LibreOffice Impress vs SoftMaker Presentations (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, LibreOffice Impress grades higher than SoftMaker Presentations: 3.0 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
LibreOffice Impress grades higher on value for money and the free plan. SoftMaker Presentations grades higher on features and platforms. They get the same grade on ease of use.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
LibreOffice Impress
Free, open-source presentation app for Windows, macOS and Linux
SoftMaker Presentations
PowerPoint-compatible slide app in the SoftMaker Office suite
Which one is for you
Pick LibreOffice Impress if
- Fits if you want a desktop slide program with no subscription and no account
- Works for editing PowerPoint files on Linux, Windows or macOS without paying
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if your team edits decks together online, because there's no cloud version and none is planned
- Not for you if you build slides on a phone or tablet: the Android app is a viewer with experimental editing, and Impress Remote only runs a show
- Tight if you present from one screen, since the Presenter Console works only with two displays
- Watch out: the Mac App Store copy costs $8.99 and the Microsoft Store one also charges, while libreoffice.org is free
- Skip it if you want it tied to other apps, as the listing names no integrations at all
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
| 3.0GPALibreOffice ImpressVery good | 2.8GPASoftMaker PresentationsGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | A$0 from libreoffice.org, where presentation tools here sit at $9.99 a month in the middle. The store copies cost money: the Mac App Store version is $8.99, and the Microsoft Store version carries a charge too. | 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 | AThe whole LibreOffice suite, Impress included, is a free download for Windows, macOS and Linux. No paid tier above it, nothing held back and no account to make. | CA 30-day free trial of the suite; the listing does not mention a card. |
| Features | CClassic slideware: charts, drawings, multimedia, animations, transitions, handouts, a Slide Sorter and a Presenter Console with your notes and a timer. The gap is the one its own foundation names, and it's a big one now: no hosted version, so nobody edits a deck alongside you, and it isn't planned. | BPPTX native, animations, transitions and AI drafting, with no gap named in the listing for the core job. |
| Ease of use | BNo App Store rating on record. There's nothing to set up all the same: download it, install it, start from the templates it ships with, with no account to make and no cloud to join. | BNo store rating on record. It installs as an office suite and opens PPTX files with nothing to set up. |
| Platforms and integrations | CComputers only: Windows, macOS and Linux. On phones, Impress Remote drives a slide show but can't edit one, and the Android app is a viewer with experimental editing. No web version and no integrations listed at all. | BWindows, macOS, Linux, iOS and Android, but no web version and no integrations list. |
| Best for | free desktop slides with no subscription or account | 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: LibreOffice Impress and SoftMaker Presentations. How we grade
Price against what you get
LibreOffice Impress has no paid plan and scores 2.3 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 $4.99 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other presentation tools on the chart, none scores higher than LibreOffice Impress 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
- LibreOffice Impress is open source, according to its own site.
- LibreOffice Impress also covers templates.
- SoftMaker Presentations also covers documents and spreadsheets.
At a glance
| LibreOffice Impress | SoftMaker Presentations | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free | Free trial |
| Starts at | Free | $4.99 per month, billed monthly ($49.90 billed yearly) |
| Free plan | The whole LibreOffice suite, Impress included, is a free download from libreoffice.org for Windows, macOS and Linux. | None |
| Free trial | None listed | 30-day free trial of SoftMaker Office NX Universal |
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| Linux | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | The Document Foundation | SoftMaker |
| Price read from | libreoffice.org | softmaker.com |
| Checked | Oct 5, 2026 | Nov 13, 2026 |
Worth knowing
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.
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
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.
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
LibreOffice Impress
LibreOffice$0
The full office suite, including Impress, downloaded free from libreoffice.org for Windows, macOS or Linux.
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.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, LibreOffice Impress or SoftMaker Presentations?
As of Nov 13, 2026, LibreOffice Impress is cheaper to start with: it is free, against $4.99 a month for SoftMaker Presentations. LibreOffice Impress is free, and SoftMaker Presentations starts at $4.99 per month, billed monthly ($49.90 billed yearly).
Which has a free plan, LibreOffice Impress or SoftMaker Presentations?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only LibreOffice Impress has a free plan. SoftMaker Presentations does not, though it has a free trial.
Which platforms do LibreOffice Impress and SoftMaker Presentations run on?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only SoftMaker Presentations lists iOS and Android apps. Both list macOS, Windows and Linux apps. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
More comparisons
- LibreOffice Impress vs Microsoft PowerPoint
- LibreOffice Impress vs WPS Presentation
- LibreOffice Impress vs Google Slides
- LibreOffice Impress vs Keynote
- LibreOffice Impress vs ONLYOFFICE
- SoftMaker Presentations vs WPS Presentation
- SoftMaker Presentations vs Microsoft PowerPoint
- SoftMaker Presentations vs Google Slides
- SoftMaker Presentations vs Keynote
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.