The credits slide rule
Most free template sites ask for one thing in return: credit. Deleting the credits slide is the most common way to break the terms without noticing. From the official pages:
| Site | What the terms ask |
|---|---|
| SlidesCarnival | CC BY 4.0: give credit with a link to the site; keep the Credits slide if you use the included photos |
| Slidesgo | Free users keep the slide where the credits appear; Premium needs no attribution |
| SlidesMania | Keep the SLIDESMANIA.COM text on the side of the slides, and the credits slide for bundled elements |
| PresentationGO | In public presentations the copyright credit must be clearly visible |
| Showeet | Credit with © Copyright Showeet.com, Designed by Showeet.com or By Showeet.com |
Photos and icons inside a template often come with their own licenses, which is why the credits slide exists. If you replace them with your own images, the free stock photos list and the free icons list show the license of each source.
Business use and what you may not do
Using a template for a work presentation is allowed on every site here that states it, but none of them lets you pass the template itself on:
- SlidesCarnival allows adapting the material for any purpose, even commercially, but not reselling or redistributing the template files as they are, even for free.
- Slidesgo says you may use its templates for both personal and commercial purposes; its terms forbid reselling, sublicensing or sharing the templates.
- SlidesMania templates are free for personal use and at work for a presentation; you may not sell, sublicense or offer them for download.
- PresentationGO allows personal, educational, professional and internal business use, and forbids selling or redistributing the templates in standalone form.
- Showeet allows business presentations with credit, and forbids using its resources to make templates for marketplaces.
Selling a course or report built from a template is a gray area that the terms answer differently. SlidesCarnival allows reselling a presentation only when you have built on it with your own content; read the terms of your site before you sell anything.
Templates already in your app
Google Slides has a template gallery under File, New, From Template Gallery, plus themes under Slide, Change theme; Google notes that its slide templates are currently only available in the English (US) locale. Microsoft offers free presentation templates for PowerPoint that you can save, print or share as a PDF; the template page does not state separate license terms.
Open source office suites such as LibreOffice Impress open PowerPoint files, but we could not confirm the license of a free Impress template collection on an official page, so none is listed. The free presentation software list covers the apps themselves.
Finish the deck
Before you present, time the talk: paste your speaker notes into the script timer to see how long they take to say. If the room has a different screen, check the slide size with the aspect ratio calculator, since 16:9 slides on a 4:3 projector get black bars. Replace placeholder charts with your real numbers using the chart maker, and shrink the exported PDF for email with the PDF compressor.
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to keep the credits slide in a free template?
On most sites, yes. Slidesgo says free users must keep the slide where the credits appear, SlidesCarnival requires credit with a link and the Credits slide when you use its photos, and SlidesMania asks you to keep its text on the side of the slides and the credits slide for bundled elements. Slidesgo Premium removes the attribution requirement.
Can I use free presentation templates for business?
Usually yes, for your own presentations. SlidesCarnival allows use for any purpose, even commercially, Slidesgo for personal and commercial purposes, and PresentationGO and Showeet for business presentations with credit. None of them allows reselling or redistributing the template files.
How many free templates can I download from Slidesgo?
Slidesgo's FAQ says registered users can download 3 free templates a month, and unregistered users cannot download templates. Premium templates need a paid subscription.
Which template sites need no sign-up?
SlidesCarnival says its templates are free for any use with no registration or download limits, SlidesMania says no registration or download limits, and PresentationGO offers instant downloads with no registration.
Are Google Slides templates free?
Google Slides has a built-in template gallery under File, New, From Template Gallery, and themes you can change at any time. Google notes that its slide templates are currently only available in the English (US) locale.