Creating interactive presentations is the ultimate goal of every person that uses presentation software. Presenting a topic like this is to deliver information the best way possible while avoiding boredom.

Among the best tools you can find for work, PowerPoint and Sway are strong candidates thanks to their similar functions. Also, since they were both created by Microsoft, they share a common bond, Microsoft 365.

To help you choose between these two options, we have prepared a comparison that explores their features and differences. In the end, we give a verdict, but you are free to make your choice.

Microsoft Office PowerPoint is presentation software that is included in the MS suite. Along with other Microsoft apps, you have an entire productivity workspace where you can do text editing, create presentations, spreadsheets, and more.

Now, PowerPoint, in particular, has slides, videos, and screen recordings to create dynamic and interesting multimedia presentations that engage the audience and make a meeting far more entertaining.

You can use it for both educational and business purposes or even for yourself.

This latest PowerPoint edition includes collaboration tools and integration with your Microsoft Account so you can have your files saved on the cloud. This way, you can open and organize them anywhere you are as long as you have an internet connection.

PowerPoint users can also collaborate with other people in the same file. We will talk about this and other features below.

Let’s start with usability.

Microsoft PowerPoint has become a very intuitive presentation tool thanks to the latest update. Rounded corners have been added to the entire program, and tools have been organized in a way that every person – new or experienced – can use without any problem.

Now, there are other usability features that you should consider, such as online and offline usage. If you have PowerPoint’s desktop version, you can work on your presentations whether you have an internet connection or not. 

On the contrary, if you have the web version or Microsoft 365, you must have internet access.

Microsoft PowerPoint has a lot of templates that you can use. Both PowerPoint and Sway users agree with this.

You can use them to create a presentation from scratch or on a specific slide. You can also create your own template according to what you need. And if you don’t find anything useful, you can also download more options from the internet.

Microsoft PowerPoint is compatible with both Mac and Windows computers. And in comparison with other presentation apps, you can save your files in new or old formats without worrying about compatibility issues.

The new Microsoft Office 2021 can collaborate with colleagues in a few different ways.

Of course, to have these features available, you will need to integrate the standalone license with Microsoft 365 and OneDrive.

Here you can:

• Send online content to those you work with.
• Allow people to edit and use all PowerPoint features, from slideshow format to the slide layout.
• Create professional-looking presentations in collaboration.
• See what people do in real-time.
• Talk via an interactive group chat.
• Invite people to see your work and help you improve your presentation.

Microsoft PowerPoint has both desktop and mobile versions. Thus, you can find an Android and iOS app, install them on your mobile, and use them to interact with your presentations.

Of course, you won’t have all the features available, but you’ll still have a way to make edits or even start formal presentations from scratch.

And, in case you don’t have a computer, you can use your phone to present your file.

When you are the presenter, you need to have in mind the accessibility of your presentation. This is mandatory when you are designing presentations. As such, PowerPoint has an Accessibility checker that will let you know if there are issues with your document.

You can try this feature by going into the Review Tab and clicking on Check Accessibility. The document will automatically show a report with different issues that you need to correct.

PowerPoint has several tools to create engaging presentations. In this program, you can:

• Get a powerful slide deck.
• Have different Layout options.
• Possibility to change to a vertical layout.
• Fully customizable slides.
• Change the accessibility view.
• Add short videos or create an image-heavy slideshow.
• Build a business-oriented presentation.
• Create slides with text-heavy content.
• Add graphs, charts, and their styles.
• Customize each slide and add transitions, animations, etc.
• Improve the slides' overall design.
• Embed external content like pictures or videos from Youtube, Twitter, Facebook, and more.
• Have backup security thanks to OneDrive.

In general, this is a powerful tool that you will need if you want to create a presentation according to your specific needs.

Microsoft Sway offers a light version of PowerPoint. This is a new online application that works in the web browser that you can use to build reports, stories, presentations, etc.

What Microsoft Sway offers is the possibility of not relying on predetermined templates. You can create your presentation and let your design skills deliver interactive, engaging information that your audience will love.

Sway presentations have a fun way to work. It has a built-in design you can use to make your documents better. You can change Templates Sway over and over or modify them until you are satisfied with the results.

The best thing about it is that the Sway app is free. You only need to access Sway with your Microsoft Account. And, if you have a subscription to Microsoft 365, you can have more benefits.

Below we mention the Sway features you can enjoy with this software.

Sway presentations are far easier to start creating than PowerPoint. Since you don’t need to install a program – to both your PC and your mobile device – you can start to work ASAP as you enter the web platform.

What Microsoft Sway offers is a practical way to choose a template in a few clicks. You don’t have a slide either, it’s a continuous scroll sideways and slideshow.

Because of this, Sway projects are easy to understand for both new and old users.

Sway works with fewer templates than PowerPoint, but they have the same purpose. However, Sway uses Styles that you can find in the Design tab.

They are fully customizable, so you can change every piece of graphic that you don’t like. This template-less feature gives you more freedom for your creativity.

Sway doesn’t have a standalone version for desktops or mobiles; it only has the web version. But, this is enough to allow you to share projects via email, texts, social media, and more.

You can give these documents editing permissions. This way, you can choose to share a read-only file or more. You also can choose if you want to permit others to share your document or not.

As a product that has a cloud location, you can work with others with similar features as those of Microsoft 365. Of course, you need the MS 365 license to access all these collaborative functions.

Among the two programs, Sway is a web-version product. This means that you don’t need to install any program.

So, if you want to use Sway on your mobile, you only need to enter the website. Of course, as a program without a licensed application, you won’t have all the features on your phone. But still, it is useful.

In Sway, you can also use an Accessibility view that will let you meet the presentation needs.

As you can see, there are different features that separate Sway from PowerPoint and vice versa. To summarize, the main differences are:

The reality is that both presentation software can be a good option for you. The thing is that you will need to make a choice:

• If you want complete software that you can use online or offline, with lots of features, possibilities, and designs that you can use in your presentations.
• You want a web platform software that you only can use with the internet and has fewer features.

You probably need software that you can rely on. That’s why PowerPoint is the most popular option as a presentation app and our current choice as the best program for you.

If creating presentations is what you love, you can get the entire Microsoft Office 2021 suite – which is the office bundle license – for a cheap price using RoyalCDKeys.

This key will give you access to the desktop version of the software for a lifetime along with other programs that you will find useful.

PowerPoint presentations have had an impact since this software was released thanks to its templates, the possibility of adding images, charts, video content, and more. 

If you have a business, you can open a single document and allow multiple users to edit, create and view all the information you add to them.

Let your presentation skills improve with PowerPoint and create content that delights your target audience.

Even though Sway is a good presentation application, it lacks many features that PowerPoint offers.