The Keynote Insider’s Guide

Everything we know about Keynote in one document: what it costs, its grades, getting a refund, getting help and what else to look at. Read it here, or keep a copy.

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ToolGPAOctober 2026

Keynote

The Insider’s Guide

Apple's free presentation app for Mac, iPad and iPhone

Every plan, grade, refund rule and rival among presentation tools, read from Keynote’s own pages.

Made by Apple · checked Oct 5, 2026 · toolgpa.com

3.2GPA

01WelcomeWhat it is, who it suits, its grades and the ten things to know first
02What it costsEvery plan, the free plan, ways to pay less and how prices have moved
03What it doesIts main features, where it runs, what it works with and who makes it
04Where it standsIts grades against its category, and whether to keep it or make your own
05The alternativesThe tools it is most often weighed against, side by side
06Quick answersThe questions people ask about it, each answered in a line or two
07About ToolGPAWho made this guide, what else is on the site, and how to cite it

ToolGPA put this guide together from Keynote’s own pages, its app-store listings and our grades. Every fact in it is on Keynote’s page too, where it is kept up to date. Checked Oct 5, 2026.

Part 01 · Overview

Welcome

What it is, who it suits, its grades and the ten things to know first

3.2

GPA, above 20 of the 24 other presentation tools we grade

Keynote is Apple's presentation app, free on Mac, iPad, iPhone and Apple Vision Pro and usable in a browser through iCloud.com. Decks start from Apple-designed themes, use animations such as Magic Move, and can be shared for real-time collaboration through iCloud or Box. An Apple Creator Studio subscription adds premium templates, a stock media library and beta tools that turn an outline into slides.

To get you started, here are 9 things to know about Keynote, taken from its own pages and our grades.

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.

From our grade for ease of use

1
Best for animated decks on Apple devices
Keynote is Apple's presentation app, free on Mac, iPad and iPhone, with Apple's themes and Magic Move animation in the free app.
2
Paid plans start at $10.75 a month when paid by the year for each person
As its pricing page puts it: $12.99 per month or $129 per year for Apple Creator Studio.
3
There is a 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.
4
It runs on 3 platforms
macOS, iOS and Web.
5
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.
6
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.
7
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.
8
A 3.2 GPA, above 20 of 24
That is against the other presentation tools we grade, on value, the free plan, features, ease of use and platforms.
9
Keep it
The plain part of Keynote you could make: templates. What surrounds it you could not. The 7 things listed below take a company, not a weekend.

Keynote at a glance

Pricing: Free plan, from $12.99 per month or $129 per year for Apple Creator Studio
Free plan: Yes
Free trial: Apple Creator Studio is free for 1 month for new subscribers, then renews automatically
Runs on: Web, macOS, iOS
Made by: Apple
Category: Presentations
Our grade: 3.2 GPA, very good
Store rating: 4.4 on the App Store, 83,347 ratings

The report card

Best for animated decks on Apple devices

Keynote is Apple's presentation app, free on Mac, iPad and iPhone, with Apple's themes and Magic Move animation in the free app. It's Apple only, though: Windows people get just the iCloud.com browser version, there's no Android app, and a PowerPoint file loses its WordArt, text effects and OLE objects on the way in. Making slides from an outline costs $12.99 a month and is still beta.

ToolGPA report cardKeynoteGraded Oct 10, 2026

Subject	Grade	Comment
Value for money	A	The 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.
Free plan and trial	A	Creating, 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.
Features	B	Covers 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.
Ease of use	B	4.4 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.
Platforms and integrations	C	One 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.

Grade point averageVery good, out of 4.03.2

An A is worth 4 points, a B 3, a C 2, a D 1 and an F nothing. The GPA is the average of the five.

Who Keynote is for

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

Who it is not for

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

Good to know

Good for

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

Worth knowing

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.

Part 02 · Pricing

What it costs

Every plan, the free plan, ways to pay less and how prices have moved

$10.75

A month to start, paid by the year, for each person. There is a free plan too

Keynote has a free plan. Paid plans start at $12.99 per month or $129 per year for Apple Creator Studio.

Creating, editing, presenting and real-time collaboration cost nothing, with no cap listed.

From our grade for free plan and trial

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.

The 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.

Trying it first

Apple Creator Studio is free for 1 month for new subscribers, then renews automatically

Read from apps.apple.com on Oct 5, 2026.

