A Comparison of Microsoft

PowerPoint and Google Slides for

Creation of
Presentations

Billy Cracraft
ENGL 317
28 November 2022
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Add Headings (Format > Paragraph styles) and they will appear in your table of contents.

Table of Contents

Introduction….………………………………………………………3

Methods………………………………………………………………3
Equipment and environment……….………………………………………….3
Tasks……………………………………………………………………………..3
Metrics…………………………………………………………………………...3

Results….…………………………………………………………….4
Task 1……………………………………………………………………………4
Task 2……………………………………………………………………………5
Task 3……………………………………………………………………………6
Task 4……………………………………………………………………………7
Task 5……………………………………………………………………………8
Task 6……………………………………………………………………………9
Task 7……………………………………………………………………………10
Task 8……………………………………………………………………………11
Task 9……………………………………………………………………………12
Task 10………………………………………………………………………..…13

Conclusions………………………………………………………….14
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Introduction

Presentations are a universal and useful tool for sharing information.

Presentations aid in visualizing concepts by having the ability to show graphs,
tables, etc., and by being able to show certain words for emphasis. The
information in this white paper pertains to the findings of a usability comparison
for two different presentation sites. The first site is Microsoft PowerPoint and the
second site is Google Slides. Usability was determined by a series of tasks that
tested the user experience. The tasks’ skill level requirement was a basic
comfortability using a computer and were aimed towards people who need
simple presentations.

Methods

Equipment and Environment

The usability tests were conducted on a 2020 MacBook Air with macOS
Monterey Version 12.6. The web browser used was Safari Version 16.0. The
tests were conducted from home with little to no distractions.

Tasks
1. Change title size and font from the originally provided size/font.
2. Add a new slide after the title page.
3. Add an image to a slide.
4. Resize the image.
5. Add a text box and write a sentence.
6. Add a theme.
7. View presentation as a slide show.
8. Insert audio onto a slide.
9. Rename the presentation.
10. Download the presentation onto your computer.

Tasks
Effective: I was able to complete the task/achieve my goal.
Efficient: I was able to complete the task in a reasonable amount of time.
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Engaging: The respective sites’ style and appearance enhanced my user

experience.
Error Tolerant: The tasks worked effectively and I was able to utilize feedback
provided to help if an error or false start occurred.
Easy to learn: The tasks were easy to learn.

The tasks were evaluated using a Likert Scale with 6 points, which will range
from “strongly-slightly disagree” to “slightly-strongly agree.” The reason for
including 6 points is to eliminate the option for the user to choose a neutral
answer.

Results

Task 1: Change title size and font from the originally provided size/font.

In Microsoft PowerPoint, after I

highlighted the text in the title text box,
I clicked on the font name in the toolbar
to change the font. I repeated this step
for the font size.

Figure 1. Microsoft font options

I did these same steps for Google Slides.

However, Microsoft rated higher in Figure 2. Google Slides font options
effectiveness and engagement. This is
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because Microsoft gives the user the option to highlight the font name and type in
a font name of your choosing, as opposed to having to scroll through all of the
options to find the font you want, as it is in Google Slides. I also rated Microsoft
higher in engagement because of the location of the font options in the toolbar. In
Microsoft, the font option box is closer to the left corner, which feels more intuitive
than in Google Slides where I had to search harder for the font option box.

Microsoft PowerPoint Likert Score: 30

Google Slides Likert Score: 28

Task 2. Add a new slide after the title page.

Figures 3 and 4: Steps to create new slide in Microsoft PowerPoint

In Microsoft PowerPoint, the option to create a new slide is on the home page. It
is the first thing the user sees in the tool bar. If you click the arrow next to “new
slide,” Microsoft PowerPoint gives you multiple options for the layout for the new
slide.

