google Slides. He also consulted with business owners who have started companies and need to communicate about their firms. This includes David Ciccarelli, an entrepreneur who started a company called Voices (an audio and video tech startup) and is the CEO of Lake , a vacation rental business. He also tapped Stephen Gagnon, a web designer with the search engine optimization company Web Scour , who has visual design and branding experience.

WHY SHOULD YOU TRUST US?

John Brandon worked in the corporate world for 10 years, often creating presentations for large teams and at corporate functions. He worked as an Information Design Director at Best Buy Corporation. Since then, he has tested and reviewed thousands of tech products including presentation apps, Wi-Fi routers, televisions, office products, and everything in between. His writing has appeared in Wired magazine, Inc. magazine, FoxNews.com, LAPTOP magazine, and many others.

For anyone who wants to communicate about a new product or service, help new employees with onboarding, or even share photos from a recent vacation, presentation software helps you communicate visually. The basic idea is that you can create a slideshow that augments and enhances what you have to say.

Presentation software is designed to help you communicate a message to an audience, either in a classroom, a conference room, or at home. You create a slideshow, insert graphics, photos, and videos, and then run the slideshow full-screen. When you run the presentation, you can click the mouse button or press the arrow keys on a computer to go back and forth in the slideshow.

Most modern presentation apps charge a monthly fee, usually around $8 or $12 per month. Google Slides is the exception to this rule since it is entirely free. Typically, with higher costs for the pro and premium plans, you gain access to more templates, more graphics, and the ability to export in more file formats, such as HTML or video files. At the high end, Microsoft PowerPoint also offers a fully licensed version, as opposed to a monthly charge.

The classic, tried-and-true presentation apps like Microsoft PowerPoint and Apple Keynote are available as a desktop version you install. In most cases, you will sign up for the app and then download the installation file and run that installer. However, more modern apps like Google Slides and Canva run in a browser window and don't require any installation.

PowerPoint is sometimes included on a Windows laptop. However, if you're looking for a fresh start with new templates and features for animation and video that go beyond PowerPoint and Keynote, you might consider upgrading. Also, presentation tools are now included in apps like Canva and Visme, making them more integrated.

U.S. News 360 Reviews takes an unbiased approach to our recommendations. When you use our links to buy products, we may earn a commission but that in no way affects our editorial independence.

15 Best Presentation Software for 2021

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By Bilyana Nikolaeva

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On average a presentation takes up to 20 minutes and experts say we make an impression within the first 30 seconds. That is why it’s important to “dress” our great product/idea with an equally exciting design. Most often, presentations are cooked up by non-designers, which creates a specific need – for powerful presentation software, which can help communicate a message beautifully, effectively, and to suit any user’s skill level. We hand-picked 15 of the best presentation software for 2021 , which will help you create presentations online, share them, while shining in your best light. In the meanwhile, check out some useful ideas tips to spice up your presentations .

A web-based presentation tool, which means you can access your presentations wherever you are, with an internet connection. It is known for its animations, cartoons, and infographics, which help the user to create more interactive presentations and explainer-style videos.

Example by Focusky

Best Features: Very interactive; you can create a unique to your story by combining different “frames” (slides); create your own animations within the presentation Price: Free, but heavily subscription-based Learning curve: Very intuitive, nicely organized by categories, but it would require some time to learn the animation controls Available for: Online Perfect for: Marketing and education

To summarize, this presentation tool is best for marketers and education, where the creator can get the most out of the cool animation and cartoons available. In the last years, there is an increased interest in Powtoon and RenderForest and we expect that more and more people will use them in 2021. No surprise – if you look at our article about Graphic Design Trends in 2022 , everything is moving towards animation, cool 3D-s, cartoons, and illustrations – and these are all things that this software can offer for your presentation.

Prezi is an online presentation software, which resembles a mind map. In comparison, PowerPoint offers a linear way of presenting, whereas Prezi allows you to better show relationships between different elements of your presentation, show details, zoom in and zoom out and show an overall view of your topic. Compared to PowerPoint is more interactive, but with fewer functionalities and a choice of templates.

Example by PreziBase

Best Features: Interactive presentations and interesting transitions, zoom in/out details Price: The very basic features are free, but most of the interesting ones are paid, starting from $3/month and reaching up to $59/month. They offer a free trial. Learning curve: it requires learning and going through a lot of menus and functionalities, similar to PowerPoint Available for: Online / Limited use for iOS and Android (only viewing, not creating and editing) Perfect for: teachers, businesses, more experienced designers, and specific presentations needs, but not recommended for newbies

Prezi is best in showing relationships between different parts of your presentations. There are some challenges in editing, and viewing across devices and its best features are paid for. We recommend it for quick, mind-map-like presentations without the need for ultra-special design.

3. RenderForest Presentation Maker

RenderForest is an online presentation tool, which is famous for its explainer style and whiteboard animations. The presentation templates often offer various motion/video backgrounds, which helps to grab your audience’s attention. Currently, the company is working on releasing its Graphic Design Software, which will allow users to create printables and beautiful designs for social media. This shows that RenderForest’s team knows the market well and does its best to cater to its needs!

Example by Renderforest

Best Features: Video holders with text on shapes, cool transitions Price: There is a free version, the paid ones start at $20.34 per user/month Learning curve: Relatively easy to use, the simple interface helps the user Available for: Online / iOS / Android Perfect for: Education and business

Although not one of the cheapest solutions, it allows you to create engaging and interactive presentations with lots of cool animations. That makes RenderForest a great choice for more educational and marketing explainer-type videos/presentations.

4. Mentimeter

Mentimeter is a very interesting online presentation software. It allows your audience to engage with your presentation in real-time and you can create polls, ask questions, which are then displayed to your presentation. The answers from the audience remain anonymous so people are even more encouraged to participate.

Example by Mentimeter

Best Features: Launch live, interactive polls, surveys, quizzes and create things like word clouds in real-time Price: It has a free version, but the paid plans offer most of the attractive features – the basic plan costs $9.99 per user/month and the more advanced plan is $24.99 per user/month Learning curve: Easy to use; might need to explain to a less tech-savvy audience how to connect to your presentation Available for: Online / Android / iOS Perfect for: Educators, speakers, business and competitions

An excellent choice for educators, speakers, and businesses who want to engage the audience in real-time and display the results immediately. Clean, simple designs, that help you focus on the content.

5. Libre Office Impress

Libre Office is free presentation software, an open-source alternative to PowerPoint. As you can expect from a free product, it offers only the main features of its “big brother”, but it’s a good solution for people used to Microsoft’s productivity suite. The interface is very similar to PowerPoint, which again makes it comfortable to use for a certain audience. Users who need collaboration on presentations, clean interface, and more creative design solutions should steer away from this free presentation software because it will simply not cover their needs.

Example by Theodoros Bousios

Best Features: Free, compatible with older versions (Windows XP for example) Price: Free Learning curve: It will take some time to go through all the options and to get familiar with the interface; Available for: Windows / macOS / Linux / Android / iOS. Perfect for: people who want to use a free product and people with older operation systems

To summarize, Libre is free, compatible with older versions, it can cover your basic needs for a presentation, but the options are too many and available templates too little.

6. Zoho Show

Zoho Show is also an online presentation software, which has a very friendly user interface and great collaboration features. There are many functionalities, which help you create a beautiful design, but require some time and design knowledge to get it right. The premade templates are limited and this presentation software needs an internet connection to be able to edit and present.

Image by Zoho

Best Features: Live broadcasting a presentation with live chat and commenting Price: Zoho Show is free for personal use. For business users, Zoho Show is included in the Zoho Docs enterprise pricing packages – €5 or €8 per user/month Learning curve: Available for: Online / Android / iOS Perfect for: non-profits, start-ups, personal use, teachers

To summarize, Zoho offers great collaboration features, but you need a connection to edit and present. It is suitable for quick, non-pretentious presentations, where you need some kind of collaboration.

7. ClearSlide Presenter

ClearSlide is a sales engagement platform, including an online presentation tool. Another online tool – SlideRocket, was acquired by ClearSlide and one of the differences is that ClearSlide is more costly and targeted at larger businesses. It’s a great platform for very specific needs – collaborating between sales and marketing teams, to achieve the company’s goals. It’s clear even by the interface:

Image by ClearSlide

Best Features: Analytics for costumers’ engagement, video conferencing, screen sharing Price: They offer a free trial and you can see more about the payment plans here. Learning curve: Clear and simple interface, but it requires some time to get used to the tools Available for: Online Perfect for: Sales/business, managers (for coaching); not suitable for newbies, teachers, students

To summarize, ClearSide is perfect for presenting sales pitch , graphics, collaborate in larger teams. It is somehow restrictive for a non-designer because the templates are specific.

8. Piktochart

Piktochart allows you to make infographics, presentations, and printables quickly. Primarily known for its easy customizable infographics, Piktochart also has simple presentation templates and the company is constantly trying to update its library.

Example by Piktochart Knowledge Base

Best Features: Turning data-heavy content into simple visuals; nice transitions between slides Price: There is a free version and a paid one, starting at $29 per user/month. They offer a free trial. Learning curve: It requires time to get used to the options available and to navigate through Available for: Online Perfect for: Designers, teachers; it does not offer collaboration options, which might be needed by teams, students, etc.

Compared to other online presentation software is a bit costly and we could still ask a bit more from the presentation templates. We’d recommend it to someone who often uses infographics and wants to use a single platform to combine the infographics with a presentation. But why not check our free infographics as well?

Slides is online presentation software, initially aimed at developers and covering their presentation needs. Thus said, it does not offer offline editing, but you can present offline, after exporting your presentation.

Best Features: It allows you to use your phone as a remote control; Live Present Mode allows you to control what your audience sees; drop in code, iframes, and SVGs with ease. Price: Free, with paid plans starting at $7.00/month and $14-$18/month for pro and team packages. They offer a free trial. Learning curve: friendly interface, but too many functions and options, which might overwhelm the average user and beginner Available for: Online Perfect for: developers, designers, a little bit too specific for newbies

To summarize, it’s a very cool tool, giving you complete design freedom, but that is also why we do not recommend it to teachers, non-designers, or marketers. Developers and design gurus will love it.

Canva is a web-based solution that started with a mission – to make beautiful designed content available to everyone. The whole platform is organized so that a person without any prior design knowledge can easily create graphs, images, and presentations to impress. Although it is not the best tool for data visualization, it scores high in any other category. Needless to say, it has become a popular choice amongst non-designers.

Image by Iconfinder

Best Features: Plenty of beautiful templates to choose from and Canva school has plenty of tutorials and tips for free. It offers more free functionalities compared to other competitors. Price: Free, the offer different subscription plans, starting at $9.95 per user/month Learning curve: Very easy to use, most of the actions can be performed by drag-and-drop Available for: Online / iOS / Android Perfect for: newbies, marketers (who need a unified look across all their social media), non-profits, and teachers

Canva is becoming one of the most popular tools amongst non-designers for creating beautiful unified content. You can create entire presentations, flyers, and other materials with a single drag and drop.

11. Slidebean

Slidebean is the go-to online presentation software for last-minute projects, that look original and professional. Slidebean offers clean and easy-to-use templates and keeps track of your audience’s engagement.

Source Slidebean

Best Features: It allows you to arrange your content with the help of AI, which saves time creating a beautiful layout. You just pick a template, upload content, and let the AI offer you a nice layout. Premade animations, effects, and alignments are automatically applied to your content and create a cohesive look. Price: Free, paid versions starting from $8/month Learning curve: very easy to use since everything is made to fit the premade templates Available for: Windows / Mac / Android / iOS Perfect for: financial, academic, pitch, marketing, sales; everything quick with a clear structure

To summarize, if you are in a hurry, Slidebean will offer several layouts for your slides and speed up the process of creation. The platform targets primarily sales, marketing, and financial fields, and the available templates reflect that.

12. Google Slides

Google Slides is part of the G Suite business application. Its popularity has increased in the last years since it’s a web-based platform, allowing you to store, edit, and share your presentation, without the need of installing presentation software on your computer. All you need is a Google account and you are good to go.

Image by G Suite Updates blog

Best Features: It’s free for personal use, and offers great paid features for business – for example, seamless collaboration and commenting on a presentation, converting other presentations to Google Slides. Some other great features are the wide variety of fonts available (GoogleFonts, not need installing), easy embedding, plus it’s super intuitive and easy to use! Price: It’s free for individual use. For business use, the price starts at $5/user/month and plans of $10 and $25/user/month, for unlimited cloud storage and extra features Learning curve: Simple interface, but it will require some time to pick up. Similar to PowerPoint, only a bit lighter. Available for: Windows / Mac / Online Perfect for: businesses, freelancers, who need a user-friendly app with elementary features; great for collaborating teams, not so perfect for complex designs and tools, required by big enterprises

Perfect for personal use, well synchronized across different devices, similar to PowerPoint. Maybe you are a teacher and you like GoogleSlides because it is free and easy to use? Well, we’ve gathered some awesome FREE GoogleSlides and PowerPoint templates , specially made for education needs.

If you need something along the lines of PowerPoint but need the option for collaboration – a paid plan for GoogleSlides is your go-to choice.

13. Keynote

Keynote is an Apple product, very similar to Google Slides. All you need to do is create an iCloud account (similar to a Google account) and start using Keynote from there. Running Keynote on Windows also requires an internet connection and a modern browser. The latest version can also import and export PowerPoint formats if needed. All this sends Keynote higher in the list regarding the accessibility and shareability of this presentation software.

Image by Envato tuts+

Best Features: Simplicity of design, great drag and drop functions, polished transitions and animations, easy image editing/cropping; works great with multimedia; design templates with better aesthetic than an average slide deck; Price: Free for macOS and iOS Learning curve: Pretty easy to use for Mac users, a bit of learning curve for users, having experience with other software. Available for: Mac / Windows / Online Perfect for: businesses, marketers, people with not much of a design experience

Bottom line, if you are a Mac user, you love the sleek design and you are looking for cool aesthetics – Keynote is simple to use and free, why not use it?

