Alai vs Decktopus (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Alai and Decktopus share a 1.8 GPA, and only Alai has a free plan.
Checked Oct 6, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 · graded Oct 10, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
Alai grades higher on the free plan. Decktopus grades higher on value for money. They get the same grade on features, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Alai
AI presentation maker that builds on-brand decks from a prompt
Decktopus
AI deck generator with a built-in delivery rehearsal coach
Which one is for you
Pick Alai if
- Fits if you want a quick first draft from a prompt and can pay monthly
- Works for people who would rather pay for a designer-built deck than make one, as the team sells those too
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if you want no watermark: that starts at $20 a month, billed monthly
- Tight if you stay free, as the credits are a one-time grant and every export is watermarked
- Skip it if you need long decks from one prompt, as Plus stops at 20 slides and Pro at 50
- Watch out: team or workspace plans are not described on the tiers, and Enterprise is by contact
- Watch out: custom decks by the Alai team are a separate service from $1,500
Pick Decktopus if
- Fits if you're a consultant or a small agency needing client decks without a designer
- Works for rehearsing a talk and taking practice questions before the real thing
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want a proper free try first, as 15 credits is about 3 slides
- Not for you if you might change your mind, because purchases are final and non-refundable
- Pricey if you pay monthly, at $24.99 for Pro against $9.99 on annual billing
- Tight if you edit a lot with AI, as each slide or edit costs 5 of Pro's 750 monthly credits
- Watch out: Brand Kit and the team workspace need Business at $19.99 a seat, and nothing works offline
How we grade them
| 1.8GPAAlaiWeak | 1.8GPADecktopusWeak | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | DPlus is $20 a month billed monthly, which is where the dearest tenth of presentation tools starts, and the category's middle is $10. Annual billing takes 20% off. | CPro is $9.99 a month billed annually, which is exactly the middle figure for presentation tools here, with 750 AI credits a month and every export. Monthly billing is $24.99 and Business is $19.99 a seat. And the FAQ says purchases are final, with no refunds. |
| Free plan and trial | CThe free plan has unlimited presentations but a one-time grant of credits, 10 AI slides a prompt, and the watermark stays. It is enough to try, not to live on. | DThere's no free plan and no trial as such. A new account gets 15 AI credits and a slide costs 5, so you get about 3 slides before paying, which is less than an evening's work, never mind a week's. |
| Features | CPrompt to deck, import and prettify, PDF and PPT export. It meters AI by credits, and the pages say nothing about team plans below Enterprise. | CA whole deck from a topic or an uploaded file, edits described in plain words, export to PDF, PowerPoint or PNG, and shared links that track who read what. Loop rehearses your talk with AI coaches. The listing's own gaps: Brand Kit and the team workspace need Business, and nothing works offline. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record. It is a web app where you write prompts, spend credits and edit the result. | CNo App Store rating on record, and you still write the prompts, judge the draft and watch a credit balance, with 5 credits gone per slide or edit. Typing a topic and getting slides back is the quick bit. |
| Platforms and integrations | CWeb only, with no integrations listed. Export is by file. | CA web app and nothing else: no desktop or phone app, and the pricing FAQ says decks can't be created, edited or viewed offline. For connections there are two, ChatGPT and an MCP server for Claude. |
| Best for | AI decks you can export without a watermark | AI decks plus a coach to rehearse them with |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Alai and Decktopus. How we grade
Price against what you get
Alai starts at $20 a month and scores 2.0 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Decktopus starts at $9.99 a month and scores 2.0.
They score the same, and Decktopus starts $10.01 a month lower. Of the other presentation tools on the chart, 27 score higher than Alai for less, and 13 score higher than Decktopus for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Alai also covers templates.
At a glance
| Alai | Decktopus | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free trial |
| Starts at | $20 per month, billed monthly | $9.99 per month, billed annually ($119.88) |
| Free plan | Unlimited presentations with a one-time grant of AI credits, up to 10 AI slides per prompt, watermarks stay on. | None |
| Free trial | None listed | New accounts start with 15 free AI credits, enough for about 3 slides |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Alai | Decktopus Inc. |
| Price read from | getalai.com | decktopus.com |
| Checked | Nov 12, 2026 | Oct 6, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Alai
- The Free plan keeps a watermark and its AI credits are a one-time grant that does not renew.
