Control a Presentation From Your Phone: Every App Compared

Your phone is the clicker you never forget. The question is which app turns it into one, and the answer depends on three things: whether the phone and the computer share a network, which slide software you use, and how much you want to see on the phone besides a Next button.

We checked every option people usually name against the vendors' own pages, store listings and help docs in October 2026. Where a vendor does not say, we say so.

The short answer

• Same room, Mac and Keynote: Keynote Remote, built into Keynote, is free and good.
• Same room, one laptop, any software: a Bluetooth keyboard app or a local Wi-Fi remote such as Unified Remote or PPTControl will do.
• Canva decks: Canva's own remote control link.
• Different networks, remote speakers, several presenters, or a live event: an internet remote. That is the job Cliqer is built for.

How far each kind of remote reaches

The biggest difference between these apps is not the buttons. It is how the click gets from your phone to the computer, and that decides where you can stand.

1. One room

   Bluetooth

   The phone pairs with the computer like a keyboard. Nothing to set up on the network, but the range runs out in a large hall.

   • PPTControl
   • Bluetooth keyboard apps
2. One network

   Same Wi-Fi

   A small app on the computer listens on the local network. It stops working the moment the phone joins the guest Wi-Fi and the laptop sits on the production network.

   • Keynote Remote
   • Unified Remote
   • Clicker Presentation Control
   • ExtraPPT Remote
3. Anywhere

   Internet

   Each click travels over the internet, so the phone and the computer can be on any networks, in the same room or in different countries.

   • Cliqer
   • InternetClicker
   • OctoCue
   • Canva (Canva only)

Every option at a glance

Seven checks that matter on the day: does it work across networks, is there a real phone app, a watch app, your notes, a view of the screen, room for more than one presenter, and does it drive any software.

Built into your slide software

Keynote. Keynote on iPhone, iPad or Apple Watch is a remote for Keynote on a Mac. Both devices need Wi-Fi on, you link them once with a four-digit code, and the phone shows the current slide, the next slide and your presenter notes. It controls Keynote only, and only on the same network.

PowerPoint. The PowerPoint mobile app can run a slideshow from the phone itself, sent to a screen by cable or casting, and the phone can act as a laser pointer during it. It does not drive PowerPoint on your laptop. Microsoft's Office Remote did, over Bluetooth, but it was built for Office 2013 and Windows Phone 8, and it left Google Play in 2018.

Google Slides. The Slides app presents from the phone to a Chromecast, AirPlay screen or a Meet call, with notes and a timer on the phone. There is no official remote for a slideshow running on a laptop. Our Google Slides clicker guide covers the options.

Canva. Presenter view gives you a share link that opens in any browser and controls the presentation, with notes if you sign in and a way to pause other presenters. It is the best choice for Canva decks and does not control anything else.

Local remote apps (same Wi-Fi or Bluetooth)

These install a small app on the computer and pair the phone with it.

• Unified Remote is a general remote with presentation layouts and a timer. It talks on your local network only, unless you configure your router to reach it from outside.
• PPTControl connects over Bluetooth Low Energy and runs on Apple Watch too. Slide previews, speaker notes and the laser pointer are in its Pro plan.
• Clicker Presentation Control works over the same Wi-Fi, shows notes and previews for PowerPoint and Keynote, and adds a trackpad.
• ExtraPPT Remote runs in the phone's browser on local Wi-Fi, for PowerPoint on Windows, with timers and slide previews.
• Bluetooth keyboard apps, such as Presentation Clicker PPT Slide on Android, pretend to be a keyboard. Nothing to install on the computer, and they work with any software, but you get arrow keys only: no notes, no preview.

They work well for one person in one room. They stop working when the phone joins the venue's guest Wi-Fi and the laptop sits on the production network, when Bluetooth range runs out in a large hall, or when the speaker is somewhere else entirely.

Internet remotes

An internet remote sends each click over the internet, so the phone and the computer can be on any networks, in the same room or in different countries.

• InternetClicker runs in the phone's browser and drives a client on Mac or Windows. Live screenshots, the timer and the laser pointer come with its Pro plan.
• OctoCue has phone apps and a receiver for Mac and Windows, with cue lights, clocks and outputs for show-control systems.
• Cliqer is described below.

Cliqer

The computer that shows the slides runs the Cliqer app for Mac or Windows. Presenters join its room by code, QR code or link, in the free Cliqer Remote app for iPhone, iPad and Android or in any phone browser, with no account.

Coming soon

On the phone they get:

• next and back for PowerPoint, Keynote, Google Slides, Prezi, LibreOffice Impress, vMix or any software that takes keystrokes
• the live picture of the shared screen, not screenshots
• speaker notes and a countdown timer
• a laser pointer and a drawing studio over the screen: eight colours, a pen, a highlighter, a marker and a fading pen, shapes that snap to a line, arrow, rectangle or ellipse, Undo and Clear drawing (turning Draw off clears the ink too)
• chat with the host, and calling in on camera when the host invites you

The connection is peer-to-peer where the network allows, relayed where it does not, and encrypted in transit. Several presenters can join one room and the host hands control between them.

Control the host. Whoever runs the room can turn a phone, iPad or tablet into a remote for the computer that runs Cliqer. Scan the QR code in the computer's Pair device window (or with the device's own camera, which opens the app), with no sign-in and nothing to approve on the computer, and the device can run the presenters, the timer, the room link, Studio and the host's settings from anywhere in the venue. That includes Clear drawing, which wipes every presenter's ink. One computer pairs up to 10 devices, and you remove any of them from the computer.

On your wrist. The Apple Watch app comes with Cliqer Remote for iPhone and the Wear OS app with the Android listing, and each works two ways. Linked to your phone, the watch follows the room the phone is in and takes no presenter place. On its own, you type or dictate the room code on the watch and it joins as a presenter with no phone, which takes a presenter place (the Free plan allows one). Either way you get Next and Back with the slide number and the timer; the laser, drawing and notes stay on the phone.

For live events, Cliqer also works with DSAN PerfectCue and Limitimer, Elgato Stream Deck, Bitfocus Companion and NDI. There is a free tier, and paid plans are on the pricing page.

How to choose

We compare Cliqer feature by feature with InternetClicker, OctoCue and hardware cue kits on our comparison page. If a vendor changes something in this table, tell us at info@cliqer.io and we will fix it.