14. Adobe Spark

Adobe Spark is a web and mobile-based media creation application, which helps you create social graphics, short videos, and web pages. What is immediately noticeable is the clean, crisp, simple, and modern designs, which focus you on the content. If you are looking for a funky, ornate design – Adobe Spark is not the right pick for you.

Example by Cikeys

Best Features: Beautiful templates, user-friendly interface, step-by-step creation, you can add audio to your slides (narrating) Price: There is a free version, the paid on starts at $9.79. The best templates, as with the competitors, are paid. They do not offer a free trial. Learning curve: Easy to use Available for: Online / iOS / Android Perfect for: quick presentations, teachers, basic presentations without jamming them with too much cool stuff.

Adobe Spark eliminates the cluster of design options and leads you step-by-step in creating elegant, simple presentations. Ideal for basic presentations, not the best for sales and marketing.

15. PowerPoint

PowerPoint certainly is a “classic” – it’s has been the most popular tool for creating presentations so far. What first started as a component of the Microsoft Office suite, now has improved shareability and accessibility. It can be used on the web (as part of Office on the web), works with Android, and iOS, and there is a Mobile app, as well as presentation software for mac.

Example by Abris DC

Best Features: Many people are familiar with the software, a wide variety of templates; improved accessibility across platforms; extensive tools and options Price: If you want to enjoy the full features of PowerPoint, you’ll need to subscribe to Microsoft 365 – they have payment plans for personal or business use. The price for personal use starts at $5.99/month or $59.99/year, and business plans start at $12.50 per user/month with an annual commitment. You can find more information here . The mobile applications are completely free to use, of course with some limitations. You can compare the available features across different platforms here. Learning curve: Due to the variety of options and the complexity of the menus, it might take some time to master all of its features. Something that could take a lot of time is editing the text, arranging the visuals, and picking the right transitions – overall, is time-consuming. Still, the interface remained easy to navigate over time and if you trust your design sense, you can achieve satisfying results. Available for: Windows / Mac / Online Perfect for: business, medical, accounting and students; creating concise presentations; but not so suitable for teachers, educators, start-ups and marketers who want to create more interactive and story-based presentations.

To this date, PowerPoint is keeping the lead as the most popular tool for creating presentations. Some of the downsides are that sometimes it can be time-consuming to come up with a good design and PP doesn’t offer collaboration tools and compared to other platforms. But we have a solution for at least one of your problems – we’ve selected 31 Modern PowerPoint templates to set the right tone for your presentation.

We made a quick summary for you…

Ok, not that we’ve looked at the 15 best presentation software for 2021, we decided to go one step further and compare them by price and popularity. Let’s have a look first at the new-comers:

As you can see, the leaders from the uprising platforms are Canva and Mentimeter, with relatively low prices and with huge success amongst users . Powtoon, Piktochart, and Renderforest are a bit costly , but they are popular since they offer a lot of animation and interactive elements. Hey, but maybe some of the other tools are right for you? We encourage you to go on their websites, contact their support team, and see what they have to offer.

Then, let’s see how the veterans are ranking:

It’s no surprise that PowerPoint and Google Slides are at the top – people are used to their products, have familiar interfaces, and offer a lot of functionalities at a good price. Although, for quick, unpretentious results, their competitors are a very attractive solution.

Final words

We can conclude that there are many useful tools to help you create beautiful presentations. Some of them are well-known and have been here for a while, while others are uprising… No matter the case, we notice a trend for presentation tools catering not only to the designers’ needs but also to the newbies, marketers, and teachers. That way, enabling everyone to create stunning presentations in no time and share them easily.

We hope this presentation software list shed some light on different options out there and that we helped you evaluate quickly what would work for your situation best.

You may also be interested in these related articles:

12 PowerPoint Presentation Tips To Dramatically Boost Your Efficiency
35 Free Google Slides Infographic Templates to Grab Now
23 Online Collaboration Tools for Your Remote Team

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Presentation Software Definition and Examples

Presentation software brings complex ideas to life, one slide at a time

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Many software suites offer a program designed to accompany a speaker when he or she delivers a presentation. The specific presentation program in this suite of programs is usually (but not always) in the form of a slide show. This category of program is well-established; it doesn't change much, and it supports not only online visual display but also, generally, the printing of related handouts and speaker notes.

Benefits of Presentation Software

These programs make it simple and often fun to create a presentation for your audience. They contain a text editor to add your written content; they support charts and graphic images such as photographs, clip art or other objects to enliven your slideshow and get your point across crisply.

For a deeper dive into some of the leading applications in this software category, check out:

Microsoft Sway

Besides PowerPoint, Microsoft also offers Sway, which is a presentation and newsletter designer that supports simpler and more image-focused designs along a familiar linear flow path.

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Best presentation software of 2023

By Steven T. Wright

Posted on Jun 22, 2022 3:22 PM EDT

12 minute read

Best overall

Microsoft PowerPoint

Best for professionals.

Canva is the best presentation software for professionals.

Best for Zoom

Prezi is the best presentation software for zoom.

We may earn revenue from the products available on this page and participate in affiliate programs. Learn more ›

Teemu Paananen/Unsplash

Whether you’re a student or a working professional, everybody has to make presentations from time to time and that usually involves presentation software. But when you’re frantically Googling around to refresh your PowerPoint knowledge, it’s only natural to wonder what is really the best presentation software out there. Yes, everybody knows that Microsoft’s the biggest player in the slideshow game but there are actually a lot of alternatives to explore. If you expand your horizons, you may find another app that makes more sense for you. Expand your office app horizons and see how the best presentation software can make your job a little easier.

Best overall: Microsoft PowerPoint

Best for professionals: canva, best for zoom: prezi.

Best for Mac: Apple Keynote

Best for students: Beautiful.ai

Best budget: google slides, how we chose the best presentation software.

As a journalist with over a decade of experience, I know how to present information to all sorts of audiences effectively and efficiently. Over the years, I’ve worked with a variety of clients to craft copy for presentations, as well as the slideshows themselves. I’ve used the best software in the business, as well as quite a lot of the bad stuff, so I know what will work for you and your needs.

In making this list, I relied on my own firsthand experience with presentation software, as well as consulting professional tutorials and critical reviews. I also personally created a number of sample slideshows using prebuilt templates and custom layouts of my own in order to put the programs through their paces. I used both the stalwart software suites that everyone knows, as well as a number of lesser-known alternatives that have emerged over the past few years. If an impressive new program hits the block, we will update this list accordingly once we get some hands-on time with it.

Things to consider when buying presentation software

There has been an explosion of presentation software over the past few years, and each of the program’s developers has their own pitch to lure people away from PowerPoint. The most important things to consider when choosing presentation software will vary from person to person. A small business owner putting together a professional presentation with original branding may need different tools to make an appealing pitch, versus a student building a last-minute slideshow for a group project to present the results of their research in Econ class.

There are a wide variety of bells and whistles that presentation building programs boast as their killer features, including brand kit integration, easy social media sharing options, offline access, seamless collaboration, AI suggestions, and analytics. These extra features will seem very helpful to enterprise customers, but the average person should realistically prioritize more traditional factors like ease-of-use, customizability, and cost. There are, however, a few elements that every single person who uses presentation software needs, so let’s walk through the fundamentals.

Ease of use

No one wants to spend hours learning how to make a basic slideshow. While all of these programs take time to master, some of them are easier to pick up quickly than others. An intuitive piece of software grabs your attention and allows you to perform basic actions like adding slides and assets without time-consuming tutorials. The more professional-grade programs out there might take a little more time to master, but they’re rarely difficult to use.

Prebuilt templates

The number one thing that you want from a presentation software is a good-looking final product, and templates help you achieve that goal quickly and easily. All of the competitive presentation software suites out there have a library of pre-built templates that let you plug in information quickly. Quality and quantity separate the good programs from the great ones, though. Some apps have more templates than others, and some templates look better than others. On top of that, some programs lock their best templates behind a premium subscription, which leaves you relying on the same basic structures over and over.

The truly professional-grade software also includes a selection of prebuilt art assets to help you bring a personal touch to the presentation. If a program doesn’t have an impressive set of templates, it isn’t worth using.

Customizability

While most people want to start building their presentations with a template, you need to change some things around if you want to keep things looking fresh. Professionals, in particular, will probably want to customize every aspect of their slideshows, from the color of the background to the exact pixel position of images. This obviously increases the amount of time it takes to craft a presentation, so it’s important that the systems for making those tweaks are intuitive and easy to use. Not every user is going to need the level of customizability, but it’s definitely something worth considering.

Who’s it for?

Every presenter needs to build a slideshow for their audience. They should probably ask that question when they pick which presentation software to use as well, as it can help determine what software they should use. Students might need the expansive collaboration tools of certain platforms but might not need the pinpoint design controls in others. While the presentation software listed below can all make a great slideshow with enough time and effort, your own use case and the intended audience will have a big impact on your choice.

Cost & affordability

Very few presentation builders have a simple, one-time price tag. Most operate on a subscription model, where you can buy a month’s use for a certain amount, or save money by buying a year at a time. A few are free, though many appear to only offer a free trial or stripped-down version that will allow you to put together something basic before quite literally buying in.

If you’re looking to build just one or two presentations a year, it’s probably best to stick to one of the free options. However, if you have to build slideshows on a regular basis, it’s probably worth sinking your money into a subscription to the program you really like.

Generally speaking, as you might expect, the more impressive and in-depth software costs more than the more traditional fare. However, because many of the most popular programs in the space (such as Microsoft PowerPoint) come as part of a suite, you will need to weigh the benefits of not only the presentation software but also the other programs that come along with it. If you’re a die-hard Microsoft Word user, for example, you’re already paying for the Microsoft Office suite, but the calculus gets more complicated if you prefer Google Docs.

The best presentation software: Reviews & Recommendations

By now, you probably have a good idea of what you should be looking for in presentation software, so now we’ll get into the interesting part. As mentioned above, we’ve broken down our picks based on a few common use cases, as well as the criteria we mentioned above. Regardless of which one you decide on, all of these programs are powerful tools that can produce a slick slideshow with a little time and effort, and you’d be well served by any of them.

Why it made the cut: Whether you’re a broke student or a busy professional, Microsoft PowerPoint can do whatever you need. It’s also reasonably priced.

Platforms: Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, Web
Suite or standalone: Microsoft Office 365 Suite
Special features: Designer, MS Office integration
Free version: Yes
Well-known interface imitated by competitors
Powerful and accessible
Good templates
Part of a popular software suite
Slight learning curve

Even after testing more than a dozen programs, Microsoft PowerPoint remains the go-to presentation software for most people. Setting the industry standard, it offers great templates, an accessible interface, an impressive library of prebuilt art assets, and plenty of tools for building a slick slideshow. It also supports real-time collaboration, offline editing, and third-party content embedding. At $70 a year, PowerPoint is significantly cheaper than most of its competitors and it’s part of Microsoft Office, a software suite that most companies pay for and workers can’t live without.

Of course, it isn’t perfect. PowerPoint makes it very easy to make a basic presentation, but it will likely take you longer to make something that looks polished and professional in PowerPoint than with design-forward programs like Canva or Prezi. Even top-flight presentations are achievable, though, in a reasonable timeframe. PowerPoint might not be the best presentation program for every situation, but it’s certainly the best for the average person.

Why it made the cut: Canva creates beautiful, professional-grade presentations faster than its rivals, and it’s easier to use than most.

Platforms: Web, Windows, iOS, Android
Suite or standalone: Standalone
Special features: Amazing templates, very customizable
Excellent free version
Extremely easy to use
Makes beautiful presentations fast
Eye-catching templates
Harder-to-use advanced features
Limited offline use

If you need to make a striking business presentation in an hour, Canva is absolutely the software for you. Designed from the ground up for business professionals who don’t want to have to use another program (i.e., Photoshop or GIMP) to create visually compelling content, Canva delivers on this promise in spades.

Canva’s gorgeous templates are the best of any of the programs we tested, and its free version is far more robust than you’d expect for a costless trial. Unlike many of these other programs, it creates virtually any marketing material you can imagine, including videos, logos, social media posts, and even resumes. It also includes splashy features that most people won’t use, like brand kit support and easy sharing to social media.

Canva’s simplicity has drawbacks, too, though. It can be a bit difficult to get it to make complicated charts, tables, or diagrams, and it lacks the familiar (but clunky) customizability of PowerPoint. However, if you’re looking to make the most beautiful presentation you can, Canva is a great choice for your business.

Why it made the cut: Prezi is a strong program that structures its basic features in a completely different manner than its competitors. It also has very good Zoom integration.

Platforms: Web
Special features: Zoom integration, unique structure
Free version: No (Two-week free trial)
More creative structure than competitors
Intuitive interface
Expansive feature set
Doesn’t work for everyone
Must pay more for advanced features

If you’re really tired of the straight-line structure mandated by other presentation software, Prezi gives you a little more freedom to build things your way. Prezi uses a topic-oriented form that allows you to easily string your ideas in an order that makes sense to you. The basic idea behind Prezi is that you create bubbles of individual content, and then you thread a path through those ideas to create a presentation with a physical form that’s more enticing and conversational than just a linear succession of slides.

While this unique approach makes Prezi a worthy alternative on its own, the app also boasts plenty of specialized features you’d want in a premium program, including a large asset library, social media integration, and collaboration support.

Though any presentation software can work with Zoom via the screen-share function, Prezi features a very useful video call-focused mode, Prezi Video, which allows you to build a presentation as an overlay that appears in your Zoom window so people can see you and your slides.

