Although there has never been a version of Microsoft Publisher For Mac, we’ve tested and reviewed the best replacements for it on a Mac in 2026.
We looked at a range of options for all levels and budgets that support designing publications both in print and online.
All the tools we tested are suitable for creating various publications including newsletters, brochures, booklets, magazines, newspapers, leaflets, eBooks, flyers, banners, invitations and more.
Here then are best replacements for MS Publisher on a Mac in order of ranking.
| Software | Pricing | Templates | Collaboration Tools | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Swift Publisher | $19.99 (one-time) | 200+ built-in | No | Home publishing, CD/DVD labels, quick print layouts |
| Adobe InDesign | $22.99/month (CC) | Extensive library | Yes | Professional publishing, print industry standard |
| Apple Pages | Free with macOS | Limited templates | Yes (iCloud sync) | Simple desktop publishing, easy document sharing |
| Canva | Free plan available / Canva Pro from around $12.99 per month | Extensive | Yes (real-time) | Beginners, home users, schools, small businesses, quick Publisher-style layouts |
| Scribus | Free (open source) | Yes | No | Professional pre-press, open-source DTP on a budget |
| Marq | $10+/month | 500+ templates | Yes (real-time) | Cloud-based design, real-time team collaboration |
| Affinity Publisher | $69.99 (one-time) | Limited | No | Designers using other Affinity apps, budget InDesign alternative |
Table of Contents
1. Swift Publisher (Best Value)
If you want something that looks and feels like MS Publisher, then Swift Publisher is a user-friendly desktop publishing application that’s the best alternative to Publisher for beginners.
If monthly or annual subscriptions are not for you, Swift Publisher is excellent value for money too for just a one off purchase fee of $19.99.
It doesn’t require lots of learning like professional DTP software but produces slick results with minimal effort.
It also includes many professional features you get in expensive DTP software such as Master pages, guide lines, grid layers, tables and more.
It’s ideal for producing booklets, bulletins, flyers or brochures and makes rearranging elements such as images, tables and text very easy.
Swift Publisher has an extensive range of over 200 professional looking templates which you can customize and create layouts quickly.
There are also more advanced touches like the possibility to define bleeds and configure correct DPI for print publishing.
If you want an easy to use DTP app that’s similar to MS Publisher but without a steep learning curve or monthly subscription fees, then Swift Publisher is an excellent, value for money tool.
You can read our full Swift Publisher review here.
Pricing: Free Trial. Starting from $19.99.
Pros:
- One time purchase
- Easy to learn for beginners
- Similar interface to Microsoft Publisher
- Impressive professional level DTP layout tools
- Lots of templates
- Good value for money
Cons:
- Lacks professional desktop publishing tools
- Not suitable for complex layouts
- No stock photography or video integration
2. Adobe InDesign (Best Professional DTP)
Adobe InDesign is easily the best professional desktop publishing software for Mac by some distance and a great option for those that need something more powerful.
It’s used professionally for everything from creating stationary, flyers, annual reports, calendars and posters to professional magazines, online interactive digital publications and e-books.
InDesign has become far more accessible to the average user too with an easier to use layout that’s closer to the Microsoft Office style ribbon interface and toolbox.
Adobe has simplified InDesign a lot to appeal to a wider market and there are also plenty of easy to follow InDesign video tutorials to help you get to grips with the software.
More recently, Adobe has added its amazing Firefly AI text-to-image capabilities to InDesign which allows you to conjure any image you want by giving it a description. We recently tried this in Adobe Express and were amazed at the way it turns any non-graphic designer into a pro.
If you need professional print capabilities, InDesign also uses a clever “PreFlight” system to check documents for issues to meet the requirements of commercial printing.
You can also check our full review of Adobe InDesign for a more in-depth look.
Pricing: $22.99/m or 60% off with Creative Cloud Educational Discount.
Pros:
- Industry standard app for desktop publishing
- Incredibly powerful at creating layouts
- Thousands of professional templates
- Creates amazing offline and interactive online publications
- Mac desktop app and can be used offline and online
- Uses Adobe Firefly AI text-to-art generator
Cons:
- Limited PDF editing options
- Subscription pricing
3. Pages (Best Apple Alternative)
Pages is Apple’s free word processing software for Macs and is the closest thing you’ll find to a free replacement for Microsoft Publisher on a Mac.
Pages used to be part of Apple’s iWork suite but nowadays its included for free with any new Mac and is also available to download from the Mac App Store.
