How long is a pre-seed pitch deck, and how much text goes on each slide?
14 slides, with about 90 words on each. That is the typical pitch deck CEE founders applied to BADideas with in 2026 so far. The length is the same as in 2025; the text on each slide has grown, from 75 words to 86.
The figures
| Decks CEE founders applied with, 2026 (to date) | Bottom quarter up to | Median | Top quarter from |
|---|---|---|---|
| Slides | 11 | 14 | 16 |
| Words per slide | 62 | 86 | 114 |
In BADideas application data, decks are getting denser, not longer.
What is changing
| CEE decks | 2025 | 2026 (to date) |
|---|---|---|
| Median slides | 14 | 14 |
| Median words per slide | 75 | 86 |
| Quarter | Median slides | Median words per slide |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2025 | 14 | 75 |
| Q3 2025 | 14 | 73 |
| Q4 2025 | 13 | 73 |
| Q1 2026 | 14 | 79 |
| Q2 2026 | 13 | 83 |
| Q3 2026 | 14 | 94 |
What it means for you
- Aim for 12 to 15 slides. Half of all decks fall between 11 and 16.
- Cut the text. Denser decks are the trend, not the advantage: a slide an investor can read in ten seconds beats a paragraph.
- Move detail to an appendix. Keep the main deck for the story and put the data behind it at the end. Investors who want it will look there.
- Send the deck you would present. A deck read without you in the room has to stand on its own, so every slide needs one clear point.
Also answers
Are pitch decks getting longer?
No. The median has stayed at 14 slides. What grew is the text: from 75 to 86 words a slide.
How we measured it
- Source: applications founders sent to BADideas in 2025 and 2026 to date. CEE means the company is in a Central or Eastern European country. Slides and words are counted in the pitch deck each founder applied with.
- Limits: these are founders who applied to one CEE pre-seed fund, so the sample leans towards companies that see themselves as a fit for it. A single quarter can swing, so read the change between years first. Words include text inside images.
- Read: 26 September 2026. Updated every quarter.
BADideas.fund, "How long is a pre-seed pitch deck, and how much text goes on each slide?", founder application data read 26 September 2026. https://badideas.fund/answers/pitch-deck-length
Who we are
We are a pre-seed and seed fund for founders in Central and Eastern Europe. We have built and sold companies ourselves, and since 2022 we have backed more than 40.
We back founders who see something about their market that others do not see yet. They want to change how a whole industry works, start with something small, and learn fast.
Good founders rarely fail on the idea or the product. They fail on selling it. So that is where we help: operators who grew Zendesk, Square and Scale AI work on your go-to-market.
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