Prezi’s freeform structure isn’t going to work for everyone, but if Powerpoint feels stifling, it might open new doors for you.

Best for Mac: Keynote

Why it made the cut: Apple’s answer to PowerPoint might not be as popular as its competitor, but it’s still pretty powerful in its own right.

Platforms: macOS, iOS, Web
Suite or Standalone: Apple Software Suite
Special features: iCloud support, multiple formats
Free version: Yes (with an Apple account)
Familiar to most Mac users
Better asset library than most
No-frills feature set
Lacks unique selling points

If you’re a Mac user , you’ve probably at least considered using Keynote to put a presentation together. While all of the other programs on this list work on a Mac as web apps, Keynote is the only app made specifically for the platform.

Like PowerPoint, Keynote is a wide-reaching program designed to help anyone make a sharp-looking presentation, from students to professionals. It has a more robust feature set than other PowerPoint competitors–including better default templates, a bigger asset library, and desktop support. It doesn’t quite have the versatility of enterprise-facing apps like Canva, but you can put together a great-looking slideshow for school or a recurring meeting.

On the other hand, it can be a little tricky to pick up: The interface isn’t quite as intuitive as Google Slides, which is also free. If you have access to both, you get a choice: Build a more striking presentation in Keynote, or put something together quickly in Slides.

Why it made the cut: Beautiful.ai’s AI-powered presentations allow you to make a sharp slideshow in no time flat, and its generous free trial gives time to try it out.

Special features: AI integration
Clean interface
Modern features
Simple and effective
Expensive for what it is
Limited assets and templates

Looking to build a clean, modern presentation in as little time as possible? Beautiful.ai uses AI to help you build a visually stunning presentation in no time flat. While it’s less of a household name than our other picks, it’s the choice of many tech companies for its uncluttered interface, eye-catching templates, and overall no-fuss approach.

Compared to PowerPoint or Canva, Beautiful.ai does not have a rich feature set or an infinite variety of template options. What the content library lacks in volume, it makes up for in style, though. Its appealing, elegant content elements lend themselves to clean, modern presentations. More importantly, the program’s AI assistant knows how to use those assets. It automatically tailors your slideshow’s design to fit the information you want to present, so you’ll wind up with something thoughtfully prepared before you know it.

Why it made the cut: Google Slides is not only an excellent presentation program—it’s also one of the only ones actually free with no strings attached.

Platforms: Web, iOS, Android
Suite or standalone: Google Workspace
Special features: Easy collaboration, Google integration
Free for anyone with a Google account
Familiar interface
Easy to share and collaborate
Decent templates
Somewhat basic in functionality
Clunky for some users

When it comes to software, there’s “free to use,” and then there’s free. Most of the software on this list offers either a restricted free mode or a time-limited trial. Google Slides is actually free, fully free, for another with a Google account. And it holds its own, even compared to its premium competitors.

Google Slides feels like a simplified version of PowerPoint. It’s a little easier to learn the basics, but also offers fewer templates, screen transitions, and content. It also lacks a built-in asset library to fill dead space, though the program’s Google Drive integration makes it easy to add your own. Like most Google programs, it also supports add-ons that give it enhanced features, like the ability to solve equations within the slideshow.

If you’re looking to make an extremely sharp presentation, Google Slides will take a bit more effort than most. If you need to make a basic slideshow and you grew up on earlier versions of PowerPoint, you’ll feel right at home using Slides.

Based on our research, the three most popular programs are Microsoft PowerPoint, Google Slides, and Keynote, roughly in that order. PowerPoint is far more popular than the other two, though. All three are good options, depending on what you’re looking for. All things being equal, though, we recommend PowerPoint.

Generally, most of the programs listed here cost between $7 and $15 a month for their premium packages. However, Google Slides and Keynote are free, so we recommend those for customers on a budget.

Canva and PowerPoint are both great programs that offer about equal value. It’s much easier to create a beautiful, eye-catching presentation in Canva, but PowerPoint’s advanced features give you more options. If you need to make slick-looking professional presentations on a frequent basis, we recommend Canva for its superior ease-of-use.

Adobe had its own competitor to PowerPoint, Adobe Presenter. The company recently ended support for Presenter on June 1, 2022.

Final thoughts on the best presentation software

While everyone wants to use the best program for the job, the truth is that all presentation builders have a lot in common with each other. If you’re familiar with one, it often makes sense to stay put. Despite all the similarities, it can take some time to learn a new system. If you’re constrained and frustrated, or are using presentation software for the first time, you should consider a wide range of options beyond PowerPoint.

Though alternatives like Beautiful.ai, Canva, or (especially) Prezi cost a bit more, they each have strong features that may work better for your purposes. That said, sometimes the most popular presentation software options are the best. If you don’t have specific expectations or need to clear a high bar for design, PowerPoint and free options like Google Slides should work well, and have the benefit of wide adoption in corporate workplaces.

Best free presentation software of 2024

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Best overall

Best for speed, best for functionality, best for collaboration, best user interface.

How we test

The best free presentation software makes it simple and easy to create presentations as an alternative to subscribing to Microsoft PowerPoint.

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1. Best overall 2. Best for speed 3. Best for functionality 4. Best for collaboration 5. Best user interface 6. FAQs 7. How we test

While PowerPoint is the market leader when it comes to presentation software, some people may be unwilling to subscribe to a Microsoft 365 subscription, especially if they don't expect to need to use it very often.

However, there are plenty of great alternatives to PowerPoint available for free that you can use. While these won't have the same advanced features as PowerPoint, they still offer a very competent platform to design most any presentation that you need.

To help you choose, we've listed below the best free presentation software currently available.

Add images to your presentations using the best free photo editor .

Google Workspace : Collaboration + productivity apps There are many different presentation software packages but Google Workspace formerly known as G Suite remains the original cloud office software and one of the best business office suites, offering a huge range of features and functionality that rivals can't match, especially when it comes to presentation software. Try it free for 14 days .

The best free presentation software of 2024 in full:

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Prezi turns the traditional approach to presentations on its head. Instead of creating slide after slide, this presentation software gives you a single giant canvas. You can add blocks of text or images, or even create miniature slides. During your presentation, you can seamlessly fly around the canvas and zoom in to look at individual chunks of content.

For how complex Prezi seems, it’s impressively simple to use the platform. The only major divergence from Microsoft PowerPoint is that you need to add animated paths from one part of the canvas to another. The tools for this are fairly straightforward, especially if you’ve ever used an animation or video editing software.

Of course, this type of presentation structure isn’t always ideal. Prezi makes it hard to visualize structured data like financials, which can make it difficult to use in business applications. Some viewers also might not appreciate the fly-around animation style that’s inherent to the presentation software.

Read our full Prezi review .

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Canva is perfect for making speedy presentations right in your web browser. This software offers a handful of free layouts to help you get your slideshow started, and it’s easy to customize the templates to fit your needs. There isn’t a huge variety of content elements to add to your presentation, but Canva makes up for this with a searchable library of more than 1 million images you can use.

Your Canva presentations live online, which makes it extremely easy to collaborate. You can invite colleagues to edit your slideshow (although simultaneous editing is not supported) or seamlessly share your finished presentation. However, beware that Canva can’t import presentations from Microsoft Powerpoint or export finished work to a Powerpoint-editable format.

Read our full Canva review .

3. LibreOffice

LibreOffice is a free alternative to Microsoft Office, and it includes a Powerpoint equivalent called Impress with nearly all of the same functionality. The only big difference you’ll find between the two slideshow creation tools is the LibreOffice lacks some modern features like built-in collaboration and integration with Microsoft OneDrive.

However, Impress does have a few advantages of its own. The software can import files from Keynote, the default presentation software on Mac computers. Plus, there are hundreds of free templates that you can download for free. Even better, there’s no limit on what fonts you can use with Impress, so it’s easy to change the look of your presentation from what Powerpoint typically allows.

On the whole, LibreOffice Impress is about as close as it gets to simply replicating Microsoft Powerpoint for free.

Read our full LibreOffice review .

4. Google Slides

Google Slides is part of Google Workspace (formerly G Suite), and it does a nice job of matching a number of PowerPoint’s capabilities. This free presentation software supports embedding videos, creating diagrams, and adding animations to your slides. While the selection of templates is somewhat limited, you can easily import hundreds of additional templates for free or create your own.

Even better, Google Slides supports the collaboration tools users have come to expect from Google. Multiple people can work on a slideshow simultaneously, and there’s a built-in group chat so you can keep track of what everyone is doing. It’s also nice that you can play your presentation in presenter mode, which allows you to preview how it will look to your audience and rehearse timing.

The only downside to Google Slides is that bloated slideshows can experience some loading delays. Also beware that while you can move between Slides and Powerpoint, the conversion often messes with the layout of your slides.

Read our full Google Slides review .

5. WPS Office Free

WPS Office Free is a Microsoft Office look-alike that fully support PowerPoint files without any layout issues during import. The WPS Presentation tool has all of the same capabilities of PowerPoint, including tons of animations, slide transitions, content effects, and video embedding. The selection of included presentation templates is also very impressive for a free software.

One of the best things about this presentation software is that the user interface will feel incredibly familiar if you’re coming from Microsoft. All of the tools are displayed in a top ribbon, with your slides shown on the left side of the screen for easy navigation. It’s simple to display your presentation right from WPS Presentation, which means there’s no unexpected troubleshooting when it’s time to show off your work.

There’s not much to dislike about WPS Presentation. However, keep in mind that the software is supported by ads. Some users find the ads annoying, but they’re not overly in the way.

Read our full WPS Office Free review .

We've also featured the best free office software .

Best free presentation software FAQs

Which alternative to powerpoint is best for you.

When deciding which alternative to PowerPoint to download and use, first consider what your actual needs are, as sometimes free platforms may only provide basic options, so if you need to use advanced tools you may find a paid platform is much more worthwhile. Additionally, free and budget software options can sometimes prove limited when it comes to the variety of tools available, while higher-end software can really cater for every need, so do ensure you have a good idea of which features you think you may require.

How we test the best free presentation software

To test for the best free presentation software we first set up an account with the relevant software platform, whether as a download or as an online service. We then tested the service to see how the software could be used for different purposes and in different situations. The aim was to push each software platform to see how useful its basic tools were and also how easy it was to get to grips with any more advanced tools.

Read how we test, rate, and review products on TechRadar .

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Michael Graw is a freelance journalist and photographer based in Bellingham, Washington. His interests span a wide range from business technology to finance to creative media, with a focus on new technology and emerging trends. Michael's work has been published in TechRadar, Tom's Guide, Business Insider, Fast Company, Salon, and Harvard Business Review.

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How to Make Interesting Presentations for Software Projects .

No matter how good your website or app might be, if you cannot communicate its value to your client or employer, your hard work will be overlooked. Here's a guide on how to create interesting presentations for your next software project.

Know Your Presentation Audience

Don't start by just slapping a bunch of slides together. Instead take a moment and think about who you're going to present to. This might be your boss, a potential client or an interested crowd at a conference. Think about the background knowledge your audience will posses or what it might be missing out on. Reflect on their interests. Most of the time people are not attending presentations just because they like hearing you talk. So figure out what they're looking to get out of your presentation. This might be technical knowledge, inspiration as well as strategical or economical insights.

Besides knowing such on-topic aspects about your audience, it could also come in handy to have some general conditions on your mind. This might include the time your audience is willing to spend with you. Will your listeners be relaxed or are they in a hurry and barely able to attend your presentation? You don't want people to miss your key points because they already had to leave.

Define a Goal for Your Presentation

Now that you know the people you'll be talking to, you can figure out what to give them. What's the message you want to get across? What's the goal you're trying to achieve with your presentation? You might want to get support for your next software project. You'd like to get funding for building a website or app. Maybe you're trying to sell some software you've created. Or maybe you want to show the progress of your software project to your employer or client.

Defining a specific goal for presenting your software makes crafting the actual presentation a lot easier. At every step you can ask yourself whether some slide you're going to show or a certain thing you're going to say is beneficial for reaching that goal - if it's not, throw it out.

Defining Goal and Audience for Your Software Project Presentation

Outline A Story

Creating a story doesn't mean you have to write a screenplay. Instead construct a cohesive outline for your presentation. I like doing this by creating some placeholder slides with certain keywords and topics. Make sure that every part of your presentation fits with the next one so that your listeners won't get lost.

I'm not a book author, but just like design has it's principles, storytelling has some as well. Start with a brief setup explaining what your presentation is all about and foreshadow where the story will be going. It's highly subjective whether a story is good. Relatability is a key factor for liking a story - that's why you researched your audience. Now you can carefully select on which parts you'd like to go into details.

All good stories have a twist. It's still a presentation so there might just not be a real twist to your topic. Still, what I mean by that is don't spill all your beans in the first five minutes. Try to intrigue the audience by leading up to something. That could be the demonstration of your software, some exciting feature or the results of a proof-of-concept trial.

Address obstacles you overcame along the way, but don't make yourself look bad by mentioning every mistake you made - that's not an interesting story, is it?

Slide Design

Don't get me wrong, I know that some people are that good at public speaking, their slides don't matter. Other times you might not even need slides and rather just stand there by yourself or with some other props. However, when presenting software projects, having some slides is usually a good idea because it's pretty difficult to convey designs and technical concepts with words only. Having off-putting slides though might still be worse than having none at all. Here are some tips that can go a long way.

Less Text, More Content

You've probably heard some arbitrary upper limit for bullet points to slap on a slide - like no more than four or five. The problem with this rule is how people apply it: they just move their remaining bullet points to the next slide.

You'll get out of this dilemma, if you stop thinking in bullet points. Instead focus on the goal of your presentation and design slides that'll help you reach it. Below you can see some layouts I like to use.