Although Pages is more commonly used for word processing, it is also capable of desktop publishing with lots of templates and layout tools for publications of all kind.
Working-out how to format things, insert tables and move elements around the page is not very intuitive if you’re used to Microsoft’s prouducts but only until you’re familiar with the Apple way of doing things.
You can read our full review of Apple Pages for more.
Pricing: Free in macOS
Pros:
- Made by Apple and free to use
- Suitable for both word processing and layout design
- Easy to use (when you get used to it)
- Lots of templates
Cons:
- No professional prepress tools
- No bleed preview, separations, or CMYK features
- Not suitable for professional desktop publishing
- Focused more on word processing than DTP
4. Canva (Best For Beginners)
Canva is one of the easiest Microsoft Publisher alternatives for Mac users and in 2026 it’s a popular choice for anyone that wants to create flyers, newsletters, brochures, posters and simple publications without using professional desktop publishing software.
Canva is available both in a web browser and via a native Canva desktop app for Mac, and everything is done using a simple drag-and-drop editor. There’s very little learning curve, especially for users coming from Microsoft Publisher.
One of Canva’s main strengths is its huge range of templates covering most of the types of documents Publisher users typically create. These can be quickly customized with your own text, images and branding, making it easy to produce good-looking results in a short amount of time.
Canva also supports real-time collaboration, allowing multiple users to work on the same design at once, which makes it useful for small teams, schools and organizations.
For print work, Canva can export high-resolution PDF Print files, but it lacks professional prepress tools such as full CMYK control, color separations and advanced bleed settings. Because of this, it’s better suited to casual or small business publishing rather than professional print production.
Overall, if you’re looking for a simple, modern replacement for Microsoft Publisher on a Mac, Canva is one of the most accessible options available.
Pricing: Free plan available / Canva Pro from around $12.99 per month
Pros:
- Very easy to use
- Huge selection of templates
- Native Mac app and browser-based version
- Real-time collaboration
Cons:
- Limited print and prepress controls
- Requires an internet connection
- Not suitable for complex or professional DTP layouts
5. Scribus (Best Open Source Alternative)
Scribus is a free open source layout software and although it’s not the most polished product out there, it is 100% free to use.
Scribus is popular among amateur authors for creating books but can also be used to create magazines, brochures, newsletters and posters.
If you’ve used a desktop publishing program before, the interface to Scribus will look familiar but you really have to feel your way around it.
Note that at the moment, only the development version of Scribus 1.5.5 or newer works on 64 bit versions of macOS including Sonoma and it can be unstable and crash randomly.
There is still no officially supported, stable Apple Silicon-native version of Scribus, although experimental builds exist and most users rely on Rosetta.
You can check out our full review of Scribus for more.
Pricing: Free
Pros:
- Free open source desktop software
- Surprisingly powerful layout tools
- Great for book publishing
Cons:
- Not suitable for professional publishing
- Only development version works on Apple Silicon Macs
6. Marq (Best Cloud Based Alternative)
Marq (previously known as Lucidpress) promotes itself as a “brand templating platform” and is an easy to use online desktop publishing software.
Marq is best suited to teams and organizations with strict brand control needs rather than individual designers.
The platform is extremely user friendly and helps you to create extremely professional looking print and digital publications including magazines, newsletters, posters, flyers, reports, digital magazines and more.
There’s nothing to download with Marq as it’s all cloud based and the basic version is free to use although way too limited for serious publishing work.
Marq allows you to easily drag and drop elements, import text from Google Docs, add tables, buttons and insert interactive media such as YouTube videos.
It’s very easy to do common tasks like change the size of your canvas, undo edits and edit headers and footers in Marq.
One of the most striking things about Marq is the huge range of professional looking templates ranging from posters and invitations to gift certificates and business cards.
Templates are optimized for high quality 300dpi printing although this is only available in the Professional Plan of Marq.
You can even import Adobe InDesign files into Marq although the results often aren’t perfect and you’ll find a lot of elements missing.
The basic single user version of Marq is completely free to use but is limited to 3 documents and 3 pages so it’s not suitable for serious desktop publishing.
To remove these limits and get other benefits such as print quality PDFs, document embedding and premium templates, the Professional Plans starts at $10 per month.
You can check out out full Marq Review for more.
