16 Best Slideshow Makers With Templates [Free & Online]

Everyone adores sharing memorable moments with their loved ones. You can amplify the thrill of special events by crafting a captivating slideshow, be it from wedding photos captured with a top-notch DSLR or lively vacation videos shot on your phone,

A slideshow maker can elevate your professional presentations, too, injecting enthusiasm into your next team meeting or convincing prospective clients that you're their ideal match at upcoming conventions.

However, creating a mesmerizing slideshow can be a time-consuming task if your chosen tool lacks user-friendly features like drag-and-drop capabilities, sophisticated formatting options, and seamless transitions. 

Fret not! We've done the legwork, exploring and reviewing the finest free slideshow makers available to make your experience a breeze.

• Snapshot of Our Top 3 Free Slideshow Makers
• How to Choose the Best Free Slideshow Maker?
• 16 Best Slideshow Makers With Templates [Free & Online]
• Best Free Slideshow Makers Comparison Chart
• How to Make a Slideshow on Windows and Mac
• Download the Best Slideshow Maker for Free
• Free Slideshow Maker FAQ

Snapshot of Our Top 3 Free Slideshow Makers

How to Choose the Best Free Slideshow Maker?

No 2 free slideshow makers on our list are alike, so you may be wondering how to choose the correct one for your needs. Here are some things to look out for when choosing a slideshow creator. 

Skill Level - One of the most important aspects of choosing any software is making sure it is appropriate for your skill level. Advanced software could be too confusing for beginners and take them a long time to learn, while some beginner-friendly free slideshow makers are too basic for more knowledgeable users. We recommend finding an easy-to-use product with advanced features to cover a wide range of users. 

Compatibility - There are free slideshow makers for Windows, Mac, and online. Online options are a good choice if you want to skip downloading software, however, they require an internet connection. If you like to edit on the go we recommend software for Windows or Mac. You should also make sure any free slideshow makers found online will work with your preferred web browser, and that Windows or Mac software work with your specific version. 

Music - If you are creating PowerPoint-style presentations for your business, you may not need the capability to add music. However, if you need to make a slideshow for a wedding, graduation, or another event, make sure the free slideshow maker you choose has the capability to add your favorite songs. If you plan to upload your slideshows to a site such as YouTube, you will need to select background music from a royalty-free music library, which is available on only some of the free slideshow makers below. 

Features - There are some free slideshow makers that allow complete customization of your slides, such as setting the duration of each slide, adding motion effects, customizing the text, and color adjustments. Others allow you to make a slideshow in minutes with automated tools - simply upload your media, choose a template, and you are done. Decide how much creative control you want over your slideshows and choose an appropriate free slideshow maker for your needs. 

16 Best Slideshow Makers With Templates [Free & Online]

1. PowerDirector - Best Overall Slideshow Maker

Compatibility: Windows, Mac

PCMag Rating: 5/5

Beginner-Friendly: 5/5

Price: Free
*Premium subscription available for $4.08/month for PowerDirector 365

Key Features:

• User-friendly interfaces: The software provides Storyboard, Timeline, and Slideshow interfaces to cater to various preferences and editing styles, ensuring a comfortable and efficient workflow.
• Rich assortment of design elements: Create compelling and visually engaging slideshows with a vast array of titles, transitions, and overlays to suit your creative vision.
• Advanced visual effects: Elevate the visual appeal of your slideshow with a comprehensive suite of visual effect capabilities, allowing you to apply filters, animations, and other enhancements that will captivate your audience.
• Sound and color optimization: Utilize the built-in audio and color correction tools to fine-tune your slideshow's overall ambiance. These features enable you to adjust sound levels, eliminate background noise, and modify color grading to achieve a polished, professional finish.

Who It’s For

PowerDirector's intuitive interface for Windows and Mac makes it the leading free slideshow maker for beginners and enthusiasts who prefer crafting their content on a desktop or laptop. The versatile video editing suite caters to a wide range of projects, from showcasing family memories to producing Hollywood-esque masterpieces with advanced visual effects. 

