Google Slides is the presentation tool that’s available to anyone with a Google account. It’s packed with all the basic editing and publishing features of other presentation tools but is a free alternative. You can modify your Google presentation however you want – insert text, imagery, videos, add speaker’s notes, transitions, animations. Well, its performance might seem more limited compared to PowerPoint and Keynote, but this doesn’t make it any worse for the people who use it.   

Literally everyone who needs visual support for their ideas and has a Google account. It’s incredibly accessible! Interestingly, those who prefer it over the classic presentation tools are users who don’t need to make presentations very often and resort to the more intuitive, edit-friendly and financially viable option. Students and teachers are among the top users (Slides can be integrated in Classroom), but the same goes for start-up owners and entrepreneurs in need of a budget-friendly, excellent-design solution.  

Real-time collaborative editing is one of Google Slides best features. Presentation expert Bethany Auck says that during the pandemic many businesses switched from Microsoft–native PowerPoint to Google Slides exactly for the ease of collaboration. Google Slides is web-based and that allows multiple users to access the presentation and make edits, each change being immediately saved (no need to constantly Ctrl-S) and the changes history – easily traceable. In a nutshell, if easy collaboration is your thing, then this is your tool. 

Google Slides is cloud-based, and that’s exactly what makes it so great. You only need a device (any device, really) and a Google account to access your slides. No licenses or permissions, no special requirements. You can even make your presentation available offline – while it can’t be downloaded as a file, you can still edit and present offline.  

You can do both with a couple of clicks. The file sharing options are quite straightforward, you can give or limit access to your presentation by clicking on the File > Share drop-down. There are also enough export options (still less than those in PowerPoint, though) to make sure your presentation lands safely in someone else’s inbox. Google Slides is super versatile and compatible with most other presentation tools. You can even open a .pptx file with G Slides. Follow the steps listed in this blog post to learn how or read our post on Presentation mode if you’re interested in Presenter view. 

As you see, Google Slides is a straightforward tool that helps you easily create modern-looking presentations that can be modified in real time. The best things about it are that it’s collaborative and free. You can also make changes and instantly save them, without having to worry about data loss. If you’re in need of a simple and sleek way of delivering your message, then probably that’s what you’re after. Hungry for more G Slides tips? Head to our beginners’ guide on Google Slides.