17 Best Slideshow Makers for a Mac [2025]

Picking the best slideshow maker for your Mac can almost feel like trying to choose your favorite ice cream flavor: everyone has a different taste and some options come with extra sprinkles and candy whereas others are more plain. I remember the first time I tried to make a slideshow using a generic slideshow maker app on my Mac. Specifically, I spent an entire hour wrestling with the tool that promised “easy editing”, only to end up with a video that looked like a chaotic fever dream.

Lucky for you, I’ve gone through and tested 17 of the best slideshow software for your Mac. By sniffing out every quirk, perk, drawback, and minute detail, you don’t need to worry about choosing the wrong option. Whether you’re crafting a slick presentation that screams you are a professional or just trying to make something for friends, this guide will point you towards an app that fits your vibe.

Best overall: Movavi Slideshow Maker
Movavi earns its top spot for the perfect balance of simplicity and advanced features that it brings to the table. Beginners can quickly create polished slideshows using Easy Mode, while advanced users can dive into Full Feature Mode with drag-and-drop editing, animations, and in-app video tools. It’s versatile, intuitive, and powerful all at once.

Best budget software: LibreOffice Impress
If you’re looking for a free, no-frills option, LibreOffice Impress is ideal as it’s open-source, cross-platform, and provides all the essential slideshow features you need without the cost. It’s perfect for users who value functionality over flashy extras.

Best for professionals: Slidebean
Entrepreneurs and business users will love Slidebean for its professional pitch deck templates and focus on branding. The platform makes it easy to craft polished presentations designed to impress investors and clients, even for those without a design background.

Best for mobile users: Keynote
Keynote shines for Apple users who want to create and edit presentations on the go. With seamless integration across iPhone, iPad, and Mac, plus features like Apple Pencil support and Rehearse Mode, it’s a top choice for those who need flexibility and mobility.

Best for video-centric slideshows: iMovie
iMovie stands out for users who want cinematic, video-heavy presentations. It lets you blend photos and clips with transitions, titles, music, and filters, thereby making it perfect for storytelling or creating highly engaging slideshows that feel more like short films.

Why I picked it: Movavi offers a unique blend of simplicity and advanced features, which makes it ideal for users who are trying to create slideshows quickly without getting lost in the weeds.

Best for: Beginners who want to create slideshows beyond the basics, as well as users who enjoy visual features like filters, transitions, and stickers

OS: macOS, Windows (also support for legacy versions for Mac and Microsoft Windows)

Licensing: Free 7-day trial, subscription, or lifetime license

Movavi Slideshow Maker is a well-balanced tool for beginners and advanced users alike.

For instance, Movavi’s “Easy Mode” lets novices build a professional-looking slideshow in minutes without much of a learning curve, which is a feature I particularly appreciated. They just need to upload the necessary media files (image / images, videos, etc.) and then select slide transitions. Adding music is also straightforward, and Movavi provides guides in case any step isn’t 100% clear.

And for anyone who needs more advanced features, the “Full Feature” mode provides options like native recording, extra photo editing options, animated transitions, and even in-app video editing. Best of all, most of these features only require you to click and drag the desired elements.

After your slideshow is complete, Movavi makes it easy to save your presentation in any major file format (and some less common ones), and you can even adjust the file size – making it easier to put on a flash drive.

Key features:

• 165+ visual effects and filters to apply to your presentations
• 105+ transitions to use between slides
• 100+ titles and stickers for further customization
• Support for 14 different languages
• Emphasizes both photo and video media types for slideshows

Why I picked it: Keynote is Apple’s native solution and excels at integrating across iPhones, iPads, and Macs, thereby making it a seamless choice for users who already invested into the Apple ecosystem.

Best for: People who own the full line of Apple products (iPhones, iPads, and Macbooks) for convenient cross-device usage

OS: iOS, macOS

Licensing: Free (for new Mac laptops and desktops), or one-time purchase

Keynote is Apple’s native slideshow maker. Usable on iPhones, iPads, and accessible via the iCloud, Keynote is a versatile and free slideshow maker for Mac computers made in 2013 or later. Testing it out was as easy as pulling my phone out of my pocket and grabbing my slideshow.

The current version of Keynote lets Mac users collaborate on presentations, tweak slides from their iPhone with the Keynote mobile application, and even transform handwriting into text on your computer. If you’re an Apple fanatic, Keynote is an effective way to develop slideshows and present visual, video, and text information in informal and professional settings.

Key features:

• Can use Apple Pencil on an iPad to draw directly onto your presentation
• “Rehearse Mode” to practice your presentation on the fly
• 30 templated themes and the ability to create custom templates to use later

Why I picked it: PowerPoint’s familiarity and extensive resources ensure it is a reliable option for anyone who is looking to create traditional slideshows with the reassurance of countless tutorials being there to support them.

