Compare Slaide vs Marp vs Slidev vs reveal.js

Four tools turn a Markdown file into a slide deck: Marp, Slidev, reveal.js, and Slaide. They overlap a lot and disagree on the parts that matter. This page compares them on what each tool’s own docs say, as of October 2026. I link the source for each fact about another tool.

Short version: Marp is the simplest. Slidev has the best developer experience, in my opinion, and a large theme ecosystem. reveal.js is the most flexible and the easiest to embed inside a larger web page. Slaide is built around two things: an AI agent authoring the file correctly on the first try, and a .pptx export with real, editable text boxes rather than a picture of your slide. Slidev now has an editable PPTX export too, so the second point is no longer unique to Slaide.

The comparison

Where each one actually wins

Marp is the simplest tool here. The VS Code extension gives you a live preview, and marp deck.md -o deck.pdf or -o deck.pptx is one command. If you want the least ceremony between a Markdown file and a slide deck, Marp is still the right default. Its weak spot is exactly what you would expect from a minimal tool: three built-in themes, its editable PPTX is marked experimental with lower fidelity, and there is nothing built in for an AI agent beyond “it is Markdown, so a model can write it.”

Slidev has the best day-to-day developer experience of the four, in my opinion. It has a hot-reload dev server, and decks can embed Vue components and runnable code. It has 5 official themes plus community themes. It also has a built-in MCP server. slidev mcp exposes tools to list, read, and edit slides. Its regular PPTX export is images, and its editable PPTX variant leaves SVG, video, and some CSS effects as pictures. Slidev is what to reach for when the deck is more of a code demo than a document.

reveal.js is the most flexible and the most embeddable. Because it is a JavaScript framework rather than a fixed pipeline, you get full control: nested vertical slides, custom transitions, video and iframe backgrounds, Auto-Animate, LaTeX. It is also the easiest of the four to drop into an existing web page as a component, since that is closer to what it fundamentally is. The cost of that flexibility is setup: the basic setup has no dev server (the full setup adds npm start), Markdown is one option among several through the data-markdown attribute and a plugin, and I found no PPTX export in its docs. The third-party reveal-md wrapper was archived on September 21, 2026.

Where Slaide is different is the two things it was built around. First, the .slaide format and the Agent Skill exist so a model writes the file correctly and then checks its own work: it validates, renders every slide to one small montage image, reads that image back, and fixes clipped text or low-contrast slides before you see them. Second, slaide export --pptx produces a file with real text boxes and shapes, so someone who has never heard of Slaide can open it in PowerPoint and move things around, not a set of slide images with the text baked in.

The catch on that second point: a heavily art-directed deck, hand-placed decoration, bespoke animation, does not survive the .pptx round trip perfectly. Slaide is strongest on decks that are mostly structured content, which is most working decks and not most conference keynotes.

Which one to pick

If you want the smallest possible tool and do not need PowerPoint at all, use Marp. If the deck is closer to an interactive code demo, or you want Vue components in slides, use Slidev. If you are embedding a deck inside a web app or need transitions and layouts no template covers, use reveal.js. If an AI agent is writing the deck and someone downstream needs a real, editable PowerPoint file, that is what Slaide is for.

FAQ

Does Marp, Slidev, or reveal.js export a real, editable PowerPoint file? Partly. Marp’s regular --pptx and Slidev’s --format pptx produce slide images, not editable text. Marp’s experimental --pptx-editable produces editable content, and the documentation warns it has lower fidelity. Slidev’s --format pptx-editable rebuilds slides as PowerPoint shapes, but SVG, video, and CSS gradients stay pictures. I found no PPTX export in the reveal.js docs. Slaide’s --pptx export is real text boxes, shapes, and images, in the open-source core.

Do Marp or reveal.js have an MCP server for AI agents? I found none in their docs. Slidev does (slidev mcp), with tools that read and edit an already-open deck. Slaide also does, plus an Agent Skill that runs the write-validate-render-check loop end to end without hand-holding.

Is Slaide open source? The core is: the renderer, CLI, .pptx import and export, MCP server, and Agent Skill are Apache-2.0 at github.com/aivorynet/slaide. The WYSIWYG editor and the paid AI generation are closed source. Marp CLI, Slidev, and reveal.js are MIT-licensed.

Which of these is free? All four have a free, fully working open-source path. Slaide’s CLI, editor, and viewer are free with no credit card; the only paid part is cloud AI generation, from a $3.99 one-time Day Pass to Hosted at $9.90/mo ($99/yr). I found no paid tier for Marp, Slidev, or reveal.js themselves.

Can I use these tools without writing any Markdown by hand? Slaide’s editor is free once you sign in and lets you click into a slide and edit it directly, with changes saved back to the plain-text file. Slidev and Marp both expect you to edit the source file, though Marp for VS Code gives you a live preview alongside it. reveal.js has no visual editor in the open-source project. Slides.com is a separate hosted editor for reveal.js decks.

Is getslaide.com the same as the “Slaide” apps that generate decks from a single prompt? No. Slaide at getslaide.com is the plain-text .slaide format, its open-source CLI and renderer, and an Agent Skill and MCP server for AI-authored decks with real PPTX export. If you land on a different product also called Slaide, check the URL.