What is Prezi? The presentation software that zooms instead of flipping slides

Prezi or PowerPoint: what’s the difference?

The biggest difference isn’t the design, it’s the structure. PowerPoint thinks in slides, Prezi thinks in connections. In PowerPoint, one slide follows the next. In Prezi, all content sits on one canvas, and the presentation moves between the big picture and the details.

	Prezi	PowerPoint
Structure	one canvas with topics and details	one slide after another
Movement	zooms between overview and detail	transitions between slides
Navigation	free, every topic one click away	mostly linear, slide by slide
Collaboration	together in the browser	the standard in almost every company
Sharing	link, app or PDF	a file anyone can open
Best for	pitches, keynotes, sales conversations, complex topics	reporting, board meetings, documents to read

Both can be brilliant or dreadful. A Prezi that whizzes wildly around the canvas is just as exhausting as 60 slides full of bullet points. That’s why, before we choose any software, we ask one question: What should be different after your presentation?

When Prezi is the better choice

Prezi plays to its strengths when your audience needs to understand the big picture: how the parts of an offer fit together, how a market is developing or how a project is structured. Typical occasions are pitch decks, keynotes, sales presentations and company presentations. Prezi also works well at trade shows, because a Prezi can run on its own in a loop.

PowerPoint is the better choice when many people in a company work on a presentation, when slides get sent around individually or when the presentation is mainly something to read. Then we build it in PowerPoint. We work in both and will tell you honestly which one fits your occasion.

Prezi and AI: what Prezi AI can and can’t do

With Prezi AI, a short description is all it takes, and soon there’s a first draft on the canvas. The AI can also turn existing slides into a Prezi. For getting started, that’s a real help, for an internal presentation or a quick draft, for example.

For a pitch that decides whether you win the contract, an AI draft isn’t enough. The AI doesn’t know your audience, your goal or the one message that needs to stick. Prezi in particular depends on the canvas telling a story: what sits in the overview, where you zoom and why. That work stays human. More on this on our home page.

What the research says

A 2017 study from Harvard University compared presentations made with Prezi, with PowerPoint and with no slides at all. Audiences rated the Prezi presentations as more organized, more engaging, more persuasive and more effective. The authors put this down to the zooming and panning movements that characterize Prezi. The study was published in the journal PLOS ONE: Does a presentation’s medium affect its message?

Our experience from more than 1,000 presentations confirms this, with one caveat: the software amplifies a good story. It can’t rescue a weak one.

How much does Prezi cost?

Prezi offers a free basic plan with limitations and several paid plans for individuals, teams and education. For private presentations, presenting offline and exporting, you generally need a paid plan. Plans and prices change regularly, so check the current ones directly on Prezi.

When we design a Prezi for you, we hand it over fully editable in your own Prezi account. We’ll clarify which plan you need on the intro call.

Prezi Expert: the only certified one in Austria

Michael Sinnhuber, founder of MCPREZI, has been an official Prezi Expert since 2013 and a Prezi Certified Diamond Expert since 2019. He is Austria’s only certified Prezi Expert and one of the top 7 worldwide. Prezi awards this certification itself, for proven experience in planning, designing and using Prezi.

Rather not build a Prezi yourself? Have an expert design it for you, convert your PowerPoint to Prezi or turn your Prezi into a video. That’s what we’re here for.