Replace text with graphics wherever possible. People are naturally more receptive for graphical representations. An ad-hoc diagram you create directly on the slide can convey much more than plain bullet points. It does so by the means of boundaries, grouping and connections.

Ad-hoc diagram for conveying technical concepts

When doing these kind of diagrams don't try to fit everything in them. Focus again on what kind of understanding you want to achieve. You can also leverage diagram standards like UML or BPMN, but keep in mind that not everyone knows these notations by heart. Some plain boxes and arrows can go a long way and it's better to have a simple diagram that's helping people instead of a complex one that's not.

If you've developed a website or app, or anything with a user interface really, you've probably got a lot to show. You can also include design iterations describing how you got to your final result. However, don't bore people by showing every single interface (or state of the same interface) there is.

Mockup Showcasing User Interface on Tablet

It can also be illustrative to see a mockup of your project in action - like someone holding a phone with your app open or a laptop showing your website. This will display your product in a professional and realistic look allowing people to easily picture themselves using it.

You'll find mockup resources and templates on graphics marketplaces which you can then assemble using photo editing software like Photoshop.

If you prefer an easier solution that doesn't require you to search for assets and install software, try SceneLab. Just drop your images onto phone, tablet or laptop screens right in your browser. You can choose from an ever-growing collection of professional design templates and adjust them to your needs with custom colors and texts.

Don't be afraid to sacrifice a whole slide to one word or number - the impact will be worth it. This could be the number of users you have, the revenue your app made or how many orders your software processed. You might also put a quote from some famous figure to give your statements more weight - though don't overdo it with that, rule of thumb: one quote max per presentation.

When you're showing images you never want to ask during presentation whether everyone can make out what's on it. Either zoom into the parts you're talking about or slice up the image.

Simple and Consistent

Limit yourself to a few font configurations consisting of font-family, font-size, font-style and color. This will give your presentation a clean look and provide consistency. Also, especially when working with little diagrams like shown above, try to work meaning into your color coding by using the same colors for roughly the same things.

Having a limited set of layouts can also be beneficial because it will allow viewers to know faster where they should be looking.

One thing I also sometimes like to do is picking an icons for each specific topic and use those consistently throughout the presentation. This could be a map when you're talking about how you planned things out or a target when it's about goals reached. If you keep to a handful different icons, you'll make these topics easily recognizable allowing you to spice up what would've otherwise been just text.

Templates & Resources

I often see people creating their presentation with a theme based on a popular movie or show. I'd advise you to refrain from doing so as you probably don't want to get into problems with copyright infringement when your slides or a video of your presentation end up on the web. Rather stay with unlicensed resources and give credit where credit is due.

Just because you think you're not very skilled at design doesn't mean your presentation has to look bad - there are templates for that! SlidesCarnival and Slidesgo are great places for free-to-use presentation templates. They list them by color, style and occasion enabling you to always find something that fits your project. They come with inspiring placeholder slides, pre-defined color schemes and a bunch of icons.

Besides presentation templates you might also find these resources helpful:

you can find royalty free stock images on Unsplash , Pixabay or Pexels .
if you're looking for some sweet icons try flaticon .
when you're in need of a stimulating quote go to BrainyQuote .

Showing your app or website in action or doing a live coding session is somewhat the holy grail of software presentation. They can leave a major impact but might seem a bit daunting. The key here is preparation and some practice. Figure out the conditions for your demo and prepare accordingly:

Will you have access to internet? Can your demo work without internet?
What kind of connections are available for the projector? Bring your own adapters if necessary.
Does your demo rely on external services (like some API) and what will you do if those services are not available?

When all falls apart skip the demonstration or, even better, have a pre-recorded video of it ready to show. This way you won't waste your precious presentation time and the audience's attention span on fixing your demonstration.

Also, for a professional impression, do some cleaning up. Clear your desktop of anything that's not related to the presentation. Close every program you don't need as you probably don't want to have delicate mail notifications during showtime. Hide the bookmarks bar of your browser not only to keep those from prying eyes but also to have more room when showing a website or web app.

Practicing Your Presentation

Practicing your presentation will not only make you more confident, you'll also know roughly how long it's going to take. Therefore don't rush while practicing because it's just practice .

You can write down some speaking notes but don't script your presentation to a point where it feels awkward. It's not the end of the world if you say something differently or forget to say it at all - after all a presentation is a live performance.

It can also be really helpful to have a test audience while practicing. This will make transitioning to a real audience much easier and you get valuable feedback early on. If there's no one available, you could still record yourself using your phone.

Following some basic steps will give you a solid foundation for crafting presentations. Knowing your audience, having a clearly defined goal and proper slides might also reduce stage fright, allowing you to have a good time when presenting your next software project. By having a focus on content, not being afraid to go bold and some consistency your slides will help you communicate your message much better. With a professional presentation template your slides are almost guaranteed to be interesting. Throw a carefully prepared live demonstration and some practice into the mix and you're ready!

Nils Mehlhorn

Co-Founder of SceneLab & Software Engineer

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Slide logic: the emergence of presentation software and the prehistory of powerpoint, by david c. brock | october 04, 2016.

In many parts of our world today, group communication centers on visual materials built with “presentation software,” often crafted by a speaker him or herself. As a result, meetings now generally depend on the use of personal computers, presentation software in the guises of product or service and display by digital projectors or flat-screens.

A humorous sample PowerPoint presentation supplied with the very first version in 1987. This clip was created with PowerPoint 1.0 for Mac running in a Mac Plus emulator.

So central have these visual materials become that the intended functioning of digital files, programs, computers, and peripherals has become an almost necessary condition for public communication. Choice of presentation software has even become a mark of generational and other identities, as in whether one uses Facebook or Snapchat. Millennials and Generation Z choose Google Slides or Prezi. Everyone else uses PowerPoint, its mirror-twin by Apple called Keynote, or, for political expression and/or economic necessity, LibreOffice. Membership in a highly technical community can be signified by using the typesetting program LaTeX to build equation-heavy slides.

It is PowerPoint, nevertheless, that has become the “Kleenex” or “Scotch Tape” of presentation software. A “PowerPoint” has come to commonly mean any presentation created with software. Microsoft rightly boasts that there are currently 1.2 billion copies of PowerPoint at large in the world today: One copy of PowerPoint for every seven people. In any given month, approximately 200 million of these copies are actively used. PowerPoint is simply the dominant presentation software on the planet. 1

It may come as a surprise, then, to learn that PowerPoint was not the first presentation program. Rather, there were several programs for personal computers that performed similarly to PowerPoint in many respects, which appeared starting in 1982—fully five years before PowerPoint’s debut. PowerPoint’s ubiquity is not the result of a first-mover advantage. 2

Further, many of PowerPoint’s most familiar characteristics—the central motif of a slide containing text and graphics, bulleted lists, the slide show, the slide sorter, and even showy animated transitions between slides—were not absolute novelties when PowerPoint appeared. These elements had been introduced in one form or another in earlier presentation software.

Here, the principal developers of PowerPoint—Dennis Austin and Tom Rudkin—describe the structure of the source code defining slides. Austin and Rudkin worked closely with the product’s architect, Bob Gaskins. This document is in a collection of materials donated to the Computer History Museum by Dennis Austin.

From 1982 through 1987, software makers introduced roughly a dozen programs for several different personal computers that allowed users to create visual materials for public presentations as a series of “slides” containing text and graphic elements. Frequently, these slides were printed on paper for incorporation into a photocopied report and transferred to a set of transparencies for use with an overhead projector. Other presentation programs allowed slides to be output as a sequence of 35mm photographic slides for use with a slide projector, a videotape of a series of slide images, or a digital file of screen-images for computer monitors. Makers and users called these programs “presentation software,” and just as commonly “business graphics software.” “Business” here is significant, I think. 3

Early presentation software was most commonly used to create overhead presentations. In this clip, Dennis Austin—a principal developer of PowerPoint—demonstrates the use of overhead projectors and presentations.

The six years from 1982 through 1987 saw the emergence of presentation software (including PowerPoint), with multiple makers introducing competing programs offering many similar capabilities and idioms. Why did multiple, independent software creators develop presentation software for personal computers at just this moment?

I believe that an analytical framework that I developed with historian Christophe Lécuyer to understand episodes in the history of solid-state electronics can also help us to unpack this very different case from software history. Our framework consists of three “contextual logics” that we argue shaped the emergence of the planar transistor, the silicon microchip, the simultaneous-invention of silicon-gate MOS technology, and, as Christophe and Takahiro Ueyama recently show, the history of blue light-emitting diodes (LEDs). 4

In their 2013 article, “The Logics of Materials Innovation,” Christophe and Takahiro describe these logics beautifully:

This framework distinguishes different types of contextual challenges that shape the creation of new materials and manufacturing processes: the materiality of substances, tools, and fabrication techniques (referred to as “material logic”); the needs, demands and interests of intended customers (“market logic”); and the competitive tensions among laboratories, firms, and nations (“competitive logic”). These material, market, and competitive logics are not determinative, in the sense that they do not lead to necessary outcomes. But they are particularly stable over time and provide powerful resources and constraints to innovators and their patrons.

The implication seems straightforward: People from similar backgrounds, in similar organizations, facing a common, structured set of contextual logics, will do similar—but not identical—things. But can these logics that help make sense of the history of semiconductor electronics, a technology deeply about materials, also give insights into the history of the ne plus ultra of the digital—software itself? I think it can. Competitive logic, Market logic, and Material logic: Let’s consider them in that order, and see what they can mean for the “prehistory” of PowerPoint.

Competitive logic centered on software makers. In the first half of the 1980s, makers of presentation software were typically connected to companies. There were, of course, makers of non-commercial software of various stripes—hobbyist, open source, libre and the like—but they do not appear to have been a factor in early presentation software. Rather, the makers of presentation software were what I call “integrated software manufacturers,” “software publishers,” and “author houses.” Sometimes the boundaries between these maker-types are blurry, but I think the categories are useful.

Integrated software manufacturers, ranging from cottage firms to public companies, wrote code, manufactured it mainly on magnetic media, wrote and printed technical documentation and guides, and distributed it in shrink-wrapped boxes. For integrated software manufacturers of this era, think of Microsoft, Lotus Development, and MicroPro International." Software publishers" did everything that the integrated manufacturers did, except write the code. Rather, they entered into contracts on a royalty basis with those who did write programs. Software publishers ran the gamut from stand-alone companies that only produced software written by others, to firms that published a mix of programs written internally and externally, and also to computer makers like Apple, who published software written by others under their own label as well as selling their own programs. Code authors ranged from individual sole proprietorships to “author shops,” partnerships between two or more programmers in an LLP or a small company.

The origins of Microsoft, perhaps the best-known integrated software manufacturer.

These author shops, publishers, and integrated manufacturers were, by 1982, competing in a growing market for personal computer application software: Spreadsheets, word processors, databases and “business graphics” programs that often used data from spreadsheets to generate line-graphs, pie-charts, bar-graphs, and other standard plots used in business, science, and engineering. This battle for market share in applications for personal computers was the ‘competitive logic’ for presentation software’s emergence. 5

“Market logic” centered on the intended users of software, and, in the case of presentation software, focused to the communication practices of white-collar workers in the United States (and, perhaps, elsewhere), particularly “managers” and “executives.” Contemporary commentators noted that personal-computer “business” software like spreadsheets represented a turn in “office automation,” the opening of a new phase in which software users would expand beyond specialists and secretaries to managers and executives. Personal computers with new software would be in the offices of Mahogany Row in addition to the accounting department and the typing pool.

For example, in September 1982, John Unger Zussman, a columnist for InfoWorld, noted: “…the market is changing. An examination of the changing word-processor marketplace can tell us a lot about the maturation of microcomputers and give us a clue to the role of micros in the office of the future. ‘There’s an expanding concept of reality in the modern office,’ says Gary Smith, NCR’s director of marketing. Software oriented toward managers, such as spreadsheet and slide-show programs and electronic mail, has increased the demand for distributed data processing. It is now legitimate for a computer to appear on a manager’s desk—or a secretary’s. The personal workstation, says Smith, is becoming ‘the major focus of white-collar productivity.’ This was not always the case. In the past, computers were the province of the data-processing department…and, besides, managers wouldn’t be caught dead typing at a keyboard…word processing became a stepping-stone into the automated office…the introduction of microcomputers into the office of the future seems to be more a process of infiltration than one of direct assault.” 6

In this 1979 commercial, Xerox presented just this vision of the office of the future.

In a 1984 article in the Proceedings of the IEEE titled “A New Direction in Personal Computer Software,” MIT Sloan School professor Hoo-Min Toong, with his postdoc Amar Gupta, identified the crux of the market logic to which presentation software was a response: The time that executives and managers spent in meetings. They write: “Top managers are noted to spend four-fifths of their time attending meetings—delivering or receiving presentations and reports, communicating, and gathering information for subsequent meetings. Meetings are the most prominent, time consuming element of an executive’s job.” They continue: “At present, business personal computers only represent information in numeric form, in text, and in simple charts and graphs. A crucial missing component is the ability to present and manipulate visual, pictorial data…A new layer…will bridge the gap from the present position…to supporting business communications with sophisticated images and color.” 7

Toong and Gupta then discuss a newly released example of such “presentation graphics software,” VCN ExecuVision, offered by the book publisher Prentice-Hall. VCN ExecuVision, which ran on the IBM PC, cost $400 but also required libraries of images and icons, that is, “clip art,” at $90 per floppy disk. Users could create “slide shows” of multiple “slides” that the user could craft with text, clip art, and geometric shapes, as well as pie, bar, and line graphs, with the completed slide show either printed or displayed on the PC monitor.