Why We Picked It

For those seeking a dedicated slideshow-making tool, PowerDirector's Slideshow Creator is sure to delight. With it, you bypass the need for timeline or storyboard editing and can dive straight into the slideshow creation process. This plug-in streamlines every step, guiding you through the entire process and ensuring a smooth and enjoyable experience.

Bottom Line

This free slideshow maker is packed with an extensive selection of transitions, video effects, and themed templates to suit your creative needs. Professionals can also leverage PowerDirector's capabilities to craft captivating business slideshows for meetings, presentations, and trade shows, replacing mundane slides and bland text with dynamic visuals.

PowerDirector's ability to address all your video creation requirements has consistently earned it the prestigious title of PCMag Editor's Choice, year after year.

Download PowerDirector today by clicking the link below to start making unique and professional-looking slideshows.

2. PixTeller - Best for Marketing

Compatibility: Web Browser

Capterra Rating: 4.5/5

Beginner-Friendly: 4.5/5

Price: Free
*Premium subscriptions available for $84/year for Pro or $144/year for Diamond

Key Features:

• Smart resize
• Pixelate and blur photos
• Download as MP4 or GIF
• Frame by frame timeline

Who It’s For

PixTeller is a free slideshow maker and photo editor available online. It is a great marketing tool because you can create logos and upload custom fonts to match your branding. There are also over 120 free fonts you can choose from on the site, and 1,500,00+ free photos and illustrations to use in marketing materials.

Why We Picked It

PixTeller is more than just a free slideshow maker. With this online tool, you can create collages, cards, flyers, banners, YouTube Thumbnails, and more with customizable templates. PixTeller is first and foremost a photo editor, so you can edit all your photos before or while you make a slideshow. You can use a pre-made slideshow template or start from scratch. Add music, transitions, and text to make a slideshow in minutes.

Bottom Line

PixTeller has no limit on the number of photos you can upload or use from stock in your photo slideshow. However, it only works with photos, and you can’t make a slideshow with video clips as you can with PowerDirector. There are also no official tutorials available on the site, which is frustrating if you can’t figure out how to use a feature.

3. Animoto - Best for Templates

Image from TechCrunch.

Compatibility: Web Browser

Capterra Rating: 4.3/5

Beginner-Friendly: 4.7/5

Price: Free
*Premium subscriptions available for $8/month for Basic, $15/month for Professional, and $39/month for Professional Plus

Key Features:

• Stock library of photos, videos, and music
• Voice over
• Cropping and trimming
• Custom font upload

Who It’s For

Animoto is a free slideshow maker and marketing video editor with tons of customizable templates for all your slideshow needs. You can choose a storyboard template based on a theme such as a birthday, graduation, funeral, inspirational, real estate listing, etc. Then customize as much or as little as you want with colors, text, and music. 

Why We Picked It

It’s easy to make a slideshow with Animoto. This online tool has a friendly user interface and lets you drag-and-drop videos and photos into the slideshow creator from many different sources. 

Bottom Line

Themed templates mean you can make a slideshow with Animoto in no time at all, with no previous experience. It is #3 on our list because seasoned content creators won’t like that creative options are limited and you can’t edit individual clips.

4. ThunderSoft Free Slideshow Maker - Best for Creating Screensavers

Compatibility: Windows

Download.com Rating: 4.5/5

Beginner-Friendly: 4.5/5

Price: Free
*Premium version available for $49.95 for ThunderSoft Slideshow Factory

Key Features:

• 70+ transition effects
• Apply captions and clipart
• HD video support
• Add music

Who It’s For

Thundersoft Free Slideshow Maker is an easy-to-use software with wide format support for both import and export. We like that you can save your slideshows as a screen saver for your desktop. You can also save it as an SWF movie, executable, flash banner for your website, or upload it to YouTube.

Why We Picked It

With this free slideshow maker, you can make a photo album with more than 500 images or create a thumbnail photo gallery. It also supports video slideshow creation and has over 70 animated templates for a quick and easy way to make a slideshow.

Bottom Line

Thundersoft Free Slideshow Maker allows you to create photo and video slideshows for a variety of uses and formats. However, it is very light on features and doesn’t work for any professional or marketing presentations, which is why we placed it behind PixTeller and Animoto on our list. If you simply need a slideshow creator to quickly put some transitions between photos for your screen saver, then this free slideshow maker will do the job. 