Pricing: Free for 3 documents / Plans start at $10 per month
Pros:
- Works on all platforms including Mac online
- Very easy to use
- Lots of templates
- Excellent for brand building
- Limited free version
Cons:
- Too basic for complex layouts
- No Mac desktop app
- InDesign import tool doesn’t work well
7. Affinity Publisher (Best One Time Purchase)
Affinity Publisher is a slick desktop publishing software for magazines, marketing material, flyers, brochures, newsletters, social media templates and more.
It has become a popular option for all those Mac users that want a one-off purchase desktop publishing software as there are no subscriptions involved.
Affinity Publisher is suitable for professional DTP work on a Mac and is also integrated into Affinity’s suite of design software which includes Affinity Designer for graphic design and Affinity Photo for image editing.
It also includes professional touches like Pantone support, end-to-end CMYK and ICC Color management making it a far more powerful alternative to MS Publisher.
The Affinity Suite, including Affinity Publisher can also be used on iPad to edit on the move or when you’re away from your Mac although the iOS app costs extra.
It also works on Windows so if you want to collaborate on desktop publishing projects with PC users it’s easy to share files and edit them together.
There’s no free trial of Affinity Publisher but it is available as a one-off purchase for $69.99.
Pricing: $69.99
Pros:
- One time purchase
- Professional level desktop publishing software
- Pantone, CMYK and ICC support
- Excellent iPad app
- Works across macOS and Windows
Cons:
- Does not support major formats like .docx, .txt or .rtf
- Interface can be quite overwhelming for beginners
- No free trial
FAQ
Is Microsoft Publisher available for Mac?
No. Microsoft has never released a Mac version of Publisher, and it has never been included in Office for Mac or Microsoft 365 on macOS.
Microsoft Publisher is also being discontinued in October 2026, after which it will no longer be supported or updated.
What should Microsoft Publisher users switch to after 2026?
That depends on how you use Publisher:
- For simple layouts (flyers, newsletters, brochures): Swift Publisher or Canva
- For professional print and publishing work: Adobe InDesign or Affinity Publisher
- For free, basic publishing: Apple Pages or Scribus
Microsoft itself recommends using Word, PowerPoint, or Designer, but these are not true desktop publishing replacements.
Can any Mac apps open Microsoft Publisher (.PUB) files?
No Mac desktop publishing software can open Microsoft Publisher’s native .PUB file format.
The only practical workaround is to:
- Open the file in Publisher on Windows
- Export it as PDF or XPS
- Import the exported file into a Mac publishing app
Even then, formatting issues are common.
Can you convert Publisher files automatically on a Mac?
No. There is no reliable tool that can fully convert Publisher files into editable Mac-native formats such as Pages, InDesign, or Affinity Publisher.
PDF conversion is the only viable option, and results vary depending on layout complexity.
Can you run Microsoft Publisher on a Mac?
Yes, but only by running Windows on a Mac.
The most practical way to do this is by using a virtual machine rather than dual booting. Publisher itself runs well in a VM, but this approach is best reserved for users that must keep access to existing Publisher files.
What is the closest alternative to Microsoft Publisher on Mac?
For most users, Swift Publisher and Canva are the closest replacements in terms of ease of use, templates, and layout flexibility.
They are far simpler than professional tools like Adobe InDesign and better suited to typical Publisher-style tasks.
What is the best professional alternative to Microsoft Publisher?
Adobe InDesign is the industry standard for professional desktop publishing and print production.
If you prefer a one-time purchase instead of a subscription, Affinity Publisher is the best professional alternative on macOS.
What is the best free alternative to Microsoft Publisher on Mac?
- Apple Pages – best for simple layouts and casual publishing
- Scribus – best for advanced layouts if you’re willing to deal with a steeper learning curve
Neither is a direct replacement for Publisher, but both can handle basic publishing tasks.
Which Publisher alternatives work best on Apple Silicon Macs?
Swift Publisher, Adobe InDesign, Affinity Publisher, Pages, Canva, and Marq all run natively on Apple Silicon Macs.
Scribus currently relies on Rosetta or experimental builds and is less reliable on newer macOS versions.
Can these Publisher alternatives collaborate in real time?
Yes, but only some of them:
- Canva: Yes (real-time collaboration)
- Marq: Yes (real-time collaboration)
- Adobe InDesign: Yes (via Creative Cloud)
- Swift Publisher, Pages, Scribus, Affinity Publisher: No real-time collaboration
Which alternatives are best for print-quality publishing?
For commercial or professional printing, the best options are:
- Adobe InDesign
- Affinity Publisher
- Scribus
Tools like Canva, Pages, and Swift Publisher are better suited to home, education, and small business use rather than high-end print production.