The idiom of the slide was directly adapted from the world of 35mm photographic slides. “Seeing a single slide is one thing,” Toong and Gupta write, “seeing an aggregate of slides is another. VCN ExecuVision supports slide shows in which the transition from one slide to another can be controlled either manually (pressing a key causes display of the next slide) or automatically… More significant is the support of animation techniques which give an illusion of seeing a running movie rather than a slide show…VCN ExecuVision brings sophisticated graphical capabilities to the realm of personal computers thus vastly expanding the horizons of personal computer applications in all four domains – office, home, science, and education.” Continuing their celebration of ExecuVision, Toong and Gupta illustrated their journal article with three full-color pages of ExecuVision slides, replete with images having the unmistakable aesthetic of clip art. Presentation software and clip art may have been born together.

Evidently, ExecuVision was the creation of Toong himself—in a Cambridge, Massachusetts author shop called Visual Communication Network Inc.—before the program had been sold or licensed to Prentice Hall. Toong filed articles of incorporation for the firm in October 1983, with his brother and a former MIT industrial liaison as the other directors. His brother was listed as the president and a Sloan School building was the firm’s address. Toong’s connection to ExecuVision is not mentioned in the article. 8

Lotus’ announcement of Executive Briefing System. Courtesy of the Kapor Archive.

Toong’s ExecuVision was, in late 1983, a new entrant into the presentation software market that two new integrated software manufacturers, located in neighborhoods on opposing sides of the MIT campus, had already enjoined. On one side was Mitch Kapor’s startup, Lotus Development. Kapor created his new firm on a windfall from two programs he had written that were published by Personal Software, Inc., later renamed VisiCorp. VisiCorp was also the publisher of the breakthrough spreadsheet program VisiCalc, written in Cambridge by Software Arts Inc., the “author shop” of Dan Bricklin and Bob Frankston.

Mitch Kapor had written a statistical analysis and data graphing program for the Apple II called TinyTROLL, which he sold through a partnership with his friend and then MIT finance PhD student Eric Rosenfeld who had suggested the program to Kapor. The partnership was called Micro Finance Systems, and Kapor was approached VisiCorp to adapt TinyTROLL to work with data imported from VisiCalc. Kapor soon delivered VisiPlot and VisiTrend, programs that took VisiCalc spreadsheet data and generated pie, bar, and line graphs from them, as well as performed various finance-relevant statistical functions on the data. Kapor and Rosenfeld’s Micro Finance Systems received hundreds of thousands of dollars in royalties for VisiPlot and VisiTrend before VisiCorp bought them outright for $1.2 million. With his share in the windfall, Kapor set up an integrated software manufacturer of his own, Lotus Development, and, in 1982, the firm released its first product, Executive Briefing System, for the Apple II. Todd Agulnick, a 14-year-old high school student, had been hired by Kapor and wrote the BASIC code for Executive Briefing System under his direction. 9

Lotus’ $200 Executive Briefing System was centered on the color video display of the Apple II. In brief, a number of programs for charting and graphing like VisiPlot offered the “BSAVE” command. Instead of routing data to immediately render an image on the video display, BSAVE sent the very same data to a stored file. In this way, a “screen shot” could be rendered on the video display at a later time, shared with others, archived for future use, etc. Lotus’ Executive Briefing System treated BSAVE’d files—these screen shots—as “slides” that could be modified and then displayed on the Apple II’s video display as a “slide show” for a “presentation.” Executive Briefing System users could edit slides of charts and plots by adding text and/or clip art of lines, geometric shapes, or “ornamental” motifs. Slides were arranged in slide shows, and saved to floppy disk. While the program allowed a slide show to be printed—as a paper report or for transparencies for overhead presentation—it focused on slide shows for the video display. A variety of animated “transitions” between slides were available, such as fades, wipes, and spinning-into-view. 10

An early Executive Briefing System demonstration. This clip was created by running an image of the demonstration disk in an Apple II emulator.

David Solomont’s Business and Professional Software Inc., another integrated software manufacturer developing products for the Apple II, was located at 143 Binney Street just a 25-minute walk across the MIT campus—and past Hoo-Min Toong’s office—from Kapor’s Lotus Development office at 180 Franklin Street. Like Kapor, Solomont’s firm had earlier developed a plotting and charting program for the Apple II to work with VisiCalc spreadsheets. Solomont struck a deal with Apple to license the plotting program, which was sold by Apple under the company’s brand as “Apple Business Graphics.” Soon thereafter, arriving on the market about the same time as Lotus’ Executive Briefing System, came Solomont’s “Screen Director” program in 1982. 11

A 2015 CHM oral history interview with David Solomont.

Screen Director, made for the then-new Apple III computer, fully embraced treating a computer running Screen Director like a 35mm slide projector. Users could organize BSAVE’d image files from programs like VisiPlot and Apple Business Graphics into various “slide trays” for presentation on the video display. While Screen Director did not allow for the editing of existing image slides, it did provide for the creation of text slides and for a limited set of animated transitions between slides. Screen Director even shipped with the standard two-button wired controller for slide projectors, but modified to plug into the Apple III for controlling Screen Director slide shows. 12

A 1982 print advertisement for Business and Professional Software’s Screen Director program.

So far I have described a meaning for “competitive logic” and “market logic” in the case of presentation software, and some early programs from 1982 through 1984. But what of “material logic?” Material logic here includes personal computers themselves, specifically personal computers with graphics capabilities that were expanding in the early 1980s. The computers’ physical performativity, their material agency, constituted a resource, medium, and constraint for software makers and users. Existing programs widely used on these computers, like spreadsheets and plotting programs, were themselves a critical part of the material logic. Software, like hardware, has an unavoidable materiality. At the most abstract, a computer program can be considered to be a specific pattern. In practice, every instance of a program is a pattern in something material, including the body of an author.

Finally, the material logic for presentation software included operating systems centered on the graphical user interface, or GUI. This style of computing had been pioneered at Xerox PARC in the late 1970s, most famously on the Xerox Alto computer. The Alto inspired other efforts to bring the GUI into personal computing during the first half of the 1980s: Apple’s Lisa and Macintosh computers, Microsoft’s Windows software, and VisiCorp’s VisiOn software to name but a few. 13

This material logic was especially important in the creation of PowerPoint. In 1983, two Apple managers, Rob Campbell and Taylor Pohlman, left the firm and created a new integrated software manufacturer, Forethought Inc. Simply put, they left Apple to bring a Xerox Alto like GUI operating system to the IBM PC. By 1986, however, Forethought Inc. had a change of plans. This story—of Forethought’s creation of PowerPoint—and other stories about what PowerPoint and its competitors can tell us about software history, will be the subjects of upcoming essays by me on the @CHM blog.

For more information about the development of PowerPoint, please see our Guide to the Dennis Austin PowerPoint Records .

Oral history interview with Shawn Villaron, PowerPoint manager at Microsoft, date, forthcoming/in process.
Indeed, a wonderfully helpful list of presentation software offerings from 1986 compiled by Robert Gaskins, the initiator and architect of the original PowerPoint project, can be found on pages 131-134 of his painstakingly detailed and comprehensive memoir, Sweating Bullets .
One place in which these identifying names for the presentation software genre were evident was, and is, the pages of the trade magazine InfoWorld . Google Books has a large number of issues of the periodical available with full text and search. On the more general use of the genre names, see this Google Books NGram .
See Christophe Lécuyer and David C. Brock, Makers of the Microchip: A Documentary History of Fairchild Semiconductor (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2010); David C. Brock and Christophe Lécuyer, “Digital Foundations: The Making of Silicon Gate Manufacturing Technology,” Technology and Culture , 53 (2012): 561–97; and Christophe Lécuyer and Takahiro Ueyama, “The Logics of Materials Innovation: The Case of Gallium Nitride and Blue Light Emitting Diodes,” Historical Studies in the Natural Sciences , 43 (2013): 243-280.
See, for example, Martin Campbell-Kelly, “Number Crunching without Programming: The Evolution of Spreadsheet Usability,” IEEE Annals of the History of Computing , 29 3 (July-September 2007): 6-19 and Thomas J. Bergin, “The Origins of Word Processing Software for Personal Computers: 1976-1985,” IEEE Annals of the History of Computing , 28 4 (October-December 2006): 32-47.
The article may be viewed in InfoWord on Google Books.
Hoo-Min D. Toong and Amar Gupta, “A New Direction in Personal Computer Software,” Proceedings of the IEEE , 72 3 (March 1984): 377-388.
Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Articles of Organization, Visual Communications Network, Inc., October 13, 1983.
Mitch Kapor, “Reflections of Lotus 1-2-3: Benchmark for Spreadsheet Software,” IEEE Annals of the History of Computing , 29 3 (July-September 2007): 32-40; David C. Brock telephone call with Todd Agulnick, July 15, 2016.
Rik Jadrnicek, “ Executive Briefing System, a slide-show program ,” InfoWorld, May 17, 1982, 47–49.
Oral History of David Solomont , Computer History Museum, 2015. Or watch it on YouTube .
Richard Hart, “ Screen Director helps you present ‘slide shows,’ ” InfoWorld, November 8, 1982.
See Michael Hiltzik, Dealers of Lightning: Xerox PARC and the Dawn of the Comptuer Age, (New York: HarperCollins), 1999.

About The Author

David C. Brock is an historian of technology, CHM's Director of Curatorial Affairs, and director of its Software History Center. He focuses on histories of computing and semiconductors as well as on oral history. He is the co-author of Moore’s Law: The Life of Gordon Moore, Silicon Valley’s Quiet Revolutionary and is on Twitter @dcbrock.

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NVIDIA Expands Collaboration With Microsoft to Help Developers Build, Deploy AI Applications Faster

If optimized AI workflows are like a perfectly tuned orchestra — where each component, from hardware infrastructure to software libraries, hits exactly the right note — then the long-standing harmony between NVIDIA and Microsoft is music to developers’ ears.

The latest AI models developed by Microsoft, including the Phi-3 family of small language models, are being optimized to run on NVIDIA GPUs and made available as NVIDIA NIM inference microservices. Other microservices developed by NVIDIA, such as the cuOpt route optimization AI, are regularly added to Microsoft Azure Marketplace as part of the NVIDIA AI Enterprise software platform.

In addition to these AI technologies, NVIDIA and Microsoft are delivering a growing set of optimizations and integrations for developers creating high-performance AI apps for PCs powered by NVIDIA GeForce RTX and NVIDIA RTX GPUs.

Building on the progress shared at NVIDIA GTC , the two companies are furthering this ongoing collaboration at Microsoft Build , an annual developer event, taking place this year in Seattle through May 23.

Accelerating Microsoft’s Phi-3 Models

Microsoft is expanding its family of Phi-3 open small language models, adding small (7-billion-parameter) and medium (14-billion-parameter) models similar to its Phi-3-mini , which has 3.8 billion parameters. It’s also introducing a new 4.2-billion-parameter multimodal model, Phi-3-vision, that supports images and text.

All of these models are GPU-optimized with NVIDIA TensorRT-LLM and available as NVIDIA NIMs, which are accelerated inference microservices with a standard application programming interface (API) that can be deployed anywhere.

APIs for the NIM-powered Phi-3 models are available at ai.nvidia.com and through NVIDIA AI Enterprise on the Azure Marketplace.

NVIDIA cuOpt Now Available on Azure Marketplace

NVIDIA cuOpt, a GPU-accelerated AI microservice for route optimization, is now available in Azure Marketplace via NVIDIA AI Enterprise. cuOpt features massively parallel algorithms that enable real-time logistics management for shipping services, railway systems, warehouses and factories.

The model has set two dozen world records on major routing benchmarks, demonstrating the best accuracy and fastest times. It could save billions of dollars for the logistics and supply chain industries by optimizing vehicle routes, saving travel time and minimizing idle periods.

Through Azure Marketplace, developers can easily integrate the cuOpt microservice with Azure Maps to support teal-time logistics management and other cloud-based workflows, backed by enterprise-grade management tools and security.

Optimizing AI Performance on PCs With NVIDIA RTX

The NVIDIA accelerated computing platform is the backbone of modern AI — helping developers build solutions for over 100 million Windows GeForce RTX-powered PCs and NVIDIA RTX-powered workstations worldwide.

NVIDIA and Microsoft are delivering new optimizations and integrations to Windows developers to accelerate AI in next-generation PC and workstation applications . These include:

Faster inference performance for large language models via the NVIDIA DirectX driver, the Generative AI ONNX Runtime extension and DirectML . These optimizations, available now in the GeForce Game Ready, NVIDIA Studio and NVIDIA RTX Enterprise Drivers, deliver up to 3x faster performance on NVIDIA and GeForce RTX GPUs.
Optimized performance on RTX GPUs for AI models like Stable Diffusion and Whisper via WebNN , an API that enables developers to accelerate AI models in web applications using on-device hardware.
With Windows set to support PyTorch through DirectML, thousands of Hugging Face models will work in Windows natively. NVIDIA and Microsoft are collaborating to scale performance on more than 100 million RTX GPUs.

Join NVIDIA at Microsoft Build

Conference attendees can visit NVIDIA booth FP28 to meet developer experts and experience live demos of NVIDIA NIM, NVIDIA cuOpt, NVIDIA Omniverse and the NVIDIA RTX AI platform. The booth also highlights the NVIDIA MONAI platform for medical imaging workflows and NVIDIA BioNeMo generative AI platform for drug discovery — both available on Azure as part of NVIDIA AI Enterprise.

Attend sessions with NVIDIA speakers to dive into the capabilities of the NVIDIA RTX AI platform on Windows PCs and discover how to deploy generative AI and digital twin tools on Microsoft Azure.

And sign up for the Developer Showcase, taking place Wednesday, to discover how developers are building innovative generative AI using NVIDIA AI software on Azure.

NVIDIA websites use cookies to deliver and improve the website experience. See our cookie policy for further details on how we use cookies and how to change your cookie settings.

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A simple guide to slideshows

Learn what slideshows are, how they’re used, common features, and how to choose a slideshow maker. Get started creating your own slideshows today with Microsoft PowerPoint.

