14 Best Slideshow Makers for Windows 10: Features, Pros, Cons, and Comparison Table
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What do you do with all those photos you took on your vacation, or at the last school concert, or with your friends or family? In the old days, you might make photo prints and put those prints in a physical photo album, but that's now the way we do it today. Now we take our digital photos and use them to create stunning photo slideshows, complete with fancy transitions and background music. We can then share our slideshows via email or social media.
How do you create a photo or video slideshow? With a photo slideshow maker for Windows. There are many quality slideshow makers for Windows, it's just a matter of choosing the one with the features you need.
In this article, we discuss 14 of the best photo slideshow makers for Windows 10. We'll discuss the key features, pros, and cons for each program, and rate and compare them for your convenience.
Most slideshow maker programs work in a similar fashion. You first assemble all the photos you want in your slideshow and place them in order. You then select the timing for each slide, transitions and special effects, and your desired background music. The slideshow program then creates the slideshow as a video file you can download to your computer, upload to social media, share with friends, or play in any video player.
What follows are reviews of the best slideshow makers for Windows. Click the links to learn more about any given program.
Operating system: Windows 7/8/10, macOS
Licensing: paid
Price: (free trial version available)
File size: 62.1 MB
Our rating: 10/10
Movavi Slideshow Maker is generally regarded as one of the best slideshow makers for Windows users. It's easy to use, even for less technical users, and lets you create great-looking slideshows with interesting transitions. You can also add animated titles and pro-level video effects such as panning and zooming.
One of the things that makes Movavi Slideshow Maker one of the best slideshow software for Windows 10 is its wide selection of pre-made templates, along with a Slideshow Wizard you can use to get started. This Windows 10 app also includes a large library of free background music, transitions, filters, overlays, and other special effects. After you've created your slideshow, you can save it in a variety of popular video formats, including AVI, MOV, and MP4. You can also save your slideshows directly to YouTube.
Key features:
Pros:
Easy to use
Robust photo editing features
Hundreds of artistic filters, visual effects, and titles
Large library of free background music
Cons:
No direct upload to Facebook or Twitter
May be too powerful for some users
List of slideshow programs for Windows 10/8/7
While we recommend Movavi Slideshow Maker as great slideshow software for Windows 10, there are several other programs worth your consideration.
Operating system: Windows 10
Licensing: free
File size: 52.44 MB
Our rating: 5/10
As its name implies, this program is a free slideshow app for Windows. It's a basic slideshow maker with additional video editing features. You can easily assemble a group of photos, add background music, and apply transitions between slides.
This free slideshow maker for Windows 10 also enables you to add text and emojis over your videos. It includes a variety of special effects, including blur, highlight, and wave. You can also add filters and stickers to your slideshows.
Key features:
Pros:
Easy to use
Built-in music in a variety of styles
Cons:
Few advanced features
Users report the program has difficulties handling large numbers of photos
Operating system: Windows XP/Vista/7/8/10, macOS
Licensing: free and paid
Price: $50.00 Home Edition, $70.00 Pro Edition (free version available)
File size: 5.5 MB
Our rating: 8/10
PhotoStage Slideshow Pro is one of the easier picture slideshow makers to use. You can create customized slideshows with your own photos, music, and transitions. The program includes a basic photo editor that lets you crop and rotate your photos, as well as adjust brightness, contrast, and color hue. You can export your slideshows in a variety of popular video formats (including AVI, MOV, and MP4), as well as upload to YouTube, Vimeo, and Flickr.
This slideshow software is available in three versions: Free, Home, and Pro. The Free version offers fewer features and may not be ideal for more sophisticated users who want more advanced functionality. To move beyond basic transitions and effects you need to purchase either the Home or Pro versions, both of which offer a larger number of effects and features.
Key features:
Pros:
Easy to use
Audio editing features
Large number of effects and transitions (in Home and Pro versions)
Cons:
Free version lacks advanced features
Dated user interface
Operating system: Windows 7/8/10, macOS
Licensing: paid and subscription
Price: $99.90 lifetime, $59.90 annual, $39.95 monthly (free trial available)
File size: 68.63 MB
Our rating: 7/10
BeeCut is an easy-to-use video editing program that can also be used to create great-looking slideshows. It includes a variety of video editing functions, including zooming, cropping, and color adjustment. You can also add your own background music to your slideshows.
You can save your BeeCut slideshow videos directly to Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and other social media. It also lets you create slideshows in a variety of aspect ratios, including square, 4:3, and 16.9 widescreen.
