Google Slides vs Keynote: A Battle between Equals [Full Comparison]

Google Slides

Google Slides was invented in 2006 to provide billions of users with easy access to presentation software. It is very solid and offers some outstanding features that we will discuss later, and it’s part of Google Suite. To get access to it, you need to sign up on Google, and it doesn’t take more than 10-15 minutes, though. Google Slides is innovative. There are frequent automatic updates, too.

Keynote

Keynote is a product of iWork. has been available on the market since 2003, and it’s Apple’s equivalent of Google Slides. However, it is made to be used mainly (if not only) in Apple’s ecosystem, and it is a desktop app with online capabilities. It has Apple’s trademark intuitive interface and is a preferred option for many Mac users. Apple are constantly improving their product, to attract new users.

Google Slides

Google Slides is a tool that is part of your Google account. Google Slides is totally free software and the only condition to get access to it is to create a Google account and log into it.

Keynote

Keynote is also free forever, meaning you will not have to bother paying subscription fees or one-off payments. The only condition is to have a Mac computer (or an iPad/iPhone).

Google Slides

Google Slides is probably the most available presentation software in the world. All you need to have is an internet connection. It can run on desktop computers, Macs, mobile devices, and tablets. As long as you can open the browser, you can enter Slides. It’s also worth mentioning that Google Slides works best in the Google Chrome browser which is available on any OS.

Keynote

It is available ONLY on Apple devices. This is unfortunate, as Keynote is an amazing program that offers many ways to get creative. However, unless you’re part of Apple’s ecosystem, you aren’t able to make full use of this otherwise great presentation software. Of course, you can make some edits from iCloud (if you create an account) but it is still a limitation to consider.

Google Slides

Google Drive comes with 15GB out of the box. You can use the space for anything – from adding photos to storing your work files on the cloud. Fortunately, the space is more than enough for starters.

1. 100GB – $1.99/month(or $19.99/year)
2. 200GB – $2.99/month(or $29.99/year)
3. 2TB – $9.99/month(or $99.99/year)

Keynote

By default, you have to save your file on your computer but you also have the option to add your presentation to iCloud. The free space is 5GB and from our experience – it definitely feels not enough.

1. 50GB – $0.99/month
2. 200GB – $2.99/month
3. 2TB – $9.99/month

Google Slides

Google Slides is extremely easy to use, as it follows the mantra of Google to create products for the masses. It has everything needed to create a good presentation. It is very well balanced in terms of stylistic features but we don’t have to be experts to see that Google Slides is a tool that offers more simplicity and practicality, rather than aesthetics.

Keynote

Keynote is software developed by Apple. It is made to work effortlessly on every device that supports it. It is simple to use but we cannot say it sacrifices design. Not at all. Keynote boasts with stunning templates and out-of-this-planet UI. In our opinion, Keynote has the best user interface among all presentation tools and that won’t change soon.

Google Slides

There is not much we can say about Google Slides, as this is the area where it shines the most. Being an online-first app means you can connect with colleagues to work on different slides from the same presentation, and you can do that simultaneously. No need to lose precious time. On top of that, every single change is shown the moment it is made. You have three access levels: read-only, comment-only, and editing mode. All you need to do is to send a link.

Keynote

Keynote holds its ground against Google Slides to some extent. It works perfectly on all types of Apple devices and sharing between them is no problem. However, we cannot say it’s great for teams, as exporting is a bit slow, and if you decide to send a link and work together, it’s not so smooth. Keynote collaboration is often laggy or stops working. And even if you are all set, there is still something going on, especially if one of the team is using Windows.

Google Slides

Google Slides offers a balanced quantity of effects and templates. It doesn’t offer much but it is more than enough for a good presentation. The lack of some in-built features is compensated by the ability to add external resources with just a few clicks, so we cannot really complain about limitations. There are many free Google Slides templates that you can use and improve your design a lot.

Keynote

Keynote’s templates are just superior-looking to what we can see in Google Slides. There are some stunning effects like “Magic move” and we certainly feel that Apple’s program holds the upper hand for style. Envato has a rich marketplace for Keynote templates, but even using the default ones doesn’t feel like a loss. A lot of time was spent making sure Keynote presentations have everything required to look professional.

Google Slides

Google Slides is a workhorse. The most impressive thing about it is that there’s nothing impressive about it. It supports PowerPoint formats – like PPT, PPTX, as well as ODP, SVG, PDF, etc This enables you to open your PowerPoint presentations directly on Google’s app. But more importantly – you can access PowerPoint templates, which are the most common in the presentation world. Google Slides is practical – it works online but it isn’t a problem to enable the offline sync. It runs on all types of devices and it is easy to onboard any user. You can also import a Keynote presentation into Google Slides.

Keynote

You can embed images and videos from YouTube and Vimeo in Keynote. The formats supported are KEY (the native file format),  PDF, PPT, and PPTX – you can even add a password to lock the document. A fact worth noting is that, as typical Apple software, Keynote is not made to work on Windows computers. Neither on Android devices. If you’re presenting on a new computer, you might find yourself out of luck. The supported exporting formats aren’t very friendly towards non-Apple products. But let that not distract you from the fact you can present from your Mac, iPad, and even your iPhone – it’s so well optimized.

Google Slides

Fast, easy, and connected – that’s Google Slides.

✔️ Working in teams – Google Slides is the best presentation software if you need to collaborate with someone to work on the same project. You can check each other’s progress and work at the same time.

✔️ Quick execution – if you need to create something fast, Google Slides is the perfect solution. Since the program is really simple, all you need to do is pick a template and add some elements to complete your presentation.

✔️ Great for baby steps – if you haven’t created presentations yet, you might find the application easy. The buttons are well-organized and the design is straightforward. There is nothing excessive.

Keynote

Apple-first and Apple’s first – that’s what Keynote is.

✔️ A go-to option for Mac – we’ve already mentioned that Keynote is targeted at Apple users. If you’re an avid fan of the ecosystem, you might find the app the most relevant to your needs.

✔️ Work with style – if making “decent” presentations is not enough for you, you can enhance your project with great visual effects and animations. You can take your presentation to the next level with the amazing in-build elements.

✔️ HTML code –  Keynote can export your presentation in HTML code, meaning you can turn your design into a website. This is one outstanding feature if you know how to use it.