Ways to pay less

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.
Stated on apple.com
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.
Stated on apple.com
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.
Stated on apple.com

What the app costs elsewhere

Each country’s App Store price for “Monthly”, against $12.99 in the United States, in dollars at the day’s rate. The four cheapest and the four dearest of 11.

Country	Price there	In dollars	Against the US
India	₹ 399	$4.12	68% less
Indonesia	Rp 99ribu	$5.54	57% less
Philippines	₱ 399.00	$6.35	51% less
Turkey	₺349,99	$7.12	45% less
Canada	$17.99	$12.65	about the same
Australia	$19.99	$13.96	7% more
Germany	12,99 €	$14.56	12% more
United Kingdom	£12.99	$17.17	32% more

Part 03 · Features

What it does

Its main features, where it runs, what it works with and who makes it

Places it runs: Web, macOS and iOS

Apple's free presentation app for Mac, iPad and iPhone. Here is what it does, as its own site describes it, and what it covers: works offline, AI features, real-time collaboration, templates, presentations.

Apple's own list says WordArt doesn't survive a PowerPoint import.

From our grade for features

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.

Where it runs

Web
macOS
iOS

What it works with

iCloud
Box
Messages
FaceTime
Shortcuts

Keynote is made by Apple.

Part 04 · Standing

Where it stands

Its grades against its category, and whether to keep it or make your own

20/24

Other presentation tools it is graded above

Keynote's GPA of 3.2 is higher than 20 of the 24 other presentation tools we grade, and level with 2.

It stands best on free plan and trial (A, above 21 of 24) and worst on platforms and integrations (C, above 0).

Its paid plans start at $10.75 a month when paid by the year for each person, against a middle price of $8.66 for the category: 14 of the 21 others that charge start lower.

On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 2.7 out of 4. 3 tools score higher and cost less.

Each grade against the category

Every bar is all 25 presentation tools we grade, cut by the letter each got. Keynote’s own letter is outlined.

AValue for money
Above 18 of 24
AFree plan and trial
Above 21 of 24
BFeatures
Above 14 of 24
BEase of use
Above 15 of 24
CPlatforms and integrations
Above 0 of 24

Price against what you get

Each dot is one of 23 presentation tools. Further left costs less; higher up scores better on features, ease of use and platforms. Keynote is the marked dot.

What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →

Keep it, or make your own?

Whether this is something you could build for yourself with an AI app builder, and what you would give up.

Keep it

The plain part of Keynote you could make: templates. What surrounds it you could not. The 7 things listed below take a company, not a weekend.

It is one of the better ones too: its GPA of 3.2 is higher than 20 of the 24 other presentation tools we grade. It costs $129 a year.

What you could make

Templates: an app builder makes this well.

What you could not

A slide editor.
Apps for macOS and iOS that stay in step with each other.
Several people working in it at the same moment.
It plugs into other products, iCloud, Box and Messages among them.
AI features, unless you pay a model provider for each request yourself.
Hooks into the device itself: an Apple Watch app.
The depth: we grade its features B, which means it covers the whole job.

What this rests on. Keynote’s listing: what it does, where it runs, what it plugs into and what it costs. It is a judgement about the kind of software this is. We have not built a replacement for it, and making your own means looking after it too. How we decide, and every tool’s verdict.

Part 05 · Alternatives

The alternatives

The tools it is most often weighed against, side by side

Microsoft PowerPoint, Google Slides, Canva and LibreOffice Impress

The 4 tools Keynote is most often weighed against, with where each one differs from it.

3.4GPA
Microsoft PowerPoint
Free plan · from $9.99/mo
Slide presentation app sold with Microsoft 365, free in the browser.
- Only Microsoft PowerPoint lists Windows and Android apps.
Keynote and Microsoft PowerPoint compared in full
3.2GPA
Google Slides
Free plan · from $7/mo
Browser-based presentation builder, free with a Google Account.
- Only Keynote lists a macOS app.
- Only Google Slides lists an Android app.
Keynote and Google Slides compared in full
3.2GPA
Canva
Free plan · from $14.99/mo
Template-based design platform for slides, graphics and video.
- Only Canva lists Windows and Android apps.
- Canva also covers video editing.
Keynote and Canva compared in full
3.0GPA
LibreOffice Impress
Free
Free, open-source presentation app for Windows, macOS and Linux.
- Only Keynote lists a web app.
- Only Keynote lists an iOS app.
- Only LibreOffice Impress lists Windows and Linux apps.
Keynote and LibreOffice Impress compared in full

Part 06 · Questions

Quick answers

The questions people ask about it, each answered in a line or two

Questions, each answered in a line or two

The short version of everything above, for when you only need the answer. Each one is told in full in its part of the guide.