5. iMovie - Best for Mac Users

Image from MakeUseOf.

Compatibility: Mac

G2 Rating: 4.3/5

Beginner-Friendly: 4.5/5

Price: Free

Key Features:

• Color correction
• Video stabilization
• Speed adjustment tools
• Background templates

Who It’s For

iMovie is a video editor and free slideshow maker that comes built-in on Mac computers, iPhones, and iPads. With iMovie, you can start editing on one device, then finish on another with Apple integration. You can easily import photos and videos from your Photos app and even pull videos from FaceTime.

Why We Picked It

Seamlessly go between photos and videos in your slideshow with iMovie. Add music from your iTunes account or choose from the stock library. Add sound effects or voice-over, then finish with transitions and titles. You can also choose Magic Movie - simply add your photos and videos, and iMovie will create an edited video for you.

Bottom Line

iMovie has a sleek interface and lots of built-in effects. As a video editor, iMovie is easy-to-use, however, as a slideshow creator, it is harder to figure out. Although iMovie is a well-respected free tool for video editing, it does not have dedicated templates or tools to help you make a slideshow like all of the higher-rated free slideshow makers on our list. Our #1 choice PowerDirector is also a video editor, but it offers a Slideshow Creator to make slideshow creation quick and easy.

6. Aiseesoft Slideshow Creator - Best for a Range of Users

Image from Aiseesoft.

Compatibility: Windows

G2 Rating: 4.2/5

Beginner-Friendly: 4.5/5

Price: 15-Day free trial, then $59.95

Key Features:

• Extract background music
• Video speed adjustment
• 4K UHD and 1080p HD resolution

Who It’s For

Aiseesoft Slideshow Creator has an Easy Mode and Storyboard Mode for both beginners and advanced users to create high-quality slideshows. You can add videos, photos, and music, and edit all of your media. It comes with ready-made themes that can be used as-is or customized to your liking.

Why We Picked It

You can make a slideshow with narration and add your favorite background music. With this free slideshow maker, you can also add filters and overlays, and adjust brightness, hue, and saturation. Flip, rotate, or crop your video with Aiseesoft’s many editing tools.

Bottom Line

Aiseesoft Slideshow Creator allows beginners to create a slideshow in just 5 easy steps and has customization options for experienced users. Unlike our top choice PowerDirector, Aiseesoft doesn’t have a royalty-free background music library. This can be problematic with sites like YouTube that will remove videos with copyrighted music.

7. Icecream Slideshow Maker - Best for Offices

Image from Capterra.

Compatibility: Windows

Capterra Rating: 4/5

Beginner-Friendly: 4.7/5

Price: Free
*Premium version available for $19.95

Key Features:

• Sort and rearrange slides
• Set slide duration
• Add a color slide in between photos

Who It’s For

Icecream Slideshow Maker is an excellent choice for busy businesses that need to make a slideshow quickly. If you have slideshows to crank out for work, but little available time, this free slideshow maker can help. Icecream Slideshow Maker has a simple layout, easy-to-use drag-and-drop tools, and bulk settings you can customize. 

Why We Picked It

Make a slideshow with text, background music, and transitions with this free slideshow maker. Text is fully customized and can even be animated. You can upload your slideshow directly to YouTube, Dropbox, or Google Drive, or burn it onto a DVD in up to 4K resolution. 

Bottom Line

Icecream Slideshow Maker has a dedicated free version, but it is limited to 10 slides and will only export in .webm format. However, the Premium version doesn’t cost much if you decide you need more slides. We placed it behind Aiseesoft because it doesn’t have near as many features, and you can only display one photo per slide. For a feature-rich slideshow creator that also has a free version, we recommend our top choice PowerDirector. 

8. MiniTool Movie Maker - Best for Beginners

Image from MiniTool Movie Maker.

