Presentation software after its introduction from Microsoft has been the industry standard for several decades now. However, the changing digital technology landscape and complex business requirements have added many dynamic and unique feature products for these office suites.
They not only add more productivity to a particular task but also change the way we create pitch decks and presentations to visualize data. Moreover, you can share your screen with your users to see the presentations, create and run webinars, etc.
However, choosing the best presentation tool for your business depends upon multiple factors and features that are supported by this presentation software.
In this guide, I have ranked and reviewed the best presentation software based on its features, integrations, document format support, pricing, ease of updating and editing, and more.
So let’s get started.
What is the Best Presentation Software?
Here is my list of the best presentation software you can use this year.
1. Google Slides
Google Slides is presentation software that is included as part of the free, web-based Google Doc editor suite offered by Google. Plus, it includes Google Docs, Google Sheets, Google Forms, and so on. It is basically software wherein you can create and edit files online with other users in real time.
You can track the edits from the Revision History tab and restore them as well. Furthermore, a different colored cursor will be there for the editor who is working on the content at that moment so that every user can be aware of it.
Internet Explorer, Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, and Apple Safari web browsers support Google Slides. Basically, users can save and access their files from the Google Drive website. Google has launched a dedicated mobile app for Slides for Android and iOS users.
Key Features
- Simplified Editing: This application makes editing very simple. If you want to view the content, you can do so from the web browser, whereas for editing, you get redirected to the application.
- Offline Updating: The Chrome extension “Google Docs Offline” allows users to enable offline support for slide files on the Google Drive website. Android and iOS both support it.
- Action Items: If you write the name of a person, the presentation is shared within a comment, and that action will be assigned to the person by the service very intelligently. This helps for better collaboration.
- Office Editing: This feature is for Docs, Sheets, and Slides that enables users to view and edit PowerPoint and other Microsoft documents on Google Chrome via the Sheets app.
Pros
- The basic version is completely free to use.
- It provides real-time collaboration for multiple people to work on it.
- You can add images, videos, and such stuff easily.
- Content will be saved automatically; therefore, the risk of losing it is null.
- Google Slides works offline as well, which means the changes will be saved once the data is accessed.
- It is a web-based tool, hence is no requirement for downloading any software.
Pricing Plan
Google Slides offers the following two plans:
- For personal use: Free
- For business use: starts at $6 per month
The business plan further has the following option:
- Starter: $6 per month
- Standard: $12 per month
- Plus: $18 per month
- Enterprise: Contact sales for pricing
2. Slide Bean
Slide Bean is American hosting presentation software, infographics, documents, and videos. Users can privately or publically upload content in PowerPoint, PDF, Word, or Open Document format. Moreover, the website contains previous remarkable works, which the user can watch and review for themselves.
It gives users the option to rate, comment, and share the uploaded content. You can also review your expenses to keep track. Therefore, it not only helps you with the presentations but helps you with other things as well.
Like redesigning slides, and financial models, and finding investors as well. It has a separate tab for Start-Ups. Thus, Slide Bean is not just a platform for presentations; they provide consultancy services as well.
Features
- Template Library: A huge variety of templates to improve your presentation’s look and feel. Moreover, they have a gallery for images and icons to add life to the presentation.
- Cloud-based Storage: It provides cloud-based storage; therefore, any device can access it. That is why space is not an issue. Additionally, syncing content becomes easier as well.
- Smooth Graphics and Animation: Smooth transitions, easy-to-do animation, and intuitive timelines ease up the work of a graphic designer or an animation staff.
- Insights: Tracking of a user and other customer journey data to find out how effectively someone was working, reaching, and spreading around to secondary demographics.
Pros
- The options for templates are very lucrative.
- You can control and track sharing of the presentation.
- The quality automatically improves because of expert guidance.
- They provide professional guidance, which makes work easier.
- Access to a bulk of resources helps you make your presentation lively.
- The website answers all the common questions. Moreover, the blog from the website gives you extra information as well.
Pricing Plan
Slide Bean provides the following plans based on various facilities:
- A free basic plan for creating slides
- Starter: $8 per month
- Premium: $19 per month
- Founder’s Edition: $149 per month
3. Apple Keynotes
Apple Keynote generally comes included with most Apple devices. If some non-Apple users want to access it, some apple user has to share it and give access by selecting their choice for viewing, editing, or printing, respectively. Like any other presentation software, multiple people can use Keynotes at the same time.
Also, it has a rehearsal mode that helps you practice effortlessly at the last moment. Transitions, textures, color gradients, and even photos are the elements that Keynote offers.
One remarkable feature is that users can take a photo or scan a document with their iPhone, and the continuity camera can add it straight into the presentation on your Mac. Furthermore, there is an option for screen sharing within the Keynote itself, known as Live Video.
Features
- Themes: Basically, the themes offered by Keynotes are highly professional and varied. Color consistency, charts, graphs, and tables are available.
