AI Presentation & Slide Tools

Gamma vs Tome for Australians in 2026: Why This Isn't a Fair Fight Anymore

By Adam · 7 Jun 2026 · 6 min read
Head-to-head verdict

Our pick: Gamma. The verdict below says who should buy the other.

Winner: Gamma — by default. Tome shut down its AI presentation product (Tome Slides) on 30 April 2025 and pivoted to sales software. If you're choosing an AI deck tool today, the real contest is Gamma vs Canva vs Plus AI — not Gamma vs Tome. We explain what happened and what to pick instead.

Last reviewed: 7 June 2026 by Adam.

Read this first: Tome is no longer a presentation tool

If you've landed here comparing Gamma and Tome, you need one fact before anything else: Tome no longer makes presentation software.

Tome's founders pivoted away from presentations toward sales software, and sunset the Tome Slides product on 30 April 2025. Co-founder Keith Peiris said so plainly: "We shut down Tome and built Lightfield" — "a product used by 25M people." The company that built the viral "AI presentation" app — by the founders' own count, around 25 million users, on roughly US$81.6 million raised (per reporting) — walked away from the product those users came for. Users who didn't export their decks before the cut-off lost them.

What's left is not a deck tool. The original team rebranded around an AI sales-intelligence product (now operating as Lightfield), while the "Tome" brand name was acquired separately by AngelList for document-summarisation technology. Whichever "Tome" you find today, neither one builds presentations.

So the honest answer to "Gamma vs Tome" in 2026 is: there's no contest. Tome left the race. The useful question is what to use instead of the Tome you remember — and for most Australians, that's Gamma.

What happened to Tome — the short version

Tome was one of the breakout AI tools of 2023. The pitch was strong: describe what you want, and it generates a narrative, visual deck. Growth was explosive — tens of millions of users (the founders later put the figure at 25 million).

The problem was underneath the growth. Despite the user numbers, annual recurring revenue reportedly stayed under US$4 million. Free users loved it; paying customers were thin. Faced with a market filling up with rivals — Gamma, Canva, Beautiful.ai, Plus AI and others — the founders chose to go deep in one vertical rather than compete broadly on presentations. They picked sales, because that's where a lot of their engaged users already were.

It's a reasonable business decision. But for anyone who came to Tome for slides, the result is simple: the product you wanted is gone.

What to compare instead

With Tome out, here's the deck-tool landscape Australians should actually weigh up:

Gamma Canva Magic Studio Plus AI
Starting price Free; Plus ~A$15.50/mo (USD-billed) Free; Pro billed in AUD 7-day trial; Pro ~A$39/mo (USD-billed)
Free tier ✅ Genuinely useful ✅ Useful ❌ Trial only
Australian-built? ❌ (US) ✅ Sydney ❌ (US)
Data residency US AU data regions available US processing
Best for Fastest standalone decks AU buyers who want one all-rounder Staying inside Google Slides / PowerPoint
Our score 20/25 ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (Editor's Choice) 19/25 ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (category Top Pick) 19/25 ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Pricing converted at ~A$1.40/US$1, June 2026; USD-billed prices vary with your card rate. These tools bill in USD, so any 10% GST is added at the checkout rather than shown as a native AUD invoice.

Why Gamma is the default replacement

Gamma is the closest spiritual successor to what Tome promised, and it does the job better. The core loop is the same — prompt in, full deck out in roughly two minutes — but Gamma backs it with a genuinely useful free tier, a paste-to-deck feature that turns existing notes or documents into slides, and a standout "share as a web page" format with view analytics.

For the typical Australian small-business owner or consultant who used to reach for Tome, Gamma is the upgrade: faster, more polished, still free to start. The trade-offs are honest — it bills in US dollars and stores data in the US — but for everyday presentation work those are minor. Full detail in our Gamma review.

When to pick Canva instead

If the Tome thing taught you anything, it's that a tool can vanish. If you'd rather bet on stability and keep your data closer to home, Canva Magic Studio is the Australian answer. It's built in Sydney, bills in AUD, offers AU data regions, and does presentations as part of a much broader design suite you'll use for far more than decks.

