In our modern pop culture, people love to rival against each other when it comes to their favorite superheroes, comic publishing companies, mobile operating systems, fast food chains or soda brands. The internet is full of loyal fans and consumers defending one side, while trolling the other. Presentation softwares are now also involved in such rivalries with the strongest competitors being PowerPoint and Prezi. If you want to prepare a presentation and you are uncertain which program to use, in the following article we will highlight each program’s advantages and shed a light on the disadvantages, to make it easier for you to make the choice:
Prezi
Prezi is short for Presentation in the Hungarian language. It is a presentation software company that entered the market in 2009 and has been going strong ever since with more than 100 million users so far.
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Advantages
- The Zoom function: it is one of the things that sets Prezi apart from its competitors. The ability to zoom in and zoom out with a click of the button whenever you want to highlight a certain point or give an overview of the presentation is very useful and easy to use.
- HTML5: Prezi is web based. You do not need to download a software to be able to use it, you just need a device with internet connection.
- Creativity: the program gives Prezi designers the flexibility to be creative and come up with new unique designs for their presentations. It also follows a non-linear format, which makes it easier and more flexible to jump in and out between the slides
- Sharing: it also allows users to share their presentations online with other users (up to 10), which makes collaborations much easier
- No license is needed: you can use Prezi online without the need to purchase the program
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Disadvantages
- Limitations: most of the backgrounds, fonts and colors are pre-decided and limited, which hinders users from creating what they want exactly. You also cannot edit readily made templates
- Price: to enjoy the program offline and have limitless storage, you need to pay up to $708 a year. The cost can be too much on individuals, students and freelancers
- Privacy: when you use the program for free and online, you must consent that your work would be publicly viewable on Prezi’s website
- Skills: Prezi might be outside the comfort zone for many technology novices because it needs a learning curve and maybe some training to be able to use it smoothly
- Printing: you cannot print the slides as handouts and give them to your audience to follow along because Prezi does not function within a slide format
PowerPoint
PowerPoint has been a part of the Microsoft Office bundle since 1989. It is the well-known, standard, go-to software when anyone wants to make a slideshow. It controls the 95% of the presentation software market with more that 500 million users.
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Advantages
- Recognition: at 31 years old (it was first created in 1987), PowerPoint is now a household name that can be recognized by the majority of computer users worldwide
- User-friendly: PowerPoint is very direct and easy to use with great user interface. Schools teach students to use the MS office package, including PowerPoint, so most people are familiar with it
- Possibilities: PowerPoint offers unlimited possibilities for its users, when it comes to slide designs, colors, fonts, sound effects, animations, graphics, charts and backgrounds.
- Hyperlinks: if you want to send the audience to a web page or a certain area of the presentation, all you need to do is seamlessly insert hyperlinks into a slide
- Printing: unlike Prezi, you can print your slides easily and orderly to hand them out
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Disadvantages
- File size: when the PowerPoint file includes video, images, sounds and effects, it tends to be very large in size
- Installation: if you want to use the software, you have to install it on your computer, you cannot use it on a website online like Prezi
- Very familiar: sometimes PowerPoint presentations look too familiar, uncreative and maybe even boring due to the large numbers of users as well as the users’ over-reliance on pre-designed slides
- License: you need to purchase Microsoft Office with its product key, if you want to use PowerPoint. The price can be up to 150$
- Linear format: some users complain that you need to follow a linear format when going through the presentation, which makes it time consuming to jump back and forth between the slides
In conclusion, both softwares offer great tools and features that will help you create great presentations. The choice should depend on which one meets your needs better, which one offers you what you want and which one is easier for you to use.