Programmable vs Gamma: which to choose

Who each is for

Gamma's help centre says it creates presentations, documents and webpages using AI tools. You generate from a topic, paste your notes, or import a file or URL, and it can publish a deck as a site. It suits anyone who needs a good-looking document of any kind, fast, and may never need a video.

Programmable treats a deck as one output of a studio. You give it a brief, approve an outline that sets out layouts, speaker notes and the moments that deserve animation, and it builds the slides. It suits a team that's making a launch film and a sales deck and a set of graphics, and wants them to match.

The facts side by side

Gamma's column comes from its help articles on creating, importing, animations, exporting and sites.

Where Gamma is better

• Free use. New accounts get 400 credits, and referrals add 200 each, up to 2,000 held at once. Free exports to PDF and PPTX carry a "Made by Gamma" badge. Programmable's trial is one-time.
• Documents and web pages. Gamma makes both, and any deck can be published as a hosted site on a gamma.site address. Programmable has no document format and doesn't host a site.
• Keeping an existing deck. In Gamma 5, PowerPoint and PDF imports can keep their layouts, you can turn a PowerPoint into a reusable template, and your fonts, colours and logo can become a custom theme. Programmable reads a file for its content, then designs fresh slides.
• Google Slides path. Gamma's export article sets out a route through PPTX. Programmable has no Google Slides export.

Where Programmable is better

• Animated slides by design. The outline picks the moments that deserve motion, and scenes are built as part of the slide. They run on every plan rather than from a higher tier. Note that they're designed scenes, not generated footage.
• A video of your deck. Export MP4 and the deck plays itself, builds and scenes included. Gamma's export article lists no video format. An MP4 suits a LinkedIn upload, a sales email or a looping stand screen.
• Checks on every slide. Slide checks look for low contrast, tiny text, overlaps and clipping.
• Leads. A shared deck can ask for an email after the last slide, with leads in one list next to those from your films.
• Same brand, everywhere. Logo, colours and fonts come from one brand kit, and your deck can match the film and the graphics.
• Editable PowerPoint with stated limits. Text, tables, charts, speaker notes, footer and logo come through. Gamma's export article says slide masters export blank in PowerPoint. On Programmable, animated slides become stills in PPTX and PDF, so check those by hand.

Prices on 31 October 2026

We couldn't open Gamma's pricing page, so we don't quote its dollar prices. Plans are on Gamma's pricing page. Its help centre does give credit amounts:

Its upgrade article says annual plans cost 28% less, and unused credits roll over to double the plan size. Its plans article says manual editing is free.

Credits aren't the same size across the two products, so don't compare them directly. Programmable's current plans are on its pricing page, and credits there never expire while your account is open.

How to decide

• It must be free, or nearly so: Gamma.
• You need a document or a one-page site: Gamma.
• You need to keep your company's existing template: Gamma, by importing it. Programmable applies your brand kit, not your slide master.
• Your team works in Google Slides: Gamma has a documented path. With Programmable you'd upload a PPTX yourself and lose the animation.
• Motion carries the point, such as a product that's hard to describe in stills: Programmable. See decks with animated scenes.
• The deck needs to work as a video too: Programmable.
• You're also making a film, a logo or social graphics: Programmable, so that they match.

Moving between them

Going to Programmable, export your Gamma as PPTX or PDF and attach it to a new deck. The studio reads the content and designs an outline. Your wording carries over, but Gamma's layouts won't.

Going to Gamma, export your Programmable deck as PowerPoint and use Gamma's PPTX import from the Gamma 5 home screen, which its help article says keeps layouts. Animated slides will already be stills by then. If the motion matters, keep the MP4 alongside it.

Common questions