Canva won't generate a deck quite as fast as Gamma, and it's a heavier tool overall. But for an Australian buyer who wants local billing, a local vendor, and one app that does presentations alongside social graphics, documents and video, it's the safer long-term home. See our Canva Magic Studio review.

When to pick Plus AI instead

If your team already runs on Google Workspace or Microsoft 365, you may not want a new app at all. Plus AI installs inside Google Slides and PowerPoint and adds AI generation to the tools you already use — so the finished deck is a native file in the format you present and share. It's the lowest-friction option for businesses with a locked-down brand template. Detail in our Plus AI review.

The verdict

There is no live "Gamma vs Tome" decision to make in 2026 — Tome discontinued its presentation product in 2025 and builds sales software now. If you're choosing an AI deck tool today, ignore Tome and pick from the tools that still compete.

For a direct like-for-like replacement — a fast AI deck maker, which is what Tome was — that's Gamma: the most polished standalone builder, free to start. But our overall category Top Pick for Australians is Canva (Sydney-built, AUD billing, AU data regions) — the choice if local billing and data, and a vendor that'll still be here in five years, matter more to you than raw speed. If you'd rather not leave Google Slides or PowerPoint, choose Plus AI.

For the full picture — including Beautiful.ai and Presentations.ai — read our best AI presentation tools for Australians roundup.

Frequently asked questions

Is Tome still a presentation tool in 2026?

No. Tome sunset its AI presentation product, Tome Slides, on 30 April 2025 and the founders pivoted to sales software (now Lightfield). Whichever "Tome" you find today, neither builds presentations — so there's no live Gamma vs Tome decision.

What should Australians use instead of Tome?

Gamma is the closest like-for-like replacement — a fast AI deck maker, free to start. For an Australian buyer who wants local billing and data, our overall category Top Pick is Canva Magic Studio. Plus AI suits teams staying inside Google Slides or PowerPoint.

Does Gamma charge in AUD?

No. Gamma bills in USD (Plus around A$15.50/month at ~1.40), with any GST added at checkout rather than shown as a native AUD invoice. Canva Magic Studio, by contrast, bills in AUD.

Is there a free tier?

Gamma has a genuinely useful free tier, as does Canva. Plus AI offers only a 7-day trial.

Which is the safer long-term choice?

Canva Magic Studio, if stability and data matter most — it's Sydney-built, bills in AUD, offers AU data regions, and is a vendor likely to still be here in five years. Gamma is the pick for raw speed; it stores data in the US.

Sources

  1. Keith Peiris (Tome co-founder & CEO) — "We shut down Tome and built Lightfield for sales teams" (founder statement; "a product used by 25M people") — https://www.linkedin.com/posts/keithpeiris_we-killed-a-product-used-by-25m-people-activity-7358215782591291393-RN1O — Wayback: [N/A — LinkedIn is login-walled; archive.org cannot capture it. Corroborated by the VentureBeat archive below] — checked 7 June 2026 (primary; founder's own account of the shutdown)
  2. VentureBeat — "Tome's founders ditch viral presentation app with 20M users to build AI-native CRM Lightfield" — https://venturebeat.com/technology/tomes-founders-ditch-viral-presentation-app-with-20m-users-to-build-ai — Wayback: https://web.archive.org/web/20260607211204/https://venturebeat.com/technology/tomes-founders-ditch-viral-presentation-app-with-20m-users-to-build-ai (captured 7 June 2026) — checked 7 June 2026 (secondary; corroborates the pivot and timeline)
  3. Sacra — Tome funding, news & analysis (funding figure) — https://sacra.com/c/tome/ — Wayback: http://web.archive.org/web/20260521163815/https://sacra.com/c/tome/ — checked 7 June 2026 (secondary)
  4. Gamma — Plans and pricing — https://gamma.app/pricing — Wayback: https://web.archive.org/web/20260607210406/https://gamma.app/pricing (captured 7 June 2026) — checked 7 June 2026

Note: the 30 April 2025 Tome Slides sunset date is widely reported and consistent with the founder's statement above.


The AI Directory Australia is an independent editorial publication. Read our Methodology.


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