What is a slideshow?

What are slideshows used for.

Meetings and presentations

Slideshows are most frequently used to create professional presentations for business meetings, conferences, and educational purposes. A slideshow program allows people to organize content, include visuals, and enhance the overall impact of their message.

Visual storytelling

Because slideshows sequentially display engaging visuals, text, and other multimedia, they’re a strong way to tell a cohesive and compelling narrative from start to finish.

Content creation

Slideshows give content creators a versatile and efficient way to organize information, increase visual appeal, and communicate effectively across different contexts.

Photo and video sharing

Slideshow makers are popular for creating photo and video presentations, especially for events like weddings, birthdays, and vacations. People can add transitions, music, and captions to fully bring the photo-sharing experience to life.

Training and tutorials

Slideshows help break down complex information into digestible chunks with the support of visuals and text, making them ideal for instructional materials, tutorials, and training modules.

Collaborative projects

In collaborative settings, teams use slideshow makers to create joint presentations or reports. The best slideshow makers enable multiple contributors to add their content simultaneously, which helps ensure a cohesive and unified presentation.

What are the features of a slideshow creator?

Slideshow creators vary in what they offer but ideally include:

A library of templates, themes, and images.

If you’re not a designer, this feature is huge. Simply browse the options available in your slideshow maker library to create a polished, professionally designed presentation in a flash. Be sure to confirm that access to the library is free and the images are approved for unrestricted usage.

Audio and video compatibility.

Keeping your audience engaged is key to any successful slideshow presentation. To mix things up, being able to add a multimedia element—like a song or a video clip—will help people stay focused and interested.

Presentation tools.

Handy presenter tools go a long way toward making your slideshow experience seamless. For example, straightforward slide navigation, slideshow keyboard shortcuts, pen and highlighter markup, and adjustable resolution settings.

AI assistance.

With AI revolutionizing content creation, using a slideshow maker that has AI capabilities will enhance efficiency and innovation. Depending on the slideshow app you have, creating an entire slideshow could be as easy as a quick prompt, like “Make a presentation about the benefits of sustainable fashion that has 15 slides.”

Animations.

Like audio and video, animations give your audience a bit of sensory surprise that can capture their attention.

Slide transitions.

Add some pizzazz to how you change slides with visual effects like fading, wiping, and zooming.

Screen recording.

Being able to record your screen in a slideshow maker is helpful when giving an instructional talk, software demonstration, and other types of presentations that require visual aids.

A place to put speaker notes.

Having somewhere to jot a few notes down will help remind you of everything you want to cover as you present.

Different viewing options.

Looking at different views—for example, a presenter view, an audience view, and a high-level view of slide order—is useful when organizing your slideshow’s structure and understanding and preparing for what you’ll see versus what your audience will see.

How do I choose the right slideshow maker?

When choosing a slideshow maker, keep the following questions in mind to make sure you get the most for your money:

Is it scalable with your business?

As your organization grows and changes, it’s important to have flexible technology that adapts to new needs. Having certain features—such as cloud-based collaboration, compatibility with other work apps, and a mobile app—will help ensure that no matter how your business changes, the slideshow maker is up to the task. This also applies to pricing plans. Consider choosing a slideshow app that has a subscription plan (so the software is always up to date), volume-based pricing, or enterprise-level pricing.

Does it have a variety of visual elements?

It’s pretty much a given that a slideshow maker will allow you to add images, but think outside the JPEG box—what other visual elements are available to you? Features like preset themes, free templates, SmartArt, a built-in clip art library, shape tools, background styles, 3D models, and charts and graphs provide diverse ways to switch up how a slideshow looks without relying solely on adding your own images.

Is it easy to use?

You could have the most feature-rich slideshow maker on the market, but if it isn’t easy to use, you probably won’t use it. Or you will, but you’ll be frustrated, waste valuable time, and have difficulty convincing people you work with to use it. As you research slideshow makers, look for videos that show the apps’ interfaces in action to help you decide if they’re intuitive and will have a shorter learning curve.

Does it have collaboration and sharing options?

Because making a slideshow is often a collaborative effort, it’s worthwhile to find a slideshow creator that was designed with this in mind. Pick one that offers editing controls and commenting, as well as the ability to work on a slideshow at the same time as someone else. Having a cloud-based slideshow maker will be key here. You’ll not only save yourself time but also keep things simple by not having multiple versions of the same slideshow.

Explore more about slideshows and slideshow makers

Copilot in powerpoint.

Transform how you make slideshows with the versatile AI in Copilot for PowerPoint.

Improve your presenting skills

Practice presenting with an AI speaker coach to get feedback on body language, repetition, and pronunciation.

Six slideshow tips and tricks

Read up on tips about how to finesse your slideshows to give your most confident presentations.

Get free PowerPoint templates

Show your style with PowerPoint templates in more than 40 categories.

How to make a branded slideshow

Create a cohesive visual identity for your brand that goes beyond adding a logo to every slide.

Try a photo album template

Relive your favorite memories with photo album templates designed for all your unforgettable moments.

The benefits of visual aids in slideshows

Discover why using visual aids helps communicate ideas and messaging more effectively.

Slideshows that reach all learners

Explore the different ways that people learn and how to include all learning styles in your presentations.

Frequently asked questions

How do i make a good slideshow.

Making a good slideshow in PowerPoint is easy:

Plan what you’d like to include in your slideshow.

Launch your slideshow creator.

Choose the theme you’d like.

Import media.

Add text, music, and transitions.

Record, save, and share your slideshow.

Learn more about how to make a slideshow .

How do I add music to a slideshow?

To add music to a slideshow, first make sure that you’re using a slideshow maker with music compatibility. In PowerPoint, follow these steps:

Open your PowerPoint presentation and select the slide where you want to add music.

Click on the Insert tab in the ribbon menu.

Click on the Audio button and select Audio on My PC.

Browse to the folder on your computer where the audio file is located and select it.

Click on the Insert button.

How do I record a slideshow?

The steps for recording a slideshow in PowerPoint will vary depending on the version that you own. Get help with slideshow recording based on your version.

What types of files can I add to a slideshow?

File compatibility in PowerPoint includes the use of JPEGs, PNGs, TIFFs, GIFs, PDFs, MP3s, WAVs, MIDIs, MPEG-4 Videos, and Windows Media Videos.

How do I share my slideshow?

To share your PowerPoint slideshow, follow these steps:

Open your presentation and click Share at the top right of your screen.

If your presentation isn't already stored on OneDrive, select where to save your presentation to the cloud.

Choose a permission level, like Anyone with a link , or maybe just people in your company. You can also control if people can edit or just view the doc.

Select Apply.

Enter names and a message.

Select Send.

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InfoQ Homepage Presentations From Mainframes to Microservices - the Journey of Building and Running Software

From Mainframes to Microservices - the Journey of Building and Running Software

Suhail Patel discusses the platforms and software patterns that made microservices popular, and how virtual machines and containers have influenced how software is built and run at scale today.

Suhail Patel is a Staff Engineer at Monzo focused on building the Core Platform. His role involves building and maintaining Monzo's infrastructure which spans nearly two thousand microservices and leverages key infrastructure components like Kubernetes, Cassandra, Etcd and more. He focuses specifically in investigating deviant behaviour and ensuring services continue to work reliably.

About the conference

Software is changing the world. QCon empowers software development by facilitating the spread of knowledge and innovation in the developer community. A practitioner-driven conference, QCon is designed for technical team leads, architects, engineering directors, and project managers who influence innovation in their teams.

Patel: I want to spend a bit of time reflecting on this blissful era of computing we've had for running software and deploying software on the internet, and also maybe reflect together on whether that level playing field will continue. I'm going to start my talk with my conclusion. In the era of mainframes, we had a couple big players that offered all the hardware, and all the APIs, and the operating system, and all the software that came behind the scenes. The software that you developed on top of those mainframes was pretty much baked into their core. You might have used COBOL, or IBM assembly, or whatever, but the vendor tentacles were dug deep into your organization and into your practices, which effectively locked you in, and effectively, every couple years, you'd have to go to someone like IBM with a whole pile of money, and they had the upper hand. Over the last couple decades, we've had a massive explosion in the era of commodity computing. You can hop from provider to provider, choose to run your own servers, go with the cloud. Thanks to the magic of things like open source and portability. We've had a massive breadth of knowledge as well in the industry. We have this utopia where we have a lot of choice, and a lot of competition in the market. As our needs have gotten a lot more complex in how we develop software, there's really only a few big players that can power all the infrastructure to power all of our consumer needs. Effectively, our software is becoming a little bit less portable. Let's dissect that.

This isn't an old man yells at cloud talk. I earn my living on a day-to-day basis, thanks to the immense power and also the complexity of AWS. I'm employed because I get to break down that complexity so that others don't have to. I'm legitimately amazed at some of the scale that these systems operate at, and some of the systems we'll be talking about, we'll be diving a little bit deep into that scale. I grew up in the era of the LAMP stack, in the big PHP explosion. You could get a relatively cheap VPS or like a dedicated server, and run really popular websites and communities from very little bits of hardware. I like to think that that was the heyday of the internet. Our applications weren't as rich as they are now, but we still serve the masses on commodity hardware. The things I learned about building applications in that particular era have served me well in today's modern era, going deep into systems like MySQL and Postgres.

My name is Suhail. I'm a Senior Staff Engineer at Monzo. We're based in the UK. I work on the platform group at Monzo, where we focus on the underlying infrastructure. We want to make that infrastructure transparent to the engineers that build on top of it. I like to say, I really want our engineers to be focused on building a bank, and not have to worry about whether their platform is up and running. If you remember the magic of Heroku, that's the kind of experience that we aim to emulate, but more suited for a highly regulated environment. Monzo is a consumer facing retail bank in the UK, and also here in the U.S. We don't have any physical branches. All of our branches are on GitHub, as we like to remark. We power all of our banking features through a mobile app. If you've heard of Chime here in the U.S., we operate on a very similar model, but I think we have much nicer looking cards. The coral one specifically is really nice. In the UK, we have over 8 million customers. We are fully licensed and regulated.

Monzo - A Modern Banking Stack

You'll typically find me on the architectures or the microservices track here at QCon. Our whole philosophy at Monzo is to build infrastructure and also all the components that sit within our banking ecosystem using composable microservices. We are a consumer facing retail bank, so we got to have integrations with payment networks, and things like MasterCard and Swift. For example, on the screen are all the different services that we've built, that are involved in just handling a card payment, to do with checking your balance, checking whether your account is valid, doing financial crime control, and everything in between to actually make a decision. All these microservices that we build need to talk to external parties and databases and queues and a whole heap of other systems in order to make that decision. We need them to be quick and mega reliable, because we don't want you standing at Whole Foods waiting for a spinner to see if your card is being processed. We only have a very small-time window to make that decision. We've been going for about 8 years now. The intention right from the get-go was to build a modern banking stack. Naturally, when we were making that decision, we decided to go into the cloud. Many of the early engineers that founded Monzo, had worked in companies or even founded companies that were built on top of vendors like AWS and GCP, for all of their compute needs. That was a natural choice. Today, we take that for granted, especially in the financial space, at least in the UK. I'm pretty sure you have similar challenges here in the U.S. When we were getting started, it was unheard of. We were the first to go to the UK regulator and say we want to run a consumer facing retail bank on top of the cloud. The regulators were really focused on, where is your data center going to be located? Do you have physical access? Because they wanted the ability, if it was necessary, to come in and see the blinking lights on the servers, and probably hard disks spinning away. We had to make a really concrete use case that the physical access controls of AWS and GCP and all these other vendors were going to be much more reliable than what we could build internally. Things like CloudTrail and being able to do audit logging would be far more than the capabilities we'd be able to build, it'd be much more rigorous.

Many of us have seen the difficulties of maintaining old software. This is especially true, for example, for old mainframe software. Many of the engineers that developed these systems have retired and left the market. That expertise has reduced at a really fast rate, and is now a mega niche market. Then we have all of these critical systems that are depending on mainframes on a day-to-day basis. For example, the oldest mainframe system, according to the Guinness Book of Records, affects probably many people. It is the IRS tax filing system. It began life in the '60s as a mixture of COBOL and IBM assembly, and spans over 20 million lines in today's day and age, encoding all of the complexities of which there are, I'm sure many, of your wonderful tax code. There's a bit of a dispute on whether this is the oldest continuous running system that is only beat by the airline reservation system. Every time you see funky characters or the lack of Unicode, you can probably blame the fact that it's running on top of a mainframe.

Today's mainframes are pretty slick looking, with a ton of hardware and capabilities to boot. On the screen is an IBM z16, which is one of their most recent models. These are really powerful machines. You can have over 240 CPUs in one of these within one rack, 16 terabytes of RAM, many petabytes of storage. If you're working in, for example, my industry within financial services, you can do all of your card processing and financial transactions all within the one unit. I showcased a little bit earlier, all the different microservices involved, you can run all of that on this spectacular looking hardware. Arguably, it is a valid and legitimate approach, which is to handle all of that within one mainframe. You don't have things like network spanning multiple geographies to contend with. If you were choosing a software stack for today's day and age, would you choose to run one of these as a primary contender? Probably for the vast majority of folks, the answer is going to be no. At least within the financial services industry, the answer has been a universal no. As an industry, though, we've leveraged commodity computing for a number of decades. Here's a picture from the Computer History Museum here in San Francisco, and is one of the first Google server racks with 80 off-the-shelf PCs. It allowed Google to get started serving hundreds of thousands of queries just on this hardware. When you have a hard constraint on, for example, the number of servers and capacity, you build your software to take full advantage of the hardware. Right now, though, when we write software, you have the ability to spin up a virtual machine, a server that you don't see, in seconds, and pay a couple dollars, and spin that machine down. It's a billing model that allows for a lot of flexibility in today's modern day and age, unlike when the Google folks were getting started. There's no upfront procurement. There's no complex negotiations. There's no planning out your hardware if you need to get a mainframe. There's no racking you need to do. Has anyone ever racked a server? They are really heavy nowadays.

