Microsoft Publisher end of life: what happened, and what to do with your files

The short version

• Publisher is retired. Microsoft announced it in February 2024 and carried it out in October 2026.
• Microsoft 365 subscribers lost Publisher starting October 1, 2026.
• One-time-purchase copies (Publisher 2016, 2019, 2021) still install and run, but get no more security fixes. The last of them, Publisher 2021, lost support on October 13, 2026.
• Your .pub files are safe where they are. You just need another way to open them: free LibreOffice Draw, a colleague with an old copy of Publisher, or a converter like the one on this site.

We’re an independent service and aren’t affiliated with Microsoft.

Is Microsoft Publisher being discontinued?

Yes. It isn’t just “being” discontinued anymore; it has been. Microsoft won’t release a new version, it isn’t included in the newest one-time-purchase Office (Office 2024 and Office LTSC 2024), and it has been removed from Microsoft 365. Publisher first shipped in 1991, so this ends a 35-year run.

What does “Microsoft Publisher will no longer be supported after October 2026” mean?

That’s the title of Microsoft’s official notice about the retirement, and IT departments repeated the wording in their own messages. In plain terms:

• If you had Publisher through a Microsoft 365 subscription, the app went away. You can’t open or edit .pub files with it anymore.
• If you bought Publisher outright (on its own or in Office Professional, Office 2016, 2019 or 2021), it keeps working, but Microsoft no longer fixes bugs or security problems in it.
• In both cases, your files aren’t touched.

Can I still use Publisher after October 2026?

It depends on how you got it:

• Through Microsoft 365: no. Microsoft says subscribers can’t access Publisher after October 1, 2026, and it’s no longer part of any Microsoft 365 plan.
• As a one-time purchase (Publisher 2016, 2019 or 2021): yes. Microsoft says you can still install and use a perpetual copy. It just gets no more security fixes or support, so see which versions still work for what that means in practice.

Will my Publisher files still work?

Yes. The .pub files themselves haven’t changed, wherever they’re stored: your computer, OneDrive, SharePoint or a shared drive. What’s gone, for most people, is the app that opened them. You can still open them in free LibreOffice Draw, convert them, or ask someone with a one-time-purchase copy of Publisher to save PDFs. The options are laid out by situation below. If a particular file refuses to open, see Publisher file won’t open?

Timeline: what happened and when

October 1 or October 13? Why you see two dates

Both dates are real. They apply to different people:

• October 1, 2026 is when Microsoft 365 subscribers lost Publisher.
• October 13, 2026 is when support ended for perpetual (one-time-purchase) Publisher. That date is tied to Office 2021 and Office LTSC 2021, and Microsoft’s lifecycle pages list both as ending on October 13, 2026.

The confusion comes partly from Microsoft itself. An earlier version of its Publisher page gave October 1 for the perpetual version too, and some articles repeated that. The current page and Microsoft’s September 2026 reminder both say October 13 for perpetual copies.

What Microsoft said

Text in quotation marks is Microsoft’s exact wording. Where we couldn’t confirm the exact wording, we paraphrase and say so.

From Microsoft’s notice, Microsoft Publisher will no longer be supported after October 2026:

“In October 2026, Microsoft Publisher will reach its end of life.”

Paraphrase of the next sentence of the same notice: after that, Publisher is no longer included in Microsoft 365, and existing on-premises suites are no longer supported.

From Microsoft’s Publisher retirement FAQ, first a paraphrase: Microsoft 365 subscribers lose access to Publisher from October 1, 2026, as Microsoft’s removal update reaches their computers. Then, in Microsoft’s words:

“Support for the perpetual version of Publisher will end on October 13, 2026, when Office LTSC 2021 and Consumer Office 2021 reach end of support.”

“However, if you have the Perpetual version of Publisher, although support will end, you will still be able to install and use the app beyond this date.”

On what to use instead (Microsoft’s notice):

“Many common Publisher scenarios including the creation of professionally branded templates, envelope and label printing, and producing customized calendars, business cards, and programs are already available in other Microsoft 365 apps such as Word and PowerPoint.”

Microsoft also recommends converting existing files to PDF or Word, and suggests searching your PC, OneDrive and SharePoint for “.pub” to find them (FAQ).

Which Publisher versions still work?

Is it safe to keep using an unsupported copy? For opening and converting your own files, it’s a reasonable bridge. Microsoft’s Office 2021 end-of-support page says the apps keep working but get no more security fixes. So be more careful with .pub files from people you don’t know, and don’t plan on keeping that copy forever. A new computer or a reinstall can turn into a hassle.

What Microsoft offers for your files, and what it doesn’t

What it offers. Both need Publisher installed:

• Save as PDF from inside Publisher: File > Export > Create PDF/XPS Document, or File > Save As > PDF (Microsoft’s steps).
• A sample PowerShell script for bulk conversion to PDF, linked from Microsoft’s retirement FAQ. It’s called Convert-PubFileToPDF.ps1, and Microsoft describes it as a sample to adapt and test. It needs a working, licensed copy of Publisher on a Windows PC. It can work through a folder and its subfolders, keeps going after errors, and skips any file that already has a PDF with the same name (how to run it). Our bulk conversion guide compares it with the other options.

What it doesn’t offer:

• No Publisher viewer. Microsoft’s own support page says Publisher doesn’t have one.
• No .pub import in Word, PowerPoint or Designer. Publisher can export text to Word, but Microsoft says you can’t save a whole publication, with its text, graphics and layout, as a Word document in one step.
• No route without Publisher. If nobody in your organization still has a perpetual copy, Microsoft’s tools can’t help. That’s where LibreOffice and converters come in.

What to do with your files, by situation

You still have Publisher installed

You’re in the best spot, so use it while it lasts. Save a PDF of anything you might need to print or share. For more than a handful of files, try Microsoft’s script or the other bulk options. Keep the .pub originals too.

Publisher disappeared with your Microsoft 365 subscription

You have three free or low-cost routes:

1. LibreOffice Draw (free) opens .pub files on Windows, Mac and Linux, lets you edit them, and exports PDF. See how to open a .pub file.
2. Ask someone with an old copy of Publisher (a colleague, another church office, the district office) to save your key files as PDF.
3. Use our converter to convert a .pub file to PDF, plus page images, an editable ODG and text-only Word. You get a free, watermarked preview of every page for the first 10 files in a batch, then a one-time $5 to $59 depending on how many files convert (pricing). No account, and files are deleted after 24 hours.

You only need to read or print an old file

Make a PDF and you’re done. See how to open a .pub file without Publisher.

You edit the same bulletin or newsletter every week

In the short term, open the .pub in LibreOffice Draw, or convert it to ODG, and keep going. For the long term, rebuild the template once in a tool you’ll keep using. Our guide to Publisher alternatives compares Word, Canva, Affinity, Scribus and others, including which of them can open .pub files (very few can).

You need the words in Word

See how to convert a Publisher file to Word. The short answer: go through a PDF, or use a text-only Word file if you only need the words.

You’re on a Mac

Publisher never existed for Mac, so this is nothing new, but the options have improved. See opening a Publisher file on a Mac.

You manage an archive of hundreds or thousands of files

Plan before you convert: take an inventory, remove duplicates, keep the originals, and check samples. The bulk conversion guide has a checklist and working commands.

Related guides

• What is a .pub file?
• How to open a .pub file without Publisher
• Microsoft Publisher alternatives
• Bulk converting Publisher files