Why is Publisher being discontinued?

Debbie Hays 10

I am very upset that Publisher will no longer be supported or will be used in Microsoft 365. I have used this program for the majority of my work and it upsets me that I will lose all of my past work and have to adjust all my layouts and projects through a program that does not feature what can be accomplished through Publisher. Publisher has a lot of features that Word does not have. It is easier to do layout - adding items and publishing documents through Publisher. If you do not want to include it in the package deal than I would like to see it as an add-on.

PLEASE consider this option!!!

[Moderator note: personal info removed]

Rheteeter 5 Reputation points

2026-09-10T15:30:43.28+00:00

You cannot convert Publisher files to Word files. They will not convert. This is absolute nonsense!!
Joan Styve 5 Reputation points

2026-09-13T22:58:22.7033333+00:00

Yes - Why? I am 85 years old. I use publisher to maintain address lists for over 170 other old people. Keeping up the information is enough - learning a new app is asking too much. . BTW - It had been 180 people, but we are dying off. Mmmm - Maybe I should have gone with WordPerfect all those years ago.
P M 0 Reputation points

2026-09-23T23:08:46.1866667+00:00

I experienced the same, Word is fine into publisher but Publisher into words with ample of Image FX or MailMerge Data...

not working... i use publisher for data base publishing making sure everything is printed where it belongs to.

I have a workaround via 2dream.studii that can read publisher files with minor issues but its still beta. I tried affinity and affinity publisher... they are OK but not as office integrated as publisher.
Lucinda McDermott 0 Reputation points

2026-10-09T15:10:35.54+00:00

Totally agree with this. It seems clear that MS has killed publisher because of their relationship to Canva. Canva for free is ridiculously limited, and the paid version is so steeped in AI it robs the creator of any say or creativity. Publisher is user friendly, and FREE! By taking it away, MS continues to prove that you don't care about your customers, only the almighty dollar. The "Oh well, you can use word or powerpt is BS". No you cannot do the same applications. Bring Publisher back. A recent conversation with a Geek Squad about this--they hear it from their customers ALL. THE. TIME.

BRING PUBLISHER BACK-- prove that you actually do listen to your customers.

6 answers

AI answer

2026-04-27T14:30:58.67+00:00
Microsoft Publisher is being retired as part of Microsoft’s broader effort to focus development and support on other Microsoft 365 apps and newer experiences.

According to the retirement notice:

Publisher will reach end of life in October 2026.

After that time, Publisher will no longer be included in Microsoft 365, and existing on‑premises suites that include Publisher will no longer be supported.

Microsoft 365 subscribers will no longer be able to open or edit Publisher files in Publisher after that date.

The documentation explains that many common Publisher scenarios are already supported in other Microsoft 365 apps such as Word and PowerPoint, and it points users to those apps (and to templates on Microsoft Create) as the long‑term direction instead of continuing to invest in Publisher.

For existing work, the guidance is:

Continue using Publisher with its current functionality until October 2026.

Before that date, convert important .pub files to formats like PDF or Word so they remain accessible after Publisher is no longer available in Microsoft 365.

If using a perpetual (non‑subscription) version of Publisher, it can still be installed and used after support ends, but it will no longer receive support once Office LTSC 2021 reaches end of support on October 1, 2026.

There is no indication in the documentation that Publisher will be offered as a separate add‑on for Microsoft 365 after retirement; instead, the official path is to move scenarios to other Microsoft 365 apps and convert existing files.

References:

Microsoft Publisher will no longer be supported after October 2026

Publisher help & learning

Publisher help

I have thousands of Publisher files; I'm not opening each one individually to convert them. What is this BS about retiring publisher and losing access to all those files? This is 20 years of work that my business is going to lose, we won't recover from th - Microsoft Q&A
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Why is Publisher being discontinued?

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