- Best Free Slideshow Software
- Free Slideshow Maker With Music For Mac
- Best Slideshow Maker Mac
- Free Slideshow Maker With Music For Mac
If you love taking photos, you probably know what a slideshow is. It is a combination of your photos, effects, and some music stored in a video format to let you play your photos one after another. There are many best free slideshow makers in the market to help you easily and efficiently create these slideshows on your devices.
Top 10 Tools to Make Free Slideshow with Music. ISkysoft Slideshow Maker. ISkysoft Slideshow Maker for Mac (or iSkysoft Slideshow Maker for Windows) allows you to create wonderful presentations using photos and videos that you have on your computer or camera. This slideshow maker for Mac comes with a variety of templates and features. With this program, you can add to your slideshows different effects, transitions, text, background music. This product features two ways to edit your video: one is the time-lapse mode and the other is the super slow-motion mode. Image Board: Create Slideshow on Mac - Photos App. Then, you can select the New Slideshow option and name the slideshow in the new pop-up window. Then click on the OK button to move to the next step. Select your photos and click on the Add button on the top-right corner to import them to the app.
In the following post, we cover some of the best tools to help you make a slideshow. These slideshow maker apps have been carefully selected to ensure you can use them to make some nice slideshows without any hassle. Also, most of these apps run on any computer, so you do not necessarily need to have a high-end machine.
Best Free Slideshow Maker for Windows (4 Recommended)
Free Video Slideshow Maker Software for Mac- FotoMagico If you own a Mac, then you must be having a splendid collection of photos and videos. You could combine all of these together with the help of specific video slideshow maker software available only for Mac. Moleskinsoft SlideShow Maker. Moleskinsoft SlideShow Maker is a free photo slideshow maker with music. Using it, you can make a photo slideshow with the desired background music. To add background music, it supports audio files of MP3, WAV, and OGG formats. For each photo in a slideshow, you can add effects like slide left, slide right, appear.
Whatever the task is, Windows users have always been lucky by having numerous options to do tasks on their machines. To help you create some amazing slideshows with ease and comfort, you have some great software available at your disposal.
#1. EaseUS Video Editor
EaseUS Video Editor is one of the software that allows you to make slideshows from your photos, apply effects to your slideshow, and add your favorite music in the background of your slideshow. It is extremely easy to use software, and you can get used to it in no time. Below are some of the features it has to offer concerning making slideshows.
Software Features:
- Import photos in any file format
- Add multiple photos to the software at once
- Apply many effects to your slideshow
- Export your slideshow in various file formats
- Easy to use
How to Use EaseUS Video Editor to Make a Photo Slideshow:
It is fairly easy to make a slideshow in this software, and the following steps will help you if you are completely new to it.
Step 1. Select an Aspect Ratio
Select the aspect ratio for the slideshow you are going to make. This is how the end result is going to look like so choose an appropriate option and continue.
Step 2. Add Photos to the Software
You now need to add the photos that you want to create a slideshow from. Click on the button that says 'Import' followed by 'Import folder' and choose the folder where all of your photos are stored. Then, select all photos, right-click on them, and choose 'Add to Project' to add them to the timeline.
Step 3. Apply Effects to Your Slideshow
You will be interested in adding some effects and transitions to your slideshow to make it look cool. Click on 'Filters' in the left sidebar to add filters to your slideshow. Then, click on 'Transitions' to add transition effects to your slideshow.
Step 4. Add Music to Your Slideshow
Click on the 'Music' tab in the left sidebar to add some nice music to your slideshow. There are various categories to choose your music from.
Step 5. Export Your Slideshow as a Video
Finally, it is time to save your slideshow as a video. Click on 'Export' at the top, select the 'Video' tab, choose any of the available video formats, and click on 'Export'.
Your slideshow will be saved in your chosen video format on your computer.
