Keynote vs Zoho Show

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

Zoho Show

• Individuals who want a free slide tool without ads
• Teams already paying for Zoho WorkDrive or Zoho Workplace
• Presenting from a phone to an Apple TV or Android TV

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.

Zoho Show

• There is no standalone paid Show plan; teams get it through a Zoho WorkDrive or Zoho Workplace subscription.
• WorkDrive plans start at 3 users; buying 1 or 2 seats means contacting Zoho's sales team.
• Desktop apps cover macOS and Windows only; on Linux, Zoho Office offers just Writer and PDF Editor.
• Organizations without a Zoho One, Workplace or WorkDrive subscription pay $10 per device for the desktop apps; the page does not show a billing period.

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.

Zoho Show

Zia AI

Zia turns a short idea into a complete presentation and helps write, design and improve slides, whether starting from scratch or refining existing content.

Templates and libraries

More than 100 templates for pitch decks, sales presentations and proposals, plus template, slide and font libraries that act as a central repository for a team.

Real-time collaboration

Teammates edit slides together with contextual comments and @mention notifications. Slides can be locked, and files checked in and out.

PowerPoint compatibility

Imports PPTX, PPT, ODP, PPSX and PPS files and exports to PPTX, PPSX, HTML, ODP and PDF. Zoho publishes a list of which PowerPoint features are supported.

Broadcast and TV apps

Presentations can be broadcast to remote viewers or shown on a smart TV through the Apple TV and Android TV apps, with a phone or smartwatch as the remote.

Add-ons

An add-on store brings YouTube videos, X feeds, Giphy GIFs and icon sets into slides, along with live data from Zoho Analytics, Zoho Sprints and Zoho Survey.

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.

Zoho Show

• Free$0

  For individuals: 100+ templates, unlimited cloud storage, 500 MB uploads, real-time collaboration, offline mode and broadcasting.

• WorkDrive Starter$2.50

  per user / month, billed annually ($3 monthly); min. 3 users

  Zoho WorkDrive with the Zoho Office Suite, including Show, and 1 TB of team storage for 3 to 10 users.

• Workplace Standard$3

  per user / month, billed annually ($4 billed monthly)

  Zoho Workplace: Show, Writer and Sheet alongside Mail with 30 GB per user, WorkDrive, Cliq and Meeting.

• WorkDrive Team$4.50

  per user / month, billed annually ($6 monthly); min. 3 users

  3 TB of team storage for 3 to 10 users, a 50 GB upload limit per file and data recovery for up to 120 days.

• Workplace Professional$6

  per user / month, billed annually ($7 billed monthly)

  100 GB of mail storage per user and 1 TB of shared team file storage for 3 to 10 users.

• WorkDrive Business$9

  per user / month, billed annually ($11 monthly); min. 3 users

  5 TB of team storage for 3 to 10 users, custom workflows, data loss prevention policies and an admin audit trail.

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.

Zoho Show

• Annual discount

  Lower WorkDrive rates with annual billing

  WorkDrive Starter is $2.50 per user a month billed annually against $3 billed monthly. Team is $4.50 against $6 and Business $9 against $11.

• Annual discount

  Lower Workplace rates with annual billing

  Workplace Standard is $3 per user a month billed annually against $4 billed monthly, and Workplace Professional is $6 against $7.