Is Keynote free?

Keynote has a free plan. The app is free: creating, viewing and editing presentations and collaborating in real time do not require a subscription.

How much does Keynote cost?

Keynote lists 2 plans. Keynote: $0.

What platforms does Keynote work on?

Keynote is available on macOS, iOS and Web.

Does Keynote offer any discounts?

Keynote publicly lists the following: About 17% less on the yearly plan; Students and educators: $2.99 a month; 3 months free with a new Mac or iPad.

How is Keynote rated?

Keynote's iPhone and iPad app averages 4.4 out of 5 from 83,347 ratings on the App Store in the United States, as read on Oct 5, 2026.

Does Keynote have an Android app?

No Android app was listed when its pages were read on Oct 5, 2026. Keynote is listed for macOS, iOS and Web.

Does Keynote have a Windows app?

No Windows app was listed when its pages were read on Oct 5, 2026. Keynote is listed for macOS, iOS and Web.

Is Keynote open source?

Keynote is not described as open source on its own site, as read on Oct 5, 2026.

Does Keynote work offline?

Yes, according to its own site. What works without a connection differs by plan and platform, so check the vendor's page for the detail.

What does Keynote integrate with?

Keynote's listing names iCloud, Box, Messages, FaceTime and Shortcuts.

Does Keynote have a student discount?

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.

Does Keynote have a free trial?

Yes. Apple Creator Studio is free for 1 month for new subscribers, then renews automatically.

Who makes Keynote?

Keynote is made by Apple.

What are the alternatives to Keynote?

The closest alternatives to Keynote in our directory are Microsoft PowerPoint, Google Slides, Canva and LibreOffice Impress.

How does Keynote compare with other presentation tools?

Keynote's GPA of 3.2 is higher than 20 of the 24 other presentation tools we grade, and level with 2.

Is Keynote good value for money?

ToolGPA grades Keynote A for value for money. Its paid plans start at $10.75 a month when paid by the year for each person, against a middle price of $8.66 for the category: 14 of the 21 others that charge start lower.

Could I make my own version of Keynote?

The plain part of Keynote you could make: templates. What surrounds it you could not.

Where this guide comes from

The prices, plans, platforms and features were read from Keynote’s own pages on Oct 5, 2026, and the grades were given on Oct 10, 2026. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from Apple's own pages on 5 October 2026, and its App Store rating. Also tested with a demo account on 2026-04-23.

Every tool we list gets five grades, A to F, each with its reason, and a GPA that averages them. How each is decided is at toolgpa.com/grades. This guide is ToolGPA’s own work; it is not made, paid for or approved by Apple. Prices change, so check support.apple.com before you buy.

Part 07 · About

About ToolGPA

Who made this guide, what else is on the site, and how to cite it

3,189

Tools graded, in 94 categories

ToolGPA grades software the way a school report grades a pupil: five subjects, a letter for each with the reason written beside it, and a GPA that averages them. Prices, plans and platforms are read from each maker’s own pages and dated, so you always know how fresh a figure is.

Every grade, review and ranking on ToolGPA is our own judgement. No company can pay for a grade or change one. Every tool on the site has a guide like this one, free to download and pass on. It all lives at toolgpa.com.

3,189
tools graded
94
categories
426
price changes on record
579
apps priced in 12 countries

What else is on toolgpa.com

Scan for the live page

Prices and grades as they are today

Quoting this guide?

Please name ToolGPA and link to the live page, so readers can check the figures for themselves:

ToolGPA, "Keynote: The Insider's Guide", checked Oct 5, 2026. https://toolgpa.com/tools/keynote

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The best-graded presentation tools after Keynote, each with an Insider's Guide of its own.

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Everything in this guide is ToolGPA’s own summary of what Keynote’s pages, its app-store listings and public reviews said on the dates shown. Grades are our judgement under the rules at toolgpa.com/grades. Every grade, review and ranking on ToolGPA is our own judgement. No company can pay for a grade or change one. Keynote is a trademark of its owner, and this guide is not made, paid for or approved by Apple. Prices and plans change: check support.apple.com before you buy.