Format comparison
PPTX vs PPT
How do PPTX and PPTcompare? Here's everything you need to know to choose the right format — and how to convert between them.
.pptx
Full guide →Office Open XML Presentation
PPTX is the default format for Microsoft PowerPoint presentations. It supports slides, animations, transitions, speaker notes, and multimedia content for creating professional presentations.
.ppt
Full guide →Microsoft PowerPoint Presentation (Legacy)
PPT is the legacy binary format for Microsoft PowerPoint presentations. While replaced by PPTX, many older presentation files and templates still use this format.
| Specification | PPTX | PPT |
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Office Open XML Presentation | Microsoft PowerPoint Presentation (Legacy) |
| Extension | .pptx | .ppt |
| MIME type | application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.presentationml.presentation | application/vnd.ms-powerpoint |
| Category | Document | Document |
| Developer | Microsoft | Microsoft |
| Year introduced | 2007 | 1987 |
PPTX advantages
- Rich multimedia and animation support
- Industry standard for presentations
- Compatible with Google Slides and Keynote
- Supports templates and themes
PPTX limitations
- Large file sizes with embedded media
- Formatting varies between platforms
- Complex format for simple slideshows
- Animation support inconsistent outside PowerPoint
PPT advantages
- Compatible with older PowerPoint versions
- Widely recognized
- Still supported by modern software
- Simple for basic presentations
PPT limitations
- Larger files than PPTX
- Binary format — harder to recover
- Missing modern features
- Being phased out
Which should you use?
PPTX and PPT serve different purposes. PPTX is ideal for business presentations, while PPT excels at opening legacy presentations.
Best uses for PPTX
Business presentations
Educational lectures and courses
Sales pitches and proposals
Conference talks
Best uses for PPT
Opening legacy presentations
Compatibility with older systems
Archived presentation files
Simple slideshows
Convert between PPTX and PPT
Need to switch formats? Convert for free with SquishConvert.