In the last 20 years, we have seen two formats that have become a standard within the Internet. On the one hand we find the files in PDF format, a format that is currently natively compatible with all operating systems without having to use any external application to open it. On the other hand, we find the presentations in .pps and .pptx formats. These extensions correspond to the files for create presentations from the Microsoft PowerPoint application.
In order to access the presentations created with this application, it is necessary to have a compatible viewer, all of which are compatible but not available natively. Microsoft PowerPoint is the best application currently available on the market for making presentations of any kind, but it is an application that requires an Office 365 subscription to be able to use it. If you are looking for other applications to create presentations, then we show you what are the best alternatives to PowerPoint.
Among the alternatives currently available on the market, we can find both free and paid options, so it may not be a bad idea to pay for an Office 365 subscription if we intend to get the most out of it to PowerPoint, either through our usual work or with our free time to be able to convert the result to video to be able to publish it later on the most used video platform worldwide: YouTube. The options and possibilities that PowerPoint offers us are almost infinite, for a reason it has been in the market for many years being the best platform for creating presentations, just like Microsoft Word or Excel in their respective fields.
Keynote, Apple's PowerPoint
We start this classification with the free alternative to Apple makes available to all users both the desktop platform, macOS, and the platform for mobile devices, iOS. For some years now, Apple has offered the Keynote application to all users who have an Apple ID for free, in addition to the rest of the applications that are part of iWork, even if they do not have any terminal manufactured by Apple, since through iCloud.com can do all the services it offers us, including Keynote, Pages and Numbers.
While it is true that a large number of options are missing To be able to customize even the smallest detail, it is currently one of the best free and paid alternatives available on the market. In addition, Apple regularly updates the application adding new functions and tools that allow us to further customize our presentations as well as adding greater compatibility with files and formats.
Google Slides, the Google alternative
The other great completely free alternative is found in the online office suite that Google offers us called Slides. Slides is a cloud-based application Through which we can create our presentations, some basic presentations without many frills, since it suffers from the lack of many options. If we have to make a presentation together, this service is one of the best that we can find in the market, since it also offers us a chat so that everyone who is part of the project can collaborate and talk in real time.
To be integrated within the Google ecosystemWe have direct access to the photographs that we have stored in Google Photos so that we can include them directly in the presentation without having to upload them at any time to the Google cloud to include them. All presentations are stored in our Google Drive account, which offers us, together with Gmail and Google Photos, up to 15 GB of completely free storage. Google Slides is inside Google Drive and create a presentation with Google Slides, we just have to click on New to choose what type of file we want to create.
Prezi, one of the best online alternatives
As PowerPoint presentations started to catch on, Prezi began to become, on its own merits, one of the best alternatives available in the market, and still is today. Thanks to Prezi we can create dynamic presentations through the different themes that the platform offers us, themes to which we can add the number of additional objects we want.
Thanks to the dynamic transitions, instead of looking like we are seeing a slide, it will give us the feeling that we are watching a small video where even the most boring subject can become fascinating. If you plan to make sporadic use of this service, Prezi is completely free if you have no problem with the presentations being available to everyone. If, on the other hand, you do not want to share your creations, you must go to the checkout and get one of the different monthly plans that this platform offers us.
Ludus, create animated presentations in a simple way
LudusLike Prezi, it is another of the web services that in recent years has taken over a large part of the users who need to create any type of presentation. If we want create presentations that look more like a video than a presentation Ludus is the best option. In the video above you can see all the options that it offers us and everything we can do with this fantastic service.
One of the main advantages that it offers us compared to other services such as Prezi, is integration with YouTube, Giphy, SoundCloud, Google Maps, Facebook, Instagram ... which allows us to quickly add any content from these platforms quickly and easily. Thanks to the integration and compatibility with files in GIF format, we can create small movies instead of presentations.
The free version of Ludus allows us create up to 20 presentations, storage up to 2GB and the possibility of being able to export the slides to PDF format. But if we want something more, we will have to go to the checkout and opt for the Pro plan, a plan that allows us to create an unlimited number of presentations, presentations that we can store in the 10 GB of space that it offers us, the possibility of downloading the presentation for present it without an Internet connection in addition to allowing us to protect the presentations with a password.
Canva, what is strictly necessary
If what we are looking for is a Simple, no-frills alternative to PowerPoint, and both Prezi and Ludus are too big for us, Canva It may be the alternative you are looking for. Canva offers us a large number of images to add to the presentations completely free of charge, avoiding that we have to continually search Google for images to create our presentations. The operation is very simple, since we only have to select the elements that we want to add and drag them to the location that we want them to have in the presentation.
It also allows us work in groups, offers us access to more than 8.000 templates and 1 GB of storage in the free version. If we opt for the Pro version, which is priced at $ 12,95 per month, we will also have access to more than 400.000 images and templates, we can use custom fonts, organize photos and presentations in folders, export designs as GIFs in addition to being able to reuse it for other presentations ...
Swipe, turn presentations into conversations
Sometimes we are forced to create presentations that do not have to display visual information, but it is about offering information by offering different options, and depending on which we choose, one information or another will appear. In this case, Swipe It is one of the best options on the market. Furthermore, as it is designed for this purpose, we can add texts of various lengths thanks to Markdown compatibility.
The free version allows us collaborate on an unlimited number of presentations, create private presentations and export the result in PDF format. If we want to add statistics, password protection, link tracking, support and much more, we must checkout from 15 euros per month.
Slidebean, for concrete things
If we are habitually forced to create a certain type of presentation, either to present a product, report quarterly results, about a project, or any other situation that requires a series of pre-established templates, Slidebean It is the best option on the market. Through Slidebean we just have to select the type of template we are looking for and replace its data with our own. As simple as that.
Slidesbean is not designed to be modifying the interface, or to add or remove content, but to facilitate the creation as far as possible for the user, so that you only focus on what is important and in less than 5 minutes you can have the presentation ready. Unlike other services, Slidebean does not offer us a free plan to test how the application works, but regardless of the plan we select, we have a trial period to see if it suits our needs.
Zoho, inspired by PowerPoint
If you have used to PowerPoint and you don't feel like starting to learn how other online services or applications to create presentations work, ZohoShow It is the closest thing to PowerPoint that we are going to find, since its interface as well as the number of options, at least the most basic, are very similar to those that we can find in the Microsoft application. Adding images, text boxes, arrows, lines… everything is very easy to create with Zoho Show.
Regarding the number of templates we have at our disposal, it's very limitedNot to say practically non-existent, but if your imagination is your thing and you have no problem dealing with a blank slide, you may have finally found the application you need to create your usual presentations.
Best alternative to PowerPoint?
How can we see each of the web services / applications that we have shown you in this article are oriented to different purposes, so if our thing is to create spectacular presentations, the best option is Ludus, while if we want to create presentations using templates, Slidebean is ideal. It all depends on our needs, so you have to be clear about it before hiring a service and begin to become familiar with it.