Figures 5 and 6: Steps to create a new slide in

Google Slides.
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In Google Slides, there are two options for creating a new slide. The user can
either go to the “insert” tab and scroll down to find where it says “new slide,” or
the user can go to the “slide” tab in the toolbar and click “new slide.”
Both sites give you the option to use “Ctrl + M” to create a new slide. This is
relatively inefficient until the user remembers this function. It seems unlikely that
someone with basic computer skills would remember this function. For this
reason, I took off points for efficiency and the “easy to learn” option in the Likert
scale rating. The design for the “new slide” option is also less engaging than in
Microsoft PowerPoint because the user has to search in multiple tabs to find it,
but this is not the case in PowerPoint.

Microsoft PowerPoint Likert Score: 30

Google Slides Likert Score: 23

Task 3. Add an image to a slide.

Figures 6 and 7: Inserting an image into Microsoft PowerPoint.

To insert an image into Microsoft PowerPoint, the user can either look to the right
of the toolbar on the homepage and find where it says “picture” and insert from
there, or the user can go to the “Insert” tab and find “picture.”
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To insert an image into Google Slides, the

user can either find the icon on the
homepage that indicates a picture and then
upload from there, or the user can click the
“insert” tab and find “image” in the drop box.

Figure 7 and 8: Inserting an image in Google Slides.

Though the options for inserting an image are reasonably similar for both sites,
Microsoft PowerPoint was slightly easier to use because the icon was easier to find on
the homepage. It also says “picture” underneath, which makes it much more
straightforward to find, while in Google Slides, the icon is much smaller and more
cryptic. For this reason, I took points off the Likert Scale for Google Slides on “easy to
learn” and engagement.

Microsoft PowerPoint Likert Score: 30

Google Slides Likert Score: 28

4. Resize the image.

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Figure 9. Resizing Microsoft PowerPoint. Figure 10. Resizing Google Slides.

To resize an image for both sites, you click anywhere in the image and then click on any
of the corners and hold the cursor and drag the image to the desired size. The design
elements were very similar. The only noticeable difference between the two sites is that
Microsoft PowerPoint gives you the width and height of the image while Google Slides
does not. For this reason, I took off one point for effectiveness for Google Slides.

Microsoft PowerPoint Likert Score: 30

Google Slides Likert Score: 29

5. Add a text box and write a sentence.

Figures 11 and 12: Inserting a sentence in a text box in Microsoft PowerPoint.

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To insert a text box in Microsoft PowerPoint, the user clicks on the “text box” icon
to the right of the toolbar on the homepage. Then, the user has to click on the
slide and drag the text box to the desired size. After you let go of the cursor, the
text box will be ready to start typing in.

Figures 12 and 13: Inserting a sentence in a text box in Google Slides.

To insert a text box and a sentence in Google Slides, the user must repeat the
same steps as above.

The steps are the exact same for these two sites. However, the text box icon for
Microsoft PowerPoint says “text box” underneath, whereas in Google Slides, the
user has to find the icon and then hover over it to know if it is in fact the text box
icon. For this reason, I took off points for efficiency and “easy to learn.”

Microsoft PowerPoint Likert Score: 30

Google Slides Likert Score: 29

Task 6. Add a theme.

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To add a theme in Microsoft PowerPoint, click on

“designer” in the right corner of the homepage. Then it
will generate theme options for you.

In Google slides, click “theme” in the toolbar. It will

generate theme options that you can pick from.

Figure 13. Microsoft Figure 14. Google Slides themes

PowerPoint theme

Though they are similar steps, Microsoft PowerPoint generates more interesting
and complex theme options. For this reason, I rated Google Slides lower for
engagement. However, the fact that Google Slides says “theme” is more intuitive
than “designer” as in Microsoft PowerPoint, so I rated PowerPoint lower for “easy
to use.”

Microsoft PowerPoint Likert Score: 29

Google Slides Likert Score: 29

Task 7. View presentation as a slide show.

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Figure 15. Microsoft PowerPoint slide show.

In Microsoft PowerPoint, the user can click the “slide show” and it features many
different options for the user’s experience.

Figure 16. Google Slides slide show.

