Keynote and PowerPoint have long been two of the most popular presentation design apps on the market, and for good reason: They’re both incredibly effective when it comes to designing killer presentations. Some opt for Keynote because they’re diehard Apple enthusiasts and others go with PowerPoint because Microsoft’s all they ever want to know.
But if you’re someone who cares less about brand loyalty and more about what the best presentation software for your particular needs is, then check out the side-by-side breakdown of presentations’ two biggest players.
Familiarity
Even if you’re an Apple enthusiast, chances are, you already have at least some experience with the PowerPoint interface. It’s the same as the rest of Microsoft’s apps, so most of us are already decently familiar with how to use its primary features. Keynote, on the other hand, is foreign to most people who have never used a Mac, so there’s a bit of a learning curve.
Collaboration
Keynote offers easy real-time collaboration via it’s relatively new iCloud collab feature. And while you can’t collaborate in real-time on PowerPoint’s desktop-only version, you can do so easily via the online version but with limited features.
Compatibility
No matter whether you have a Mac or a PC, PowerPoint and all of its functionality is easily compatible with your device. PC users who want to use Keynote have to jump through quite a few technological hoops to use it on their computer.
Template Design
Most agree that Keynote has a leg up on PowerPoint on the template front. PowerPoint’s templates tend to look very similar, which can make for generic-looking presentations. Keynote’s have quite a bit more variation and style, though some might deem many too “fun” to use for business purposes.
Shapes
If you’re someone who uses a lot of shapes in your presentations, then PowerPoint is your best option because it makes it really easy to manipulate any shapes to your precise specifications. The ability to edit and modify shapes in Keynote is severely limited, so anything beyond basic point manipulation is pretty much impossible.
Charts
Both PowerPoint and Keynote offer charts that’ll update when you add more data, but it’s only Keynote that allows you to do it within the app. With PowerPoint, you have to manage your data in an outside application (namely Excel) and link it back to your presentation.
Image Access
At a loss for compelling images for your presentation? With the PowerPoint add-on Pickit, you can search a library of free-to-use images from within the software and easily add them to your presentation. Keynote doesn’t have a similar add-on, but many find creating image-heavy slides is easier than it is in PowerPoint.
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