Quick answer: For most people moving off Publisher, Word is the closest replacement for newsletters and leaflets, and Canva is the easiest for flyers, posters and social posts. If you want free desktop publishing with proper page layout, try Scribus. Whatever you pick, first get your old .pub files out with a free converter or a PDF export.
Microsoft retired Publisher in October 2026 and didn’t replace it with a program that opens its files. If your school, club, church, charity or small business made its newsletters, flyers and price lists in Publisher, you need somewhere new to make them. This guide compares the realistic options for the jobs Publisher was actually used for, and says plainly where each one falls short.
Step 1: rescue your existing files first
None of the alternatives below opens .pub files perfectly, so get your content out before you choose:
- If Publisher still runs on a computer you can reach: open each file and use File → Export → Create PDF/XPS. That keeps the exact layout.
- If it doesn’t: convert the .pub file to Word or PDF with Altto to recover the words and pictures. It runs in your browser and uploads nothing. For a whole archive, use bulk conversion.
The alternatives, compared
| Program | Cost | Best for | Opens old .pub files? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Microsoft Word | Included with Microsoft 365 | Newsletters, leaflets, letters, certificates | No |
| Microsoft PowerPoint | Included with Microsoft 365 | Posters, banners, signs, one-page flyers | No |
| Canva | Free plan; paid Pro | Flyers, posters, social media, quick designs | No |
| Scribus | Free | Proper desktop publishing, print-ready layouts | Yes, imports many files |
| LibreOffice Draw | Free | Opening and tidying old .pub files | Yes, imports many files |
| Altto Layout | Free, in your browser | Editing old .pub files; flyers, newsletters, posters | Yes, with their layout |
| Affinity Publisher, Adobe InDesign | Check current pricing | Professional design and print work | No |
Prices and plans change often, so check each maker’s site before you decide.
Microsoft Word: the closest match for most people
Microsoft’s own advice for former Publisher users is to use Word for most jobs (newsletters, invoices, labels, certificates and cards) and PowerPoint for posters, banners and signs. For typical Publisher work, Word does well. Word has newsletter, flyer, brochure and certificate templates (File → New, then search), multi-column layouts, text boxes and picture wrapping. If you already pay for Microsoft 365, it costs nothing extra.
Where it falls short: precise placement of many overlapping boxes is fiddlier than in Publisher, and very design-heavy pages can be frustrating.
Canva: easiest for flyers and posters
Canva runs in a web browser and has thousands of ready-made templates for flyers, posters, menus and social posts. Many community groups find it quicker than Publisher ever was. There’s a free plan; the paid plan adds more templates, brand colours and features such as resizing a design for different uses.
Where it falls short: long, text-heavy documents such as a 12-page parish newsletter are easier in Word, and your designs live in Canva’s account rather than as files on your computer.
Scribus: free, proper desktop publishing
Scribus is free, open-source desktop publishing software for Windows, Mac and Linux, and it can import many Publisher files. It’s the nearest thing to a like-for-like free replacement for layout work, with frames, master pages and print-ready PDF export.
Where it falls short: it takes longer to learn than Publisher did, and imported files may need tidying.
Altto Layout: edit .pub files in your browser
Altto Layout is our own free desktop-publishing editor. It runs in your browser, with nothing to install and nothing uploaded. It opens .pub files with their layout (text boxes, linked text, pictures and clipart, shapes, master pages), lets you edit them in much the same way as Publisher, and saves them as PDF (with bleed for printing), pictures or Word. It can’t save back to .pub; no tool outside Microsoft can. Files from Publisher 2000 and older open as text only.
LibreOffice Draw: for opening old files
LibreOffice is a free office suite, and its Draw app imports many .pub files with much of their layout. It’s better as a way to open and export old files than as your everyday newsletter tool.
Professional tools
Affinity Publisher and Adobe InDesign are full professional layout programs. They are excellent for print design but more than most Publisher users need, and neither opens .pub files.
Which should you choose?
- A monthly newsletter or regular leaflet: Word.
- Event flyers, posters and social posts: Canva.
- Print layouts, and you want free software you install: Scribus.
- Just need to read or reprint old files: convert them to PDF and keep those.
Frequently asked questions
What is Microsoft's replacement for Publisher?
Is there a free alternative to Microsoft Publisher?
Can Canva open Publisher files?
Can Word open Publisher files?
What happens to my old .pub files?
Rescue your old Publisher files
Get the words and pictures out of any .pub file as Word or PDF. Free, nothing uploaded.
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