![How to Use Seamless Patterns in Your Designs [Tips and Tricks]](https://i.graphicmama.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/14125818/How-to-Use-Seamless-Patterns-in-Your-Designs-Tips-and-Tricks-120x70.png)
Google Slides has been consistently ranking as one of the top presentation programs in the world. Google’s software has achieved such good results because of its beginner-friendly interface, easy collaboration, the variety of templates available, and the additional resources you can add to your presentation to make it even better.
But one of the key areas where the company from Mountain View excels is third-party software access. There are plenty of Google Slides add-ons that can help you optimize your presentation and find the missing features with which you can grab your audience’s attention and receive well-deserved applause after you finish the last slide.
In this article, we will review the top 10 Google Slides add-ons which are worth a shot. But first, we need to mention how to get access to these “miraculous” difference makers.
Article Overview:
How to install Add-Ons in Google Slides?
How to install Add-Ons in Google Slides?
Before we show you our top 10 picks, let’s see how to install an add-on in Google Slides.
- Open your Google Slides presentation
- Select “Add-ons” from the Menu bar
- Click on “Get Add-ons”
- Select your desired Add-ons – you have several options to look for add-ons; by default, they are sorted by downloads. However, if you want to find a specific add-on or search by a word – let’s say “infographic”, you can use the search bar. The last option is the Menu option (≡). There, you can sort apps by Category, Product Rating, and other criteria.
Searching for add-ons: the options.
1. PearDeck
Downloads: 10M+
Rating: 4.1⭐
Plans: Free plan, Individual Premium – $149.99/year.
PearDeck is one of the most used Google-Slides add-ons for teachers. It is an amazing tool that educators can utilize to interact with their students. The app itself is simple to use but has many in-built features – you can create a quiz, feedback survey, multiple-choice questions, and even add grades. You can also select from a variety of templates and you have all that free of charge. PearDeck aims to reach 100% student engagement – a task that is very hard to achieve.
While you can create more than decent interactive presentations with the free version, if you subscribe to the Premium plan, you can give direct feedback, add audio to your presentation, capture and share students’ progress, etc. The best of all is that you can edit the templates even with the free version.
2. Slido
Downloads: 7.2M+
Rating: 4.3⭐
Plans: Free plan, Engage – $12/mo, Professional – $60/month (both annual plans).
Slido is another add-on that tries to “provoke” the audience to be interactive and does the job pretty well. The free version is decent and it allows up to 100 participants – which is more than a classroom and is even enough for a small lecture. The free version offers you a free quiz, up to 3 polls per event (that’s how Slido names presentations), and even a brainstorming topic.
It’s certainly worth considering the Engage plan which is priced at $12/mo and if you’re a heavy user, you won’t regret paying $60/month for the professional plan, which gives you much more flexibility, advanced reports, and even some security perks like email verification.
3. Extensis Fonts
Downloads: 6.4M+
Rating: 3.6⭐
Plans: Free
Extensis is a company that focuses on font management and seamless integrations with multiple platforms, including Google Workspace. The best of all is that you can access Extensive Fonts for free and you’ll never have to pay anything to use it. While the tool is extremely simple and just adds all the font options, it is quite handy.
You can sort all fonts supported by Google by family, as well as popularity, trending state, and alphabetical order. Because Extensis Fonts is so simple, you can change the font with a single click and decide if you like it or not. It’s a time-saving app and if you don’t know which fonts are best for your presentation, this add-on is certainly worth a try.
4. Slides Toolbox
Downloads: 3.4M+
Rating: 3.9⭐
Plans: Free, Premium (Like a donation) – $6/year
Slides Toolbox is a very handy Google Slides add-on that allows accessing many functions easily. For example, you can create slides from videos (it only supports YouTube for now), shuffle slides, reverse slides, add a table of contents, and many other things.
You can also import and export, calculate the words (word count) in your Google Slides presentation, as well as format the headlines and paragraphs, add a hanging indent, remove spaces (trim), remove duplicate lines, and so on. Quite frankly, it feels like 80% of Google Slides’ functionality has been compressed into a single add-on.