Key features:
Pros:
Supports a large number of aspect ratios
Includes a variety of transitions and video effects
Great for producing slideshows for YouTube
Cons:
Not specifically designed for slideshow making
May offer more features than users need
Operating system: Windows Vista/7/8/10
Licensing: free and paid
Price: free version, Pro version $19.95
File size: 20.8 MB
Our rating: 8/10
Icecream Slideshow Maker is a basic but easy-to-use slideshow maker for all versions of Windows. It's easy to select the images you want, add your music, and then apply over 20 different transitions between slides. It's available in both free and paid (Pro) versions; the free version is limited to just 10 photos per slideshow.
This program lets you save your slideshows in full HD (1080p), 2K, or 4K resolution. You can also upload your slideshows to YouTube with a single click, save to Google Drive and other cloud storage services, and burn your slideshows directly to DVD. It saves slideshows in a wide variety of file formats, including AVI, M4V, MKV, MOV, MP4, QT, and WMV.
Key features:
Pros:
Simple interface
Creates slideshows in full HD, 2K, and 4K resolution
Looping music
Cons:
Free version limited to 10 photos per slideshow
Few features for advanced users
Operating system: Windows XP/Vista/7/8/10
Licensing: free
File size: 50 MB
Our rating: 6/10
As the name implies, Freemake Video Converter isn't a slideshow maker program per se, but rather video converter software that also creates photo slideshows. In its primary function, Freemake Video Converter converts videos between 500 different file formats and devices. As a slideshow maker, it lets you merge a large number of photos into a single slideshow, but without a lot of fancy effects. You can also include videos from all formats in your slideshows.
Freemake Video Converter saves slideshows in both full HD (1080p) and 4K resolution. It can automatically upload videos to YouTube and save your slideshows to DVD. The program is completely free.
Key features:
Pros:
Good for slideshows with large numbers of photos
Saves slideshows to a large number of video formats
Enables direct uploading to YouTube
Cons:
Not primarily a slideshow maker program
No pre-made templates
Dated user interface
Operating system: Windows 10, macOS
Licensing: free
File size: 1.6 GB
Our rating: 9/10
DaVinci Resolve is a powerful video editing program used by pros and hobbyists alike. It also lets users create sophisticated photo slideshows, complete with music. It includes a huge library of broadcast-quality transitions and special effects, including wipes, dissolves, blurs, and flares. The software also lets you create pro-level 2D and 3D animated titles and text content.
As a pro-level program, Resolve lets you create slideshows with hundreds of individual photos. It's great for large and sophisticated slideshow projects. Resolve's quick export tool lets you easily upload your video slideshows to YouTube, Vimeo, Twitter, and other social media platforms. Because Resolve is a full-featured video editing program, it probably isn't for beginners or casual users; the learning curve is a little steep, but there's a lot you can do with it. (The company also offers DaVinci Resolve Studio for $295 with additional professional tools and functionality.)
Key features:
Pros:
Pro-level quality for free – great bang for the buck
Powerful video editing features
Great if you have a large number of photos
Cons:
Might be too complicated for some users
Steep learning curve
Operating system: Windows 10, macOS
Licensing: subscription
Price: part of Microsoft 365 subscription, $69.99/year or $6.99/month
File size: 700 MB
Our rating: 6/10
Microsoft's PowerPoint is the presentation program in the company's popular Microsoft 365 office suite. PowerPoint is typically used to create charts and presentations, but can also be used to create simple slideshows. PowerPoint includes a number of slide transitions, as well as a selection of pre-made templates. That said, you have to insert your photos one slide at a time and then add your transitions.
If you're a Microsoft Office user, PowerPoint is a good choice for basic slideshows. Microsoft 365 Personal is available as a subscription for $99.99/year or $9.99/month. You can save your slideshows in Microsoft's PPTX format or in MP4 or WMV video formats.
Key features:
Pros:
Familiar to millions of Microsoft Office users
Animations and transitions
Customizable themes
Cons:
Limited functionality
Limited to .MP4 and .WMV video file formats
Operating system: web
Licensing: free and subscription
Price: free (with watermarks) or $9.99/month
Our rating: 7/10
Adobe® Spark® is a web-based service that lets you quickly create web pages, graphics, and memes for social media, and short videos. It isn't designed specifically for making slideshows, but you can use it for that. Just select Spark's slideshow maker function, select a template, then add your photos and music. You can save your slideshow in M4V, MOV, or MP4 formats, or upload your video files directly to social media sites.
You access Spark® from any computer with a web browser. It includes a number of pre-made templates and themes you can use for your slideshows. There's a free version available, although it inserts a watermark on every slide. To get rid of the watermark and gain additional features, upgrade to the Individual plan, which costs $9.99/month after a 14-day free trial.