#2. Video Editor for Windows 10
If you are not willing to install software to make slideshows on your PC, you have a built-in program to help you do the task on your computer. It is called Video Editor and you can find it using the Start Menu.
The following is how you can use it to make a slideshow with photos on your Windows computer.
Step 1. Launch the Video editor software and click on 'New video project' to start a new project.
Step 2. Click on 'Add' on the following screen and add all the photos that you want to be included in your slideshow.
Step 3. Select all your photos in the software, right-click on them, and choose 'Place in the storyboard'. It will add your selected photos to the timeline for editing.
Step 4. To add music to your slideshow, click on 'Background music' at the top and you will be able to add some music to your project.
Step 5. When you are done with the slideshow, click on 'Finish video' at the top-right corner to save your slideshow as a video file.
#3. Icecream Slideshow Maker
Icecream Slideshow Maker has been around for some time and it helps you create slideshows on your Windows PCs with minimum efforts. You can use it to create a slideshow with your chosen music files, transition effects, and even text styles.
The following steps will guide you on how to use it to make your first slideshow.
Step 1. Open the software and click on 'Add files' to start photostory to add your photos for the slideshow.
Step 2. Your added photos will appear on your screen. To add a transition effect, click on 'Random' in the 'Transition' column and choose one of the many effects shown on your screen.
Step 3. If you want to add a blank solid colored slide, click on the 'Add Color' option at the top and choose a color from the list.
Step 4. Click on 'Add Audio' beneath the slideshow preview to add music to your slideshow.
Step 5. Finally, click on 'Create' at the bottom-right corner to start creating a slideshow from your selected photos.
#4. Free Slideshow Maker & Video Editor
Free Slideshow Maker & Video Editor is software on the Microsoft Store that lets you easily and quickly make some nice slideshows on your PC. It helps you merge your photos to come up with a slideshow that has the effects and music of your choice.
If you are not sure how to use it, the below steps will help you out.
Step 1. Open the software when it is installed and click on 'Slideshow' to create a slideshow.
Step 2. Select the photos you would like to add to your slideshow and they will be added.
Step 3. It will ask you to select the transition effects that you would like to apply to your slideshow. Select any of the effects and click on 'Add' to add them.
Step 4. Click on 'Music' on the following screen to add music to your slideshow.
Step 5. When your slideshow is created, click on 'Save' to save the file to your computer.
Within a few clicks, your slideshow is now ready on your machine. You can open and view it in any of the media players on your computer.
2 Best Free Slideshow Maker App for Mac
In terms of slideshow making and video editing, Mac users have also had various software to help them with these tasks. If you are a Mac user, you have two amazing software to help you create slideshows on your machine.
#1. iMovie
Whenever you talk about video editing or anything similar, the first thing that comes to mind is iMovie. It is free software made available by Apple to help you edit videos and make slideshows on your Mac machines.
You can use it as follows to come up with a unique and engaging slideshow using your photos.
Step 1. Open iMovie on your Mac, click on 'Create New', and select 'Movie' to start a new project.
Step 2. Click on the 'File' menu and select 'Import Media' on the following screen to add your photos to the software.
Step 3. Drag your photos and drop them onto the timeline. You can then arrange them in any order you want.
Step 4. Click on the 'Transitions' tab at the top to add transitions to your slideshow.
Step 5. Select the 'Audio' tab if you want to add music to your slideshow.
Step 6. Click on the 'File' menu, select 'Share', and choose 'File' to save your slideshow.
It will export your slideshow file with your chosen settings to your Mac storage.
#2. Photos
The Photos app on Mac is actually for managing and organizing your photos. However, you can use it to create slideshows as well as it has a feature to help you do it. You can select your photos and then make a slideshow out of them.
The below steps will help you do the task in Photos on your Mac.
Step 1. Launch the Photos app, select your photos, click on the 'File' menu, and choose 'Create' followed by 'Slideshow'.