5. Math Equations
Downloads: 4.1M+
Rating: 2.9⭐
Plans: Free
If you need complex equations, you can use the Math Equations add-on. It’s free and it will do the job perfectly. Unfortunately, it’s not that easy to use if you are not aware of LaTeX numbers but if you know what you are doing, you will not face any issues at all!
This tool is great for both math students and teachers who want to test their class. You can combine the add-on with some of the many free Google Slides templates, to get the best results from your Google Slides presentation.
6. Unsplash Images
Downloads: 5M+
Rating: 3.8⭐
Plans: Free
Unsplash Images is a great Google Slides Add-on, as it allows you to add high-quality images which could further be edited in Google Slides. While you still have the option to select an image from Google, it’s quite too often that these images are often in a low-resolution format or have watermarks to protect creators.
One other big advantage of using Unsplash is that all the photo content that is usable is not copyrighted which means you can use it for both commercial and non-commercial purposes, making it great for either educational or business presentations.
7. Free Icons by Icons8
Downloads: 890k+
Rating: 4.5⭐
Plans: Free, High-quality 100 Icons + 25 Illustration for $19/month (or $169/year)
In our extensive UI/UX software review, we mention Lunacy as one of the best options on the market. Now, another product developed by Icons8 is rated highly by us. But let’s be honest – it deserves a good mark. It has one of the most extensive collections of icons, photos, and illustrations, and if you plan to make your presentation interactive, you won’t make a mistake using Icon8’s resources.
However, there is one little trick. Unless you’ve subscribed, you will have to mention the source. Also, you won’t have access to the high-image size which is not a big issue for vectors but if you plan to insert images from the app and present them on a huge screen, you should consider that first. But if you don’t mind these small obstacles, you’d love this add-on.
8. Slides Translator
Downloads: 10M+
Rating: 3.4⭐
Plans: Free
Slides Translator is among the best Google Slides add-ons for translations, as it supports multiple languages (more than 100, including dialects), and can help you read presentations that you will otherwise not understand. The software is extremely easy to use. All you need to do is select a slide, and then pick a language to translate it in.
Unfortunately, it translates the text into a paragraph and it doesn’t keep any formatting. On top of that, the translation level is mediocre, but it gives you an idea of what the Google Slides presenter is looking for. Slides Pro is the premium version that allows real-time translation. What we don’t like is that there is no pricing page for Slides Pro at the time of writing the article. It redirects to the main page.
9. Lucidchart Diagrams
Downloads: 10M+
Rating: 3.9⭐
Plans: Free, Starting from $11.93/month
Lucidchart allows you to create many types of diagrams, in order to explain your business logic in an easier and more understandable way. Amidst the other add-ons for Google Slides, Lucidchart is considered to be a little bit limited when it comes to the free option. However, with the paid version you can easily step up your game.
The plug-in is an amazing addition to teams that like to collaborate. While not many chart apps can come up with professional-grade flowcharts, Lucid has definitely worth every cent spent on it. From simple brainstorming sessions to project management, Lucid is the Google Slides add-on that can satisfy all needs.
10. Kaizena
Downloads: 10M+
Rating: 2.8⭐
Plans: Individual subscription starts from $10/month (or $72/year)
Kaizena is not the typical Google Slides add-on for teachers. Unlike PearDeck, it focuses more on providing video feedback and saving valuable time. The platform says installation is free, although it is not that beginner-friendly. The new version receives very poor feedback but it offers more flexibility for students, team managers, and even parents.
There is another problem, too. There’s absolutely no way to test it for free and Kaizena asks you to subscribe, in order to access it. While we can rate this app highly for time-saving, it’s definitely a red light if there is no way you can have a free version available.
Conclusion
Despite not being as popular as Google Play Store, the app market for Google Slides is also getting better. Plenty of Google Slides add-ons appeared and if you manage to use the right ones for your needs, you will definitely reduce your workload.
If you’re interested in improving your presentations, why don’t you read some of our guides about Google Slides:
Or take a look at some great presentation templates that you can grab and use right away for free:
- 35 Free Google Slides Infographics
- 10 Exclusive Free Google Slides Templates on Different Themes
- 39 Multipurpose Free Google Slides Templates