- Paid plans are metered in monthly AI credits, and the slide count per prompt is capped at 20 or 50.
- The pricing page does not describe team or workspace plans on the tiers; Enterprise is by contact.
- Custom decks built by the Alai team are a separate service starting at $1500.
Decktopus
- There is no ongoing free plan: new accounts get 15 AI credits, about 3 slides, and further use needs a paid plan.
- Brand Kit, the team workspace and custom domains are Business features; Pro is a single-person plan.
- An internet connection is required: the pricing FAQ says presentations cannot be created, edited or viewed offline.
- The pricing FAQ states that all purchases are final and non-refundable.
Key features
Alai
- Prompt to deck
- Describe a presentation and Alai generates the slides. The slide cap per prompt is 10 on Free, 20 on Plus and 50 on Pro and Ultra.
- Credit-based AI usage
- AI actions draw on credits. The Free plan gets a one-time grant that does not renew, and paid plans renew their credits every month.
- PDF and PPT export
- Every plan can export presentations as PDF or PowerPoint files, according to the pricing page.
- Import and prettify
- The site links tools that turn a PDF or a link into a PowerPoint deck and that restyle an existing deck.
- Done-for-you decks
- The pricing page offers custom-built decks from the team, starting at $1500, and an Enterprise contact route.
Decktopus
- AI deck generation
- Entering a topic or uploading a file produces a full presentation with structure, content and design. Generating a slide costs 5 AI credits from the monthly allowance.
- Prompt-based editing
- Any slide can be changed by describing the edit in plain language instead of adjusting the layout by hand. Each AI edit costs 5 credits, shown before the change is applied.
- Loop delivery coach
- Four AI agents gather the context, build a narrative with speaking notes, simulate audience questions and run a live rehearsal that measures pacing and filler words.
- Brand Kit
- On Business plans, a brand kit built from a website URL applies company colors, fonts and style to every deck a team generates.
- Live links and viewer tracking
- A shared link always shows the latest version of a deck. Tracking shows who opened it and how long they spent on each slide, and an email gate turns viewers into contacts.
- ChatGPT app and MCP server
- Decktopus can be called from inside ChatGPT, and a remote MCP server connects it to Claude and other MCP-ready assistants to return a presentation or carousel.
Plans
Alai
Free$0
Unlimited presentations, one-time AI credits with no renewal, up to 10 AI slides per prompt, watermark stays, PDF and PPT export.
Plus$20
per month, billed monthly
Monthly AI credits, up to 20 AI slides per prompt, no watermark, priority access to new elements and themes.
Pro$30
per month, billed monthly
A larger monthly credit allowance, up to 50 AI slides per prompt, no watermark and priority support from the founders.
Ultra$80
per month, billed monthly
5,000 AI credits a month, up to 50 AI slides per prompt, no watermark and direct feature requests to the founders.
Decktopus
Pro$9.99
per month, billed annually ($119.88); $24.99 billed monthly
For one person: 750 AI credits a month, presentations and carousels, PDF, PPT and PNG export, link sharing, Loop rehearsal and version history.
Business$19.99
per seat / month, billed annually; $44.99 billed monthly
Adds a team workspace, Brand Kit, slide analytics, a custom domain and priority support, with 1,000 AI credits per seat a month.
EnterpriseCustom
Company-wide deployment set up by Decktopus, with custom branding systems, role-based access control and dedicated support.
Ways to pay less
Alai
- Annual discount
20% off with annual billing
The pricing page description says annual billing saves 20%; the plan cards displayed only monthly prices when read.
Decktopus
- Annual discount
Save $180 a year on Pro with annual billing
Pro is $9.99 a month billed $119.88 a year, against $24.99 on monthly billing. A 3-month term is $19.99 a month, billed $59.97.
- Education
50% off for students
The pricing page FAQ says students get 50% off all plans, applied with a discount code that Decktopus publishes there.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Alai or Decktopus?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Decktopus is cheaper to start with: $9.99 a month, against $20 a month for Alai. Alai starts at $20 per month, billed monthly, and Decktopus starts at $9.99 per month, billed annually ($119.88).
Which has a free plan, Alai or Decktopus?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only Alai has a free plan. Decktopus does not, though it has a free trial.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.