14 Best Slideshow Makers for Windows 10, 11 I’ve Tested: Features, Pros, and Cons

• I tested 14 slideshow makers for Windows 10&11, from free DaVinci Resolve and online tools like Clipchamp to desktop software, such as Movavi Slideshow Maker and PhotoStage, and pro suites including Adobe® Premiere® Pro CC and Magix PhotoStory.
• What actually matters: ease of use, ready-made templates/wizard, music/voiceover support, export formats, and trial/price limits.
• Quick tip for speed: start with an automatic wizard or AI template, then fine-tune slide timing to the beat for a polished flow.
• Watch the fine print: some free tiers cap features and social sharing may be restricted. Scan each tool’s pros/cons before committing.

Remember back when we used to take photos with actual cameras and organize them into physical albums to share with friends and family? The idea of photo albums might seem positively old-fashioned now, but slideshows date all the way back to the 17th century. Back then, "magic lanterns" illuminated by candles were used to project glass slides with images painted on them.

Now, whether it's to show off photos from a recent vacation or present research to coworkers, we use digital slideshows. Unlike with physical photo albums, you can choose the timing, transitions, and special effects. Many slideshow makers even have an option to add music. With all the slideshow makers available out there, it can be tough to decide which one will best suit your needs.

I'm a Windows 10 user and frequently make slideshows myself for both personal use and for work. So I decided to test out several slideshow makers for Windows. Here, I will break down the key features, pros, and cons of each program as well as ratings from trusted sources for your convenience.

• Best overall: Movavi Slideshow Maker
  This is just an all-around fantastic program, and I really appreciated how easy Movavi’s Slideshow Wizard made the process.
• Best (free) budget software: DaVinci Resolve
  I was able to create a pro-level slideshow with the free version of this program, and it includes a huge library of broadcast-quality transitions and special effects.
• Best special effects: Magix PhotoStory Deluxe
  This full-featured slideshow maker software offers more than a whopping 1,500 effects, templates, and transitions.
• Best for beginners: iSkysoft Slideshow Maker
  iSkysoft Slideshow Maker’s Standard mode is perfect for beginners who can use preset templates to create polished slideshows quickly.
• Best for professionals: Photopia Creator
  I used this program’s drag-and-drop interface to fully customize a presentation for work with transitions, captions, background music, and a wide array of video effects.

Most slideshow maker programs work in a similar fashion. You first assemble all the photos you want in your slideshow and place them in order. You then select the timing for each slide, transitions, and special effects, as well as your desired background music. The slideshow program then creates the slideshow as a video file you can download to your computer, upload to social media, share with friends, or play in any video player.

Why I picked it: Creating an impressive slideshow was a breeze with this program, thanks to its easy-to-use interface and extensive background music library

Operating system: Windows 7/8/10/11, macOS

Licensing: paid

Price: $19.95 (free trial version available)

File size: 105 MB

Our rating: 10/10

Movavi Slideshow Maker is generally regarded as one of the best slideshow makers for Windows users. It's easy to use, even for less technical users, and allowed me to create a great-looking slideshow with interesting transitions. You can also add animated titles and pro-level video effects such as panning and zooming.

One of the things that makes Movavi Slideshow Maker one of the best slideshow software for Windows 10 is its wide selection of pre-made templates, along with a Slideshow Wizard you can use to get started. This Windows 10 app also includes a large library of free background music, transitions, filters, overlays, and other special effects. After you've created your slideshow, you can save it in a variety of popular video formats, including AVI, MOV, and MP4. You can also save your slideshows directly to YouTube. Version 25 includes new free effects and the ability to apply blending modes to any video clip.

Key features:

• Slideshow Wizard for automatic slideshow creation
• Dynamic slide transitions
• Large background music library
• Adjust images to beat of the music

While we recommend Movavi Slideshow Maker as great slideshow software for Windows 10, there are several other programs I tried that are worth your consideration.

Why I picked it: Although it's not a traditional slideshow maker, this video editor enabled me to create an eye-catching slideshow with the aid of its AI video editor

Operating system: Windows 10/11, Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome

Licensing: free and subscription

Price: Microsoft 365 Personal $99.99/year, Microsoft 365 Family $129.99/year (free version available)

File size: 7.9 MB

Our rating: 8/10

While it isn’t simply a slideshow maker, Clipchamp is a video editor capable of creating engaging slideshows. I found I could customize slideshow video templates and add video transitions and studio-like effects. I was also able to add background music.

One really cool feature of this video editor’s slideshow maker is an AI video editor, where all I had to do was upload and select some photos and videos, and pick a video style to generate a fantastic AI slideshow video. I was even able to include AI voiceover narrations. A recent program update includes updates to the stock library and new text styles and shapes.

