Gixo Lumen · slide guide
Comparison Slide
A comparison slide sets options against criteria so the audience can see why one wins. It fails when the criteria are chosen to produce a predetermined answer — which an informed audience spots immediately, and which costs you the rest of the deck.
Last reviewed: August 2026
Comparison chart vs comparison slide
A comparison chart is the grid: options down the left, criteria across the top, one judgement per cell, so every trade-off is visible at once. A comparison slide is that grid put in front of an audience with the recommendation attached — the chart carries the evidence, the slide carries the conclusion. Reach for the grid when there are three or more options and more than two criteria, because prose then asks the audience to hold a table in their heads; two options separated by one thing is a sentence, not a chart. Where the comparison turns on a single measurable dimension rather than a set of judgements — cost, speed, share — it is a data chart instead: the chart maker builds one, and types of charts covers which form fits.
What belongs on it
- Three to five options. More becomes a spreadsheet nobody reads from the back of a room.
- Criteria chosen before the answer. If you picked the criteria after deciding, the audience will notice the ones missing.
- Real alternatives, including doing nothing. Omitting the status quo is the most common way a comparison loses credibility.
- Honest marks. A column where your option wins every row reads as marketing, not analysis.
- A recommendation. A comparison that stops at the table pushes the decision back to the audience.
Getting it right
| Weak version | Stronger version |
|---|---|
| Ticks and crosses on vague features | Named criteria with a stated threshold |
| Your option wins every row | You concede one or two rows honestly |
| Competitors unnamed | Real alternatives named, including doing nothing |
| Nine options at 9pt | Three to five, readable from the back |
| Table with no conclusion | Table plus a one-line recommendation |
Common mistakes
- Criteria reverse-engineered from the answer. Experienced audiences check for the missing row.
- No cost row. Almost every real comparison turns on cost somewhere; omitting it looks evasive.
- Colour as the only signal. Fails for colour-blind viewers and in greyscale printing.
- Too many rows. Beyond about six criteria the pattern stops being visible.
- No recommendation. If you have a view, say it — you did the work.
Frequently asked questions
What is a comparison slide?
A slide that sets options against criteria so an audience can see the trade-offs and why one option is recommended.
How many options should a comparison slide show?
Three to five. Beyond that the table stops being readable in a room and starts being a document.
Should I include competitors by name?
Yes, and include doing nothing as an option. Vague unnamed alternatives make the comparison look like it was constructed to win.
Should my option win every criterion?
No. Conceding one or two rows honestly makes the whole comparison more credible, and an all-wins column reads as marketing.
What Lumen layout do I use?
The Comparison layout. Add it to a blank deck and fill in the options and criteria — manual building is free and unlimited.
What is a comparison chart?
A grid that sets options against criteria with one judgement per cell, so the trade-offs between them can be read at a glance instead of held in the head. On a slide it needs a recommendation underneath it; a chart on its own hands the decision back to the audience.
How do I make a comparison chart for a presentation?
Pick three to five real options including doing nothing, choose the criteria before you know which option wins, keep to about six criteria so the pattern stays visible from the back of the room, mark the cells honestly enough that you lose a row or two, and finish with a one-line recommendation. In Lumen the Comparison layout produces this shape in a blank deck.
Other slide guides
Build this slide in a blank deck
Add the Comparison layout and fill it in. Manual decks are free and unlimited on every plan, and export to PPTX with no paywall.
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