Publisher alternative in 2026

Hello Sophia,

Do you work with Microsoft? I have been using Publisher for over 20 years and it's so easy to use to creative annual reports, newsletters, manuals etc.

Canva is good but not user friendly to creative boxes, InDesign is expensive and has a learning curve. I hope Microsoft can create a Publisher equivalent. Why is it being retired anyway? Now I will have hundred of Publisher documents that I can't covert into anything else.

Thank you.

Amanda

Dear Microsoft Team,

I must express our deep frustration regarding the current situation with Microsoft Publisher. Our company has relied on Publisher for over 25 years, accumulating over 7,000 files that would be nearly impossible to redesign or import into any other Microsoft product without have to do major revisions.

This is completely unacceptable. We urgently need a response outlining our real options moving forward. At the very least, these Publisher files should allow for straightforward conversion to Word (keeping all styles, formats etc... in tack without needing to redo the whole project), which is the alternative being suggested to us.

It’s extremely unprofessional for a software company of your stature to leave users in this predicament. We urge you to reconsider your approach—either by maintaining the product or ensuring that users can seamlessly continue using it with Microsoft 365.

We look forward to your prompt response.

Sophia, you summed up my thoughts perfectly. I am a church secretary, and I also have used Publisher for over 20 years to create weekly bulletins, flyers, letters and all my other publishing needs. I absolutely abhor Word, and hardly ever use it! Microsoft, please re-think this decision to discontinue Publisher! You have no other product that has the functionality and flexibility of Publisher.

Hello Sophia,

I am very destressed that Publisher is being discontinued. Like, Amanda, I have used Publisher for over 20 years. Publisher is easy to use and is perfect for any document. As a first grade teacher, I used it every day for visual aides, letters and teaching helps. I still use it for teaching music to small children. Word is nowhere as easy to use as Publisher. Power Point is formatted differently. I have looked, and there is nothing out there that compares to Publisher. I cannot understand why you would discontinue such a valuable program.

I would hope that enough of your customers are as unhappy about this as I, and that perhaps Microsoft would reconsider this terrible decision on their part.

Sincerely,

Jan

You are welcome.

Don't forget the easiest solution...buy a free standing copy of Publisher. I personally prefer legacy versions as MSFT started degrading Publisher as of Pub 2013. If you can find a copy of Pub 2010 and turn off automatic Office updates, you should be able to use that copy into the future. You can also run multiple versions at the same time...

DavidF