PowerPoint vs. Google Slides: Which One is Right for You?

It’s the ultimate showdown: PowerPoint vs. Google Slides, the reigning champ of the presentation world against the scrappy newcomer with a few tricks up its sleeve.

Chances are you have to work in one of these platforms during the course of your career, but given the choice of which to use, how do you decide which one is right for you? Which is the ultimate presentation machine, the one that will help you create the perfect slides to crush meetings and move your business forward?

Spoiler alert: it depends. 

In the battle of PowerPoint vs. Google Slides, the best one for you comes down to how you like to work. From ease of use to collaboration, power and flexibility, both have their strengths and weaknesses. Let’s break down the key differences, and help you decide once and for all which presentation tool is the right one for you!

PowerPoint vs. Google Slides: The Overview

There are a lot of ways to assess these tools, particularly since they offer such robust features. But for most users, these four areas cover the most important parts of the average workflow.

While it might look like PowerPoint comes out ahead with 3 checks to 2 for Google Slides, the actual answer isn’t so simple. Ultimately, both are powerful and highly-effective tools. So how do you choose? It comes down to your unique needs and preferences.

Let’s go into more detail about each of these key areas!

Feature: Ease of Use

When it comes to ease of use, Google Slides couldn’t be simpler. Just point your browser to slides.new and start building! All you need is a Google account and you’ll be ready to go: no need to install programs, purchase licenses, or fuss around with any other details.

However, PowerPoint is not far behind when it comes to set up. Microsoft also offers free web-based slide editing, as well as the ability to subscribe to get the full program. 

PowerPoint may look a little more complex at first glance, but that’s also a benefit, as it points to the robustness of its feature set. There can be a bit of an initial learning curve, but once you get the hang of it, there’s virtually nothing you can’t create in PowerPoint, from complex animations that verge on cinematic to interactive presentations that act more like websites.

Google Slides can do a lot of the same things, but the depth of functionality doesn’t quite match what PowerPoint has to offer. Animations are less detailed, design options are simpler, and as a whole it just doesn’t give you the complete control that PowerPoint does.

Verdict: To hit the ground running, go with Google Slides. To start the road to presentation mastery, choose PowerPoint.

Feature: Collaboration

Few documents are more collaborative than presentations. So the ability to work together with your teammates on a document is an essential part of a powerful presentation program.

With its web-first approach, Google Slides makes collaboration as simple as possible. You can easily share access to your document, work together in real-time, and get both internal teams and clients working in the same document, without having to worry about who has access to what programs. 

PowerPoint does offer real-time collaboration as well, but it’s not quite as simple as Slides. To work together in PowerPoint, your presentation needs to be saved to and shared from OneDrive, Microsoft’s cloud storage solution. In theory it should allow the same flexibility as sharing in Slides, but it does add an extra hurdle that can make collaborating less freeflowing and simple.

Verdict: While both offer the ability to collaborate in real-time, Slides streamlines the process in a way that makes collaboration effortless.

Feature: Design Tools

Now we’re into the heart of the matter: which offers a better set of slide design tools?

Google Slides has come a long way since its early days, offering more tools for customization, some really high-quality pre-built templates, and lets you add simple animations and other design flourishes.

PowerPoint, on the other hand, is a presentation design behemoth. It offers powerful tools with a great depth of features and functionality, allowing you to create robust templates, animations, and other custom elements that are simply unmatched by other presentation tools.

Verdict: If you want to create enterprise-grade templates, visually stunning presentations, or just get really granular with your slides, PowerPoint is hands down the best choice.

Feature: Offline Access

Presentations are highly-mobile projects. From airport lounges to client conference rooms, it’s rare to find a presentation that’s been worked on from just one place. So which tool is best for the presenter on the go?

Google Slides is a primarily online tool. It does offer the ability to work online, but that’s not exactly what it was designed to do. Some users even report issues with performance when working with large presentations offline. You can do it, but it’s not where it shines.

PowerPoint, on the other hand, began its life as a tool for individual users. If you want to pop open a presentation on your desktop and dive into some slide design, PowerPoint is always there for you.

Verdict: Once again, PowerPoint is the clear winner. If you are working on the go, and don’t want to worry about connectivity interrupting your workflow, PowerPoint is your choice.

Which should you choose?

And the winner of the battle of PowerPoint vs. Google Slides is... both! 

The truth is there is no clear best choice in presentation tools. It all comes down to how you work, who you are working with and what you need to do with it. At our presentation design agency, we primarily work in PowerPoint, as do most of our clients. But we also work in Google Slides for certain types of workflows, and we even have some big name clients that use Slides exclusively.

If you’re unsure of which to choose, here’s a simple way to decide:

Choose PowerPoint if:  You need advanced design tools, offline access, and polished animations.

Choose Google Slides if:  You prioritize real-time collaboration, ease of use, and cloud access.

We will sometimes use Slides for early outlines and initial collaboration with clients, and then design the final presentation in PowerPoint. This gives you the best of both worlds – easy collaboration and powerful design tools.

And really, the best approach is to stay open to the tools that work well for each situation, instead of locking yourself into any one tool.

Happy presenting!

About the author

Kyle Kartz is the Creative Director of Storytelling at VerdanaBold. He is an expert copywriter and strategist, with experience driving major campaigns for global brands in multiple industries. He is passionate about communications, the outdoors, and cooking.