Key features:
Pros:
Easy to use
Available from any web browser
Choose from a variety of templates and effects
Cons:
Lacks advanced features
Free version includes watermarks
Operating system: Windows, macOS
Licensing: subscription
Price: $20.99/month
File size: 1.01 GB
Our rating: 9/10
Adobe® Premiere® Pro CC is a powerful video editing program that includes a built-in slideshow maker for Windows 10 that lets you quickly and easily create sophisticated photo slideshows, complete with music. Premiere's slideshows can include an unlimited number of images, which makes it great for very large slideshows.
When you use Premiere's slideshow maker you determine how long each photo will appear onscreen, the type and duration of each transition, and other visual effects. It also includes collaboration features if you're working on a team project. You can save your slideshows in all popular video file formats.
Key features:
Pros:
Powerful video editing
Include an unlimited number of images
Sophisticated transitions and effects
Cons:
Expensive
May be too powerful for casual users
Operating system: Windows 8/10
Licensing: paid
Price: $69.99
File size: 2 GB
Our rating: 8/10
Magix PhotoStory Deluxe is a full-featured slideshow maker software, complete with a wide variety of photo and video editing tools. Build your slideshows from more than 130 pre-made themes, add music and sounds from the large built-in library, then apply any of the more than 300 slide transitions.
The program makes it easy to enhance and customize your slideshows with filters, overlays, and effects. You can save your finished slideshows in MKV, MOV, WMV, and other high-resolution video formats, as well as burn them to DVD and Blu-ray discs. You can also share your slideshows via Facebook, YouTube, and other social media.
Key features:
Pros:
300+ transition effects
Share directly to social media
Advanced photo and video editing
Cons:
Expensive
Tech support is extra
Operating system: Windows Vista/7/8/10, macOS
Licensing: subscription
Price: $9.95/month or $99.95/year (free trial available)
File size: 1 GB
Our rating: 9/10
Photopia is one of the most versatile and popular video slideshow makers for both professionals and hobbyists. The Show Wizard makes it easy to get started, then you can use the drag-and-drop interface to fully customize your slideshows with transitions, captions, background music, and a variety of video effects. The program includes robust photo and video editing and a variety of motion effects. There's also advance audio editing, including the ability to include multiple audio tracks and crossfade between them.
You can save your slideshows in more than 50 different formats in standard definition, full HD, and 4K resolution. You can also upload your slideshows directly to Facebook, YouTube, and other social media.
Key features:
Pros:
Drag and drop interface
Photo and video editing
More than 950 built-in effects and filters
Cons:
Steep learning curve
Not for beginners
Operating system: Windows XP/Vista/7/8/10
Licensing: paid
Price: $59.95 (free trial available)
File size: 1 GB
Our rating: 9/10
iSkysoft Slideshow Maker offers two separate operating modes – Standard, for beginners and casual users, and Advanced, for more professional users. The Advanced mode offers more sophisticated controls to better fine-tune and customize professional-level slideshows. Both modes offer pre-made templates and styles, transitions, clip art, motion effects, and more. You can also add separate introduction and credits sections for a professional look.
The program's instant preview feature lets you view your slideshow before finalizing it. You can save your final slideshow in a variety of video formats, including AVI, MKV, MOV, MP4, and WMV. You can also upload your slideshow videos directly to YouTube and other social media.
Key features:
Pros:
Dual operating modes make it easy for all levels of users
Save in a variety of popular video formats
Share to Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and other social media
Cons:
Rendering can be slow
Interface is dated
Operating system: web
Licensing: free
Our rating: 7/10
Animoto is a free web-based slideshow and video maker that you can use from any computer or device in your web browser. The company partners with Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and other social media to make it easy to upload finished videos to those platforms.
Start by selecting a template from Animoto's large library. Templates include backgrounds, music, and special effects. Select which photos or videos to include, then add text and image filters and create your slideshow. The drag-and-drop interface makes it very easy to use. Animoto offers a Professional version for $15/month that includes more features.
Key features:
Pros:
Drag-and-drop operation
Fast rendering of slideshow videos
Easy upload to Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube
Cons:
Only outputs in the MP4 format
Adds Animoto logo at end of each slideshow
Limited customization and no transitions
As you can see, Windows 10 slideshow maker programs and services differ not only in price but also in usability and functionality. Some are easier to use than others and some offer many more features.
Of all these programs, we recommend Movavi Slideshow Maker as one of the best slideshow makers for Windows. It offers the best combination of price and functionality – and it's easy to use, too!
The following table summarizes the pros and cons of each of these Windows slideshow maker programs.
To ensure that you receive only verified information, we do the following:
Movavi Content Team has tested all the products covered in this article.
When testing products, we compare all key parameters, including merging video clips, changing video speed, recording voice-overs, creating slideshows, and other significant features.
Movavi Slideshow Maker
An easy-to-use, yet efficient slideshow making program
* The trial version of Movavi Slideshow Maker has the following restrictions: 7-day trial period, watermark on the output slideshows, and an ability to save only half the audio length.
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