The shortlist
5 things that do it.
AI tool that builds a presentation from a text prompt.
- Free
- Roughly 400 credits on the free plan, per Gamma's guide.
- Paid
- price not checked
- Best at
- Exports to PDF, PowerPoint (PPTX) and PNG on every plan, including free.
- The catch
- Free exports carry a "Made by Gamma" badge, and its card-based layout can need small fixes after exporting to PowerPoint.
- web
Presentation maker with AI content generation and smart slide layouts.
- Free
- 14-day free trial, credit card required.
- Paid
- from $14.50 per month (Pro, billed annually)
- Best at
- Unlimited AI content generation and PowerPoint import and export on all plans.
- The catch
- No free plan: it offers a 14-day trial that needs a credit card, then charges automatically unless cancelled.
- web
AI assistant built into PowerPoint that helps create and edit slides from a description.
- Free
- PowerPoint for the web is free, with basic templates but without advanced Copilot features.
- Paid
- from £84.99 per year (Microsoft 365 Personal)
- Best at
- Working inside PowerPoint itself, so the file is already a PowerPoint deck.
- The catch
- Needs a Microsoft 365 Personal or Family subscription; usage limits apply and the AI features cannot be shared. PowerPoint for the web is free but without the advanced Copilot features.
- web
- windows
- mac
- ios
- android
Design tool with an AI presentation maker.
- Free
- Limited AI uses on Free, per Canva's help centre.
- Paid
- price not checked
- Best at
- Generating a designed deck from a prompt inside Canva's editor.
- The catch
- Free accounts have a limited number of AI uses (up to 20 standard or premium AI tool uses per Canva's help centre); more needs Canva Pro.
- web
- ios
- android
Web presentation tool with Gemini, which can create slides from a prompt and Drive content.
- Free
- Not stated on the page we read.
- Paid
- price not checked
- Best at
- Collaboration, plus importing PowerPoint and Canva presentations.
- The catch
- The page we read did not say what is free or which Google plans include Gemini in Slides.
- web
- ios
- android
The same shortlist, as a table
| Thing | Free tier | Paid from | Platforms | The catch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gammarel="nofollow noopener" | Roughly 400 credits on the free plan, per Gamma's guide. | not checked | web | Free exports carry a "Made by Gamma" badge, and its card-based layout can need small fixes after exporting to PowerPoint. |
| Beautiful.airel="nofollow noopener" | 14-day free trial, credit card required. | $14.50 per month (Pro, billed annually) | web | No free plan: it offers a 14-day trial that needs a credit card, then charges automatically unless cancelled. |
| Microsoft Copilot in PowerPointrel="nofollow noopener" | PowerPoint for the web is free, with basic templates but without advanced Copilot features. | £84.99 per year (Microsoft 365 Personal) | web, windows, mac, ios, android | Needs a Microsoft 365 Personal or Family subscription; usage limits apply and the AI features cannot be shared. PowerPoint for the web is free but without the advanced Copilot features. |
| Canvarel="nofollow noopener" | Limited AI uses on Free, per Canva's help centre. | not checked | web, ios, android | Free accounts have a limited number of AI uses (up to 20 standard or premium AI tool uses per Canva's help centre); more needs Canva Pro. |
| Google Slides with Geminirel="nofollow noopener" | Not stated on the page we read. | not checked | web, ios, android | The page we read did not say what is free or which Google plans include Gemini in Slides. |
How we checked
What we read, and what we haven't tested yet.
On 2026-10-02 we read Beautiful.ai's pricing page, Microsoft's UK PowerPoint page and the Google Slides page. Gamma and Canva blocked our fetch of their own pricing pages, so their free-plan facts come from Gamma's help and guide pages and Canva's help centre, and we give no price for either. Nothing was tested hands-on.
If none of these fit
The manual way.
If you would rather outline it yourself first, work story first, slides second. Once the outline is done, any of these tools can lay it out.