Key features:

• Slideshow video templates that include high-quality stock videos
• Add animated graphics and stickers
• AI video editor

Why I picked it: I had an easy time testing out this simple-to-use slideshow maker and enjoyed the extensive number of transitions and effects available in the Home and Pro versions

Operating system: Windows 7/8/10/11, macOS, iOS, Android

Licensing: free and paid

Price: Home Edition $35.00, Pro Edition $50.00 (free version available)

File size: 3.1 MB for Windows, 14.8 MB for macOS, 20.6 for iOS, 8 MB for Android

Our rating: 8/10

PhotoStage Slideshow Pro is one of the easier picture slideshow makers to use. You can create customized slideshows with your own photos, music, and transitions. The program includes a basic photo editor that lets you crop and rotate your photos, as well as adjust brightness, contrast, and color hue. You can export your slideshows in a variety of popular video formats (including AVI, MOV, and MP4), as well as upload to YouTube, Vimeo, and Flickr.

This slideshow software is available in three versions: Free, Home, and Pro. The Free version offers fewer features and may not be ideal for more sophisticated users who want more advanced functionality. To move beyond basic transitions and effects you need to purchase either the Home or Pro versions, both of which offer a larger number of effects and features. A maintenance release of the macOS version of this program was released in July 2025.

Key features:

• Photo editing tools
• Export to popular video formats
• Upload to YouTube and other social media

Why I picked it: This is a great one for beginners since its user-friendly interface makes advanced editing functions easy to perform

Operating system: Windows 7/8/10, macOS

Licensing: paid and subscription

Price: Personal - $99.90 lifetime, $59.90 annual, $39.95 monthly; Business - $259.90 lifetime, $119.90 annual (free trial available)

File size: 1.56 MB

Our rating: 7/10

BeeCut is an easy-to-use video editing program that can also be used to create great-looking slideshows. It includes a variety of video editing functions, including zooming, cropping, and color adjustment. You can also add your own background music to your slideshows.

You can save your BeeCut slideshow videos directly to Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and other social media. It also lets you create slideshows in a variety of aspect ratios, including square, 4:3, and 16.9 widescreen. It also lets you create slideshows in a variety of aspect ratios, including square, 4:3, and 16:9 widescreen.

Key features:

• Direct export to social media
• Drag and drop visual interface
• Video editing functionality

Why I picked it: This user-friendly slideshow maker allowed me to create a high-quality presentation with ease

Operating system: Windows 7/8.1/10/11

Licensing: free and paid

Price: Pro version annual $19.95, lifetime $49.94, Photo PRO package $115.00 (free version available)

File size: 20.8 MB

Our rating: 8/10

Icecream Slideshow Maker is a basic and easy-to-use slideshow maker for versions 7-11 of Windows. It's easy to select the images you want, add your music, and then apply over 25 different transitions between slides. It's available in both free and paid (Pro) versions; the free version is limited to just 10 photos per slideshow.

This program lets you save your slideshows in full HD (1080p), 2K, or 4K resolution. You can also upload your slideshows to YouTube with a single click, save to Google Drive and other cloud storage services, and burn your slideshows directly to DVD. It saves slideshows in a wide variety of file formats, including MP4, AVI, MOV, and WEBM. The latest program update included several crash fixes.

Key features:

• User-friendly operation
• Save to a variety of formats
• High-quality video

Why I picked it: Despite a somewhat dated user interface, I liked that I could use this video converter to create slideshows with a large number of photos

Operating system: Windows Vista/7/8/10

Licensing: free

File size: 50 MB

Our rating: 6/10

As the name implies, Freemake Video Converter isn't a slideshow maker program per se, but rather video converter software that also creates photo slideshows. In its primary function, Freemake Video Converter converts videos between 500 different file formats and devices. As a slideshow maker, it lets you merge a large number of photos into a single slideshow, but without a lot of fancy effects. You can also include videos from all formats in your slideshows.

Freemake Video Converter saves slideshows in both full HD (1080p) and 4K resolution. It can automatically upload videos to YouTube and save your slideshows to DVD. The program is completely free.

Key features:

• Easy share to social media
• DVD burning
• Convert to and from multiple formats

Why I picked it: I was a big fan of this video editing program’s wide array of broadcast-quality transitions and special effects

Operating system: Windows 10, macOS

Licensing: free and paid

Price: DaVinci Resolve Studio $295.00 (free version available)

File size: 3 GB

Our rating: 9/10

DaVinci Resolve is a powerful video editing program used by pros and hobbyists alike. It also lets users create sophisticated photo slideshows, complete with music. It includes a huge library of broadcast-quality transitions and special effects, including wipes, dissolves, blurs, and flares. The software also let me create pro-level 2D and 3D animated titles and text content.