Warehouse Scale Computing

In 2009, a book was released called, "The Datacenter as a Computer," written by some Google fellows. It outlined a principle that we take for granted in today's world, especially when you look at a lot of the modern software that it's empowered, but is really important. Hardware and software needs to work in concert, treating the data center as one massive warehouse scale computer. This warehouse scale computing model really allows you to unlock some unbelievable amounts of scale. One of my favorite blog series is to see how AWS powers their Prime Day, and how Amazon powers their Prime Day. It perfectly illustrates multiple warehouses of computers working in concert, to run one of the biggest e-commerce events of the year. In the recent 2023 edition, they were processing 126 million DynamoDB queries per second, and over 500 million HTTP requests to CloudFront every minute. These are astronomical numbers. There's probably someone like, I can run this on a shoestring with a bunch of Cassandra servers. You still run into foundational limits on how far you can scale before you need to get into the guts of these particular open source systems, if you're going to run them, and optimize those to run best for your particular hardware. Most open source software can't assume a particular set of topology. They're built in a very generic manner.

These warehouse scale computing units have also unlocked new models of running systems beyond just running existing bits of software on our behalf. I am a databases nerd. I like to go deep into the world of databases. I showcase a little bit about the DynamoDB scale. There's another system that continues to blow my mind every time I use it, and it's Google BigQuery. BigQuery is like a data warehouse. It's been around for quite some time. You ingest your data into it or you supply a location of your data on like S3, or Google Cloud Storage, and it does analytics processing. It's like an OLAP style datastore. What is really remarkable to me is that you can run queries that are querying over petabytes of data, and they execute in minutes. If you are running a database system, even an OLAP based system off the shelf, can you query petabytes in minutes? I don't think so. Data storage is pretty much local to a lot of these systems. Whereas Google has built a model where they've been able to leverage their warehouse scale cloud or whatever they want to call it, and they've got a petabit network in between, so that they can make access between storage and compute really cheap. They're able to abstract the two things away. The key selling points of systems like BigQuery, and Dynamo, or you look at Lambda, or Cloud Functions, is that behind the scenes, there's no server for the consumer to manage. There's no fooling anyone, it is running on servers behind the scenes, but that's all massively abstracted away from you. There's this new model of compute. You pay for the computing on a unit of consumption basis. This model has worked extremely well. You look at companies like the BBC or Liberty Mutual. There's a really good book, "The Value Flywheel Effect," where they talk about being able to adopt cloud technologies, and having that accelerated through compute platforms like serverless. These services have been around long enough and are mature enough. There's a strong incentive from providers. For example, if you speak to your account manager at one of these vendors, they will give you a very financially lucrative deal with free data transfer between services, and they'll frame all of these buzzwords, reducing total cost of ownership, and taking away the undifferentiated heavy lifting.

I run our platform teams at Monzo, and we run and operate all the funky technology, so we've got Kubernetes, we've got Kafka. While I think that they are fantastic systems, admittedly, there is a massive opportunity cost in operating all of that complexity ourselves. I tell each and every one of our team members that joins especially within the platform group, that our goal is not to be experts in the latest detail within Kubernetes or Kafka. We operate those systems to serve our business needs. A core mission related to that is to abstract that all away from engineers and keep it really boring, so that they can really focus on empowering the business need. We're all in on AWS for all of our infrastructure, and they've been a really incredible partner. A question that I often get asked is, why do you not leverage managed services from vendors like AWS and GCP, like managed Kafka or managed Kubernetes, or what have you, especially given what I've just described around opportunity cost. In the financial world, at least within the UK, there was a significant focus right now from regulators on concentration risk. They're worried that there's a few players, where everyone has concentrated and that's going to harm the UK economy if one of those vendors goes down. For example, if eu-west-1 goes down, then it could take a large chunk of the UK financial economy with it, which wouldn't be great for the UK. They're worried that there's a concentration on a handful of providers. For us, it was really easy to comply with this regulation that is coming out, because we've invested in running open technologies.

Debuggability

Beyond data and vendor lock-in, I personally have two other core reasons why I like working with open technologies and tried to stay away from managed solutions as much as I can, especially for our core competencies, for me is debuggability and performance. I'll talk about debuggability first, because I want to go a little bit deeper into the performance realm. When you have control over your stack, you get to deeply investigate and influence the murder mystery. You have control over the outcome. When the interface boundary crosses over to a service that is not within your control, that becomes significantly harder, because the best you can do is submit a support ticket, and hope you get a reasonable response on the other end, and just chalk it off as the cost of doing business. Again, I am not anti-managed services or solutions or whatever, but this is a strong consideration that is often not part of the conversation. At scale, your skill set with the shifts from operating the service yourself, to becoming really intimate with the managed service, to try and decipher and almost reverse engineer its inner workings. There was a really good article about 15 years ago from the ACM, called the tail at scale. It goes deep into the factors that influence, for example, tail latency variability. There are some really interesting things in the article talking about hardware component variability, and hedged requests, when you send a request again, as a form of speculative execution. A key highlight for me is this concept that they admit, which is the scale and complexity of modern apps is quite significant. Services make it infeasible to eliminate all latency variability. If you need that really tight latency guarantee, that's something that they can't really provide. You probably see this in practice. Try and get your provider to give you a latency SLA, where they will give you a financial payout if they're not able to meet that SLA. It's going to be next to impossible. That's not unreasonable to any degree. These systems are running on tens of thousands of machines spread across multiple geographies, hundreds of thousands, maybe in the millions, nowadays, when you total it all up. If you look at software yourself, these things are running multi-tenanted systems, that's the only way that they are financially viable. They're running at massive scale. For them, an individual server or something going down that is hosting you as a tenant, is just a minor blip on their radar, because they're looking at the service in aggregate.

Performance

Let's talk a little bit about performance. A core thing that I'm interested in, and actually probably a lot of vendors are interested in, is extracting more compute out of your existing infrastructure, or even reducing your infrastructure footprint. There was a really fantastic Intel report that I read a couple months back, which stated that 50% of greenhouse gases are due to infrastructure and software inefficiency in the data center. It's rather ironic coming from Intel because that inefficiency effectively makes them money because they sell more chips. That figure on the outset seems really high. Think about the software that you run at your organization. When you think about runtime overheads and virtualization overheads and compute overheads, that inefficiency does accumulate, and you get a sense of how that 50% might come about. In 2005, there was an article that was written, titled, "The Free Lunch Is Over," by a folk called Herb Sutter. The article talked about the slowing down of Moore's Law, and how drastic increases in clock speed couldn't paper over our software inefficiency. Reading it in retrospect is like a crystal ball into the present. No matter how fast processors get, software consistently finds a new way to eat up that extra speed. If you make a CPU 10 times as fast, software will find 10 times more things to do. We've become accustomed to the world of infinite compute. I was talking a little bit earlier about being able to provision hundreds if not thousands of instances and being able to scale them down. That's a luxury that we're in right now. Most of our software has been designed to just scale ever upwards and outwards, without a ton of regard for performance per unit of compute that we're utilizing.

A lot of us have this perception, either through lived experience, or from literature or something that we read or our peers, that running systems at scale involves lots of hardware, especially in the modern day and age, which can be a massive pain to manage. With modern hardware paired with modern software, that doesn't necessarily need to be the case. Take, for example, solid state drives. This technology became a commodity and it gave a massive speed injection to our software. I remember putting an SSD into my laptop probably about 10 years ago, and just seeing Photoshop boot up within a couple seconds. It was remarkable. When a lot of the modern systems that we run nowadays, like your Postgres's, and your Kafka's, and things that were designed, they were designed for the world of hard drives: spinning platter, spinning rust. It was a completely different set of tradeoffs. To read an item from disk we talk about milliseconds, for the read-write head to get into the right place, and to get your data. With SSDs, that reduced by an order of magnitude, and even with the NVMe drive nowadays, that is now in the nanoseconds realm. Again, with throughput, we'd have a hard drive that would saturate its throughput by about 200-ish megabytes per second. Now with NVMe drives, you can blaze past that, multiple gigabytes a second. I think I saw an NVMe drive a couple months back, that was over 7 gigabytes a second, which is ludicrous speed. Even in the world of CPUs, we still see 10% to 15% gains on clock speed. While we're not living the beauty of Moore's Law, cumulatively we're still able to extract significant performance on a per core basis. It's not just about adding more cores and more threads. Even if we go deep into CPUs, if you're looking at cache sizes, like L1 and L2 caches. I've plotted a graph of some of these increases over time, especially if you're running instances on the cloud, these are machines that are on AWS, the probability of a cache hit can have a massive influence on the speed and the reliability of the application, reducing the amount of CPU cycles that you're spending. As a quick refresher, an L1 cache hit is 200 times more faster than going to main memory.

In 2012, there was a publication on latency numbers that every programmer should know. Many pieces of core software that we have run on a regular basis reminds us of the fact that these latency numbers exist. They need to be firmly in the back of your mind. It's interesting to see how just in the last decade, these numbers have come dramatically down, and this trend continues to go downwards. We've seen CPU caches get larger, networks get significantly faster, and arguably much more reliable, and hard disk get both much larger and much faster. In the world of software, for a long amount of time, many of these hardware improvements have been free upgrades. You stuck an SSD into it, your application got remarkably faster. An NVMe drive, it got even more faster. We've also now gotten new APIs that we should be looking at and leveraging, which vastly take advantage of modern hardware. Take, for example, io_uring. Historically, in the world of Linux, async I/O has been pretty complicated. You can get into a world where, for example, buffers were full, or the I/O wasn't quite matching what your file system was expecting. Or you'd filled your disk request queue, which meant that that fire and forget asynchronous call that you'd made, had become synchronous and blocking. There's a lot of memory overhead too with using async I/O APIs, especially if you're doing lots of small requests, if you're writing lots of small bits of data, there was a lot of overhead. io_uring provides a new interface, a new set of APIs at the kernel level with Linux based systems, which addresses a lot of these problems. This is merged into the mainline, it's ready to use. Just to show the difference in performance in effect, here's a chart of random reads and writes at a 4-kilobyte block size. If we're using the standard Linux I/O operations, there's really a cap on the number of operations that we can handle before all of our resources are starved. The chart on the bottom there, shows a massive delta in reads and writes. It questions this notion that disks and hardware is the constraint. It begs the question whether our software is actually taking advantage of the hardware that it's provisioned on. These benchmarks, for example, were all done on the same system, the only difference was the API that was being used.

The Rapid Development of Programming Languages

The world of programming languages, if we take, for example, has seen rapid development. You've got new languages that are coming into the fray. You got Rust. I think there's going to be a couple talks on Zig as well. Previously where you'd have to resort to writing C or C++ to get close to the metal, which is difficult and error prone, and if you're working in certain industries, undesirable, now you've got all of these memory safe and easy to write languages. You've got all of these system programming languages. It's becoming safer and much more delightful. The barrier to entry arguably is much lower as well. Even languages that a lot of us use on a daily basis are getting remarkably better. Java 21 recently got released, and it was a long-term support release. There's been big support on language features, for example. Things like virtual threads, which are very similar to coroutines, or fibers, or goroutines. Something I got really excited about a couple months back is the ZGC garbage collector, that has been in Java for quite some time. Its goal is to give sub-millisecond pause times for your heap. I enabled this for our Kafka clusters in production, and I saw the pause time just drop off a cliff and tail latency drop off a cliff. This isn't a distant reality, this is production ready, today, and folks are using it in production. For those of us who are programming, or writing Java applications, these pause times have a dramatic effect on the experience that we're able to serve. We're able to unlock all of these new capabilities by leveraging all of these features. What I find when I speak to a lot of people is that they're reluctant to do so, there's a level of inertia on making these changes.

Here's a little bit of a hot take. Most of the systems that me and you and everyone build are just glorified data processers. We take some data on one end, we do some processing, and we put it somewhere else on another end, and we do that repeatedly, ad infinitum. There's a lot of low-hanging fruit in that layer as well. For example, I imagine if you take a profile of your systems, you're going to find JSON parsing as a significant contributor, deserialization and serialization. There are things happening within the software world. There's a project here that I've put on the screen called simdjson which takes advantage of CPU instructions that have been there for decades, and leverages those to make JSON parsing significantly faster. This is a drop-in for many programming languages, and you could switch over really quickly.

Rearchitecting

A core inspiration for this particular talk, in general, was this particular blog post from some engineers who work on Amazon Prime Video. Just to give a little bit of a backstory, they had a particular tool that they wrote to detect Prime Video serves, like very similar to Netflix. Serves a bunch of video content, some popular shows. They had a tool which would analyze video to find audio sync issues, and to flag them for analysis. This service, when they originally architected it, as you will do probably within Amazon, was using things like Lambda and AWS Step Functions, and things like that. Which meant that they didn't have to worry about the infrastructure behind the scenes, they were able to be very elastic with their infrastructure. These services were built to run small units of lag and are massively parallelized by running lots of them simultaneously. This meant in the Prime Video example, they were running multiple transitions within the Step Function for every single second of the video stream. Every single second was being analyzed individually, and they had a metadata coordinator to stitch it all together. They had written a bunch of microservices that orchestrated and corralled everything and made sure that it all fit together. What they found is that this proved to be really costly for them. Because, for example, they were doing a lot of back and forth on S3 using as intermediate storage since these machines didn't have any local storage. The Prime Video team rearchitected the application, and they moved away from serverless Step Functions and onto a fleet of, in this particular instance, containers that would listen to jobs and run the same work. They migrated to a monolith-based architecture. All in all, they managed to save 90% in cost and compute time. Through the rewrite the system is also more scalable. When this blog post was released, the internet went haywire. I think it was one of the most popular posts on the orange website, and had a lot of comments. Many decried the demise of serverless and managed platforms, it was all a lie. They probably chanted on the streets of SF, "Bring back the monolith." What I saw here is a really healthy decision to rearchitect, and they had the ability to do so. They weren't getting the benefits of serverless platforms when they look at it in retrospect, so decided to change their architecture to better suit their needs. I think this is a perfect example of the ability to still retain control. They leveraged these managed technologies to get started and to provide the initial value. When they decided that the tradeoff wasn't quite worth it, they were able to rearchitect pretty swiftly.

