Which account to choose?

When you have all the required hardware and software to begin creating your presentations, you must also set up a Prezi account. You may already have one, and if so, then you can use it. If you do not have one, then you can set one up, and this is quick and easy to do.

Whether you currently do or do not have a Prezi account, it is important to consider which account type to go with. Prezi offers a range of accounts and depending on your usage of the system, different ones will be appropriate. At present, Prezi offers four account types which are shown in the following screenshot:

Please note that the prices shown in the previous screenshot were correct at the time of writing in July 2014. If you would like to see more up-to-date prices, please go to the Prezi website pricing section at http://prezi.com/pricing/. You may have also noticed at the bottom of the screenshot that there is an additional licensing type, the educational license. Educational licenses are available for a reduced price as Edu Enjoy, Edu Pro, and Edu Teams, but you need an educational e-mail in order to obtain them. Go to the Prezi website at http://prezi.com/pricing/edu/ for more details.

Moving back to the main account types, you will have noticed from the screenshot that there are four types available: Public, Enjoy, Pro, and Team accounts. These have different storage sizes and capabilities, which we will explore in more detail now to see which one is right for you.

It is unlikely that the Public account would be sufficient for extended use as it has a number of drawbacks, including the inability to make presentations private, the Prezi logo on all presentations, and limited (100 MB) storage. However, it can be a good starting point if you are just looking to get an initial idea of how Prezi works as it is a free no-risk account. Once you are happy with the tool, then you may wish to upgrade to one of the paid account types.

The first level of paid account is the Enjoy account. This initial paid level would be suitable for some individuals or smaller firms. It counters the issues of the Public account, including five times more storage (500 MB). Other than combatting the issues of the free account, the Enjoy account offers premium support, which means any questions you send to Prezi will be answered within a day.

The Pro account is probably the most suitable for extensive design or business use. Alongside countering the issues of the Public account, the Pro account includes all the features of the Enjoy account. It offers substantially more storage (2 GB) than either of the other accounts. Additionally, the Pro account allows account holders to work offline, which could be valuable if you often find yourself having to work on the move.

You should carefully consider which account type you will need, taking into consideration how much privacy and storage you will use. If you are new to Prezi, it is advisable to start with a lower level account, such as Public or Enjoy, and then you can upgrade if you need additional storage. It is also worth noting that Prezi does offer discounts for multiple licenses, so if you work for a firm and intend on rolling this out to the entire staff, then this could be worth considering.