Microsoft PowerPoint vs SoftMaker Presentations (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, we pick Microsoft PowerPoint: it is first in our ranking of presentation tools, and it grades higher too, 3.4 against 2.8.
Checked Oct 5, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 10, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Microsoft PowerPoint grades higher on the free plan, features, ease of use and platforms. SoftMaker Presentations grades higher on value for money.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Microsoft PowerPoint
Slide presentation app sold with Microsoft 365, free in the browser
SoftMaker Presentations
PowerPoint-compatible slide app in the SoftMaker Office suite
Which one is for you
Pick Microsoft PowerPoint if
- Fits if you need the Windows or Mac app and already pay for Microsoft 365
- Works for teams that share files through OneDrive or SharePoint and edit together
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if slides are all you need: the desktop apps need Microsoft 365 at $9.99 a month or Office Home 2024 at $179.99
- Skip it if you want AI help without paying, as Copilot needs a subscription, has usage limits and on shared plans works only for the owner
- Not for you if you stay on the free web version and need macros or password-protected files, which open only on the desktop
- Watch out: Business Basic at $7.00 a user a month gets only the web and mobile apps, and business trials need a credit card
- Not for you if you rehearse in another language, because Speaker Coach understands English only
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
| 3.4GPAMicrosoft PowerPointVery good | 2.8GPASoftMaker PresentationsGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CMicrosoft 365 Personal is $9.99 a month or $99.99 a year, which is exactly the middle figure for this category, and it brings Word, Excel, Outlook and 1 TB of storage with it. Office Home 2024 is $179.99 once, about eighteen months of that middle, with no upgrade to the next release. | 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 | BPowerPoint for the web is free for one person, with sharing, live co-editing, basic templates and 5 GB of storage, and an occasional user could live on it. It isn't the whole app, though: macros don't run and password-protected files only open on the desktop. | CA 30-day free trial of the suite; the listing does not mention a card. |
| Features | ACovers the whole job and adds two things: Speaker Coach listens to a rehearsal and reports your pacing and filler words, and Cameo puts your live camera on a slide to be styled and animated like a picture. Neither is offered by Google Slides, Keynote or Canva. Designer, co-authoring and Copilot are included too. | BPPTX native, animations, transitions and AI drafting, with no gap named in the listing for the core job. |
| Ease of use | A4.73 from about 582,000 App Store ratings, one of the two highest marks in this category. Designer offers a finished layout for whatever you drop on a slide, and there are thousands of templates to start from. | BNo store rating on record. It installs as an office suite and opens PPTX files with nothing to set up. |
| Platforms and integrations | AWindows, Mac, iPhone, Android and the web, tied into OneDrive, SharePoint and Teams, which is everything this grade asks for. The web version has holes, mind: password-protected files only open in the desktop app and macros don't run. | BWindows, macOS, Linux, iOS and Android, but no web version and no integrations list. |
| Best for | slides on every device, tied to Microsoft 365 | 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: Microsoft PowerPoint and SoftMaker Presentations. How we grade
Price against what you get
Microsoft PowerPoint starts at $8.33 a month when paid by the year and scores 4.0 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. SoftMaker Presentations starts at $4.99 a month and scores 3.0.
Microsoft PowerPoint scores higher, and starts $3.34 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 Microsoft PowerPoint 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
- Microsoft PowerPoint also covers templates.
- SoftMaker Presentations also covers documents and spreadsheets.
At a glance
| Microsoft PowerPoint | SoftMaker Presentations | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free trial |
| Starts at | $9.99 / month, or $99.99 / year (Microsoft 365 Personal) | $4.99 per month, billed monthly ($49.90 billed yearly) |
| Free plan | PowerPoint for the web is free for 1 person, with sharing, real-time collaboration, basic templates and 5 GB of cloud storage. Microsoft lists the free plan as working on web, iOS and Android. | None |
| Free trial | 1-month free trial of the Microsoft 365 home and business plans; business trials need a credit card. | 30-day free trial of SoftMaker Office NX Universal |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| Linux | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Microsoft | SoftMaker |
| Price read from | microsoft.com | softmaker.com |
| Checked | Oct 5, 2026 | Nov 13, 2026 |
Worth knowing
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.
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
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.
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
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.
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
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.
SoftMaker Presentations
No public discounts listed.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Microsoft PowerPoint or SoftMaker Presentations?
As of Nov 13, 2026, SoftMaker Presentations is cheaper to start with: $4.99 a month, against $8.33 a month when paid by the year for Microsoft PowerPoint. Microsoft PowerPoint starts at $9.99 / month, or $99.99 / year (Microsoft 365 Personal), and SoftMaker Presentations starts at $4.99 per month, billed monthly ($49.90 billed yearly).
Which has a free plan, Microsoft PowerPoint or SoftMaker Presentations?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Microsoft PowerPoint has a free plan. SoftMaker Presentations does not, though it has a free trial.
Which platforms do Microsoft PowerPoint and SoftMaker Presentations run on?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Microsoft PowerPoint lists a web app and only SoftMaker Presentations lists a Linux app. Both list macOS, Windows, iOS and Android apps. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
More comparisons
- Microsoft PowerPoint vs Google Slides
- Microsoft PowerPoint vs Keynote
- Microsoft PowerPoint vs LibreOffice Impress
- Microsoft PowerPoint vs Canva
- Microsoft PowerPoint vs WPS Presentation
- SoftMaker Presentations vs LibreOffice Impress
- SoftMaker Presentations vs WPS Presentation
- 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.