Best for: Anyone who grew up using PowerPoint and feel most comfortable using a tool they’re familiar with

OS: macOS, Windows

Licensing: 1-month free trial, subscription

Microsoft PowerPoint is one of the oldest examples of slideshow maker software. It’s so well known that the phrase “I need to make a PowerPoint” is more common than “I need to make a slideshow” in the United States.

PowerPoint is a straightforward presentation tool that most people don’t use to its full potential. The software, in addition to standard slide making and templates, offers useful yet less-known features like self-running presentations and audio fading, bookmarking, and trimming.

Making a basic slideshow is as easy as choosing a theme, filling in the blanks, and adding media wherever you need it. Presenting visual elements like images and video as well as audio, text, and linking slides with smooth transitions with PowerPoint is no problem based on the deck I tested, and there are countless tutorials online if you want to take your PPT skills to the next level.

Key features:

• Easily embed YouTube videos
• Merge shapes and edit image files within the application
• Special icons for additional customization

Why I picked it: Impress is a free and open-source alternative to traditional slideshow creation platforms which makes it great for users who need a basic tool without restrictions.

Best for: People looking for a basic, free slideshow maker usable on any major device and operating system

OS: macOS, Windows, Linux, Android, iOS

Licensing: Open-source software

LibreOffice Impress is part of LibreOffice’s open-source suite of productivity software. Impress provides five different modes of viewing your in-progress presentation, and even gives you access to tools like The Fontworks to create dynamic 2D and 3D text for your slideshows which I thought was a uniquely fun way to add some character to my slideshow.

If you’re new to Impress, simply begin with its outline mode and you’ll soon be on your way to creating a great slideshow. Does your presentation need an injection of creativity? Download any of the free LibreOffice Impress templates available online for some help.

Key features:

• Free forever
• Downloadable templates
• Dynamic text rendering

Why I picked it: Prezi stands out with its dynamic, zooming canvas and non-linear approach, thereby making it perfect for users who want to make engaging presentations that break the traditional slideshow mold.

Best for: Users interested in approaching presentation-making in a new way

OS: Windows 7, 8, 10, Mac OS X or higher

Licensing: Free or monthly subscription billed annually

At first glance, Prezi appears to be a response to slide-by-slide presentation tools such as Keynote and PowerPoint. While Prezi involves many of the same concepts as a standard slideshow application (offering templates, audio and video customization, etc.), the way information moves from section to section makes Prezi stand out from the crowd.

Each Prezi presentation is displayed on a large canvas. Instead of moving slide by slide, the presentation zooms in and out of sections and helps keep the user engaged when transitioning between topics. Additionally, you can bounce between audio and video with help from Prezi’s recording software, letting you create dynamic presentations that many people haven’t experienced before.

Prezi started out as solely a web app, but you can now download Prezi Next if you prefer (or require) an offline solution to building professional presentations. As someone constantly on the go, having this optionality was huge while testing the software.

Key features:

• Transitions are dynamic, and involve zooming in and out of the entire presentation canvas

Why I picked it: Slidebean is built for entrepreneurs and startups that are looking to create professional pitch decks without needing design expertise, making it the clear business-focused choice.

Best for: Entrepreneurs looking to pitch projects or startups

OS: Web application

Licensing: Monthly or annual subscription

Slidebean was born out of a need for building aesthetic presentations without an actual graphic designer at hand. The product is specifically designed for creating professional pitch decks for businesses and marketers, and they even have a “Book Project” function if you want direct support using their tool.

This slideshow program for Mac isn’t ideal for putting together casual presentations. However if you’re looking to turn your slideshow into a pitch that lands you investors and grows your business, Slidebean is a service to investigate.

Key features:

• Templates targeting both pitch decks (for slideshows) and financial model templates (if your presentation involves running numbers, like from a business plan)
• Additional services for creating pitch decks that match your branding and connecting you to investors and other subject matter experts

Why I picked it: CustomShow is the ideal tool for enterprises that need brand consistency across team presentations, offering collaboration tools and analytics for large-scale and professional use.

Best for: Businesses looking to set a standard for presentations across teams or the entire company

OS: Cloud-based application

Licensing: Free or monthly subscription

CustomShow is enterprise software as a service built to help companies develop consistently branded presentations. After you’ve uploaded the requisite media files for your slideshow, you can further customize details like image shading, backgrounds for your video, and other visual effects.

From a technological standpoint, CustomShow also excels at connecting teams – providing the ability to simultaneously cast presentations to different devices. Such a feature is especially handy for the remote teams many of us find ourselves working on today. Plus with CustomShow’s mobile app and analytics tools, there’s plenty of features for enterprises serious about getting their business presentations to a new level.

