The best Microsoft Publisher alternatives in 2026

Quick comparison

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Prices are US list prices as of October 2026. They change often, so check before you buy.

What replaced Microsoft Publisher?

Nothing replaced it one for one. Microsoft didn’t release a successor. Its retirement notice points Publisher users to Word and PowerPoint for branded templates, labels, calendars, business cards and programs, and says Microsoft is exploring other Publisher jobs in Word, PowerPoint and Designer. It also offers free templates on Microsoft Create.

In practice, most church offices, schools and small offices end up with Word or Canva for everyday bulletins and flyers, and Affinity or Scribus when they need real page layout. The sections below compare them.

First, get your old files out

Whatever you choose, your existing .pub files won’t open in most of these apps. Plan for that before you switch:

• PDF keeps the look. Use it for archives, reprints, and as a reference when you rebuild a template. Canva and Affinity can both import PDFs, though how editable the result is varies.
• ODG keeps the layout in an editable form for LibreOffice Draw.
• Text-only Word gives you the words to paste into a new template.

You can do this free, one file at a time, in LibreOffice Draw, or ask someone with an old copy of Publisher to save PDFs. The converter on this site does it in bulk: drop in a folder or ZIP to convert .pub files to PDF, ODG, page images and Word text at once. You get a free, watermarked preview of every page for the first 10 files in a batch, then a one-time payment (pricing). For big archives, see the bulk conversion guide. How close the output gets, measured on 23 public test files: our PUB to PDF test results.

Microsoft’s own replacements: Word, PowerPoint and Designer

Microsoft’s retirement notice says many common Publisher jobs, like branded templates, envelopes and labels, calendars, business cards and programs, can already be done in Word and PowerPoint. For a lot of offices that’s true, and you probably already pay for them.

• Word is the natural home for weekly bulletins, programs and simple newsletters. Use tables or text boxes for columns, and save your layout as a template (.dotx) so each week starts clean.
• PowerPoint is surprisingly good for flyers and posters. Set a custom slide size (for example 8.5 × 11 in) and place things freely, much like in Publisher.
• Designer (free with a Microsoft account) and the free templates on Microsoft Create are good for social graphics and quick flyers.

The catch is that none of them can open your old .pub files. And complex, multi-page print layouts are harder in Word than they were in Publisher.

Canva

Canva is the easiest switch for many church offices, schools and nonprofits. It has thousands of templates for bulletins, newsletters, flyers and social posts, and it’s easy to share designs with volunteers.

• Price: free plan; Canva Pro is about $144 a year for one person (pricing). Canva for Nonprofits is free for eligible registered charities, and Canva for Education is free for eligible K-12 teachers and their students.
• Best for: good-looking designs fast, and teams.
• Opens .pub? No. Canva accepts PDF, Word, PowerPoint and several design formats, but not Publisher files.
• Keep in mind: it’s web-based, so you’ll want reliable internet. Your designs live in your Canva account rather than as files on your computer.

Affinity

Affinity used to be a paid alternative to Adobe. Since Canva relaunched it in late October 2025, it has been one free app combining what were Affinity Photo, Designer and Publisher.

• Price: free. AI tools inside it need a paid Canva plan.
• Best for: real desktop publishing, like multi-page newsletters, booklets, annual reports and files for a commercial printer.
• Opens .pub? No. It imports PDF and InDesign (IDML) files, so bring old work in as PDF.
• Keep in mind: there’s more to learn than in Publisher, and it’s a desktop app for Windows and Mac.

Scribus

Scribus is a long-standing free, open-source layout program, built for print.

• Price: free.
• Best for: newsletters and booklets when you want a free, offline, open-source tool.
• Opens .pub? Yes, it can import .pub files using the same open-source importer as LibreOffice. Expect the same rough edges described below.
• Keep in mind: the interface feels dated, and it takes some getting used to.

LibreOffice Draw

LibreOffice Draw isn’t a full desktop-publishing app, but it’s the most practical free way to open .pub files and keep editing them.

• Price: free, as part of LibreOffice.
• Best for: opening and editing existing .pub files, and simple one- or two-page layouts.
• Opens .pub? Yes, for reading. It can’t save back to .pub, so save as .odg or export PDF.
• Keep in mind: long, complex documents are harder to manage than in a real layout app.

Adobe InDesign and Adobe Express

• InDesign is the industry standard for professional publishing, at about $22.99 a month on an annual plan. It doesn’t open .pub files. The old third-party plug-in for that is reported discontinued. It’s more than most church or school offices need.
• Adobe Express is Adobe’s simpler, Canva-style web app. It has a free plan, and Premium is about $9.99 a month. It doesn’t open .pub files either.

Marq, Swift Publisher, Pages and others

• Marq (called Lucidpress until 2022) is a web app built around brand templates that other people can fill in without breaking the design. That’s useful if many volunteers make flyers. It has a free plan with a few documents; check current paid pricing. No .pub import.
• Swift Publisher is a paid Mac app that feels a lot like Publisher, with templates for brochures, newsletters and labels (review). We couldn’t find any sign that it imports .pub files.
• Apple Pages is free on Mac and has a page-layout mode that works for simple newsletters. No .pub import.
• Google Docs and Slides are free and easy to share. They’re fine for simple bulletins, but weak for designed layouts. No .pub import.

What about apps that claim to open .pub files directly?

Since Publisher’s retirement, a few newer paid apps and Windows Store apps say they open .pub files natively for editing. Some may work well for your files. Before paying, try your own most complicated file in their free trial and compare it with a printed copy.

Keeping your own templates

Your old letterhead, bulletin and newsletter templates hold years of decisions about fonts, mastheads and spacing, so it’s worth carrying them over rather than starting from nothing:

• Keep editing in LibreOffice Draw. Convert each .pub template to ODG and it stays editable, with most of the layout intact, in free LibreOffice. Check each page against the original.
• Rebuild from a PDF. Convert the template to PDF and keep it beside you while you recreate it once in Word, Canva or Affinity. Canva and Affinity can also import the PDF as a starting point.
• Start from a ready-made template. Microsoft Create has free templates for Word and PowerPoint, Canva has thousands, and church offices can use the CRC Network’s free Canva bulletin template and its companion Word template.

Save the rebuilt version as a template in your new app (.dotx in Word, a template or a master copy elsewhere) so every new issue starts clean.

How to choose

• Weekly church bulletin or school newsletter, one person: Word or Canva. Rebuild the template once. Church offices: see church bulletins after Publisher.
• Many volunteers making flyers: Canva (check nonprofit or education eligibility) or Marq.
• Printed booklets, magazines, annual reports: Affinity (free) or Scribus (free). InDesign if you work with a design agency.
• On a Mac: Affinity, Pages or Swift Publisher. See also opening .pub files on a Mac.
• Mostly need to read old files, rarely make new ones: LibreOffice Draw, plus PDFs of your archive.

Related guides

• Microsoft Publisher end of life: dates and options
• How to open a .pub file without Publisher
• How to convert a Publisher file to Word
• What is a .pub file?