Chelsi Nakano
May 02, 2016
What do you think of when you hear the word “presentation”? If the first thing that comes to mind is PowerPoint, the grandfather of presentation software, you’re not alone—for the last twenty years, the presentation software has dominated the market.
Today, the tide is turning as more and more people are deciding to seek out PowerPoint alternatives. An increasing number of reputable outlets like The Washington Post andNPR have gone so far as to call for organizations to “ban PowerPoint,” and critics at The Wall Street Journal have gone so far as to point fingers at the presentation software as the cause of literal “death by PowerPoint” in the case of GM.
If traditional slides aren’t your thing, there are a terrific number of PowerPoint alternatives available to you, whether you are giving a high-pressure sales pitch or presenting results to management.
Below, we’ve compiled a list of some of the best PowerPoint alternatives. But you don’t have to take our word for it—take a look at what some other people, from Lifehacker to PC World, are saying about the best alternatives to PowerPoint.
Prezi
So, you don’t like your old slides? Toss them out the window—in fact, toss the whole idea of “slides” out the window. Prezi is a true PowerPoint alternative, in the sense that it offers something completely different. Unlike slides, Prezi’s open, zoomable canvas lets you show the relationships between the big picture and fine details, taking viewers on a compelling, informative journey they’re not only likely to enjoy more, but remember and act upon. Lifehacker has called Prezi “a world apart from the dull slideshows we’re all used to,” while PC World writes that presentations created with Prezi “blow ordinary slide decks out of the water.” If you’re looking for a true PowerPoint alternative that will help you create memorable and engaging presentations, Prezi’s your tool.
HaikuDeck
If creating simple, image-based slide decks is your priority, you may want to turn to HaikuDeck as a PowerPoint alternative. BPlans describes HaikuDeck as “Instagram for your slides—you put in your ideas, and you can add filters to make it look more attractive.” With an iPad app and a browser-based tool, HaikuDeck allows you to create and store your presentations in the cloud, like many of the PowerPoint alternatives on this list.
Google Slides
The next PowerPoint alternative on our list is another cloud-based tool: Google Slides.TechRadar writes that Google’s presentation tool is “quick and accessible, can be used by lots of people, and, like Google’s other productivity offerings, allows simultaneous co-authoring of documents.” If collaboration is a top priority, consider Google Slides as your PowerPoint alternative of choice.
SlideDog
SlideDog is the PowerPoint alternative on this list that allows you to put all of your different media files—regardless of the format—to work. TechRadar writes that SlideDog “acts as a playlist, allowing users to cue-up and order content to play through as required.” If you want to use a mixture of video files, PowerPoint decks, and prezis in a single talk, SlideDog will allow you to create a seamless presentation out of all your media. People looking for a PowerPoint alternative that will help them reuse a diverse range of old content might want to look at SlideDog.
Keynote
Keynote is Apple’s answer to Microsoft’s PowerPoint, and the presentation software great tools for creating sleek presentations with its many templates. Keynote is a PowerPoint alternative that puts design at the forefront of your presentation. Lifehacker writes that Keynote “has great built-in graphic tools to edit and tweak the images going into your presentations,” so your visual aid will look as sleek as a Steve Jobs keynote.
