Gliffy vs. Microsoft Powerpoint

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Gliffy
Score 6.0 out of 10
N/A
Gliffy is an online diagramming tool with collaboration features from the San Francisco company of the same name, offering standalone versions of Gliffy and integrated versions for Jira and Confluence.
$6
per month
Microsoft Powerpoint
Score 7.9 out of 10
N/A
Microsoft PowerPoint is a presentation software designed to allow users to create slide-based presentations including video and images, as well as slide transitions and animations.
$139.99
Pricing
GliffyMicrosoft Powerpoint
Editions & Modules
Professional
$6
per month
One Time Purchase
$139.99
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
GliffyMicrosoft Powerpoint
Free Trial
NoNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional DetailsFor Enterprise pricing, please reach out.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
GliffyMicrosoft Powerpoint
Considered Both Products
Gliffy
Chose Gliffy
It really all comes down to ease of use. The way you can make diagrams and how Gliffy integrates with Confluence is very important for our way of working.
Chose Gliffy
Gliffy is easier to use together with Confluence since it provides an integration where you can edit an image directly on the page. Visio and PowerPoint is better drawing tools but we have moved away from them since there isn’t a good way to keep track of the original file of …
Microsoft Powerpoint
Chose Microsoft Powerpoint
PowerPoint is easier to use than the alternatives I’ve tried and this makes it the obvious choice even if the alternatives might seem less expensive initially.
Best Alternatives
GliffyMicrosoft Powerpoint
Small Businesses
OmniGraffle
OmniGraffle
Score 9.8 out of 10
Canva
Canva
Score 9.1 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
OmniGraffle
OmniGraffle
Score 9.8 out of 10
Mentimeter
Mentimeter
Score 8.6 out of 10
Enterprises
OmniGraffle
OmniGraffle
Score 9.8 out of 10
Mentimeter
Mentimeter
Score 8.6 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
GliffyMicrosoft Powerpoint
Likelihood to Recommend
5.0
(12 ratings)
9.4
(63 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
9.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Usability
6.0
(3 ratings)
8.9
(10 ratings)
Availability
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
Performance
-
(0 ratings)
8.0
(1 ratings)
Support Rating
-
(0 ratings)
8.5
(4 ratings)
Product Scalability
-
(0 ratings)
7.0
(1 ratings)
User Testimonials
GliffyMicrosoft Powerpoint
Likelihood to Recommend
Perforce Software
Gliffy is user-friendly, with a drag-and-drop interface that makes it easy to create clear and visually appealing diagrams without steep learning curves. It’s perfect for creating straightforward, quick wireframes. Gliffy lacks features for detailed UI/UX wireframing and prototyping compared to specialized tools like Figma, Sketch, or Adobe XD.
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Microsoft
The learning curve with Microsoft Powerpoint is not too steep, and most everyone can create really nice-looking presentations. The thing I like most about the new advancements in Microsoft Powerpoint comes to formatting. If you are creating a newsletter, don't get bogged down by all of the annoying formatting rules and issues you would have if creating in Publisher or Word. Microsoft Powerpoint makes it very simple. You can add text boxes and move them anywhere on the page. The templates are a nice touch, but they could use more, as most of these are outdated. I believe there are many free websites for downloading more templates.
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Pros
Perforce Software
  • First it's important to point out that Gliffy has priced itself incredibly well for small to medium sized businesses. Most other similar solutions are so expensive that organizations will avoid getting workflow software overall. Gliffy can take pride in knowing they're helping small business operate better.
  • Gliffy is incredibly easy to use for a first time user. I rarely have to train someone on how to use it. It's a lot of fun to see people get excited about systems and processes when using Gliffy. If you need to get up and running quickly I can't think of a better solution for workflow visualization.
  • I also like using Gliffy for mindmapping. I'm sure some mindmapping experts can tell me how I'm doing that incorrectly, but it just works for me. This points to the ease with which Gliffy allows you to get your thoughts down quickly and easily.
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Microsoft
  • Insert Photos from my computer and from the web with ease.
  • Auto arrangement of graphics and texts is made available through suggested formatting.
  • Spell check as I type is very valuable to me. It autocorrects many words. I like for my presentation to be accurate.
  • The ability to change any font or any size of font is very valuable to me.
  • The ability to cut and past from Microsoft Word is valuable to me. It also allows me to import tables I have already created in Word.
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Cons
Perforce Software
  • I have had some trouble saving complex diagrams and viewing them on the fly. On a handful of occasions, diagrams are unable to save, which means I either need to try to "save as" a separate diagram, or I am perpetually stuck trying to "load" recent changes. Overall, this means I always have a slight lingering fear that my diagrams aren't fully saved or recoverable. Support has been pretty responsive helping me to reload corrupted diagrams.