Key features:

• Multicasting presentations
• Analytics features for businesses
• Realtime collaboration

Why I picked it: FlowVella features interactive options and a kiosk mode that makes it perfect for event or conference presentations, allowing audiences to interact directly with your slides.

Best for: Businesses presenting at events or conferences, users who want to incorporate a range of elements into their presentations

OS: macOS and iOS

Licensing: Free trial, subscription

FlowVella presentations sometimes look a bit like the page of a website because of all the interactive elements built into them. FlowVella allows the presenter to seamlessly move between image files, slides, videos, and other media dynamically – breaking from the linear nature of standard Mac slideshow apps which was a pleasant surprise while using it.

The FlowVella app even provides a “kiosk mode” for iPads, easily letting users (like museum goers or tradeshow attendees) interact with a presentation you made without accidentally changing its elements.

Key features:

• Kiosk mode for tablet devices
• Autoplay video content
• Scrolling video galleries

Why I picked it: This is a highly customizable presentation tool with dynamic zoom transitions, making it perfect for users who want a visually unique slideshow that can stand out online.

Best for: Users looking for a dynamic presentation generator that takes slideshows to another level

OS: macOS, Windows 10/8/7Vista/XP

Licensing: Free trial, monthly, or yearly subscription

Focusky is a feature-filled slideshow maker that operates in many ways like PowerPoint. However, it goes beyond PowerPoint in terms of customization, with hundreds of templates, dynamic transitions that zoom in and out (similar to Prezi), and plenty of design assets to play around with. Truthfully the design choices felt overwhelming at times, but after a little bit of use it was easy to get the hang of.

Key features:

• Robust transition features
• Search Engine Optimization-friendly (can create text versions of presentations to index on Google)
• Can import PowerPoints and give them a facelift within the app

Why I picked it: Preview is undoubtedly the fastest and simplest solution for Mac users who need to create a slideshow with minimal fuss and no extra downloads.

Best for: Mac users looking to create a slideshow fast with few bells and whistles

OS: macOS

Licensing: Free for Mac users

Most macOS users have opened up Preview before without realizing it because it comes preinstalled on your device. If you’ve ever opened an image on your Mac computer, Preview is the default image reader so it likely opened it for you (unless someone changed the settings). However, Preview can do other things as well – including making slideshow presentations.

Simply open the files you want (JPEGs, PNGs, PDFs, etc.) to begin. The fastest way to turn these into a presentation is to arrange them in any order you want, click “View”, and then “Slideshow”.

Key features:

• Embraces simplicity – sometimes we need to make a quick slideshow
• Free for Mac users and native to macOS

Why I picked it: iMovie is the perfect choice for Apple users who want a video-centric slideshow with cinematic touches, thereby blending photos and video clips seamlessly.

Best for: Apple users making movie-like presentations

OS: iOS, macOS

Licensing: Free for Mac users

While iMovie wasn’t created for slideshows, it still operates well in this secondary capacity. Created for Mac users who enjoy all Apple devices, iMovie has quickly evolved into a tool popular for developing more compelling slideshows and visual presentations.

With iMovie, your primary customization features for a slideshow are titles and transitions (elements that are useful in actual movies). However, you can still handle some of your image editing needs within the tool as well.

After your media files are imported into the app, you can add text, music, and other stylistic elements to build a dynamic experience for your audience. Try applying filters and playing around with iMovie’s green screen function to add some unique finishing touches to your presentation.

Key features:

• Presentations that emphasize video content
• Titles and transitions work well

Why I picked it: Apple Photos offers a simple option for Mac users who want a little more customization than Preview while staying within the Apple ecosystem.

Best for: Mac users looking for a native app that’s more customizable than Preview

OS: iOS, iPadOS, macOS

Licensing: Free for Mac users

The Photos app on Mac might already be on your computer (or iPhone or iPad), but do you know how to use it to make a slideshow presentation?

Apple Photos lets you create a slideshow in two different ways. The first way is to build your presentation by simply selecting a few photos, a theme, and some music. The second way is to make an actual slideshow project with text overlays and transitions (in addition to your images and musical selection(s)). Both methods can help you quickly create an aesthetic, heavily-visual presentation.

Key features:

• In addition to slideshows, make cards, calendars, and photo journals with the images on your Mac or iCloud
• Intelligent curation helps you group photos together based on their content

Why I picked it: FotoMagico combines professional-level features with strong visual and audio controls, thereby making it ideal for photographers or users who are aiming for higher quality slideshows.

