Publisher alternative in 2026

I am in the same boat as Amanda - I use Publisher for all kinds of work and volunteer designing, and I know it well. I cannot believe it will be retired! Why? How hard (ore expensive) can it be to keep Publisher and maybe update its relevance (if that is what Microsoft engineers are so concerned about)? Will I be able to convert my Publisher documents to whatever Microsoft has in store next? It takes a lot of time to learn a new format. This seems like an avoidable stress to many lives.

I agree with you. I've used Publisher for 25 years to do my 12 page quarterly newsletter.

Word is a total loss for that kind of thing. I hope that one of the Microsoft people who made the decision to eliminate Publisher tells us why. I'll bet you he never used either Publisher or Word.

Thank you David. That's a very good idea.

I just looked for Publisher on Amazon.uk and unfortunately it's unavailable.

It would be great to know where I can purchase this.

That is a very helpful suggestion, David. Perhaps Microsoft could confirm that Windows 11 and versions to come will support a stand-alone Publisher program version such as that which many of us purchased, independently, in the 'earlier days'! The ending of Publisher will devalue the use of 365 in my opinion. It certainly will for me!

Ray Fowke.

I've also used Publisher for 20 years. I've made posters, booklets, cards and newsletter on it. I have Office 2010 and have noticed that I can no longer access clip art so I wondered if I could buy a stand alone Publisher, because that is all I use out of the Office package. I noticed that the new Office didn't come with Publisher and landed here.

This is very disappointing and it is also very frustrating to spend hundreds on an Office package, most of which I don't need, just to have to buy another every three or four years. And now to find that it has been removed and none of the Publishers will be supported after 2026. Like all the other folks here, I don't understand why you have to do this. People who are using this on work computers don't have the time to learn a new program! I hope I can find another program that is comfortable to use so that I can leave this nonsense behind. Very annoying!