26 Best Free Slideshow Makers of 2025 (Desktop, Online & Apps)

When I first started exploring slideshow makers outside of what was already pre-installed into my computer, Movavi was one of the first I tried. I have to say it still sticks out as my personal favorite. Its user interface is clean and intuitive, eliminating the intimidation of working with a new software for the first time.

I enjoy using their Wizard Mode especially when I'm pressed for time. This semi-automatic process lets you select media from your library and a theme or template for the whole project. The program then automatically applies transitions, motion effects, and timing for quick and easy results.

You then have the option to enter the full editor to tinker around with various aspects of the Slideshow Wizard's output. If you want to take full control of the project from the start, Movavi offers a full range of features and built-in content and media packs so you won't have to hunt for elements for your slideshow outside of the platform.

Movavi Slideshow Maker offers a 7-day free trial to give you time to explore its functions and performance before committing to a purchase. Some new features added to Movavi's slideshow maker include new animated overlay effects and an expanded template library to give more options for customized results.

First released in 2008, OpenShot Video Editor is a free, open-source video editing software that also works as a slideshow maker. This award-winning program has been recognized by tech authorities like Capterra, TechRadar, and SaaSworthy for being one of the most popular, top-rated, free programs for desktop.

What I like about OpenShot is that it's heavy on visual editing. By that, I mean that the interface lets you figure things out at a glance. Its Project Files panel lets you drag and drop media onto a track so you can edit the sequence, timing, and duration of each photo and video.

After placing your media into your desired sequence, you can add effects, transitions, and overlays. Basic adjustments are also available including brightness and color correction.

In their most recent update, OpenShot introduced Ripple editing which streamlines the process of trimming multiple pieces of media in your timeline without affecting alignment with other assets like audio and effects.

This Slideshow Maker from Icecream Apps is one of the most compact, requiring only between 100 MB and 5 GB of total disk space depending on your system. Its free version provides a wealth of effects, tools, and functions that can streamline the slideshow creation process with a unique approach to visual controls.

What I like about this program is that instead of laying all of your media out in sequence on a timeline, it lists your assets in a table. Here, you can click and choose transitions, motions, and input text overlay assigned to show up as each clip plays.

A video preview on the right-hand side lets you see your changes and edits in real time, while intuitive controls on the right-hand panel let you tweak general settings like resolution and audio looping.

Icecream Slideshow Maker receives regular updates and bug fixes. Their most recent release dated March 7, 2025 worked out several crash fixes for a smoother overall experience.

I found it impressively easy to tinker around with Clipchamp. The program provides built-in video templates that you can pack with your own photos and videos to create professional-looking slideshows in less time.

If you plan to start from scratch, the software's slideshow editor lets you choose media, sort them in your timeline sequence, and then render into a video format of your choice. I also like that you can use a PowerPoint presentation to turn into a video slideshow.

Clipchamp also tries to include AI functions in its capabilities. One feature that I found to be clever was its AI video generation tool that takes a photo resource of your choice and creates an original AI video that you can add to your slideshow.

After being recognized as one of the best free slideshow makers, Clipchamp joined the Microsoft family in 2021 and is now part of the MS 365 Suite. Their recent update streamlined the software UI and rolled out light and dark themes.

PowerDirector is a fun desktop program with lots of room for creative exploration. What I like about it in particular is its AI functionality that streamlined my slideshow project by analyzing my imported media to detect key scenes and highlights, so I didn't have to manually play and trim each one.

With its dedicated Slideshow Creator function, PowerDirector lets you import video, audio, and photo media to create your own unique presentation.

I'm also pretty impressed with the program's wide range of assets, including various fonts, transitions, templates, and stock content that lets you piece together a polished slideshow without having to search for elements outside of the program.

The program also undergoes regular maintenance and updates, with its most recent bug fix dated October 16, 2024. It comes in a free trial version that gives you up to 30 days to explore paid features, which I think is sufficient time to complete a one-time project or to get a feel of whether it's the right program for you.

MiniTool Movie Maker is a free program that uses a clean drag-and-drop timeline for easy visual editing. I liked exploring its ready-made templates, motion effects, and text overlays to create a highly customized slideshow.

Another thing I appreciate is that its interface feels familiar and unintimidating, bearing a lot of similarities with the older Windows Movie Maker that a lot of us toyed around with in the early years of PC. MiniTool Movie Maker is also quite intuitive, with all of the essential tools available at a glance.

