Microsoft PowerPoint vs. Apple Keynote: Which is Best for You?

Slideshow presentations are a great way to convey information in an easy-to-understand, cleanly designed package. But between Apple's Keynote and Microsoft's PowerPoint, who does the job the best, and which aligns best to your needs?

Pricing: Who's Got The Better Deal?

The Keynote app is free on Apple devices as a pre-downloaded app, and is available on the App Store for free download at any time. For non-Apple devices, Keynote can only be accessed via the iCloud website, and some features are limited. Keynote is not available offline for non-Apple devices, meaning those users must always be connected to the internet to work on Keynote presentations.

Microsoft's PowerPoint can be downloaded on both Apple and Windows devices, enabling users of either to work on presentations offline and access all features. However, this downloadable version comes at a cost. A permanent PowerPoint license comes in at $159.99, granting full access to the application for Windows or Mac. It can also be accessed as part of Microsoft 365, which costs $6.99 a month and includes Word, Excel, Outlook, and OneDrive.

On the surface, being able to access Keynote for free is the better bargain. However, on Windows devices, the experience is less than optimal.

Which is More Powerful and Feature-Rich?

In terms of features, PowerPoint comes out on top. Though the margin between Keynote and PowerPoint in terms of power isn't huge, many people use PowerPoint alone to create graphics and edit photos, with more flexibility than would be possible on Keynote. Also, PowerPoint's Designer feature can automatically generate a wide variety of designs based on the content you've added to your presentation so far.

PowerPoint's larger feature set and layout do make it less user-friendly than Keynote, especially for anyone not accustomed to PowerPoint's user interface. Neither have too steep of a learning curve, but Keynote's simplistic layout and clear instructions make it easier to pick up and use. Both can get the job done in terms of creating a presentation that functions and looks the way you want it to, but for design work specifically, PowerPoint is better suited.

Templates: Whose Presentations are Better Looking?

Templates are a cornerstone of presentation creation, and make it a lot easier to create good-looking slideshows without having to individually perfect each slide. A presentation software's available templates and ability to implement them well is a massive part of its usability, so knowing which of the two has better graphics is key to determining which is best.

Both Keynote and PowerPoint offer plenty of built-in themes and templates that can be used right off the bat. However, Keynote's available templates tend to look more polished and are better in terms of design, visuals, and organization.

This doesn't automatically make Keynote better for templates, as it is possible to download and use templates that have been uploaded online. PowerPoint has many more templates available for use than Keynote does, and though templates made for PowerPoint could technically be used on Keynote, there's no guarantee that everything will transfer correctly. Keynote also has online, user-created templates, but there are far fewer.

If you don't want to spend time looking online for templates, you may find Keynote's available selection better for you. However, if you value versatility and want to find the perfect online template for your presentation, you'll find a wider selection of PowerPoint-specific templates available for use.

Which Has Better File Compatibility?

Both PowerPoint and Keynote save documents in unique formats: PPTX and KEY respectively. Files created in PowerPoint and saved as PPTX can be easily opened in Keynote, though some design elements may not always transfer perfectly.

In terms of saving and exporting between file types, presentations created using Keynote can be saved as ".key" and ".pptx" files, allowing you to open or edit a slideshow created in Keynote using PowerPoint. Natively, PowerPoint cannot open a ".key" file, nor can it save a slideshow as a ".key" file. In order to edit Keynotes in PowerPoint, they must have been saved as or converted to a ".pptx" using the Keynote application.

Specifically considering these two applications, Keynote is more readily compatible between the two. However, both are able to save their presentations as other common file types, including PDF, GIF, MOV, and more.

So, Which is Best?

Whether or not Keynote or PowerPoint is better is going to depend on the person, and what they're looking for out of their presentation software. PowerPoint works well on both Apple and Windows devices, whereas Keynote is clearly optimized for use on Apple devices and is less accessible for Windows users. For Windows users with no Apple devices, PowerPoint may make more sense.

PowerPoint is also more widely used in organizations than Keynote, so if you work on a team with plenty of collaboration and presentation sharing, it may be necessary to stick to. However, if your team uses Keynote, it does offer some great collaboration tools through iCloud.

Keynote is easier to use for beginners, as well as offers better in-app templates and more straightforward controls. Its multi-device syncing, such as between iPhones, iPads, and Macs, does tend to outshine PowerPoint in responsiveness and reliability. It also comes at no extra cost. For Apple users deep in the ecosystem, who aren't looking to pay for more software and frequently use different devices, Keynote may work best.