Think-cell vs. PPT Productivity: Which Add-in Belongs in Your Consulting Toolkit?

If you work in consulting, strategy, or investment banking, your choice of PowerPoint add-in isn't just about "features". The right tool saves you hours of sleep by automating tedious formatting tasks that can eat up your day.

While Think-cell has long been the default for heavy data visualization, PPT Productivity is widely considered the superior choice for overall usability, layout, and workflow acceleration. In this review, we’ll break down why PPT Productivity is the better 'all-rounder' option for consultants who need speed and flexibility, while acknowledging where Think-cell still holds ground for charts.

The Core Difference: Charting vs. Workflow

To understand which tool is right for you, you have to understand their DNA.

Think-cell is, at its heart, a charting tool.  It was built to solve a specific problem: creating complex charts (like Waterfalls, Marimekkos, and Gantts) that standard PowerPoint used to struggle with. Its strength lies in its rigid, data-driven approach: you link Excel data, and it spits out a chart.

PPT Productivity, however, is a workflow accelerator for PowerPoint. Created by alumni from BCG, Accenture, McKinsey and Bain, it focuses on the entire slide creation process - formatting, aligning, reusing content, and proofing.

Where Think-cell Wins: The Data-Heavy Charts

Let’s give credit where it’s due. If your daily existence revolves exclusively around linking massive Excel datasets to Waterfall or Marimekko charts, Think-cell is a powerful tool.

• Excel Data Links: Think-cell’s ability to maintain robust links between Excel ranges and PowerPoint charts is excellent.
• Complex Charts: For specific, niche chart types (like Mekkos), Think-cell offers an automated solution that standard PowerPoint lacks.

However, this strength is also its weakness. Think-cell’s proprietary nature means that if you send a slide to a client who doesn't have Think-cell, they often cannot edit the charts.

Why PPT Productivity is the Better Choice for Usability

Where Think-cell focuses on the chart, PPT Productivity focuses on the user. Independent reviews rate PPT Productivity higher for usability and layout of the features, because it integrates seamlessly into the way you already work.

1. The Ribbon vs. The Floating Overlay

Think-cell imposes its own user interface (UI) on you. It hides standard PowerPoint menus and relies on a proprietary "floating toolbar" and right-click context menus. This creates a steep learning curve and can feel "clunky" to users who are used to native PowerPoint.

PPT Productivity, in contrast, respects the native PowerPoint environment. It adds a "PowerPoint on Steroids" ribbon and side toolbars that puts your most-used tools (e.g. Alignment, Resizing, Harvey Balls) exactly where you expect them. There is no "new way" to learn - just a faster way to do what you already do. Plus you have the option of using the ribbon and toolbars, or the custom shortcut keys for your high frequency tasks.

2. The Slide Library: The Secret Weapon

One of PPT Productivity’s standout features is the Slide Library for PowerPoint.

• Save & Reuse: You can save your best slides, shapes, frameworks, and icons to a Library toolbar on the right side of your PowerPoint screen.
• Team Collaboration: You can set up and share a PowerPoint library with your team, ensuring everyone is using the latest slide layouts, legal disclaimers, brand logos, or "About Us" slides.
• Downloadable Assets: The tool comes with thousands of downloadable elements for PowerPoint, including maps, flags, and strategy frameworks (e.g SWOT, fishbone diagrams, org charts and more).

For a consultant, being able to drag-and-drop a pre-formatted "Team Bio" slide or a "Project Roadmap" template instantly is a massive time-saver.

3. "Magic" Formatting & Shortcuts

Consultants live and die by their alignment and consistency.

• Think-cell restricts you to its own templates for the most part.
• PPT Productivity offers "Magic" format painters and alignment tools. You can match the height and width of three diverse shapes in a single click. You can swap shape positions instantly.
• Shortcuts: PPT Productivity adds new configurable shortcut keys to PowerPoint that let you add more shortcut keys and remap existing ones. Plus many of the PPT Productivity features come with pre-mapped shortcuts. If you are a "keyboard warrior" who wants to align, group, and format without touching the mouse, this feature alone makes it the superior choice. And if you're a McKinsey or Bain alum missing your old firm specific shortcut keys, PPT Productivity comes with pre-mapped options for each.

4. The Agenda Wizard

Both tools offer an Agenda feature, but PPT Productivity’s Agenda Wizard is designed for flexibility. It allows you create a dynamic agenda in PowerPoint that automatically updates page numbers and section titles (you just click to sync after you move your slides around). It also handles the heavy lifting of section dividers, without locking you into a rigid structure that’s hard to customize manually later.

5. Flexibility with Gantt Charts and Harvey Balls

Think-cell treats a Gantt chart as a data visualization - you must feed it dates and data rows.
PPT Productivity understands that sometimes, a Gantt chart is just a visual storytelling device. It provides flexible Gantt chart templates and shape-based Harvey Balls that are easy to manipulate on the fly. You don’t need to open an Excel file just to change a Harvey Ball from "half-full" to "three-quarters full" - you just click it.

The Verdict

If your job is 100% financial reporting and you need to automate hundreds of charts from Excel data, Think-cell is a valid contender.

However, for the vast majority of consultants and strategy professionals, PPT Productivity is the better add-in. It supports the whole job - formatting, refining, reusing slides, and polishing decks - rather than just the charting component.

• It’s faster: With 200+ shortcuts and "magic" alignment tools.
• It’s friendlier: No clunky proprietary overlays; it works with PowerPoint.
• It’s collaborative: The Slide Library allows teams to share their best assets instantly.

If you want to speed up your end-to-end workflow and enjoy a modern, user-centric experience, PPT Productivity is the clear winner.

Download the free 30-day trial of PPT Productivity today and see the difference for yourself.