5 Best Free PowerPoint Alternatives

Edited by Ezvid Wiki Editorial on 11 September 2018

When looking to add visual accompaniment to an oral presentation, the standard is PowerPoint, part of the Microsoft Office suite. However, this software can be pricey, especially if you're assigning a project to a lot of people who will only be using it sporadically. Luckily, there are a lot of free options available online that are similar and offer features and compatibility lacking in PowerPoint. We'll count down the five best free alternatives available. Feel free to read up on the best free online report maker for more info on creating great video presentations. And to really up your game, check out the best presentation remotes. This video was made with Ezvid Wikimaker.

What Are The 5 Best Free PowerPoint Alternatives?

  1. Ezvid Wikimaker - free online video editor with narration, music, fair use images & videos along with image capture and screen recording
  2. Impress - open source software, supports PowerPoint file types
  3. Google Slides - edit slideshows online from any computer
  4. Sozi - move around large blueprints and zoom in on specific areas
  5. Ezvid For Windows - record your screen to walk viewers through step-by-step guides

Will These Programs Work For Students? What About Small Businesses?

All of the tools on our list are free, meaning anyone can use them without paying for an expensive license. Some, like Sozi, Impress, and Ezvid For Windows, are software that you can download. This makes them good for individuals and for offline editing. However, if you want to access your presentation from multiple devices through the web or collaborate with several team members on one file, you'll want an online editor like Google Slides or Ezvid Wikimaker. Also keep in mind the learning curve - while Sozi can be incredibly useful for some, people who just want to make something quickly will be better off with Ezvid Wikimaker, which is the easiest to learn and the quickest way to create professional-looking video content.

Conclusion

If you're making a business presentation or giving a report at school, you're going to need visuals to keep your audience interested. That's why PowerPoint is so popular, because it presents facts clearly and easily. Free tools available online like Google Slides or Impress can give you the same ability without having to buy software. But if you really want to keep a viewer's attention, you need video instead of static images. That's what makes Ezvid Wikimaker the best choice, because you're creating video content that pairs with text. It's free and easy to learn, so teachers can assign Wikimaker projects, and professionals can pick it up quickly. To learn more, check out our guides to the best free online school report maker and see some articles made with Wikimaker.

In Depth

Visual aids are crucial to any presentation you have to give, whether you're a high school student or a working professional. Most people rely on PowerPoint, but that software can be expensive, and all it'll get you is transitions and effects that look exactly like everyone else's. If you want to stand out, there are a lot of other options. Here are the five best free alternatives that will help you communicate better and make sure your audience is listening.

Starting the list off at #5 is Ezvid for Windows, a software that lets you make recordings of your computer screen and narrate your actions. This free download is great for teachers or those conducting professional training who need to walk people through a multi-step process. Your slideshows can have active video content that shows exactly what you're talking about, so your audience will see it done before they have to do it themselves.

Our #4 choice is for anyone who wants to try something different. Sozi is a free software, but it isn't for building slideshows. You're given a large open canvas and all your images and text are put on one page. Your presentation consists of moving around and zooming in on that one page.

Your presentation consists of moving around and zooming in on that one page.

This can be incredibly useful for architects or designers who want to display a large blueprint or map at the start, then zoom in to focus on key areas that they will be discussing. It will require some getting used to, but if you're pitching a client and want to separate yourself from the pack, this is a way to do it.

Coming in at #3 is Google Slides. All editing is done online, so you can edit your presentations from anywhere and access them at any time. There is also a mobile app for iOS and Android, meaning you don't even need a computer or Wi-Fi to pull up your slides and show them to important clients if you're at a business dinner and see an opening.

The online editing makes collaboration easier because the team doesn't need to be in the same room. You can also convert slideshows from PowerPoint and upload them, so you don't have to start over from scratch if you've got old projects that need updating.

The online editing makes collaboration easier because the team doesn't need to be in the same room.

At #2 is Impress, an offering from LibreOffice, which is an open source alternative to Microsoft Office. This is the closest analog to PowerPoint you'll find, as it supports all the same file types. It also has a handout mode, which allows you to print out slides to give them to participants. This is a great choice for Linux users who want something similar to the Office suite. You can stick to the same functionality you're used to and save a little money in the process.

Our #1 choice is Ezvid Wikimaker, which is perfect for anyone who wants to move beyond a simple slideshow. Wikimaker is a free online video editor that allows you to create videos with narration, music, and free images. You can edit entirely in your browser, so you can work on it anywhere, and your video presentation will be hosted for free online, so all you'll need to do is share the URL with whomever you'd like to see it.

Wikimaker works through voice synthesis. Whatever you type will be read aloud as narration for your video, along with free music to act as a soundtrack. Your text will be paired with free fair use images and videos, which means as soon as you type your first paragraph, your video can be watched right away. You can delete images you don't want to include, search among a wide library of pictures and video clips, or even upload files from your computer.

Your text will be paired with free fair use images and videos, which means as soon as you type your first paragraph, your video can be watched right away.

And with Wikimaker Capture, which is available as a Chrome browser extension or as a free download for Windows and Mac, you can add your own images and videos. Both versions allow you to capture any image you find online, and the desktop version lets you capture from other programs, crop and resize, or even draw on images for added emphasis. And you can make video recordings of your screen, so your viewers can watch you perform any task on your computer as they listen to the narrator explain it all.

Wikimaker has all the tools of a slideshow editor, along with the capabilities of professional video editing software. It's completely free and works online, and at the end of it, your video will be hosted on Ezvid Wiki, so all you need is the URL and you can access it from anywhere. There is no faster way to create video presentations complete with moving images, music, and narration.