

The cost of other presentation services is all over the map.

PowerPoint Online is fine for viewing presentations, but it's not useful for creating and editing them. For example, you can't insert text boxes and wordart, although if you open a file that already has them, they should display as normal. It has drastically fewer capabilities (Opens in a new window) than the desktop app, however, and some of those that are missing are essential. You access it in a Web browser, and all you need is a Windows Live login, such as a username and password for, Hotmail, and so on. There is a free version of the app called PowerPoint Online (sometimes it's called PowerPoint Web App Microsoft isn't consistent with its nomenclature). Read our editorial mission (Opens in a new window) & see how we test (Opens in a new window). Since 1982, PCMag has tested and rated thousands of products to help you make better buying decisions. In light of the other presentation software apps on the market, $70 per year and $110 as a one-time fee aren't terrible sticker prices. If you don't use all those apps, however, and only need PowerPoint, you can buy it as a standalone app for $109.99. That's six apps for one price, or a little less than $12 per app per year. For that price, you get PowerPoint, Word, Excel, Outlook, Publisher, and Access. The Personal subscription costs $69.99 per year. Perhaps the most common way to get PowerPoint is to buy a subscription to Microsoft Office 365 ($99.99 at Dell) (Opens in a new window), which includes it. Prezi and Apple Keynote are also Editors' Choices, for their innovation and cost-savings, respectively. Still, PowerPoint is the top-rated Editors' Choice for presentation apps. Other apps, notably Prezi, break away from the humdrum format of slide after slide. If innovation is what you're after, you won't find it here. If you spend a lot of time making slideshows, rehearsing them, and presenting, you'll want PowerPoint ($8.25 Per User Per Month with Annual Commitment at Microsoft 365 for Business) (Opens in a new window) for its ability to keep the process smooth and quick. New additions to the app help creators do their jobs better, rather than cram in more needless effects, because frankly, PowerPoint has enough of them already. Microsoft PowerPoint is the best and most feature-rich slideshow creation and presentation tool.

How to Set Up Two-Factor Authentication.How to Record the Screen on Your Windows PC or Mac.