Best for: Both amateur and professional photographers looking to highlight their work

OS: macOS, iPadOS

Licensing: Free trial, one-time purchase

If you want to put down a little money and take your presentation game to another level, FotoMagico is an intriguing, feature-heavy option. FotoMagico, in addition to powerful image and video editing capabilities, also lets you tweak audio files and align specific musical moments with points in your presentation, making it great for people with a bit more technical know-how.

Similar to video-editing software, you can view each panel of your FotoMagico presentation at the bottom of the application which I thought was a great way to visualize the edits I was making. This timeline vantage makes it a simple matter to seamlessly edit and adjust minute details in your photographs and develop a presentation that meets your exact specifications.

Key features:

• Create slideshows in stunning 4K resolution
• Dark mode
• Customizable “snippets” which let you add premade visual elements to your presentation

Why I picked it: HyperEngine-AV is a lightweight, open-source option that is geared towards video-heavy presentations, making it great for social media and multimedia projects.

Best for: Users interested in social media integration features

OS: Mac OS X

Licensing: Open-source

HyperEngine-AV leans further into the video-creation side of presentations than it does slideshows, but it can still handle both tasks effectively.

If you’re looking to make short product videos, YouTube shorts, or video-heavy slideshow presentations, HyperEngine has the features and UI to simplify the job. And with HyperEngine’s "trackless" workspace giving you a bird’s eye view of your various media files, you’re able to edit and drag images, audio, video, and transitions wherever you want them with ease.

Key features:

• Robust audio editing functions
• Drag-and-drop helps you instantly transition between a video clip and other media

Why I picked it: iDVD is the perfect choice for Mac users who are looking to create physical copies of their presentations on DVD with menus and widescreen footage.

Best for: Mac users looking to burn their videos or presentations onto DVDs

OS: macOS (pre-Catalina)

Licensing: Free with Mac

Although iDVD is an older piece of Apple software, it can still get the job done and works especially well for people looking to create hard copies of their creations (presentations, wedding video, or otherwise). If your goal is to make a widescreen presentation complete with audio and menu options, iDVD is worth a try.

Making a video-heavy slideshow on iDVD is fairly straightforward. Once you’ve added your title and selected a theme template, you can move around your video files and adjust them as necessary.

Key features:

• Helps you burn a DVD when using a Mac SuperDrive
• Supports widescreen footage

Why I picked it: 4K Slideshow Maker is the ideal choice for users who are prioritizing high-resolution outputs in addition to social media sharing, all while producing slideshows that have stunning detail.

Best for: Users who want high-quality export options for their presentation

OS: macOS 10.13 and later, Linux, Windows

Licensing: Open-source software

4K Slideshow Maker states it all in its name: it’s a compact piece of software that helps you create and export a 4K slideshow (or in resolutions anywhere from the lower ends of the quality spectrum to Ultra 4K HD).

Quickly edit your images, mix in some music, and even import files directly from social media channels like Instagram into your slides with 4K Slideshow Maker. Done and ready to share your work? Move your finished presentation directly back to those social media channels (like Instagram and YouTube) to share with friends, family, and followers.

Key features:

• High-resolution support (great for rendering nature scenery in its full glory)
• Built-in social media compatibility with Instagram and YouTube

Why I picked it: LightMV is an extremely beginner-friendly, video-oriented slideshow tool that allows for quick creation with ready-made templates, thus making it ideal for both events or personal projects.

Best for: Newer users who want to mix more video content into their presentations

OS: Android, Windows, iOS, macOS

Licensing: Monthly, quarterly, or yearly subscription

LightMV is a video-focused presentation app that lets you personalize your media files in various ways to ultimately create cohesive presentations. The app provides a variety of video templates to simplify things and lower the barrier for beginners, and if you go this route then you only need to import the desired media and add transitions and text.

Key features:

• Video templates created to help everything from capturing the joy of weddings to injecting energy into a business presentation
• Cloud-based rendering for easy access across different Apple devices

Choosing the right slideshow maker for your Mac will ultimately depend on what you are trying to create and how much time you are willing to invest in learning a new tool. For beginners who want a perfect blend of balance and simplicity, Movavi Slideshow Maker is an ideal option, offering drag-and-drop ease with fun filters, transitions, and stickers bundled in.

If you are fully integrated into the Apple ecosystem, Keynote can provide a seamless cross-device collaboration benefit and heavy mobile editing. Longtime fans of traditional presentation software, though, may feel more comfortable with Microsoft PowerPoint, whereas others seeking open source solutions might like LibreOffice.

None of the choice on the above list are poor as they all stand out as 17 of the best options to consider for your presentation needs. The ‘best’ program though will depend on which one matches your workflow, device setup, and creative goals.