Although it doesn't have deep professional tools like keyframing, color grading, or AI-integrated functions, I think it works just fine, especially if you're looking for a straightforward workflow. The program is actively updated with the most recent maintenance release dated August 2025.

Shotcut advertises itself as a free, open-source, cross-platform video editor with wide media format support. I found that the program could take practically any video or photo file I threw at it, and also supported export resolutions up to 8k. So most of my slideshow projects came out with impressive clarity compared to some of the others I made with different programs.

I did notice, though, that the software came with a steep learning curve, and the UI (although described as ‘sleek’ on the Shotcut website) was difficult to navigate. Lots of tools and functions were buried deep in menus and required extensive exploration.

After some time with Shotcut, however, I did find that it provides much more precise control over the smaller details of my slideshow projects with keyframes and animation functions. This basically lets users control how filters, effects, and media properties change over the course of the slideshow.

To speed up the editing process, Shotcut uses a native timeline with no import required. For quick projects, Shotcut also has a slideshow/montage generator that lets you choose your media and automatically generate a very basic slideshow output.

The latest 25.08.16 version was released in August of 2025 and featured numerous bug fixes for audio functions.

FotoMagico is specifically designed for creatives like photographers and videographers with a knack for visual storytelling. While FotoMagico provides similar tools to other programs, this particular software adds a creative spin on the usual range of built-in effects.

What I especially enjoyed playing around with was its layers and masking feature that lets you stack up to six different media assets that you could mask and animate for more visually compelling transitions. It also has a maps/travel route visualization feature that animates a route on a map of your choice, ideal for adding context to travel slideshows.

For media sources, you can take files from a built-in media browser that connects to Apple Photos, iCloud, Dropbox, Google Drive, and most major cloud storage services. Finished slideshows can be rendered up to 8k resolution for ultra-high quality, crisp visuals that are great for showcasing greater detail.

FotoMagico released its last minor update in September 2024, which featured stability enhancements, improved music snippet insertion, and special character display for compatibility with other languages.

PhotoStage Slideshow Producer advertises itself as one of the fastest slideshow workflows on the market, and after having tried it myself, I really couldn't argue.

The program provides all the basics of slideshow creation with simplified drag-and-drop interaction, basic photo and video editing tools, and various built-in templates to choose from. After tinkering with the program for a personal slideshow project, I was able to come up with a fairly presentable 4K video in just under 15 minutes.

Sharing options are also pretty convenient, allowing you to burn directly to DVDs, save locally to your device, or share straight to YouTube from the program. PhotoStage offers a free lifetime access version for non-commercial use, which includes most of the features of the paid version.

PhotoStage gets regular maintenance updates, sometimes even twice a month, with the last release dated August 4, 2025. So the lightweight program runs fairly smoothly on both Mac and Windows.

I have used Canva a bunch of times to create everything from posters to event invitations, and recently, for a promotional slideshow. Although it does have a downloadable program for desktop and mobile, I find that working with Canva from my browser is much more convenient.

Making a slideshow with Canva can be done in two ways. You can use the video tool, upload your files, and arrange them on a timeline. From there, you can add effects, audio, transitions, and other elements from their wide range of built-in assets. Alternatively, you can create a slideshow with their presentation tool.

Here, you edit each slide and add a duration. Transitions, effects, and other customization options are also available. Then it's a matter of saving your presentation as a video file. It's also great for collaborating with other users since you can share your project and give editor access to other Canva users.

Another thing I like about Canva is that it lets you create slideshows for talking presentations. So you could time your slides to fit your spoken dialogue, or save them as a PowerPoint file for on-click transitions.

Canva is a huge program these days, and so it's only expected that developers routinely update the platform. Recently, the tech giant has integrated AI into its program for what they call ‘culturally intelligent design.’

FlexClip is a close second to Canva, offering a lot of the same features and functionality for free. Their free tier gives users access to thousands of templates, assets, effects, and animations that let you create fun, dynamic slideshows even with limited editing and design experience.

I took some time to explore FlexClip's available slideshow templates and found that it has options for everything from wedding presentations to business pitches to YouTube-style countdown videos. All that's left to do is to add your media, move things around, and swap the text to make each template your own.

Another thing I like about FlexClip is that it's heavy on AI tools. It packs an AI video generator, AI text-to-speech, AI script generator, and AI subtitles, to name a few. Given all of these quick and easy AI functions, I can see FlexClip coming in handy for influencers and creators looking to make slideshow videos for social media without taking up too much time.

Just this September 2025, they rolled out new AI features to expand their program's flexibility. I was especially impressed by the Auto Edit feature that analyzes your assets and generates text to match with your template and the general style of your project.

