Scribd Versus SlideShare: Do you know what we know?

*Check out our 2013 online document sharing update

When it comes to online document sharing there are many options. The two most popular are Scribd and Slideshare. Scribd allows users to view, print, download and upload documents in a variety of formats including PDF and MS Word. It has an embeddable PDF format which makes it easy to place files into webpages or blogs. It also has a text-to-speech feature where files can be converted to MP3 for play-back purposes.

Slideshare bills itself as the “business media site” for document sharing. As with Scribd, users may view, print, download and upload documents and easily embed them into webpages via Slideshare widgets. Slideshare’s audio feature allows users to synch audio with slideshows.

Both sites are easy to use with robust functionality.Which should you use?

Since Scribd is driven by the Google system, ads cannot be blocked. Currently there is no paid version to eliminate ads but rumor has it that one is on the way.

Slideshare’s paid versions allow users to block ads. Skinned versions cost from $36 to $249 per month and include unlimited uploads, analytics, “buzz” tracking and varying number of leads. The plans differ most with the level of control over the channel.

But monthly traffic is where the biggest difference lies between Scribd and Slideshare.In July 2010, the unique monthly traffic for each was:

Scribd.com – 4,346,540

Slideshare.net – 1,745,535

So, while more control can be achieved with Slideshare, Scribd certainly appeals to a larger audience. Do you know where your audience is? Envano can help you figure that out.