Compatibility: Windows

TechRadar Rating: 3.5/5

Beginner-Friendly: 5/5

Price: Free
*Premium version available for $59.99/year

Key Features:

• Video speed controller
• Pan and zoom
• Autosave
• Animated titles and subtitles

Who It’s For

MiniTool Movie Maker is a video editor and free slideshow maker for Windows. Through our research, we found it to be one of the best slideshow creators for beginners because it offers a wide variety of templates and wizard-style interface guides. With MiniTool Movie Maker, you can make a slideshow in minutes, even if it is your first time. 

Why We Picked It

There are video templates for any kind of video you can think of, from video invites to movie trailers. There are lots of customizable animated elements, creative filters, and over 100 transitions. With this free slideshow maker, you can also add any of your own music to your slideshow and easily share it on YouTube or Facebook. 

Bottom Line

With MiniTool Movie Maker, most of the tools and features are available for free, so it’s hard to complain. That being said, anyone with the smallest background in video editing will find it lacking in tools and control over effects. It is a good free slideshow maker for someone making their first-ever slideshow, but not for anyone with the slightest bit of experience.   

9. Adobe Express - Best for Backgrounds

Compatibility: Web Browser

TechRadar Rating: 4/5

Beginner-Friendly: 4.5/5

Price: Free
*Premium version available for $9.99/month

Key Features:

• Background remover
• Merge videos
• Speed adjustment

Who It’s For

Adobe Express is a web-based graphic design tool and free slideshow maker for those with little experience. It comes with thousands of professionally-designed background templates. Every detail is fully customizable and can be duplicated or updated for every slide. 

Why We Picked It

Use Adobe Express’s templates for sales presentations, school projects, speeches, and personal projects. Make a slideshow and upload it to a variety of sites by using the instant resize tool. You can also share slideshows by link or email.

Bottom Line

Adobe Express has some simple video editing tools like trim, crop, and reverse, but it is mainly a slide designer and does not offer music or audio of any kind, which is why we placed it below MiniTool Movie Maker. And while it has a lot of good tools in the free version, it can be hard to tell what is free and what is premium. 

10. Kizoa - Best for Cropping

Image from inVideo.

Compatibility: Web Browser

Sitejabber Rating: 3.9/5

Beginner-Friendly: 4.5/5

Price: Free
*Premium subscriptions available for $15/month for Business and $30/month for Unlimited

Key Features:

• Animations like bounce and spin
• Audio editing
• Transitions and text
• Trim and crop

Who It’s For

Kizoa is one of our favorite online slideshow creators because you can adapt your slides to any screen with up to 7 different aspect ratios. This means you’ll have the right size slideshow for TVs, computers, smartphones, and tablets, no matter the brand. There’s also an intelligent cropping tool that will give you the best choice for your photos and fill the screen as much as possible without cutting out essential parts.

Why We Picked It

With this free slideshow maker, simply choose a template and add your photos and videos. Add effects, text, and GIFs to your video slideshows. All the tools you need are included to display your slideshow on a TV, projector, computer, or phone. Share your slideshow online, download it in multiple formats (MP4, AVI, MOV, MPEG2, GIF), or burn it onto a DVD.

Bottom Line

No previous editing experience is needed to make a slideshow with Kizoa. However, the free version will limit your video slideshow to 1 minute. To make anything longer, you will need to subscribe or use one of the free slideshow makers ranked higher on our list. 

11. Focusky Presentation Maker - Best for Transitions

Compatibility: Windows, Mac

G2 Rating: 4.1/5

Beginner-Friendly: 4/5

Price: Free
*Premium subscriptions available for $9.90/month for Standard and $99/year for Professional

Key Features:

• Pan and zoom
• Background music
• WordArt and text effects
• Online templates

Who It’s For

Focusky is a free slideshow maker and animated presentation creator. What sets Focusky apart from other slideshow creators is its 3D transition effects. 3D zooming, panning and rotating make it feel like a 3D movie and less like a traditional slide presentation.

Why We Picked It

There are over 300 animation effects and animation paths so you can move any elements on a slide and add visual interest. This free slideshow maker also has over 1,000 animated Flash, PNG, and GIF characters and stunning vector art to use in your video slideshows. 

Bottom Line

Focusky Presentation Maker is a fun and effective way to make unique slideshow presentations for your business - no experience necessary. The software has a free version, but it’s really only a ‘try before you buy’ version and is not practical for regular or professional use. If you don’t have the budget to pay for a slideshow creator, try one of the above options instead, like PowerDirector or PixTeller. 

