Keynote vs LibreOffice Impress

Keynote

• People who work mainly on Mac, iPad and iPhone
• Presenters who want animated decks without paying for software
• Exchanging decks with PowerPoint users through import and export

LibreOffice Impress

• People who want a desktop presentation app with no subscription
• Linux users who need to open and edit PowerPoint files
• Presenting from a laptop with a second screen or a phone remote

Keynote

• The apps are for Apple devices only; on a Windows PC, Keynote is available just in a browser through iCloud.com.
• Generating slides from an outline, generated presenter notes and slide clean-up need Apple Creator Studio, at $12.99 per month or $129 per year, and are labeled beta.
• Apple's compatibility list marks PowerPoint WordArt, text effects, image effects and OLE objects as not supported on import; SmartArt is imported as a shape.

LibreOffice Impress

• There is no hosted cloud version; The Document Foundation says it does not plan a service like those from Google and Microsoft.
• On Android the foundation offers only a viewer with experimental editing, and Impress Remote for Android and iOS controls a slide show but does not edit it.
• The Mac App Store version costs $8.99 and the Microsoft Store version also carries a charge; downloads from the website are free.
• The Presenter Console works only when two displays are connected.

Keynote

Themes and slide layouts

Every presentation begins with an Apple-designed theme, a set of slide layouts whose placeholder text and images are replaced with your own. Layouts and backgrounds can be changed slide by slide.

Animations and Magic Move

Slide transitions, emphasis builds and Magic Move animate objects within and between slides, with a live preview on the canvas while editing.

Presenter tools

A customizable presenter display for rehearsing, remote control from an iPhone, iPad or Apple Watch, multi-presenter slideshows, and a separate window for notes and controls during video calls on a Mac.

Real-time collaboration

Share a presentation publicly or with specific people through iCloud or Box and see a list of their changes as they happen. Collaborators can also join from a browser on a Mac or Windows computer.

PowerPoint import and export

Imports and edits Microsoft PowerPoint files and exports to PowerPoint, PDF, HTML, movies and images. Apple publishes a feature-by-feature list of what carries over from PowerPoint.

Creator Studio slide tools

For Apple Creator Studio subscribers, Keynote can turn an outline into a slide deck with presenter notes and correct layout, typography and alignment issues. Apple labels these features beta.

LibreOffice Impress

Slides with charts and multimedia

Slide shows can combine text, charts, drawing objects and multimedia, starting from the templates included with Impress.

PowerPoint files

Microsoft PowerPoint presentations can be imported and modified in Impress, so existing decks do not have to be rebuilt.

Animations and transitions

Dynamic effects, including object animations and slide transitions, can be assigned to slides for on-screen shows that run automatically or manually.

Presenter Console

With a second display connected, the audience sees the slide show while the presenter's screen shows the current slide, the next one, the notes and a timer.

Impress Remote

An open-source Android and iOS app controls a slide show over Bluetooth or a network link, showing slide thumbnails and speaker notes and offering an on-screen pointer.

Views, handouts and export

The Slide Sorter shows thumbnails of every slide and the Handout page pairs slides with text for the audience. Slide timings can be rehearsed, and decks published as handouts or HTML.

Keynote

• Keynote$0

  Create, edit and present on Mac, iPad, iPhone and iCloud.com, with real-time collaboration, Apple-designed themes and PowerPoint import and export.

• Apple Creator Studio$12.99

  per month, or $129 per year

  Adds premium templates and themes, the Content Hub media library and beta tools that generate slides and presenter notes, plus Final Cut Pro, Logic Pro and Pixelmator Pro.

LibreOffice Impress

• LibreOffice$0

  The full office suite, including Impress, downloaded free from libreoffice.org for Windows, macOS or Linux.

Keynote

• Annual discount

  About 17% less on the yearly plan

  Apple Creator Studio is $129 per year or $12.99 per month. Twelve monthly payments come to $155.88, so the yearly plan costs about 17% less.

• Education

  Students and educators: $2.99 a month

  Verified college students and educators pay $2.99 per month or $29.99 per year for Apple Creator Studio. Apple calls it a limited-time offer, and it cannot be shared through Family Sharing.

• Other savings

  3 months free with a new Mac or iPad

  Buyers of an eligible new Mac or iPad can try Apple Creator Studio free for 3 months, claimed within 3 months of activating the device.

LibreOffice Impress

No public discounts listed.