Step 2. Click on the first icon in the right-sidebar to choose a theme for your slideshow. It defines how your photos are to be displayed in your slideshow.
Step 3. Click on the music icon to add music to your slideshow.
Step 4. Select the timer to define timing options for your photo slideshow.
Step 5. Finally, hit 'Export' at the top-right corner to save your slideshow file.
The slideshow will be available to play in the Photos app for you.
4 Free Online Photo Slideshow Maker with No Watermark
Some users prefer to use web-based tools to create slideshows as it eliminates the need to install software on your computer. If you are one of those users, you can use any of the following slideshow makers to make slideshows on your computer.
The drawback of these tools is that you need to upload all of your photos and then download the slideshow when it is ready for your computer. It takes quite a bit of your time.
#1. Clideo Slideshow Maker
Clideo has many tools in its arsenal and Slideshow Maker is one of them. It allows you to upload your photos and make a slideshow out of them with various features. You can arrange your photos, add more photos if needed, enable crop options, and add music to your slideshow.
Step 1. Open a browser and head over to the Clideo Slideshow Maker site.
Step 2. Click on 'Choose files' and upload your photos to the site.
Step 3. Click on 'Add audio' in the right-sidebar to add music to your slideshow.
Step 4. Select an image duration from the menu on your screen.
Step 5. Click on 'Create' to start creating your slideshow.
You will then be asked to download the slideshow to your computer.
Best Free Slideshow Software
#2. Adobe Spark
Adobe Spark lets you work around many multimedia items such as videos and photos. It has a feature to make slideshows as well and you can use it to combine your photos and come up with a decent slideshow.
You will use the following steps to do it on your machine.
Step 1. Go to the Adobe Spark site and log-in with your Adobe account.
Step 2. Click on 'Create a project' and choose 'Video'. It is because your slideshow is going to be in a video format.
Step 3. Click on the plus sign and select 'Photo' to upload your photos from your computer.
Step 4. Click on the plus sign at the bottom to add a new slide. Select the plus sign and upload your photos.
Step 5. Click on 'Music' at the top-right corner to add music to your slideshow.
Step 6. Hit 'Download' at the top to download the slideshow to your computer.
When the slideshow is downloaded, you will be able to play it on your computer.
#3. Pholody
Pholody’s main mission is to help users create free slideshows on the Internet. It is a free tool you can use to upload your photos, add music to them, and then download a slideshow for them. You have various templates to use if you cannot come up with a design idea of yourself.
The following steps will help you use the tool on your machine.
Step 1. Head over to the Pholody site and click on 'Just Make It'.
Step 2. Click on 'Load Picture' at the bottom to upload photos from your computer.
Step 3. Click on 'Load Music' to add music to your slideshow.
Step 4. You can let it automatically make a slideshow for you. Click on 'Auto Make' to do it.
Step 5. When you are done, hit 'Save' at the top to download and save your slideshow.
Your slideshow should now be ready to play on your computer.
#4. Slideful
Slideful may not have all fancy features to help make slideshows but it is still a good tool to create some basic slideshows. The good thing is you do not need to resize or cut your images as the tool helps you do it.
Use the steps given below to make a slideshow with this tool.
Step 1. Access the Slideful website and click on 'Choose file' to upload your photos.
Step 2. Click on 'Next' at the bottom.
Step 3. Choose one of the two options shown on your screen.
Step 4. Select a slideshow size and continue.
Step 5. Configure your slideshow settings and you will be able to save it.
Conclusion
With so many options available, it is pretty easy to make slideshows online and on your Windows and Mac machines. Windows users can go for the EaseUS Video Editor as it is simple yet extremely powerful to help create slideshows.
Mac users can use Photos software, and those of you who prefer online tools can go for Clideo Slideshow Maker.
Summary: This blog introduces best free slideshow makers with music and effects in the first part. For more control over the effects, themes and templates, there are another 6 pieces of freemium slideshow making software to play with.