- Outline presentation: This feature helps the presenter reshuffle or redesign the presentation at the last moment with a simplified view.
- Live Videos: Just like picture-in-picture, you can add a video to the slide wherein the audience can see the presenter explain the slide with the slide itself.
- Offline Collaborations: Presentations can be edited offline and, once there is data access, the changes get applied to the final content. That is if the presentation is shared with you.
Pros
- The software’s look and feel make it very easy to use.
- It is completely free for all users.
- The Transfer or Export option makes accessing the presentation way easier.
- It provides iCloud storage.
- Record and export as videos are an option in Apple Keynotes.
Pricing Plan
It is free for all users.
4. Slides.com
Slides is a suite of modern presentation software, available right from your browser. Unlike other tools, slides need no downloading or installation. It is a secured and user-friendly platform for a team who has to work together on the same presentation.
It does have an option for multiple users to work on it together, but what makes it extraordinary is the fact that you can take or modify access as and when you feel like it. Moreover, your phone can act as a remote control with direct access to your speaker notes and control what your viewers see.
A free trial is available. Furthermore, the features offered by Slides are so huge and diverse that it almost covers everything. The pricing is also quite considerable, which makes it just worth it.
Features
- Password Protection: It prevents the users from accessing the presentation without a password, making it more secure.
- Members Management: The list of members who have access to the presentation can be modified at any point in time. You can add new members and change the roles of the existing ones as well.
- Shared Media Library: There is a common library of free images, logos, videos, and other assets. Hence, no more browsing for the exact content to be added.
- Hidden Slides: Slides can be hidden from the view. Hidden slides remain visible while editing, allowing you to turn slides on and off depending on who you are presenting to.
- Live Presentation: Presenter can broadcast their presentation to an audience of any size. Thus, the viewers can follow along in real-time from any device, anywhere in the world.
Pros
- Slides is a web-based software, hence it has accessibility like no other.
- They provide smart tools for presentation.
- Both sharing options are available. You can share it publicly or privately.
- Auto Animation is one of the biggest benefits.
- The presenter gets a huge number of options while presenting.
- The presentation will be synced with Dropbox automatically.
- Slides is a very secure presentation software because it offers such facilities.
Pricing Plan
Slides.com provides the following plans for annual billing:
- Lite: $5 per month (annual billing) and $7 per month (monthly billing)
- Pro: $10 per month (annual billing) and $14 per month (monthly billing)
- Team: $20 per month (annual billing) and $28 per month (monthly billing)
So now let’s cover some basics.
What is a Presentation Software?
Presentation software is a tool that allows you to represent the message you want to convey in a highly engaging and structured format.
It basically shows all the content using relevant drawings, images, and graphics to the audience for better understanding. Moreover, Presentation software tools allow you to easily merge data from different sources into the slides.
Furthermore, it allows you to make edits and changes quickly and easily which was not possible in earlier days’ presentations.
What are the Benefits of using Presentation Software?
Though the primary job of any capable presentation tool is to represent the information in the most visually appealing manner to the users. However, there are some other key benefits a presentation software offers to its users.
1. Engagement
A conclusive summary and clear bullet points help users to better interact with the content and understand the purpose behind the presentation more easily. Moreover, they are designed in such a way as to ensure the efficient delivery of messages to the viewers.
Furthermore, engaging videos and stunning images play like a catalyst in holding the viewer’s attention to the presentation and other minute details. Additionally, they offer powerful business intelligence tools and reporting mechanisms that help break down the data statistics in a lucid manner.
2. Creativity
The power to leverage creative mechanisms such as videos, images, emojis, animations, and more helps the creator to showcase his creativity to his users. Moreover, real-time chat and polls further strengthen the engagement between the creator and the viewers.
This helps many businesses to effectively reach out the message to the audience without them getting bored.
3. Flexibility
The main reason for using a presentation is the ease of editing and changing any kind of content the way you want. This simple feature allows you to change the relevant data and facts as per the business requirements.
Moreover, you can store multiple versions of the copy so that you can trace back to the older versions whenever needed.
4. Consistency
The fixed structure of design, format, and layout in every slide allows you to create an amazing presentation with sheer consistency. Moreover, they help viewers better understand the flow of content and are able to pick minute details with ease.
Additionally, it avoids any kind of confusion by reducing cluttered content and redundancy in the presentation.
Best Presentation Software – Final Summary
This wraps up my list of the best presentation software to use this year. I will keep updating the other good presentation software available on the market.
Before making a final decision make sure that you at least go through all the options and check which one is fulfilling the maximum of your requirements that you need. Additionally, check advanced features such as video and animation support, multi-stakeholder collaboration, cloud-based service with multiple integrations, etc.
Finally, I am sure that you will be able to find your desired option easily if you keep the above recommendation in mind.
More from Smashitbuck: Do check out my other articles on snap story saver, online community management software, and google review management software to read this year.
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