Why is Publisher being phased out, and what is Microsoft replacing it with? Will Microsoft 365 be cheaper since they are phasing out the program?

I so agree with everyone. I have been using Publisher for personal use and for our Church since its inception in the 1990s. It is intuitive, simple to learn, simple to teach others and does exactly what we need. I am trying very hard to use Word for the same purposes but it is just NOT a viable alternative. We have a page of advertisements at the back of our parish bulletin - even transferring that to a jpeg doesn't work properly when inserting it into the Word document PowerPoint is just as, if not more, clunky!. They too Works away from us - another easy to use program and now Publisher goes the same way. So now I have to find the time to convert over 30 years of documents to pdf - so much of our family and not-for-profit history is going to be lost as we don't have the time or the money to do that transfer. I don't want Copilot or AI - I wrote a letter but AI didn't find a better way of expressing it! I just want Publisher - please re-think this really stupid decision.

I've been an entrepreneur since 1980. I've owned many businesses, in the hospitality industry, in the wholesale distribution industry, and many others. One of the first things I learned was that as a business owner it's much easier to add a product or service than to take one away, especially a popular one. It's also important to ask and listen to customers. This isn't the first time Microsoft has done this. I was a dedicated Works user. I have never found Office to be as intuitive. I used Publisher to create newsletters in the early 2000s. It was intuitive and extremely useful. Text, pictures, order forms, etc. I could publish a 12 page newsletter in 20 minutes. Word and Excel don't hold a candle to the ease with which Publisher makes the task. Many others as well.

Seriously, Microsoft, balancing the budget on the backs of Publisher users?

I have the same concerns about Publisher being eliiminated. Like many others, I have worked hard to learn Publisher for doing volunteer work for non-profit organizations. I am a retired senior. This change is going to be a big problem for a lot of small organizations. Most of their volunteers are senior citizens. Where are we supposed to go to learn an entire new procedure? Really disappointed in this announcement that Microsoft Publisher will no longer be available.

You can let Microsoft know what you think by posting feedback in the portal at https://feedbackportal.microsoft.com/feedback/, or by voting for existing feedback. As far as I know, there isn't a specific category for Publisher, so you will have to post in the Word forum, for example.

Note that Microsoft decision makers won't read the threads here in the Microsoft Community.

Not good news Microsoft!! A huge increase in subscription fees and in my opinion a downgrade to the office suite. I would be happy to use Word an alternative program to Publisher, but Words image handling needs to be greatly improved first.Canva will be my next choice otherwise unfortunately.