Download Microsoft PowerPoint for Windows for free – the popular slideshow software is ready to create in Microsoft 365
Microsoft PowerPoint is now available for free download as part of the Microsoft 365 collection of software. If you’ve ever put together a presentation for a high school class or briefed a team of investors on potential earnings, you’re probably familiar with Microsoft PowerPoint. It’s the most common slideshow software worldwide and has evolved over the years to include eye-catching fonts, captivating slide backgrounds, and entertaining transitions between slides. Because of its popularity, the PowerPoint file format is widespread among college students, business professionals, and everything in between.
You can download Microsoft PowerPoint for Windows for free, with the software available through a paid subscription to Microsoft 365. If you want to create a unique slideshow, you can make your presentation from scratch with entirely blank slides. For the creative mind, this might be the perfect route. However, sometimes, it can help to have some of the work already done for you – especially if design isn’t your strength. If that’s the case, you can select from hundreds of pre-made templates and begin plugging your text, tables, and media into the slideshow.
Features and integrations: What makes Microsoft PowerPoint the ideal software for working with Microsoft 365 products
Depending on your situation, you might present a large amount of complex information or data to a group of stakeholders you need to impress. If so, you’ll want to bring the maximum amount of information in the cleanest presentation possible. It might mean that you’re integrating spreadsheets, tables, or possibly media like pictures or videos into your presentations. Working with other platforms might get tricky because of the overlapping software, creating compatibility issues. However, if you go with Microsoft PowerPoint, you’ll open the door to seamless integration with other Microsoft 365 products. You could plug a spreadsheet from Microsoft Excel into your presentation and update it in real-time. If you have a table of impressive sales numbers, you can highlight that with captivating fonts and colors, with the table itself getting blown up in the center of the slide. No matter what you need to do, it will be easier to integrate Microsoft 365 products into a Microsoft PowerPoint instead of other alternatives.
Compatibility and system requirements
Before your free download of Microsoft PowerPoint for Windows, make sure you are running Windows 10 or later. Windows 10 is the oldest version that you can run because this version of Microsoft PowerPoint for Windows is powered by the Microsoft 365 suite. Since you will be saving your work through the Microsoft OneDrive cloud, it will allow you to access your work on any computer – it won’t just save on the computer you create it on. However, make sure that whatever computer you choose is also running Windows 10 or later because otherwise, you won’t be able to open and edit the presentation in PowerPoint.
Subscribing to Microsoft 365: What are my options?
If you want to subscribe to Microsoft 365 to access Microsoft PowerPoint for Windows, there are two subscription categories: Consumer and Business plans. Under the Consumer umbrella, you can choose from Microsoft 365 Personal and Microsoft 365 Family.
- Microsoft 365 Personal: Complete access to Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft PowerPoint, Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft Publisher, and Microsoft Access. You can access this software on a maximum of five devices. It also includes 1 TB of OneDrive storage and 60 minutes of international calls with Skype.
- Microsoft 365 Family: This includes the same programs as Microsoft 365 Personal, but it’s meant to be used by a family of up to six people. The plan allows up to six users to work on a maximum of five devices per person, and each person gets the same amount of OneDrive storage and international calls on Skype.
Subscriptions are available for small businesses through Microsoft 365, with options designed to align with the size of your business, budget, and productivity needs.
- Microsoft 365 Apps for business: Up to five computers, smartphones, or tablets get access to Office applications.
- Microsoft 365 Business Basic: Ideal for small to medium-sized businesses, this provides use of the full collection of Office 365 online apps. The apps include Microsoft Word, Microsoft PowerPoint, Microsoft Teams, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft SharePoint, Microsoft OneNote, Microsoft Exchange, Microsoft Forms, and Microsoft Visio. This plan also includes 1 TB of cloud storage for the business to use.
- Microsoft 365 Business Standard: Designed for medium to large-sized businesses, this plan combines the features of Microsoft 365 Apps for Business and Microsoft 365 Business Basic.
Microsoft 365 Business Premium:
Designed for large businesses with up to 300 employees, this plan has all the features of Microsoft 365 Business Standard along with Windows 10 Business, Microsoft Intune, Azure Virtual Desktop, Azure AD P1, Defender for Office 365, and Defender for Business.