How to Convert PowerPoint to Video with Narration — 3 Methods Compared

Why Turn Slides into Narrated Video?

A static PowerPoint deck only works when someone is there to present it. The moment you email it, hand it off for asynchronous review, or post it in an LMS, most of the context disappears. Viewers flip through slides without understanding why each one matters.

Narrated video solves this. The viewer hears your explanation slide-by-slide, at their own pace, without scheduling a live call. This makes narrated video the preferred format for training content, self-paced courses, sales leave-behinds, and internal announcements — any situation where the audience watches without a live presenter.

The challenge is turning your existing slides into that video. Depending on the method you choose, it can take anywhere from a few hours of recording and editing to a single click. Let's look at your options.

Method 1 — PowerPoint's Built-in Recording (Free)

PowerPoint has a built-in "Record Slide Show" feature that lets you narrate each slide while advancing through the deck. Your voice is captured via microphone, and the result can be exported as an MP4.

How it works

1. Open your presentation and go to the Record tab (or Slide Show → Record Slide Show).
2. Click Record. PowerPoint will advance through each slide while recording your voice and webcam (optional).
3. When finished, go to File → Export → Create a Video.
4. Choose resolution (1080p, 720p, or 480p), select "Use Recorded Timings and Narrations," and save.

Pros

• Free — included with PowerPoint.
• Your actual voice adds a personal touch.
• Supports webcam overlay (Cameo feature in Microsoft 365).

Cons

• You need a quiet room and a decent microphone.
• One mistake means re-recording the entire slide (or the whole deck, depending on version).
• A 30-slide deck can easily take 2–3 hours between recording, re-takes, and export time.
• No text-to-speech option — you must speak every word yourself.

Method 2 — Cloud Text-to-Speech Services

Services like Narakeet, SlideNarrator, Synthesia, and HeyGen let you upload your PowerPoint file to a web platform. They read your Speaker Notes (or a custom script), generate synthetic narration using AI voices, and return an MP4.

How it works

1. Write your narration script in PowerPoint's Speaker Notes.
2. Upload your .pptx file to the service's website.
3. Select a voice and language.
4. The service processes your file in the cloud and returns an MP4 download link.

Pros

• No microphone or recording needed — text-to-speech handles it.
• Works on any OS (Mac, Windows, Chromebook) since it runs in a browser.
• Wide voice selection, including multiple languages.

Cons

• Your slides are uploaded to a third-party server — a concern for confidential or client-sensitive content.
• Most services charge per minute of generated audio (e.g., $0.10–0.20/min) or require a monthly subscription ($10–50/month).
• If you produce videos regularly, costs add up quickly. A team creating 10 hours of training video per year could spend $600+ on per-minute pricing alone.
• You depend on an internet connection and the service's uptime.

Method 3 — PPT Narrator Video (Offline, One-Click)

PPT Narrator Video is a PowerPoint add-in that converts your Speaker Notes into a fully narrated MP4 — directly inside PowerPoint. It uses Windows text-to-speech voices (including free Neural Voices) to generate the narration locally on your computer. Nothing is uploaded anywhere.

How it works

1. Write your narration in PowerPoint's Speaker Notes.
2. Open the PPT Narrator tab in the ribbon.
3. Choose a voice and resolution.
4. Click "Create Video" — done.

Key differentiators

• 100% offline — your slides, notes, and generated video never leave your machine.
• $99 one-time — no subscription, no per-minute fees, unlimited video generation.
• Inside PowerPoint — no separate app to learn, no file uploading, no browser tabs.
• Edit and re-generate in seconds — change a sentence in Speaker Notes, click "Create Video" again. No re-recording.

Requirements

• Windows 10 or later
• PowerPoint 2016 or later (desktop version)
• .NET Framework 4.7.2 or later

Side-by-Side Comparison

Here's how the three methods compare across the dimensions that matter most:

Each method has a clear sweet spot. PowerPoint's built-in recording is ideal for one-off personal presentations. Cloud services shine when you need cross-platform access or AI avatar features. PPT Narrator Video fills the gap for Windows users who need fast, private, unlimited narrated video production at a fixed cost.

Step-by-Step: Speaker Notes to MP4 in 4 Clicks

Here's the exact workflow with PPT Narrator Video, from start to finished video:

1. Write your script — Open your presentation and type your narration into the Speaker Notes panel below each slide. Write it conversationally, as if you're explaining the slide to a colleague.
2. Choose a voice — In the PPT Narrator ribbon tab, open the Voice dropdown. Select a Windows Neural Voice for the most natural result (see the next section for tips).
3. Set your resolution — Pick 1080p (Full HD) or 720p. The default is 1080p.
4. Click "Create Video" — Choose a save location. PPT Narrator processes each slide, generates the narration audio, composites it with the slide image, and outputs a single MP4 file.

That's it. A 20-slide deck typically takes 1–3 minutes to process, depending on the length of your Speaker Notes. The result is a standard MP4 that you can upload to YouTube, embed in an LMS, attach to an email, or share via any platform that accepts video.

Need to fix a sentence? Just edit the Speaker Notes and click "Create Video" again. The entire process takes seconds, not hours.

Getting Natural-Sounding Narration

The quality of text-to-speech narration depends heavily on which voice engine you use. Windows ships with two tiers of voices:

Standard SAPI voices (pre-installed)

These are the legacy voices that have been in Windows for years. They work, but they sound noticeably synthetic — flat intonation, unnatural pacing, and an obviously robotic quality. Fine for testing, but not ideal for professional content.

Windows Neural Voices (free upgrade)

Microsoft's Neural Voices use modern speech synthesis and sound dramatically better — natural intonation, realistic pauses, and human-like phrasing. They're free and take about a minute to install.

To install Neural Voices:

1. Open Windows Settings (Win + I).
2. Go to Time & Language → Speech.
3. Click "Add voices" under Manage voices.
4. Select a language and download. English voices like Microsoft Mark (male, US) and Microsoft Eva (female, US) are excellent starting points.
5. Restart PowerPoint. The new voices will appear in the PPT Narrator Voice dropdown.

Frequently Asked Questions