Start with the limit, not the price
Most AI slide makers look free at first. The real question is what the free plan lets you finish. Some plans give you a one-time pile of credits. Some give you a trial with a card on file. Some let you build a deck but put a badge on the export. This post lists what the official pages say about each case, as read on October 17, 2026. Every tool here turns a prompt or a document into an editable presentation.
The free paths, side by side
| Tool | Free path (as printed) | Catch |
|---|---|---|
| Gamma | 400 starter credits; up to 10 slides per prompt; exports to Google Slides, PDF, PPTX and PNG | Credits never refresh; a Gamma badge on the output |
| Pitch | Free plan with unlimited presentations and 100 AI credits | Credits do not renew; PPTX export starts on Plus |
| Plus AI | 7-day trial with 1,000 credits, all features of the chosen plan | Card required; charged at the end of the trial |
| Beautiful.ai | 14-day trial of Pro or Team | Card required; charged automatically unless cancelled |
| Decktopus | No free plan listed on its pricing page | Paid plans start at the Pro tier |
| Canva | A free plan for anyone, with Pro unlocking more premium tools | Pro is listed at US$144 per year for one person |
| Gemini in Google Slides | No separate free path on the pages we read | Needs an eligible Workspace or Google AI plan |
| Microsoft Copilot in PowerPoint | No public free-path data retrieved this run | Some features depend on a Copilot or Designer license |
What a one-time credit means
A one-time credit is a budget with no refill. Gamma’s help center says its 400 starter credits do not refresh, and that free users can earn more by referring friends, at 200 credits per referral, up to a holding limit. Pitch’s free plan gives 100 AI credits that the pricing page says do not renew once used. For a single deck, those amounts may be enough. For a weekly deck, they run out within a few projects, and the free plan does not reset them.
The practical test is simple. Count how many AI actions your typical deck needs, including the outline, the slide text and any images. If the number is larger than the one-time balance, the free plan is a trial and not a workflow.
What a trial means
A trial is a window, not a plan. Plus AI’s pricing page says all paid plans start with a 7-day trial that includes 1,000 AI credits, and that starting it requires a credit card. Beautiful.ai’s pricing page describes a 14-day trial of Pro or Team, with unlimited access to those features, and says the card is charged automatically at the end unless you cancel. Both trials give you the full feature set of the plan, which is useful for testing export and brand features. Both also set a date. Put the date on your calendar when you start.
What a badge means
A badge is a mark on the output. Gamma’s pricing excerpt says free exports carry a “Made with Gamma” badge, and that Plus and higher remove it. A badge matters when the deck is sent to a client or shown in a public room. It does not matter for an internal draft. Decide before you start which kind of deck you are making, because a free export with a badge is not a finished client file.
Free is not the same as cheap
Canva’s pages say its free plan is available to anyone, and that Pro unlocks more premium tools. Canva Pro is listed at US$144 per year for one person, and team use moves to Business. A free plan can therefore be the right answer for a single brief, and a paid plan can be cheaper than a team of free accounts once the team needs shared brand controls. Compare the price of the plan you will actually use, not the free label.
Who should start where
- If you want to test output and export before paying, start with Gamma’s free plan and accept the badge on any exported file.
- If you want unlimited presentations with a few AI actions, Pitch’s free plan fits, but plan to move to Plus before you need PPTX.
- If you need PowerPoint-native output from the start, check Plus AI’s trial, because its add-in runs inside PowerPoint and Google Slides.
- If your organization already has Google Workspace or a Microsoft Copilot license, check that first. Those licenses may already include the feature you would otherwise pay for.
For side-by-side paid comparisons, read the Gamma and Decktopus post and the Pitch and Beautiful.ai post.
Speed: not timed here
None of the free paths in this post has been timed. The vendor pages describe what a free plan allows, not how fast a deck appears. A free plan that is slow on your brief is still a poor fit, even if the limit looks generous. The timing protocol is set out in our methodology, and the step-by-step rules are in our timing guide.
Evidence and method
Sources: Gamma help center articles and the Gamma pricing excerpt, read on October 17, 2026; the Pitch, Plus AI, Beautiful.ai and Decktopus pricing pages, read directly on the same date; Canva’s pricing and product pages and Microsoft and Google support pages, read from search excerpts. Limits: where a page did not load, the table says no public data was retrieved. Trials and free allowances can change at any time.
Limits
Read the current free-plan terms on each vendor’s page before you start. The terms in this post are a dated snapshot, and a free plan can be withdrawn or changed without notice.
Questions readers ask
Is a one-time credit the same as a free plan?
No. A one-time credit balance is used up and does not refill. A free plan that refreshes every month can support a steady workflow. The two are different, and the difference shows up after the first week.
Does a free trial need a credit card?
On the Plus AI and Beautiful.ai pages we read, yes. Both trials ask for a card at the start and charge it automatically when the trial ends, unless the account is cancelled first.
Which free plan removes the most friction for a first deck?
Gamma's free plan documents full-deck generation and PPTX export, with a badge on the output. Pitch's free plan documents unlimited presentations and 100 one-time AI credits. Neither has been timed, so the choice depends on which limit you can live with.