A DocSend alternative that plays the Keynote, not a PDF of it
DocSend is good at what it does: tracked links for documents. If the document is a Keynote deck, though, what the viewer gets is a stack of page images. Linkdeck hosts the Keynote export and plays it.
The core difference
DocSend takes a PDF (or a PowerPoint it converts) and serves each page as an image with tracking around it. Builds, transitions, video and audio are gone before the viewer arrives.
Linkdeck takes Keynote's own HTML export and hosts it. The viewer gets the real Keynote player in the browser, on a phone or a laptop, with the animations and media as you built them.
What each does
A fair reading of both products as they are today.
| DocSend | Linkdeck | |
|---|---|---|
| What the viewer sees | Page images of a PDF | The Keynote player itself |
| Builds, transitions, animations | No | Yes |
| Embedded video and audio | Not from a PDF deck | Yes |
| Per-page / per-slide time | Yes | Yes (Pro) |
| Email gate with leads | Yes | Yes (Pro) |
| Password | Yes | Yes (Pro) |
| Replace file, keep link | Yes | Yes (Pro) |
| Data rooms, NDAs, watermarking | Yes | No |
| PDF, PowerPoint, Word uploads | Yes | No, Keynote HTML only |
| Hosting | Dropbox infrastructure | Supabase database, Bunny CDN files |
| Price | Personal from $10–15 / month | Pro €12 / month, free tier |
What DocSend has that Linkdeck does not
Data rooms with folders of documents, NDA click-through, dynamic watermarking, and support for PDFs, Word files and spreadsheets. If you are running a due-diligence process, DocSend or a data room is the right tool and Linkdeck is not.
What Linkdeck has that DocSend does not
The deck plays. Video, audio, builds and transitions arrive intact on a phone. The end card carries your studio name and colour instead of a vendor logo, and the viewer never sees a page-image viewer that hints at a PDF underneath.
Pricing
DocSend's Personal plan is listed from around $10 a month billed annually, or about $15 month to month, per user. Linkdeck Pro is €12 a month, single account, with a free tier for one deck. Check DocSend's site for current figures; plans change.
Who should pick which
Pick DocSend if you need a data room, NDAs, or you share PDFs and spreadsheets more than decks. Pick Linkdeck if the thing you send is a Keynote and you want it to play as built.
Questions
Can Linkdeck host a PDF?
No. Linkdeck hosts Keynote HTML exports only. If your deck lives in Keynote, export it to HTML (File → Export To → HTML) and upload the zipped folder.
Does Linkdeck track viewers like DocSend?
On Pro: views, countries, device types, time per slide, and with the email gate on, the addresses of people who opened the deck. There is no NDA step or watermarking.
Can I keep using DocSend for documents and Linkdeck for decks?
Yes, and that is the honest recommendation for most teams. They do different jobs.
See your deck play instead of scroll
Upload one Keynote export free, open the link on your phone, and compare it to the PDF version yourself.