Are you aware of how many photos are taken and then forgotten in the storage card? Photos of cute babies, 4-leg friends, birthday parties, weddings, and more. Using a photo slideshow maker can breathe life into those still photos.
In fact, any fully-baked video editor (NLE) can be used as a slideshow maker, the only drawback is the amount of time and effort required if you are new to non-linear editing software. That's why the market of dedicated and easy-to-use slideshow makers blossom.
A slideshow maker might have some or all of these options:
- Add transitions
- Add filters and adjust colors
- Add background music
- Add text and captions
- Add video layovers such as stickers and PiP
- Record your voice to add commentaries
The difference lies in the degree of customizability each program allows, and that makes sense because those programs aim at different markets (for users at different skill levels).
Free slideshow maker offers essential functions enough for a simple video, and you can use Instasize Photo Editor to enhance your photos before making photo slideshow. If you don't mind spending a penny, there are freemium programs that offer more templates and controls to get design-y. We cover both types in this blog for different editing needs.
Best Free Slideshow Makers for Windows and Mac
1. VideoProc Vlogger
If you want to create a slideshow with background music and animation effects, VideoProc Vlogger is the go-to choice. This slideshow maker comes with a motion editor to create pan and room effects, and a beat detection tool to make cut-to-the-beat photo slideshow.
You can add unlimited numbers photo to the timeline, make the transition go along the beat of the music, which is visually enchanting.
Even a beginner can quickly get the hang of this application, and start to create slideshow with a professional looking, and the preview is smooth and high speed, in realtime.
Pros:
- Use motion presets or customize keyframes for slide animations
- Auto detect beat to mark out timing for photo transition
- Trendy filters, effects, and transition presets to use
- Add animations to text, customize text style, font, color, etc.
- Support mainstream and rare photo and video formats
Cons:
- No color wheels or curves for grading
Download VideoProc Vlogger to create slideshow without watermaker or any other limitation, it is free:
2. Windows 10 Video Editor
The default video editor for windows 10 is one of the best free slideshow makers for beginners. It is pre-installed, and comes with basic transition and motion effects enough for a quick making of photos slideshow with music. The best thing is, you can directly pick photos and videos already stored in the photos library, or import media from iPhone and Android mobiles. With each photo or video inserted to the storyboard, you can trim it or adjust duration, add captions, transitions and music.
Pros:
- Pre-installed app, easy to use
- Lightweight for low-performance computer
Cons:
- Barebones for power users looking for highly customizable solutions
3. iMovie
If you are looking for the best free slideshow makers for Mac, iMovie ranks top on the list. Developed by Apple, this video editing application works nicely for slideshow making. You don't have to train yourself to get design-y, the themes and text styles in iMovie keep up with Apple's aesthetics. You can add enormous numbers of photos and video clips into the timeline, as long as the finished video falls within 60 minutes.
Pros:
- Various stylish themes for quick slideshow making
- Countless YouTube tutorials to guide you through slideshow making
- Option to add and edit background music for the slideshow
Cons:
- Changing the aspect ratio of the video is less straight-forward
4. ffDiaporama
The interface of ffDiaporama does admittedly look a little dated at a first glance. But it is free and open source software, hard to beat that! You can turn photos into a video with music.
This program has basic transition built-in, including commonly seen slide, zoom, fade, etc. Transitions can be applied between each photo, with the option to change speed.
Pros:
- Option to quickly rearrange photos by dragging them
- Support editing background music in the slides
Cons:
- Only provides some basic functions
- No templates or storyboard to use
5. 4K Slideshow Maker
If you want an automatic photo slideshow wizard, 4K Slideshow Maker does the magic. It automatically creates a video from photos you imported, and apply random but nice transitions and effects to the photos. Popular effects such as ken burns will be added, giving you a view of panning and zooming to breathe life into still photos. It also allows you to adjust the duration of photos and transitions.
