7 Best Free PowerPoint Alternatives To Level Up Your Presentations

Ashish Upadhyay profile picture
By Ashish Upadhyay

Published | Updated on
6 min read

Seven free PowerPoint alternatives to help design engaging presentations.

Think of presentations and you think of Microsoft PowerPoint. An industry standard, PowerPoint is a long-standing tool that offers an easy-to-navigate interface to create impactful presentations for business meetings, sales pitches, and more.

However, despite being widely used, Microsoft PowerPoint might not be the most accessible tool, especially if you’re looking for free software. PowerPoint is part of the Microsoft Office suite and can only be accessed by purchasing the suite. Small businesses, especially sales and marketing companies, need software that helps design impactful presentation slides without draining their finances. That’s where free PowerPoint alternatives come to the rescue.

We asked users about the PowerPoint alternative they considered when looking for presentation software for their business. Here are the seven best PowerPoint alternatives (listed alphabetically) they identified.

See the full list of Microsoft Powerpoint alternatives.

take me there
CTA Default

1st image for the blog article "7 Best Free PowerPoint Alternatives To Level Up Your Presentations"

1. Apache OpenOffice

Apache OpenOffice is an open-source software suite that offers a presentation tool to design multimedia slides.

The presentation software lets you add 2D and 3D clip art, special effects (such as slide transitions), and animation to your presentations. It offers a built-in template library with a range of templates to use in your slides.

Using the tool’s multi-monitor support, you can showcase additional material while presenting your main slides. You also get access to a drawing and diagramming toolkit to draw custom shapes to add to your presentations.

Apache OpenOffice offers chat and email support. It has a desktop application for Linux, Mac, and Windows users.

Key Features

  • Collaboration tools
  • Data import/export
  • Database creation
  • Document generation
  • Office suite
  • Organizational charting

Trial/Free Version

  • Free Trial
  • Free Version

Device compatibility

Screenshots

Apache OpenOffice

Creating a presentation in Apache OpenOffice

* Analysis accurate as of date of publication

Here’s how Apache OpenOffice compares to PowerPoint


Both PowerPoint and Apache OpenOffice provide multiple slide views, such as the outline view and presenter view. However, Apache gives quick access to all its views from the main window, which PowerPoint doesn’t. Also, Apache OpenOffice has a better user interface and multiple hotkeys for quick access.

Platforms supported: Both PowerPoint and Apache OpenOffice are available as desktop applications for Mac and Windows. Apache OpenOffice is also available for Linux users.

Typical customers: Both tools are used by freelancers and small businesses. However, PowerPoint is also used by large enterprises.

Customer support: Both tools offer chat and email support.

Pricing: Apache OpenOffice is open source and free to use, whereas subscription for Microsoft 365 Personal Suite, containing PowerPoint, starts at $6.99 per user per month.

2. Canva

Canva is a design and presentation app that helps create infographics, logos, banners, and full-fledged presentation slides for team and client meetings.

The software offers a library of presentation templates you can access to add pre-built videos, logos, and graphics to your presentations. Additionally, Canva lets you collaborate with teammates by sharing access to the content dashboard.

You can add animation to your slides, customize the color scheme, and remove the background from images using the background remover tool. You can also use the version history to revert to a previous design instead of undoing all changes.

Canva offers chat and email support. It is web-based and also has applications for desktop and mobile (iOS and Android) devices.

Key Features

  • Access controls/permissions
  • Animation
  • Artwork management
  • Asset categorization
  • Asset library
  • Asset sharing

Trial/Free Version

  • Free Trial
  • Free Version

Device compatibility

Screenshots

Canva

Design catalog in Canva

* Analysis accurate as of date of publication

Here’s how Canva compares to PowerPoint


Canva offers a variety of pre-built templates and font types compared to PowerPoint and is easier to navigate for first-time users. It also integrates with third-party social media platforms, making it easy for you to share graphics and presentations directly to an audience.

Platforms supported: You can download both tools as desktop applications. However, Canva also provides a web-based version and has a mobile app for Android and iOS devices.

Typical customers: Both tools are used by freelancers, small to midsize businesses, and large enterprises.

Customer support: Both Canva and PowerPoint offer chat and email support.

Pricing: Pricing for PowerPoint starts at $6.99 per user per month, while Canva’s paid plans start at $12.99 per user per month.

3. Google Slides

Google Slides is a presentation tool that is part of the Google Workspace suite. The software lets you create and sync slides, share them with your teammates, use comments, and assign action items to build presentations together.

