Keynote vs SoftMaker Presentations (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Keynote grades higher than SoftMaker Presentations: 3.2 against 2.8 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 5, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 10, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Keynote grades higher on value for money and the free plan. SoftMaker Presentations grades higher on platforms. They get the same grade on features and ease of use.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Keynote
Apple's free presentation app for Mac, iPad and iPhone
SoftMaker Presentations
PowerPoint-compatible slide app in the SoftMaker Office suite
Which one is for you
Pick Keynote if
- Fits if you work on a Mac, iPad and iPhone and present from those devices
- Works for animated slides at $0, since Magic Move is in the free app
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if your team is on Windows or Android: Windows gets only the iCloud.com browser version, and there's no Android app
- Not for you if your PowerPoint files use WordArt, text effects or OLE objects, which don't import, and SmartArt arrives as a plain shape
- Pricey if you want slides made from an outline: that needs Creator Studio at $12.99 a month or $129 a year, and it's labeled beta
- Watch out: the free month of Creator Studio renews automatically into the paid plan
Pick SoftMaker Presentations if
- Fits if you want an offline PowerPoint-style program on Linux or Mac
- Works for a household that wants one license for 5 computers
Look elsewhere if
- Watch out: it is only sold as part of the Office suite subscription
- Watch out: the yearly plan covers 5 household computers but a company license covers 1
- Watch out: AI text, image and translation use is capped by included allowances
- Pricey if you need volume, as 5 computers cost $199 a year
How we grade them
| 3.2GPAKeynoteVery good | 2.8GPASoftMaker PresentationsGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | AThe app costs $0, with themes, Magic Move, presenter tools and PowerPoint export included, where this category's middle plan is $9.99 a month. Apple Creator Studio is $12.99 a month or $129 a year for premium templates and the beta AI tools, bundled with Final Cut, Logic and Pixelmator. | BThe suite is $49.90 a year, or $4.99 a month, inside the cheaper quarter of $7.95 for presentation tools and including a word processor and spreadsheet. |
| Free plan and trial | ACreating, editing, presenting and real-time collaboration cost nothing, with no cap listed. Premium templates, the Content Hub and the beta AI slide tools are the paid parts, through Creator Studio. | CA 30-day free trial of the suite; the listing does not mention a card. |
| Features | BCovers the whole job: Apple-designed themes, Magic Move and builds with a live preview, a presenter display for rehearsing, remote control from an iPhone or Watch, multi-presenter shows, and export to PowerPoint, PDF, HTML or video. Apple's own list says WordArt doesn't survive a PowerPoint import. | BPPTX native, animations, transitions and AI drafting, with no gap named in the listing for the core job. |
| Ease of use | B4.4 from about 83,000 App Store ratings, below the top band. Every deck starts from a theme, so the job is swapping placeholder text and pictures for your own, and the app comes on Apple devices. | BNo store rating on record. It installs as an office suite and opens PPTX files with nothing to set up. |
| Platforms and integrations | COne family of devices: Mac, iPad, iPhone and Apple Vision Pro, with iCloud.com in a browser as the way a Windows colleague joins. No Android app and no Windows app. Sharing runs through iCloud or Box. | BWindows, macOS, Linux, iOS and Android, but no web version and no integrations list. |
| Best for | animated decks on Apple devices | offline slides on every platform |
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: Keynote and SoftMaker Presentations. How we grade
Price against what you get
Keynote starts at $10.75 a month when paid by the year for each person and scores 2.7 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. SoftMaker Presentations starts at $4.99 a month and scores 3.0.
SoftMaker Presentations scores higher and starts $5.76 a month lower. Of the other presentation tools on the chart, 4 score higher than Keynote for less, and none scores higher than SoftMaker Presentations 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
- Keynote also covers templates.
- SoftMaker Presentations also covers documents and spreadsheets.
At a glance
| Keynote | SoftMaker Presentations | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free trial |
| Starts at | $12.99 per month or $129 per year for Apple Creator Studio | $4.99 per month, billed monthly ($49.90 billed yearly) |
| Free plan | The app is free: creating, viewing and editing presentations and collaborating in real time do not require a subscription. Premium templates, the Content Hub and the AI slide tools are paid. | None |
| Free trial | Apple Creator Studio is free for 1 month for new subscribers, then renews automatically | 30-day free trial of SoftMaker Office NX Universal |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| Linux | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Apple | SoftMaker |
| Price read from | apps.apple.com | softmaker.com |
| Checked | Oct 5, 2026 | Nov 13, 2026 |
Worth knowing
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.
SoftMaker Presentations
- Presentations is sold only as part of the Office suite subscription, not by itself.
- The yearly plan covers 5 household computers, but a company license covers 1 computer.
- AI text, image and translation use is capped by included character and image allowances.
- Volume licenses are priced separately, for example 5 computers for $199 a year.
Key features
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.
SoftMaker Presentations
- PPTX as native format
- Slides are saved as PPTX, so files open in PowerPoint without conversion.
- Animations and transitions
- The vendor says it offers animations and slide transitions beyond what PowerPoint provides.
- AI slide drafting
- Presentations can turn a topic into slides with headings and text, and summarize long decks.
- Five platforms
- The suite runs on Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS and Android under one subscription.
- Local processing
- The vendor says the suite runs on your own device with no forced cloud connection.
- Included allowances
- The yearly plan lists 5 million characters of AI text and 100 AI images, plus translation characters.
Plans
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.
SoftMaker Presentations
Office NX Universal, yearly$49.90
per year, licensed for 5 computers
Whole suite, including Presentations; for 5 computers of one household or 1 company computer.
Office NX Universal, monthly$4.99
per month, billed monthly
Same suite on a rolling monthly subscription.
Ways to pay less
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.
SoftMaker Presentations
No public discounts listed.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Keynote or SoftMaker Presentations?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Keynote starts at $12.99 per month or $129 per year for Apple Creator Studio, and SoftMaker Presentations starts at $4.99 per month, billed monthly ($49.90 billed yearly). One is priced for each person and the other is not, so which costs less depends on how many of you use it.
Which has a free plan, Keynote or SoftMaker Presentations?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Keynote has a free plan. SoftMaker Presentations does not, though it has a free trial.
Which platforms do Keynote and SoftMaker Presentations run on?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Keynote lists a web app and only SoftMaker Presentations lists Windows, Linux and Android apps. Both list macOS and iOS apps. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
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.