Canva Presentations
Google Slides
| Feature | Canva Presentations | Google Slides |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free / from $12.99/mo | Free / from $6/mo |
| Free Plan | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Rating | 4.4 / 5 | 4.2 / 5 |
| Best For | non-designers, students, marketers, small-businesses | students, teams, educators, google-workspace-users |
| Founded | 2013 | 2006 |
| Templates | ✓ | ✓ |
| Drag And Drop | ✓ | ✗ |
| Collaboration | ✓ | ✗ |
| Presenter View | ✓ | ✓ |
| Recording | ✓ | ✗ |
| Ai Design | ✓ | ✗ |
| Real Time Collaboration | ✗ | ✓ |
| Version History | ✗ | ✓ |
| Add Ons | ✗ | ✓ |
| Offline Access | ✗ | ✓ |
✓ Canva Presentations Pros
- Thousands of templates
- Easy to use
- Real-time collaboration
- Built-in graphics
✗ Canva Presentations Cons
- Limited animations
- Less powerful than PowerPoint
- Internet required
✓ Google Slides Pros
- Completely free
- Real-time collaboration
- Cloud-based
- Google ecosystem
✗ Google Slides Cons
- Limited templates
- Fewer animations
- Less powerful than PowerPoint
The Verdict
Canva Presentations is built for non designers and students, with a focus on templates and drag-and-drop. Google Slides targets students and teams and leads with real-time-collaboration and templates.
On pricing, Google Slides is the clear winner for budget-conscious users — starting at $6/mo compared to $12.99/mo for Canva Presentations. That $6.99/mo difference adds up quickly for growing teams.
Both offer free plans, so you can test each with your real workflow before committing to a subscription.
Both tools are a solid fit for students — in those cases, the decision often comes down to workflow style and how your team prefers to organize work.
This is a genuinely close comparison. If you can, sign up for both free trials (where available) and run a one-week test with your actual team tasks before deciding.