12. Aquasoft - Best for Animating Photos

Image from softpedia.

Compatibility: Windows

Softpedia Rating: 4/5

Beginner-Friendly: 4/5

Price: 30-Day free trial, then $27 for Slideshow Easy, $59.90 for Photo Vision, $99.90 for Video Vision, and $250 for Aquasoft Stages

Key Features:

• Color adjustment and LUTs
• Animated travel routes
• Hundreds of image and text effects
• Narration

Who It’s For

We love Aquasoft’s free slideshow maker for anyone who needs to add motion to still images. Choose a camera pan, zoom, or animated transition to bring your images to life. You can even add a parallax effect, motion blur, and 3D effects. This slideshow creator comes with a 3D photo editor and “3D Cube,” where you can showcase 6 photos at once as an animated rotating box.

Why We Picked It

Aquasoft comes with many different options to make a slideshow, at varying price points. Slideshow Easy has templates to quickly create a slideshow with music and text. Photo Vision is a more feature-rich option for beginners, Video Vision is for intermediate users, and Aquasoft Stages is for pros. Some of the animation tools are only available in Video Vision or Stages.

Bottom Line

We like that Aquasoft has options for anyone from beginners to pros to make a slideshow. However, it only offers a free trial of its products, and if you want all the amazing tools this slideshow creator has to offer, you need to pay for the top-tier editions (which also come with a steep learning curve). We recommend PowerDirector as an alternative. PowerDirector has all its top-tier features - including photo animation tools - in one beginner-friendly and affordable software. 

13. SmartSHOW3D - Best for 3D Collages

Compatibility: Windows

Trustpilot Rating: 3.9/5

Beginner-Friendly: 4/5

Price: Price: 10-day free trial, then $29.95/year for Standard Edition, $49.95/year for Deluxe Edition, and a one-time payment of $99.90 for Gold Edition

Key Features:

• Create slideshows with photos, videos, and music
• Templates and effects
• Music tracks
• Convert and burn to DVD

Who It’s For

SmartSHOW 3D provides a toolkit for creating quality photo and video slideshows with effects. We found it to be an excellent free slideshow maker for creating 3D collages. With SmartSHOW 3D, you can put multiple layers on slides, apply animations to selected layers, and add keyframes for fine-tuning. Add image masks and various shapes or animated 3D text and graphic art. You can add motion to your still images with no technical background. Or add transition effects, including fade-ins, wipes, gradients, and 3D transitions. 

Why We Picked It

You can make a slideshow for any number of occasions; anniversaries, birthdays, weddings, traveling, etc. SmartSHOW 3D lets you mix your precious pics and favorite tunes into captivating photo slideshows great for sharing with friends and family.

Bottom Line

With SmartSHOW 3D, you can produce professional slideshows even if you’re not tech-savvy. However, unlike PowerDirector and PixTeller, this free slideshow maker does not come with any editing tools. If you need to tweak your photos and videos before adding them to the slideshow, you will need third-party editing software.

14. Fastreel - Best for Video Collages

Image from fixthephoto.

Compatibility: Web Browser

Trustpilot Rating: 3/5

Beginner-Friendly: 4.5/5

Price: Free
Premium versions available for $9.95/video or $9.95/month for Unlimited Premium

Key Features:

• Social-Media-Friendly aspect ratios
• Rotate and reverse video
• Transitions
• Speed adjustment tool

Who It’s For

Fastreel is a popular online slideshow creator with video and photo editing tools. Make a slideshow with multiple videos or photos per slide with Fasteel’s collage grid templates. This free slideshow maker is an easy way for beginners to make quality slideshows, video collages, and screen recordings in just a few clicks.

Why We Picked It

We found that with this slideshow creator, you can customize everything from slide duration (1 to 10 seconds) to text (color, size, font, etc). You can add music from the free background music library, or use your favorite song.

Bottom Line

Fastreel has an intuitive user interface and will have you creating slideshows in no time at all. However, we found it annoying that every tool you use - such as Crop, Resize, or Spit-Screen - requires you to save your video, then upload it again, as if each tool is entirely new software. PowerDirector, on the other hand, has all of its tools in one handy place - only one upload and export are required. 