When I tried Animoto for the first time, what truly impressed me was how quickly I could go from a blank canvas to a complete slideshow. All you need to do is upload your photos, choose a theme, set the timing for each media file, and add music or a voice-over, and then you're basically done.

Animoto offers pre-made templates that cover virtually every purpose, including birthdays, weddings, and school presentations. They also give access to Getty Images stock library straight from the platform, so you can include royalty-free images in your presentation (if you have a Getty Images membership).

Lots of other free tools exist on Animoto's platform, including voice-over support, various design elements, and effects and transitions. In their most recent update, they released even more templates and better voice-over management and timing controls.

After exploring a bunch of these online slideshow makers, I can say with confidence that Kapwing would be the right choice for multiple users who need to collaborate throughout the creative process. This program not only lets you share your project across different profiles but also provides the opportunity to share feedback.

Every user in the project is assigned their own unique color code, and users can even edit the slideshow together in real time so they can communicate as the work happens. For small companies, Kapwing provides a brand kit option that you can use to streamline the colors, fonts, and styles between projects.

Aside from that, you've got all the basics you would expect from a browser-based slideshow maker. I'm talking pre-made templates, lots of fonts, effects, assets, and elements, and a few interesting AI tools to streamline certain functions.

Kapwing gets routine maintenance and upgrades, which you'll find through their Release Notes section on their website. Their most recent May 2025 update featured a few bug fixes and convenient new ways to import videos from Google Drive, Vimeo, and Google Photos.

There are times when I just need a quick slideshow of photos and videos without the necessity for fancy effects and transitions. Clideo comes in real handy for that. The web-based platform lets you create slideshows with photos and videos that you upload and then tweak with very minor options like crop, rotate, and fit.

You can also edit the duration per media before choosing your output format, which can be either a video file or a set of image files for a click-transition presentation. They don't talk a lot about updates, but a recent post on their website stated that they're constantly improving their service across all platforms.

There were times when I wanted to create slideshows out of bulk photos just for the posterity of it, and Smilebox has come in handy in such cases. The web-based tool lets you sign up for a free account with its own cloud storage. All of your projects are saved to your profile, and you can revisit them to edit, duplicate, save, and share.

Smilebox allows an unlimited number of photos per slideshow and provides just enough tools and templates to help you achieve a customized project. Just choose your style, add your photos, and drag-and-drop them around to your liking. Although it's worth mentioning that Smilebox automatically creates a sequence for you if you don't feel like adjusting the media yourself.

You can then add some audio, choose your transitions, add text, and change layouts. Once you're happy, just click the share button to save your file locally as MP4 or to share it directly to your socials.

It's a pretty neat tool for when you want to share bulk photos to Facebook without having to upload a whole album. I also find that it's ideal for preserving events and memories. Their recent updates let you schedule when the platform will send or share your projects, which is great if you're making slideshows for an event.

For more business-appropriate templates, the Adobe^® Express^® online slideshow maker is usually my go-to. They offer a bunch of free templates that are more suited for professional applications. So whenever I need to make a quick slideshow for my office job, Adobe^® Express^® delivers.

Making one is fairly simple. Just launch the browser-based platform, upload your photos and videos, trim, edit, add effects, and then add your choice of stock assets to make your presentation stand out. Then you can share your project with a link or download it directly to your local storage.

Adobe is one of the most prominent software developers out there, so you can expect that even their web-based platforms are well-maintained. In their latest release, they provide users the ability to lock key elements so you can keep your brand consistent across different projects.

What I loved about Powtoon when I tried it out was that it has a lot of animated assets. Unlike other platforms, this option helps your slideshows come to life with a selection of characters and props that make your presentations more lively and fun. That's also why it has a good reputation among teachers and instructors.

Powtoon has a modest library of several hundred templates that can get you started on a design if you're not keen on starting from scratch. Finished projects can be saved as a video, PPT, or uploaded straight to different platforms like Facebook and Slack.

Because of its popularity in the teaching industry, Powtoon has adapted with teacher-specific features like video assignments, vision boards, and teacher intros. Their latest update allows users to take virtually any document and turn it into a video.

Like many other slideshow makers, Visme offers a collection of templates and assets that you can use to make slideshows without too much fuss. But what really sets it apart in my book is that it has tools that help visualize data to make it more easily digestible.