  • Adding Text, Notes, and Images can be a challenge. While laying out objects with simple text is a strength, adding formatted text and commentary can be a challenge. I often find my objects ghost-moving all over the screen and lost. I'd love a drag-and-drop way to load images in to diagrams. The process is a bit cumbersome with the file upload wizard.
  • Template environments - I struggled a bit to try to create a default starting point for my diagrams. I've tried to load common libraries and ignore others, those settings are often ignore upon reload. I'd love to use the same 10 objects and ignore the rest, I am not able (yet) to create this scenario, though there may be more to learn.
  • Searching, Indexing, Retrieving my diagrams. As part of an enterprise plan, I find there are too many clicks required to a) find/search for my diagrams and b) save diagrams into my Gliffy folder. In our implementation I can see all folders for all of my colleagues, and need to drill down a bit before I get to my folder, where I can actually search my documents in a list. I'd prefer a more intuitive way to land on my diagrams and to organize them (e.g., by customer) so that I can access them more quickly.
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Microsoft
  • 3D objects that can be manipulated in slideshows by presenters
  • AI tool to cleanup presentations
  • AI tool to create graphics
  • AI tool to create photo-realistic images
  • AI tool to create vector art
  • AI tool to create videos
  • Blender 3D object importer
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Likelihood to Renew
Perforce Software
Because of its great versatility and ease of use. From diagramming to roadmpas and even user interface wireframes. Once a draft or first version is done we like to use the Confluence integration so we can collaborate and have one single source of truth
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Microsoft
No answers on this topic
Usability
Perforce Software
I based my assessment on aggregated user feedback and reviews from platforms like G2 and Software Advice. Many users highlight the simplicity and versatility of Gliffy’s interface, which makes it accessible for both beginners and professionals. Features like drag-and-drop functionality, a variety of templates, and integration options (e.g., Atlassian tools) contribute to its high rating.However, it doesn’t score a perfect 10 because some users report performance issues with complex diagrams, limited advanced features compared to competitors, and occasional difficulties with collaboration features. Balancing these strengths and weaknesses lands Gliffy in the 8-9 range for usability
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Microsoft
It’s great overall! I can think of a few improvements that would make it a 10, for example: better Smart Art graphs, automatic distribution of columns and rows in tables, and being able to more easily save templates for graphs. For example, if I could determine that a same brand name in all graphs would have a specific color, it would be great
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Reliability and Availability
Perforce Software
No answers on this topic
Microsoft
I've never had any issues with its availability. As it is installed on my machine, it's ready when I need it, online or offline. Creating large slide decks with complex elements like video and audio doesn't affect its stability. The only limitation would be the capability of your own computer, as far as I can tell.
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Performance
Perforce Software
No answers on this topic
Microsoft
The performance is very strong. It loads reasonably quickly. Large presentations load relatively quickly too, given their complexity, and once loaded each slide is readily available. It's easy to scroll up and down through your slide deck and go to the slide you want. Videos, pictures and music all load on demand, controllable by clicks.
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Support Rating
Perforce Software
No answers on this topic
Microsoft
I have never had to use the actual support. Most of my questions are "how to" questions and there is a rich internet full of users sharing their tips and tricks with this application. Sometimes I find the answers on Microsoft support site but often I don't
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Alternatives Considered
Perforce Software
Gliffy is easier to use together with Confluence since it provides an integration where you can edit an image directly on the page. Visio and PowerPoint is better drawing tools but we have moved away from them since there isn’t a good way to keep track of the original file of the vector/bitmap included in the Confluence page.
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Microsoft
Adobe Illustrator is an excellent software but it's not easy to use for [everyone without] having any training or previous experience in working with illustrator. Microsoft Powerpoint is very easy to use and it's fantastic as it saves time more than illustrator. Another thing is it takes small space while illustrator takes a significant amount of space in the business machine
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Scalability
Perforce Software
No answers on this topic
Microsoft
Scaling up use of Microsoft Powerpoint would be a simple case of buying further licences. The software is intuitive and therefore training demands from scaling it to more departments or more individuals would be relatively straightforward. Google Slides may be easier to share among those organisations that use Google's suite of apps, however.
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Return on Investment
Perforce Software
  • Gliffy had a positive ROI on our initial efforts in getting team members to map out their workflows, provide them in confluence through its integration and get them distributed to our organization. The ease of use was a huge success for adoption.
  • Gliffy did seem to have unfriendly costs. Even as a customer for years that signs year-long contracts the price needle did not move much. Enterprise-wide software is expected to have discounts at a bulk buy within the industry.
  • Gliffy for the first time provided a tool for us to put our thoughts in a shareable format. It paved the way for increased organization and getting to buy into pre-existing processes.
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Microsoft
  • Helped reduce time we spend modifying and sharing back and forth different versions.
  • Saved us the frustration of having to work with an online program with limited functionalities.
  • Macros make it easy to share data in one excel file and automatically update presentation.
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ScreenShots