In Google Slides, if the user clicks the “slide” tab, where you would likely think it
is, the user will not find anything about slideshows. The user has to click
“slideshow” in the top right corner. This seems slightly out of place, so I rated
Google Slides lower for efficiency.

Microsoft PowerPoint Likert Score: 30

Google Slides Likert Score: 29

Task 8. Insert audio onto a slide.

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Figures 17 and 18. Inserting audio in Microsoft PowerPoint.

To insert audio for Microsoft, click the “insert” tab. Then, click “media” and then “audio.”
It gives you the option to either insert previously recorded audio from a file or it can
record audio for the user on the spot.

Google Slides does not give the user the

option to record audio on a slide at all.
The user would have to upload the audio
in the form of a .wav, which is very
inaccessible to the average person. For
this reason, Google Slides scored very
low.

Microsoft PowerPoint Likert Score: 30

Google Slides Likert Score: 5

Figure 19. Inserting audio in Google Slides.

Task 9. Rename the presentation.

To rename the presentation in

Microsoft, the user has to double click
on the title at the very top of the
presentation.

Figure 20. Renaming the presentation in Microsoft PowerPoint.

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To rename the presentation in

Google Slides, the user has to
click once on the title in the top
left corner.

Figure 21. Renaming the presentation in Google Slides.

I scored Google Slides higher than Microsoft on this task because the design of the
respective titles makes it more intuitive to rename. Also, Google Slides automatically
changes the name of the presentation to match the title the user gives it on the first
page, while Microsoft does not.

Microsoft PowerPoint Likert Score: 27

Google Slides Likert Score: 30

Task 10. Download the presentation onto your computer.

In Microsoft, to save the presentation to your

computer, you have to find the “save as” icon in the
very top toolbar. Then, you have the option to
rename the presentation, choose where you want to
save it, and in what
format.

Figures 22 and 23. Downloading the presentation on

Microsoft PowerPoint.
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In Google Slides, you click “file”

then move your cursor to
“download” then choose the format
you would like to save it as.

Because the icon in Microsoft is a

bit small/hard to find, I took off
points for engagement. However,
since it gives you the option to
choose where you save your
presentation to, I rated Microsoft
higher for effectiveness.
Figure 24. Downloading the presentation
on Google Slides.

Microsoft PowerPoint Likert Score: 29

Google Slides Likert Score: 29

Conclusions

Microsoft PowerPoint scored higher than Google Slides in almost every task. Microsoft
had a total number of 295 Likert Scale points, while Google Slides had 258. Both sites
are certainly beginner friendly and are useful tools for creating presentations. However,
Microsoft PowerPoint’s design is more user friendly and provides more options than
Google Slides.
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Figure 25. Bar chart comparing Likert Scale scores for each task.

Recommendations

Microsoft PowerPoint:
I would recommend Microsoft PowerPoint to anyone who creates/utilizes presentations
more frequently, especially if this person wants to record audio on the slides. Microsoft
PowerPoint would be especially useful for someone wanting to record lectures, such as
a teacher for an online class. Microsoft is generally more efficient and effective in
creating presentations. However, Microsoft PowerPoint saves to your own computer, so
I would recommend this to someone who has a portable laptop, since you won’t be able
to access your work otherwise.

Google Slides:
I would recommend Google Slides to anyone who needs a simple, quick presentation
with just the basics. If you only need simple slides, then Microsoft PowerPoint might
have too many options. Google Slides has all of the basic components necessary. Since
you can access Google Slides on any computer, I would recommend this to someone
who doesn’t have their own computer or who is always on-the-go.
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Bibliography
Microsoft PowerPoint - https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/powerpoint

Google Slides - https://www.google.com/slides/about/

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Appendix: Raw data

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Task Microsoft PowerPoint Google Slides

Task 1 30 28
Task 2 30 23
Task 3 30 28
Task 4 30 29
Task 5 30 28
Task 6 29 29
Task 7 30 29
Task 8 30 5
Task 9 27 30
Task 10 29 29
Total 295 258