Pros:
- Ready-to-use profiles to export video as the best format for iPhone, YouTube, Facebook, 4K
- Directly import photos from Instagram to create IG photo show
- Option to use face detection tech to keep people in the frame
Cons:
- All the things you prefer to manually done is not possible in this program
- No option to trim and cut background music and videos
- Cannot add text or stickers to the video
6. Bolide Slideshow Creator
Bolide Slideshow Creator is a lightweight free slideshow maker, with a merely 9MB installation package. The interface is archaic, with a design aesthetic from the Windows 7 era. All the basic needs can be fulfilled: add multiple photos to the storyboard, insert transitions between photos, add one piece of background music, and apply animated titles. It works nicely if you only want to showcase photos with simple transitions. There is no photo college tool to stylize photos in each frame.
Pros:
- Lightweight and easy-to-use, suitable for low-spec machines
- It supports up to 18 languages
- Option to randomly arrange photos you added into the storyboard
- 1-click make all photos landscape or portrait by cropping, zoom in, or letter box
Cons:
- Doesn't support 4K or higher resolutions
- Cannot add and merge multiple pieces of music to one video
- The output format is limited to AVI, MP4, WMV, MKV and FLV
Best Slideshow Makers with Music, Effects and Templates
7. Photopia Creator
Photopia Creator is a professional slideshow maker with templates, stock music, caption pre-sets, and a myriad of advanced functions. You can add an image masking layer, adjustment layer and keyframes to create a stunning video. For non-techie users, there is are plethora of slide styles (templates) to use, with options to make custom adjustments. For instance, you can color grade or resize a photo to fit in the template.
Pros:
- Option to adjust brightness, contrast, hue, saturation of the photo within the software
- 950+ built-in effects and 250 tracks of royalty-free music library to use
- Option to group several slides together for better organization
Cons:
- Subscription-based software with a 21-day free trial
- Less suitable for occasional users
8. IceCream Slideshow Maker
IceCream Slideshow Maker is a no-brainer choice for beginners to quickly create animated slides with still photos. With a straightforward interface and clear guidance, you can simply import photos and apply transitions in between.
It is similar to how you add animation in PowerPoint slideshow, except that IceCream SlideShow Maker will turn it into a video in the end. You can add transition like cross-fade, fade to black, fade to white, pixelate, flip over, wipe, stretch, zoom etc. If you want a photo to stay on the screen for a while, you can change its duration.
IceCream also allows you to add text layover on your photos, you can select font, color and position of the captions. There are some handy effects for text too. It offers basic functions to add audio, and sync audio with the photos.
Pros:
- No learning curve for beginners
- 20+ transition effects to apply in 1-click
- Real-time preview of the end product
Cons:
- Only supports 20 photos per slideshow in the free version
9. PhotoStage Slideshow Software
PhotoStage has an interface that resembles regular video editing software, with effects, animations, text and transitions tabs clearly displayed in the working space. It allows you to combine photos and videos into a new video, and apply one of the 47 transitions to smooth out image switch.
PhotoStage has a sound effects browser baked in, you can select them by categories, including whoosh, sport, scifi, nature, etc.
Pros:
- Record and add narration to the slides directly within the program
- Smooth real-time preview of slideshow video with effects and music
Cons:
- Templates for text look out-dated
- Less intuitive to deal with photos of different frame sizes
10. CyberLink MediaShow
MediaShow offers a powerful solution to organize photos and create slideshow from them. It also allows you to add video clips into the slides.
Unlike other programs that focus on slideshow creation, MediaShow is more of a combination of Lightroom and video editor. You can tag and grade photos, use AI face-recognition tech to better organize photos. With photos and videos ready, you can make a slideshow with background music. There is a dazzling array of designs, text effects and transitions to apply.