As a pro-level program, Resolve lets me create slideshows with hundreds of individual photos. It's great for large and sophisticated slideshow projects. Resolve's quick export tool lets you easily upload your video slideshows to YouTube, Vimeo, Twitter, and other social media platforms. Because Resolve is a full-featured video editing program, it probably isn't for beginners or casual users; the learning curve is a little steep, but there's a lot I was able to do with it. (The company also offers DaVinci Resolve Studio for $295 with additional professional tools and functionality.) DaVinci Resolve 20.1 adds support for Apple Immersive Video workflows to DaVinci Resolve Studio for macOS.

Key features:

• Professional-level editing
• 2D and 3D animated titles and text
• Broadcast-quality transitions and special effects

Why I picked it: This presentation program is familiar to millions of Microsoft users (including myself), and using it to create a basic slideshow was incredibly simple

Operating system: Windows 10/11, macOS

Licensing: subscription

Price: part of Microsoft 365 subscription - Microsoft 365 Family $129.99/year or $12.99 month, Microsoft 365 Personal $99.99/year or $9.99/month

File size: 700 MB

Our rating: 6/10

Microsoft's PowerPoint is the presentation program in the company's popular Microsoft 365 office suite. PowerPoint is typically used to create charts and presentations, but can also be used to create simple slideshows. PowerPoint includes a number of slide transitions, as well as a selection of pre-made templates. That said, files are not saved automatically unless the slideshow is in sync with OneDrive or Microsoft 365.

If you're a Microsoft Office user, PowerPoint is a good choice for basic slideshows. Microsoft 365 Personal is available as a subscription for either a family plan ($129.99/year or $12.99/month) or a personal plan ($99.99/year or $9.99/month. You can save your slideshows in Microsoft's PPTX format or in MP4 or WMV video formats. A recent security update resolved a Microsoft PowerPoint remote code execution vulnerability.

Key features:

• Easy to use
• Slides with animated transitions
• Pre-made templates

Why I picked it: With this program, I found I could create a slideshow quickly and easily upload it to social media

Operating system: web

Licensing: free and subscription

Price: free (with watermarks on projects using premium content), premium for $9.99/month or $99.99/year, or teams for $7.99/month or $79.99/year

Our rating: 7/10

Adobe® Express® is a web-based service that lets you quickly create web pages, graphics, and memes for social media, and short videos. It isn't designed specifically for making slideshows, but you can use it for that. Just select Express' slideshow maker function, select a template, then add your photos and music. You can save your slideshow in MP4 format or upload your video files directly to social media sites.

You access Express® from any computer with a web browser. It includes a number of pre-made templates and themes you can use for your slideshows. There's a free version available, although it inserted a watermark when I used premium content. To get rid of the watermark and gain additional features, upgrade to the Premium plan, which costs $9.99/month or $99.99/year after a 30-day trial for Premium and $7.99/month or $79.99/year for a 14-day free trial for Teams. Thanks to an August 2025 program update, Adobe® Express® I was able to use curated, real-time music recommendations from a library of 2,000+ tracks for my slideshow.

Key features:

• Video montages
• Attractively designed templates
• Easy sharing to social media

Why I picked it: Adobe® Premiere® Pro CC offers professional-grade editing tools and extensive customizable options that enabled me to create a high-quality slideshow

Operating system: Windows, macOS

Licensing: subscription

Price: $22.99/month, Creative Cloud Pro $69.99/month (free trials available)

File size: 1.18 GB (Windows) or 1.01 GB (macOS)

Our rating: 9/10

Adobe® Premiere® Pro CC is a powerful video editing program that includes slideshow-making capabilities for Windows 10 and lets you quickly and easily create sophisticated photo slideshows, complete with music. Premiere's slideshows can include an unlimited number of images, which makes it great for very large slideshows.

When you use Premiere, you determine how long each photo will appear onscreen, the type and duration of each transition, and other visual effects. It also includes collaboration features if you're working on a team project. You can save your slideshows in many popular video file formats. The latest program update includes more than 90 new, modern effects, transitions, and animations.

Key features:

• Slideshow-making capabilities
• Professional special effects
• Team collaboration

Why I picked it: This program is dedicated to making slideshows, and I really appreciated the vast array of effects, templates, and transitions available

Operating system: Windows 10/11

Licensing: paid and subscription

Price: Photostory deluxe $39.99, Photostory deluxe 365 $23.88/year or $3.99/month

File size: 2 GB

Our rating: 8/10

Magix PhotoStory Deluxe is a full-featured slideshow maker software, complete with a wide variety of photo and video editing tools. Build your slideshows from more than 1,500 effects, templates, and transitions. Add music and sounds from the large built-in library, then apply creative AI effects.