There are some more extreme examples of this. There are articles where companies are like, we're completely abandoning the cloud. Those things always generate a whole bunch of noise. There was this article by 37signals, which are the folks that run Basecamp and HEY. They're undertaking a massive migration away from AWS for cost and performance reasons, into their own self-managed data centers. There's always two divisive groups when these sorts of articles come out. There's a group that decries all the complexities of the cloud. There's another group that stands and thinks, how are you going to recreate all this functionality that you get within the cloud? Why would you self-host? That's all undifferentiated heavy lifting. What about all these servers that you need to provision? It's a really interesting discussion every time one of these articles come out, because as software engineers and practitioners, we'll probably all agree when we say that stuffing in software architecture isn't a binary option. The beauty with what we have with writing and building and operating software is that we have this control, this level of portability, to be able to make these decisions and go back and forth, assuming that time and cost and complexity allows for.

Coupling of Open Source Frameworks

One interesting phenomenon I've seen is the coupling, for example, of popular open source frameworks, with the owing organization. It's making it really easy to be able to deploy onto their own bespoke platforms. This practice isn't really new. If you are an open source maintainer, it's not a very financially lucrative position. You typically need to be backed by some company or organization that is supporting you, from a financial perspective. Many would argue that the frameworks being open source is a net positive for the community, regardless of the intertwining of the platform features into the open source framework. I'm presenting this because I recently spoke to a bunch of young engineers that are dipping their toes into the world of web development, and things like React.js, and Next.js. For them, they were talking about the developer experience of deploying onto the Vercel platform. Nothing else was in consideration because they could run a couple commands, it was all integrated within their toolkit, and they were able to get up and running in a very small amount of time. I mention this, because it's pretty typical, especially in our industry, to learn your production operation chops, while on the job. It's not something that you really get taught at college or at university. If we're building this generation of engineers that are able to just offload it to another provider, they're not learning that skill.

On the flip side, the world of open core and open source system continues to grow significantly. This screen, which is the cloud native landscape gets ever larger, you can't fit it onto one slide in any legibility, which is nice. It encapsulates a lot of really cool projects. It's setting precedence in the industry at pace. Many of these are mature projects that you can drop into your systems and gain significant leverage. I think the key thing is that by leveraging technologies like these, your software remains portable. Being the owner of infrastructure and application runtimes can be a really hard and sometimes a thankless job. I'm sure, collectively, we've got some war stories that we tell in hushed tones about how production went down. Wouldn't it be nice if we never ever had to deal with that? The key consideration here is the feature set and cost capacity. We aren't really imposed on any particular platform or we don't want to be imposed on any particular platform. We could choose to move our software with minimal effort by continuing to run it ourselves.

Advances in GPUs and TPUs

That trend might be rapidly changing. Unless you've been living under a rock, I'm sure many of you folks have heard about the advances in large language models. The entire space is massively fascinating. I am not smart enough to talk about what is going on behind the scenes. I'm massively curious about what's happening in the industry, especially from a hardware perspective. Let's start with the painful bit first. These cards that you need to have in order to run the training and inference in any reasonable amount of time, are really expensive. They're tens of thousands of dollars each. That's if you can get your hands on one in the first place. NVIDIA is pretty much the only vendor who will sell you one, because they only have the suitable product in the market. There was some research that was published a couple years back about GPT-3. It mentioned that it took nearly 10 compute years to train the 175 billion parameter model. Microsoft built an entire supercomputer cluster just for OpenAI, the folks behind ChatGPT, with 285,000 CPU cores and 10,000 of those NVIDIA graphics cards just for OpenAI to train for GPT-3. There's a lot of compute that is needed, and that number only continues to go one way, which is up. Since 2017, Google have been working on their equivalent of the NVIDIA graphics cards. They've got their own Tensor Processing Unit, which is also built for the AI acceleration platform that they provide. They're on their fourth iteration, which is reportedly up to 1.7 times faster and up to two times using less power than the NVIDIA alternative. Even AWS has their own AI acceleration platform called Trainium. On the one hand, it's really awesome to see these advances in hardware, and the integration between Tensor hardware and being able to leverage platforms like AWS and Google Cloud. These have direct connectivity, and you can run them as a super cluster. They have really fast interconnects. For us, as consumers, very crucially, you can rent these by the second. You can spin them up, run a whole bunch of inference and then spin them down, and you aren't out of pocket by tens of thousands of dollars. So far, these chips are playing really nicely with frameworks like PyTorch, and TensorFlow, but naturally, there will be purpose-built capabilities that are only inherent in these particular pieces of hardware, that are not available in hardware in the open market. That's going to either be implicitly or explicitly surface, which will affect the efficiency and the functionality of the software that you write on top.

It's not like you can go to your favorite auction website and actually buy a TPU to deconstruct it. This is custom silicon. It's purpose-built. Once it is retired, it's probably shredded, or sat in some server farm somewhere. You can rent it by the hour on GCP or AWS. If you want to run these within your own data centers, or clusters, you're pretty much out of luck. Let's put some of the scale that these systems are being run at into perspective. I found this truly remarkable. AWS recently just announced that they've got 20,000 of these really advanced NVIDIA GPUs that they've clustered all together. The downside is that if you want to rent one of these GPUs, a cluster of 8 is going to cost you a pretty $70,000 a month. If you want to train your own foundational models, you're going to need a couple hundreds of these instances unless you want to wait 10 compute years. This is a huge area of innovation. Every day, you hear about new companies building new ideas, and building stuff with AI and LLMs, is AI everything nowadays. The vast majority of them are built on top of the same set of foundational models. If you have really deep pockets and you know your account manager extremely well, you might have a fighting chance of being able to join the building your own foundational model space. For the rest of us, unfortunately, there's just too much compute that is required, and there are other priorities for a lot of these other vendors. They are building their own custom silicon.

AWS recently announced that they're partnering with Anthropic, the folks who make Claude, to give them access to AWS hardware. What this surfaces is that all the big providers have partnered with an AI company, effectively. Google are working on Bard, and Microsoft have partnered with OpenAI, Amazon with Anthropic. Part of these partnerships is access to specialized compute hardware. This is where the battleground is. It stands to reason that they would get preferential pricing or preferential access to these hardware, which makes it an increased barrier to entry for the common people, for me and you. It's not all doom and gloom. For example, you've got Llama, which is a model that is open, built by the folks at Meta. There's a really popular C++ implementation, which you can actually run on a MacBook. It's not going to have nearly as many parameters as you do within GPT, but it at least gives us a fighting chance of understanding the space and innovating, continuing to contribute to the ecosystem. As engineers, if you're familiar with building software, we can contribute too. There was an excellent pull request not too long ago, which, for example, tweaked the file format to use Nmap which led to a huge 100 times improvement and a reduction in memory, which is usually the big bottleneck, by half. This was a relatively small change, it wasn't a trivial change, but they were able to make the change. It led to a massive speedup. Old tricks that a lot of us are probably familiar with, with Nmap and memory alignment can still yield massive benefits.

I showed at the beginning of the talk that the portability of our software is diminishing, as it's becoming interlinked with the platforms that they are running on. These platforms are increasingly becoming singular to a specific vendor and relying on specific bits of hardware. Any hope of running it yourself is diminishing really rapidly. This can have really drastic consequences for cost and performance and price leverage in the market. It's not all doom and gloom, though. Every day, it has become easier, especially both through managed services and self-hosted services, as well, to deploy production ready systems that can serve the masses at scale. Where historically our systems were portable between providers and services, we're in a world where our computing needs are becoming ever vast. There's really only a handful of providers with bespoke hardware and software and the capacity and the scale to serve our needs. It's really easy to start relying on these systems, even by accident. When you realize, for example, a system like BigQuery can handle petabytes of data, what are you going to do? You're going to generate petabytes of data, you're not going to reduce your data consumption. It's really easy to get into that world accidentally, without understanding the implications, and especially lose the ability to move away. Don't let the identity of your system be tied into a particular service. There's a fine line between leveraging all of these managed services in order to build and serve your customers, versus locking yourself into a particular vendor. As I showcased a little bit earlier, there is, if you have an underperforming system, a lot of really cool tricks that you can pick up and deploy probably within one business day, that will mean that your application that is running currently will get a massive speedup.

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May 22, 2024

Suhail Patel

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13+ Best Presentation Software to Bid Farewell to PowerPoint
The presentation software lets users create personalized presentations using ready-to-use templates with custom fonts and styles, color schemes, animations, transitions, and background images. If you're a larget team, you can also upload files from Google Drive or Dropbox. 5. Microsoft Sway.
Best presentation software of 2023
Expand your office app horizons and see how the best presentation software can make your job a little easier. Best overall: Microsoft PowerPoint. Best for professionals: Canva. Best for Zoom ...
Best Presentation Software 2024
The cost of presentation software. Most products in the market are priced on a "per month" basis; subscriptions can be categorized into three tiers based on starting prices. Most vendors also offer free versions of their products. Price ranges*: $7 - $10. $10 - $15.
Free Online Slide Presentation: PowerPoint
One person. Sharing and real-time collaboration. PowerPoint for the web and PowerPoint desktop app for offline use. Premium templates, fonts, icons, and stickers with thousands of options to choose from. Dictation, voice commands, and transcription. Advanced spelling and grammar, in-app learning tips, use in 20+ languages, and more.
List of Top Presentation Software 2024
Presentation software serves as an effective tool for communication to a wide audience and therefore is used across different types of industries and business units. Finding the right software program to support presentations is a crucial part of communicating and ultimately enhancing workplace productivity.
Best free presentation software of 2024
Best free presentation software of 2024. The best free presentation software makes it simple and easy to create presentations as an alternative to subscribing to Microsoft PowerPoint. 1. Best ...
What is presentation software?
presentation software (presentation graphics): Presentation software (sometimes called "presentation graphics") is a category of application program used to create sequences of words and pictures that tell a story or help support a speech or public presentation of information. Presentation software can be divided into business presentation ...
Google Slides: Online Slideshow Maker
Present slideshows with confidence. With easy-to-use presenter view, speaker notes, and live captions, Slides makes presenting your ideas a breeze. You can even present to Google Meet video calls ...
How to Make Interesting Presentations for Software Projects
Here's a guide on how to create interesting presentations for your next software project. Know Your Presentation Audience. Don't start by just slapping a bunch of slides together. Instead take a moment and think about who you're going to present to. This might be your boss, a potential client or an interested crowd at a conference.
Google Slides: Presentation Slideshow Maker
Present like a pro, directly from Google Meet. Access all of your Slides and Meet controls in one place, and enjoy smoother high resolution presentations. Premium feature. This feature is available on some Google Workspace and Google Workspace plans.
Slide Logic: The Emergence of Presentation Software and the ...
In many parts of our world today, group communication centers on visual materials built with "presentation software," often crafted by a speaker him or herself. As a result, meetings now generally depend on the use of personal computers, presentation software in the guises of product or service and display by digital projectors or flat-screens.
Best Free Online Presentation Software
Some of the best presentation software are Visme, Prezi, SlideDog, Haiku Deck, Slidebean, Powtoon and Zoho Show and others like Google Slides, Microsoft PowerPoint and Apple Keynote.
Presentations and slides for any occasion
Canva's presentation software has thousands of free Presentation templates to help bring your best work to life, faster. Plus, you can customize your slides with thousands of free images, videos, graphics, and more from our rich content library.
Stow Acres Master Plan Public Presentation 5 22 24
Public Presentation on Conservation and Recreation at The Stow Acres Country Club On May 22nd, town officials and our consultants, BSC Group, Inc., hosted an in-person presentation of the draft Climate Resilience Master Plan for the 110-acres of the Stow Acres North Course acquired by the Town for conservation and recreation purposes.The presentation was held at the historic Randall House ...
NVIDIA Collaborates With Microsoft to Help Developers Build, Deploy AI
If optimized AI workflows are like a perfectly tuned orchestra — where each component, from hardware infrastructure to software libraries, hits exactly the right note — then the long-standing harmony between NVIDIA and Microsoft is music to developers' ears.
Software Development Milestones. Free Infographics Template
This infographic template is a game-changer for business professionals looking to showcase their project progress in a sleek, professional manner. With its striking black and blue color scheme, it grabs attention while delivering your milestones with clarity. Ideal for presentations, project updates, or team meetings, it ensures your ...
Slideshow Maker Software Guide
With AI revolutionizing content creation, using a slideshow maker that has AI capabilities will enhance efficiency and innovation. Depending on the slideshow app you have, creating an entire slideshow could be as easy as a quick prompt, like "Make a presentation about the benefits of sustainable fashion that has 15 slides.". Animations.
From Mainframes to Microservices
Suhail Patel discusses the platforms and software patterns that made microservices popular, and how virtual machines and containers have influenced how software is built and run at scale today.
Templeton Department Budget Presentations of March 16, 2024 (Part 1)
Software. An illustration of two photographs. Images. An illustration of a heart shape Donate. An illustration of text ellipses. More. An icon used to represent a menu that can be toggled by interacting with this icon. ... Templeton Department Budget Presentations of March 16, 2024 (Part 1) Video Item Preview