Microsoft Publisher End of Life: October 13, 2026
Microsoft is discontinuing Publisher. Here is what that means for your documents, your workflow, and your .pub files, and what you can do about it before the deadline.
What's Happening
After more than 30 years, Microsoft is ending Publisher. The application was first released in 1991 and became a staple for organizations that needed to produce printed materials without hiring a graphic designer. Churches used it for bulletins. Schools used it for newsletters. Small businesses used it for flyers and brochures.
Microsoft has been signaling this move for years. Publisher was never ported to the web, never made available on Mac, and never received the modernization that Word, Excel, and PowerPoint got. With the rise of cloud-first tools, Microsoft decided to sunset Publisher rather than rebuild it.
The official end-of-life date is October 13, 2026. After that date, Publisher will be fully removed from Microsoft 365, and no further support of any kind will be provided.
Timeline of Events
Publisher removed from new Microsoft 365 subscriptions
Microsoft stopped including Publisher in new Microsoft 365 Business and Enterprise plans. Existing subscribers retained access.
Publisher removed from Microsoft 365 renewal packages
As subscriptions renew, Publisher is no longer part of the Microsoft 365 app suite. Users begin losing access upon renewal.
Publisher reaches end of life
The official end-of-life date. Publisher is fully removed from Microsoft 365. No more security updates, bug fixes, or technical support from Microsoft.
Perpetual licenses continue, unsupported
Users with Publisher 2016, 2019, or 2021 perpetual licenses can still run the software, but it receives no updates. The .pub format remains locked to Publisher.
What Happens to Your .pub Files
Your .pub files will not disappear. They will still sit on your hard drive, in your SharePoint, or wherever you saved them. But without Publisher to open them, they become effectively inaccessible.
The .pub format is not supported by any other Microsoft application. Word cannot open them. PowerPoint cannot open them. Microsoft Designer cannot open them. The format is undocumented and proprietary, and there is no "open with" alternative built into Windows.
If you have perpetual licenses (Publisher 2016, 2019, or 2021), you can continue using the installed software to open your files. But those versions will not receive security patches, and they will eventually become incompatible with future versions of Windows. This is a temporary reprieve, not a long-term solution.
The bottom line: if you care about the content in your .pub files, you need to convert them to another format before you lose the ability to do so easily.
What Are Your Options?
Convert to PDF
Loses editabilityYou can open each .pub file in Publisher and save it as a PDF before the deadline. This preserves the visual appearance of your documents, but you lose all editability. You cannot change text, swap images, or update layouts in a PDF. If you need to update a newsletter next month, you are starting from scratch.
Switch to Adobe InDesign
Too expensive for mostInDesign is the industry standard for professional page layout, but it costs $22.99/month (or $263.88/year) and has a steep learning curve. It also cannot open .pub files. You would need to recreate every document manually. For churches, schools, and small organizations, InDesign is overkill in both price and complexity.
Use Canva
Too simple for page layoutCanva is excellent for social media graphics and simple flyers, but it is not a desktop publishing tool. It lacks precise positioning, master pages, multi-page document support for print, and the kind of layout control Publisher users expect. It also cannot import .pub files.
Use Copisto
Built for thisCopisto was purpose-built as a Publisher replacement. It imports .pub files directly, provides a familiar editing experience with text boxes, image frames, and master pages, and costs $10/month or $120 for a lifetime license. It runs in your browser on Mac, Windows, Linux, and Chromebook, and you can start migrating files today.
Save Your .pub Files
The best time to migrate your Publisher files is now, while you still have Publisher available to verify the results, and while you have time to fix any edge cases before the deadline.
Copisto's migration tool lets you upload your .pub files in bulk. The conversion happens automatically, and you get an editable document on the other side. No manual recreation, no copy-pasting text, no re-inserting images.
Here is what to do:
- Gather your .pub files. Check your Documents folder, shared drives, SharePoint, and anywhere else Publisher files might live.
- Create a Copisto account. The free trial lets you test the conversion with a few files before committing.
- Upload and convert. Use Copisto's migration tool to batch-convert your files.
- Review and adjust. Open each converted document, verify the layout, and make any needed tweaks.
- Keep creating. Use Copisto going forward for all your desktop publishing needs.
Don't wait until October 2026
Start migrating your Publisher files now. The earlier you begin, the more time you have to verify results and prepare your organization for the transition.