Beautiful.ai vs Microsoft PowerPoint

Beautiful.ai

• People without design skills who want slides that format themselves
• Teams that need every deck to follow the same colors, fonts and logos
• Students: a verified .edu email gets Pro free for the first year

Microsoft PowerPoint

• People who need a full desktop presentation app on Windows or Mac
• Teams that already share files through OneDrive or SharePoint
• Presenters who want to rehearse with feedback on pace and filler words
• Occasional users who only need the free browser version

Beautiful.ai

• There is no permanent free plan; the 14-day trial needs a credit card, which is charged unless the trial is canceled in time.
• Paying monthly costs far more for one person: Pro is $45 a month billed monthly against $14.50 a month billed annually.
• The pricing page is inconsistent on Team: the plan card shows $40 a month including 3 users, while its FAQ states $40 per user per month.
• It is a browser-based app; for offline use Beautiful.ai points to exporting a deck as a PDF or PowerPoint file.

Microsoft PowerPoint

• The Windows and Mac apps need a Microsoft 365 subscription or a one-time Office purchase; Microsoft lists the free plan for web, iOS and Android.
• PowerPoint for the web lacks some desktop features: password-protected and digitally signed files open only in the desktop app, and macros do not run.
• Copilot needs a paid subscription, has usage limits, and on shared plans works for the subscription owner only.
• Microsoft 365 Business Basic ($7.00 per user / month paid yearly, or $5.40 without Teams) includes only the web and mobile versions of PowerPoint.

Beautiful.ai

Smart Slides

More than 300 layouts for data, comparisons, quotes, timelines and image grids that keep spacing, alignment and hierarchy in order as content changes.

AI deck generation

Start from a topic, a pasted outline or source files and links, refine the slide-by-slide outline, then choose a theme and image style before the slides are generated.

Brand controls

Brand colors, fonts and logos are defined once in a custom theme and applied to every slide. Enterprise adds configurable brand guardrails.

Team workspace

The Team plan adds real-time collaborative editing, a central slide and template library, a shared asset library, version control and locked slides.

Sharing and viewer analytics

Decks are presented live, shared by secure link or embedded on a website, and analytics show who viewed a deck, which slides they looked at and for how long.

PowerPoint import and export

PowerPoint files can be imported, and any deck can be exported as an editable .pptx or a PDF. A PowerPoint add-in brings the layout engine into PowerPoint itself.

Microsoft PowerPoint

Copilot in PowerPoint

Rewrites, reorganizes and adds slides from a written request, leaving the changes for review. It needs a Microsoft 365 subscription, and usage limits apply.

Designer

Suggests finished layouts for the content placed on a slide. In the desktop apps only Microsoft 365 subscribers get the suggestions; in PowerPoint for the web they are open to everyone.

Speaker Coach

Listens to a rehearsal and reports on pacing, pitch, filler words and reading straight from the slide, then shows a summary with recommendations. It currently understands English only.

Cameo

Places a live camera feed on a slide, where it can be styled, resized and animated like a picture. It is for Microsoft 365 subscribers on Windows, macOS and the web.

Co-authoring

Several people can edit a presentation saved to OneDrive or SharePoint at once. Indicators show which slide each person is on, and changes that do not conflict are merged automatically.

Templates

Microsoft offers thousands of customizable templates as starting points for a slide show. The free plan includes a basic set of templates, fonts, icons and stickers.

Beautiful.ai

• Pro$14.50

  per month, billed annually ($45 billed monthly)

  For 1 person: unlimited AI content generation, over 300 Smart Slide layouts, custom themes, viewer analytics and PowerPoint import and export.

• Team$40

  per month, billed annually ($50 billed monthly)

  For 2 to 20 members, with live co-editing and shared libraries. The plan card says the price includes 3 users; the FAQ on the same page quotes it per user.

• SMB 50$6,000

  per year, flat rate

  Full access for every user at a company of up to 50 employees, with dedicated onboarding and priority support.

• SMB 100$12,000

  per year, flat rate

  Full access for every user at a company of up to 100 employees, with dedicated onboarding and priority support.

• EnterpriseCustom

  Adds single sign-on, SCIM user provisioning, audit logs, configurable brand guardrails, advanced permissions and team training.

Microsoft PowerPoint

• Free$0

  PowerPoint for the web for 1 person, with sharing, real-time collaboration, basic templates and 5 GB of cloud storage. Works on web, iOS and Android.

• Microsoft 365 Personal$9.99

  per month, or $99.99 per year

  1 person on up to 5 devices at once, 1 TB of cloud storage, and the PowerPoint, Word, Excel and Outlook desktop apps with Copilot.

• Microsoft 365 Apps for business$10.00

  per user / month, paid yearly

  Desktop versions of PowerPoint, Word, Excel and Outlook for up to 300 employees, with 1 TB of cloud storage per user.

• Microsoft 365 Family$12.99

  per month, or $129.99 per year

  Everything in Personal for 1 to 6 people, with 1 TB of storage per person. AI features are for the subscription owner only.

• Microsoft 365 Premium$19.99

  per month, or $199.99 per year

  Everything in Family, plus extensive Copilot usage and agentic AI features such as advanced research and analytics.

• Office Home 2024$179.99

  one-time purchase for 1 PC or Mac

  Classic 2024 desktop versions of PowerPoint, Word, Excel and OneNote, with no upgrade path to the next major release.

Beautiful.ai

• Annual discount

  Lower rates on annual billing

  Pro is $14.50 a month billed annually against $45 billed monthly, and Team is $40 a month billed annually against $50 billed monthly.

• Education

  One year of Pro free for students

  Students with a verified .edu email address can get a free annual Pro subscription. The offer is for new student subscribers only and lasts 12 months from activation.

Microsoft PowerPoint

• Annual discount

  Save up to 17% by paying yearly

  Microsoft 365 Personal is $99.99 a year against $9.99 a month, Family $129.99 against $12.99 and Premium $199.99 against $19.99.

• Education

  Students save 50% on Microsoft 365 Personal

  Verified college and university students get Microsoft 365 Personal at half price. Student status has to be re-verified each year to keep the discount.

• Education

  Office 365 A1 free for eligible schools

  Educators and students with an eligible education email address get Office 365 A1 at no cost, which includes the web versions of PowerPoint and the other core apps.

• Nonprofit

  Nonprofit staff pricing on Microsoft 365 E3

  Eligible nonprofits can buy Microsoft 365 E3, with desktop, web and mobile versions of PowerPoint, for $9.75 per user / month paid yearly.

• Lifetime license

  Office Home 2024 one-time purchase

  $179.99 buys the classic 2024 desktop versions of PowerPoint, Word, Excel and OneNote for 1 PC or Mac, with no subscription.