The program makes it easy to enhance and customize your slideshows with filters, overlays, and effects. You can save your finished slideshows in AVI, MJPEG, WMV, and other high-resolution video formats, as well as burn them to DVD and Blu-ray discs. You can also share your slideshows via Facebook, YouTube, and other social media. The latest program update includes AI features for image enhancement, as well as AI-generated subtitles and voiceovers.

Key features:

• An extensive library of music, sounds, and background audio
• Easily create photo collages
• Camera tracking and zooming

Why I picked it: This is a fantastic slideshow maker for professionals with tons of built-in effects and filters

Operating system: Windows Vista/7/8/10/11, macOS

Licensing: subscription

Price: $9.95/month or $99.95/year (free trial available)

File size: 1 GB

Our rating: 9/10

Photopia is one of the most versatile and popular video slideshow makers for both professionals and hobbyists. The Show Wizard makes it easy to get started, then you can use the drag-and-drop interface to fully customize your slideshows with transitions, captions, background music, and a variety of video effects. The program includes robust photo and video editing and a variety of motion effects. There's also advance audio editing, including the ability to include multiple audio tracks and crossfade between them.

You can save your slideshows in more than 50 different formats in standard definition, full HD, and 4K resolution. You can also upload your slideshows directly to Facebook, YouTube, and Vimeo. Version 2.5.1201 of this program improved the layout of the Video Trimmer window.

This program was included on VideoProc’s list of the “16 Best Slideshow Makers for Windows and Mac (with Photos and Music)” and AMS Software’s list of the “Top 15 Wedding Slideshow Makers [Desktop/Online/Mobile/Free]”.

Key features:

• Pan, zoom, rotate, skew, and other motion effects
• Show Wizard for easy slideshow creation
• Crossfade multiple audio tracks
• Publish to YouTube in HD

Why I picked it: I enjoyed the fact that I could add separate introduction and credits sections to my slideshow and save it in several formats

Operating system: Windows XP/Vista/7/8/10

Licensing: paid

Price: $59.95 (free trial available)

File size: 1 GB

Our rating: 9/10

iSkysoft Slideshow Maker offers two separate operating modes – Standard, for beginners and casual users, and Advanced, for more professional users. The Advanced mode offers more sophisticated controls to better fine-tune and customize professional-level slideshows. Both modes offer pre-made templates and styles, transitions, clip art, motion effects, and more. You can also add separate introduction and credits sections for a professional look.

The program's instant preview feature lets you view your slideshow before finalizing it. You can save your final slideshow in a variety of video formats, including AVI, MPEG, 3GP, MP4, and WMV. You can also upload your slideshow videos directly to YouTube and other social media.

This program was also included in Fix the Photo and Beebom’s lists of top slideshow makers.

Key features:

• Standard and Advanced operating modes
• Import music and add voiceovers
• Hundreds of motion templates
• Intro and credits effects

Why I picked it: It’s great that you can use this slideshow and video maker from any computer or device in your web browser, and it’s easy to upload slideshows to social media

Operating system: web

Licensing: free

Our rating: 7/10

Animoto is a free web-based slideshow and video maker that you can use from any computer or device in your web browser. The company partners with Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and other social media to make it easy to upload finished videos to those platforms.

Start by selecting a template from Animoto's large library. Templates include backgrounds, music, and special effects. Select which photos or videos to include, then add text and image filters and create your slideshow. The drag-and-drop interface makes it very easy to use. Animoto offers paid versions that include more features: a Basic version for $16/month, a Professional version for $2915/month, and a Professional Plus version for $79/month. A July 2025 update allows users to upload media from their phones.

Key features:

• Use in any web browser over the Internet
• Large number of templates for easy slideshow creation
• Import photos from a variety of online sources
• Includes 1 million stock photos from Getty Images (available with the Professional plan)

I enjoyed testing out all these slideshow makers, and I hope my research will help you choose one that’s right for you. When looking for a slideshow maker, it’s important to consider your situation. If you don’t have any money to burn on slideshow maker software, DaVinci Resolve has a fantastic free version you can use to create a high-quality slideshow.

As you can see, these programs and services not only differ in price but in what sorts of projects you would use them for. If you’ve never made a slideshow before and want to use it to show vacation pictures to your friends and family, BeeCut is a great way to go. But if you’re working on a presentation for work that you want to look sleek and professional, Photopia Creator might be a better fit.

When choosing a slideshow maker, pay attention to which ones receive positive reviews for being easy to use. It’s also good to search for programs that have a free trial so you can test them out, like I’ve done. Now that you’ve read the information I’ve shared here, you should be able to begin your search for the perfect slideshow maker for you.