15. PhotoStage Slideshow Software - Best for Non-Commercial Use

Compatibility: Windows, Mac

TopTenReviews Rating: 4/5

Beginner-Friendly: 3/5

Price: Free
*Premium versions available for $60 for Home Edition and $80 for Pro Edition

Key Features:

• Customize duration
• Ken Burns effect
• Animated graphic overlays
• Audio effects

Who It’s For

PhotoStage is a free slideshow maker for both photo and video slideshows. The free version of PhotoStage Slideshow Software is available for non-commercial use only. Therefore, if you are a professional or business owner creating commercial content, you must purchase the software. However, it is a quick and easy way to make a slideshow for friends and family.

Why We Picked It

You can make presentations with thousands of photos and video clips with this free slideshow maker. Easily add text, effects, music, and voice-over. Edit your photos' brightness, saturation, color, etc. Use Quick Create to make a slideshow instantly and add pans, zooms, and fades. Then, burn your slideshow to a disc, upload online, or save it.

Bottom Line

PhotoStage is an excellent choice if you need to make a slideshow in a hurry. If you aren’t using Quick Create, this free slideshow maker does have a slight learning curve. If you want more creative control without a learning curve, try our #1 pick PowerDirector.

16. Photopia - Best for Professionals

Image from Photopia.

Compatibility: Windows, Mac

Fix the Photo Rating: 4/5

Beginner-Friendly: 2/5

Price: 21-Day free trial, then $9.95/month for Creator or $24.95/month for Director

Key Features:

• Drag-and-Drop interface
• 50+ publishing and sharing options
• Pan/Zoom/Rotate
• Slideshow Wizard

Who It’s For

Photopia is a high-quality, free slideshow maker for professionals and advanced users. With Photopia, you can make a slideshow with a combination of photos, videos, and even illustrations. This slideshow creator allows the full creative control and advanced features professionals will want when creating unique slideshows for clients. 

Why We Picked It

Over 700 effects are included with this free slideshow maker. It has motion filters to add animation to photos, keyframing, layer editing, masking, and 16 different layer compositing modes. It also comes with advanced audio tools like music auto-sync, music blending, and voice-over.

Bottom Line

Photopia is pretty pricey and only offers a free trial. The good news is that almost all the advanced features found in the Director version are available in the moderately-priced Creator version. It is only lacking the ability to create your own themes, transitions, and styles, which most people won’t need. However, our top choice PowerDirector offers similar features for half the price.

Best Free Slideshow Makers Comparison Chart

How to Make a Slideshow on Windows and Mac

The easiest way to make a slideshow is with PowerDirector. Simply download it by clicking the link and following the steps below.

1. On the launch screen or in the Plugins menu, choose Slideshow Creator.
2. Click Import Your Photos to import your images. Then click Next.

3. Select a style and background music. The style can be selected from the list displayed on the interface. The background music can be imported from your computer or selected from the stock library.

4. Customize your style with Slideshow Preferences.

5. Click Next and preview your slideshow.
6. Click Next and choose Produce Video, Create Disc, or Advanced Editing.

For more information on how to make a slideshow with PowerDirector, watch this video tutorial. 

Download the Best Slideshow Maker for Free

Be it displaying your artistic photography or reminiscing about memorable moments with friends and family, the finest free slideshow maker empowers you to customize and personalize your creations to your heart's content. Don't let the limitations of a slideshow tool stifle your creativity.

PowerDirector delivers unmatched creative freedom, editing capabilities, and stunning visual effects to produce awe-inspiring slideshow videos. Its beginner-friendly design doesn't compromise on advanced editing tools, allowing seasoned users to achieve cinema-worthy results with every project.

Whether you're highlighting a recent vacation, motivating your colleagues, or sharing cherished memories from a wedding or special occasion, PowerDirector's intuitive interface and engaging slideshow creation have earned it the title of the best video editor.

Bid farewell to the restrictions imposed by other free slideshow makers. Embrace boundless creativity by downloading PowerDirector using the link below and start crafting personalized slideshows today.