With Google Slides, you get an easy-to-use presenter view for presenting slides during meetings, referencing speaker notes, showcasing text to viewers, and accessing live captions for audio content. You can integrate the software with third-party video calling platforms to present slides during online conferences.

Features such as smart compose and autocorrect help eliminate spelling and formatting errors automatically from your slides. An offline mode helps you work on your slides without an internet connection.

Key Features

  • 3D objects
  • Animation
  • Audio file management
  • Collaboration tools
  • Customizable templates
  • Offline editing

Trial/Free Version

  • Free Trial
  • Free Version

Device compatibility

Screenshots

Google Slides

Creating a presentation in Google Slides

* Analysis accurate as of date of publication

Here’s how Google Slides compares to PowerPoint


Google Slides is an online tool and doesn’t require any software installation, whereas PowerPoint is more suited to offline work and comes as a desktop app that needs to be installed. Also, Google Slides is cloud based, and it offers better collaboration and is suitable for teams with many people.

Platforms supported: Google Slides is web-based, while PowerPoint is a desktop application.

Typical customers: Both tools are used by freelancers, small businesses, and large enterprises

Customer support: Both Google Slides and PowerPoint offer chat and email support.

Pricing: Google Slides is free to use. However, you can buy the Google Workspace Suite, which provides additional tools and more storage space, at $6 per user per month. The cost for PowerPoint starts at $6.99 per user per month.

4. LibreOffice

LibreOffice is an open-source suite designed to create, manage, edit, and modify documents, spreadsheets, and presentation slides.

The software offers multiple editing and viewing modes for editing, outlining, and organizing text and images in slides. It lets you edit and manage notes that appear on individual slides. It also provides a slide sorter to locate and sort presentation slides.

With LibreOffice, you can manually navigate the slides during presentations or schedule their transition using a built-in timer.

Key Features

  • Collaboration tools
  • Document classification
  • Document generation
  • File conversion
  • File sharing
  • Full text search

Trial/Free Version

  • Free Trial
  • Free Version

Device compatibility

Screenshots

LibreOffice

Adding graphics in LibreOffice

* Analysis accurate as of date of publication

Here’s how LibreOffice compares to PowerPoint


LibreOffice is an open-source solution, so it’s free to use. PowerPoint, on the other hand, needs a paid subscription. Also, LibreOffice works better for Linux users, as PowerPoint is unavailable for Linux. Additionally, you can customize LibreOffice by accessing its source code.

Platforms supported: PowerPoint is available for Mac and Windows, while LibreOffice is available for Mac, Windows, and Linux.

Typical customers: Both software tools are used by freelancers and small businesses. However, large enterprises tend to use PowerPoint as well.

Customer support: Both PowerPoint and LibreOffice offer chat and email support.

Pricing: LibreOffice is free to use, while subscription for PowerPoint starts at $6.99 per user per month.

5. Prezi

Prezi is a presentation software tool designed for freelancers and small businesses. It helps create video presentations for business meetings and client pitches.

With Prezi, you get a canvas to build slides and add data to your presentations. Its Smart Structure feature helps arrange content within slides using a simple drag-and-drop option, without disrupting your layout. Another feature called Zoom Reveal lets you zoom in and focus on slides to look at critical details and change minute aspects of your presentation.

The software offers a built-in video tool that allows you to appear alongside your content while presenting slides during remote meetings or presentations.

Key Features

  • Animation
  • Audio file management
  • Collaboration tools
  • Customizable templates
  • Media library
  • Offline editing

Trial/Free Version

  • Free Trial
  • Free Version

Device compatibility

Screenshots

Prezi

Adding animations in Prezi

* Analysis accurate as of date of publication

Here's how Prezi compares to PowerPoint


Prezi offers a better interface than PowerPoint and provides a zoom-in feature to oversee crucial details in slides. It is easier to use and integrates with third-party social media and video-calling platforms to share assets easily.

Platforms supported: PowerPoint is available for Mac and Windows, while Prezi is web-based.

Typical customers: Both software tools are used by freelancers and small businesses. However, large enterprises tend to use PowerPoint as well.

Customer support: PowerPoint offers chat and email support, while Prezi provides chat, email, and phone support.

Pricing: Subscription for PowerPoint starts at $6.99 per user per month. For Prezi, paid plans start at $12 per user per month.

6. ProPresenter

ProPresenter is a presentation tool for live events. It helps present slides to live audiences during sporting events, conferences, trade shows, and worship gatherings.

ProPresenter helps display lyrics, slides, and high-quality media. It provides transitions and onscreen rolling announcements for slides. It also lets you present your slides on multiple screens, each showcasing a different type of content. You can use the preview window to monitor all your screens.