Pros:
- Create slideshow with photos from Instagram and Dropbox
- Support adding videos and 3D photos
- User-ready themes to apply for slideshow videos
Cons:
- Overblown if you only want a photo slideshow maker
11. Magix Photostory Easy
Magix Photostory Easy has a very neat interface. Once you imported photos into the timeline, you shall see a plus icon between each photo, and that's the place to add a transition.
There are some high-quality intro and outro templates to make the process easier, and it offers you decorative elements as video layovers. In addition to this, Photostory is also packed with image optimizer to enhance your photo slides.
Pros:
- Beginner friendly and easy to navigate
- Export settings including burn to DVD and publish online
- Option to record your voice for the slides
Cons:
- Fewer customization choices if you want to add a personal touch to the slideshow video
12. SmartShow 3D
SmartShow 3D is a dedicated slideshow maker to spice up your photos and videos. As its name suggests, you can add 3D animation effects for photos and captions. It also provides you with a wide range of tools, 150+ transitions and animation effects and 30+ video output formats.
Though it is less expansive as a typical video editor, it offers you slides templates designed by professionals to use instantly, with themes like wedding, vacation and Christmas. You can add music and voiceover to the slides too.
Pros:
- Stylish 3D effects to display multiple photos in one scene
- Make animated photo collage styled slides
Cons:
Free Slideshow Maker With Music For Mac
- Less option to use your own stickers
13. PTE AV Studio
PTE AV Studio 10 is a successor of PicturesToExe 9. If you are looking for something complete with effects control, this program might be the best slideshow makers for you. You can fine-tune effects and motions of the picture slides, to the extent of using professional NLEs.
As for templates and transitions, there are nicely designed presets, such as Brush strokes, 3D album flipping effects, and photo collage to display your pictures and videos. The audio control is powerful too, you can drag curves to control the volume of background music, commentary voice over and sound effects.
Pros:
- Highly customizable with easy-to-understand parameter settings
- Export 4K video to display high quality photos
- Option to create Executable (.exe) shows for PC
Cons:
- Require some learning curve for a non-techie person
Best Photo Slideshow Makers Online
14. Canva Slideshow Maker
Canva Slideshow Maker offers a streamlined experience to create a slideshow online. It certainly benefits from a huge array of stylish graphic designs and other visual assets on this platform. You can import videos and still photos to replace examples in the presets. The best thing is, you can click on individual graphic in the template, and change its color schemes.
15. Kapwing Slideshow Maker
Kapwing Slideshow Maker is an easy to use online tool to convert photos into videos for free. The minimalist design is consistent throughout the platform and caters to people with the same taste. You can choose a desired aspect ratio including 1:1, 9:16, 16:9, 4:5, 5:4, and custom size. Using the placeholder, you can also place Emojis over your photo slideshow.
16. Google Photos
Google Photos has built-in slideshow and Collage makers. Combining these tools properly, you can churn out fantastic photo slideshows on the fly. You can select desired photos and let Google create the slideshow for you automatically. The only drawback is, it cannot create slides for photos from different albums. You need to go inside one album, and click the three-dot icon to call out the Slideshow option. You can create an album specifically to make slideshows.
Key Takeaways
It is true that most of the dedicated slideshow makers have a limited free trial, while free slideshow makers fail to provide more templates and styles (except iMovie).
If you are serious about making photo slideshow with music and effects, and you are not satisfied with the limitation imposed by simple programs, there are more than 10 pieces of free non-linear video editing software to choose from, including Shotcut, VSDC, HitFilm Express, Lightwork, DaVinci Resolve, Kdenlive, etc.
Best Slideshow Maker Mac
Unlike dedicated slideshow maker, everything is highly customizable. It would be bliss for customization and curse for non-techie beginners. You can make your own templates, creating PNG files with Photoshop, and import it into the program. Or you can purchase professionally designed templates, with motion graphics and title styles ready to use.
Free Slideshow Maker With Music For Mac
Wishing you all the best with the slideshow project.