Visme advertises itself as a suitable companion for businesses and professionals, providing tools that help you present ideas and numbers in readily understandable terms. It also has a bunch of AI tools like AI Designer, which lets you design a slideshow by simply discussing your desired outcomes with their AI chatbot.

Since it is targeted at professionals, Visme also offers collaboration options for two or more users. This lets you edit and work on a project at the same time, giving feedback to co-workers in real-time. One of their recent updates improved the platform's overall interface for easier navigation and use.

HubSpot helps businesses grow by turning leads into customers through smart marketing, sales, and service tools. It tracks customer interactions, automates tasks, and builds lasting relationships – all from one central platform.

PicPlayPost provides a fairly simple slideshow creation process that I appreciate, especially since more complex tasks tend to feel clumsy on mobile. Just open the app, create a new project, choose your aspect ratio and files, drag them to reorder their sequence, add transitions, text, and music, and you're basically done.

The app lets you preview your slideshow before exporting and sharing in resolutions up to 4K. For free users, a PicPlayPost watermark shows up in the final result. Direct uploads to Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook make it great for social media users.

In July 2025, PicPlayPost got fresh updates, including bug fixes, new templates, and the option to add titles to your existing projects for easy storage and organization.

SlidePlus is a quick, template-driven application that lets you choose a theme with built-in transitions and effects to add your photos and videos to. There are over 100 different themes available, giving you a variety of choices for different uses and applications.

What I liked about SlidePlus is that it cuts the editing time by smart-cropping my portrait photos so I don't have to move them around to keep the subjects in frame. It also has some basic video editing tools like text overlays and audio adjustments. For easier import, you can select photos from Facebook and other social media platforms to use in your presentation.

App maintenance is fairly regular with SlidePlus. Their recent version didn't do much except a few bug fixes, but it's nice to know they're constantly improving their software.

InShot is one of those apps that you would use for showcasing pictures from an event or special occasion. The app has sets of filters, special effects, shapes, frames, and stickers that you can use to decorate your photos as you arrange them into a slideshow.

It's currently one of the most popular slideshow creation and video editing apps for mobile, mainly because of its intuitive interface that clicks with the majority of casual and basic users.

Overall, I find that it's a great choice if you're looking to give your photos a little extra pzazz before you post them online. The app continues to receive updates, most of which are added templates and assets, as well as routine bug fixes.

You can't really go wrong with the Google office suite, including Google Slides. This is one of the apps that came pre-installed in one of my devices, and I like that it's easy to access and simple to use.

The application lets you make a slideshow by creating slides that you can add your media to, as you would with PowerPoint or Keynote. Then it's a matter of choosing your transitions and adding your text. You can then share your slideshow via a link or save it locally to your device

Google Slides is more ideal for scholastic or professional use instead of for social media applications. Nevertheless, I find that having it in handy does help, especially when I have on-the-go projects that I need to finish from my phone. Of course, as a Google tool, Slides gets updates regularly.

I gave MoShow a try and was pleasantly surprised with how easy it was to work with, especially since I'm the kind of guy who doesn't bother with minute details. The app starts by letting you choose your media and then a theme. Then it automatically applies your choice and gives you a quick preview.

Because it's so simple, MoShow has become quite the popular option for both Android and iOS users. It gets regular updates that constantly provide users with fresh new themes and templates to keep the application interesting and relevant even after years of use.

Free for iOS users, iMovie is an obvious choice for people trying to find a basic video editing tool that they can use on their mobile devices. I personally prefer making my slideshows and other video projects on iMovie since the interface is familiar and easy to navigate, given that it blends with the Apple ecosystem.

Creating a slideshow with iMovie entails starting a new project, choosing your media files, and adjusting settings like duration, filters, transitions, and music, to name a few. Of course, there's also the option to add text. iMovie projects can be saved as HD or 4K quality, which is great if you want to preserve the clarity of images and videos you take with your phone.

As with any other Apple ecosystem application, iMovie gets regular updates, including a recent rollout of Magic Movie and Storyboard.

I used VN in the past for one of my longer slideshow projects. Although I was a little skeptical at first, given the reputation of mobile applications as being unable to handle long video content, I was pleasantly surprised to find that VN kept up pretty well.

The application is a little more complex than your average slideshow maker, but it does provide greater flexibility in terms of creating more detailed presentations. The timeline is easy to manipulate, and functions are relatively easy to find. Despite working on my small mobile screen, I didn't find it too difficult to perform more specific editing and scrubbing through the timeline
VN recently released an AI Kits Expansion as they attempt to integrate AI deeper into their system. They also updated their language support to cater to more users across the globe.