The tool’s built-in library allows you to save all your presentation content. You can also automatically change the text color in a presentation slide at different time intervals.

Key Features

  • Chord chart management
  • Customizable templates
  • Drag & drop
  • Event management
  • For religious organizations
  • Layout & design

Trial/Free Version

  • Free Trial
  • Free Version

Device compatibility

Screenshots

Slides in ProPresenter

* Analysis accurate as of date of publication

Here’s how ProPresenter compares to PowerPoint


Both PowerPoint and ProPresenter are presentation tools, but ProPresenter lets you live stream your presentations and add announcement layers and timers with action triggers. Also, the software is more suited for live events and gatherings.

Platforms supported: PowerPoint is available on Windows and Mac, while ProPresenter is available on Windows, Mac, and Linux. ProPresenter also has a mobile app for Android and iOS devices.

Typical customers: Both tools are used by freelancers, small businesses, and large enterprises.

Customer support: Both PowerPoint and ProPresenter offer chat and email support.

Pricing: PowerPoint starts at $6.99 per user per month, while you can rent ProPresenter for $99 per user per month.

7. Visme

Visme is a design and presentation tool that helps create graphics and presentation slides.

The software offers multiple pre-built templates to create slides for your presentations. It also lets you import your designs on the platform and use them for your slides.

With a drag-and-drop editor, you can arrange the layout and structure of your slides according to your preference. You can import a PowerPoint presentation and edit it in Visme. You can also record audio and video files with a built-in recorder and add them to your presentations.

Key Features

  • 3D objects
  • Animation
  • Audio file management
  • Collaboration tools
  • Customizable templates
  • Media library

Trial/Free Version

  • Free Trial
  • Free Version

Device compatibility

Screenshots

Visme

Template library in Visme

* Analysis accurate as of date of publication

Here’s how Visme compares to PowerPoint


PowerPoint is a stand-alone presentation tool. Visme, on the other hand, also lets you create graphics and infographics on its platform. The software offers analytics for graphics and presentations that you share publicly and assess engagement for your assets.

Platforms supported: PowerPoint is available on Windows and Mac as a desktop app. Visme, on the other hand, is a web-based tool.

Typical customers: Both tools are used by freelancers, small businesses, and large enterprises.

Customer support: PowerPoint offers chat and email support. Visme offers phone, chat, and email support.

Pricing: Subscription for PowerPoint starts at $6.99 per user per month, whereas paid plans for Visme begin at $15 per user per month.

Look at all options before finalizing the best PowerPoint alternative

Despite its popularity, Microsoft PowerPoint may not always be the right choice if presentations are crucial for your business. You can, instead, choose the various software options discussed in this article.

  • If you want a completely free and customizable tool, select either Apache OpenOffice or OpenLibre. You can access the source code of these tools to customize their functionality per your preference.

  • If you create a lot of posters, designs, and infographics, Visme and Canva are good options, as both help create such assets and include them in presentations.

  • If real-time collaboration is crucial for your business, then Google Slides is worth a shot, as it provides collaboration for small and large teams alike.

  • If you want to do video presentations and feature them during remote meetings, Prezi, with its built-in video presentation functionality, is an ideal solution.

  • If your work involves live audiences and large gatherings, ProPresenter might be an ideal tool, as it helps stream presentations to larger groups and is more suited for outdoor events.



How did we choose these products? We didn’t—you did

At Capterra, we objectively select and rank products based on a methodology developed by our research team. Some vendors pay us when they receive web traffic, but this has no influence on our methodology.

Products featured in this article were identified in user reviews as the other products considered by buyers at the same time as PowerPoint. In this article, we highlighted the products with the highest number of other products considered mentions.

To be included in this list, alternative products had to provide the following core presentation software features: animations, transitions, media library.

Disclaimer: We conducted this analysis based on reviews and ratings data as of Jan. 24, 2022. In order to present the most up-to-date information, the product cards below show real-time ratings. Please note that this means the ratings’ value in the product card may not reflect the value of the ratings at the time of analysis.

Product research for this article was contributed by Himanshi Arora.


Looking for Project Management software? Check out Capterra's list of the best Project Management software solutions.

Was this article helpful?


About the Author

Ashish Upadhyay profile picture

Ashish Upadhyay is a content writer at Capterra, helping small businesses identify the right software for their business needs by analyzing user reviews data for the highest rated products in relevant software categories. Prior to joining Capterra, he worked in insurtech, fintech, and real estate. Specializing in marketing, project, and IT management, Ashish’s works have been featured in MAST magazine and Medium. In his free time, he enjoys working out and playing video games.

visitor tracking pixel