Comparison of desktop publishing software
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The following is a comparison of major desktop publishing software.
Overview
This table provides general software information including the developer, latest stable version, the year in which the software was first released, and the license under which it is available.
| Desktop publishing software | Developer(s) | Latest stable version | Initial release | License |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Affinity Publisher | Serif Europe | 2.3.0 30 November 2023[1] | 2019 | Proprietary |
| Apache OpenOffice Writer | Apache Software Foundation and others | 4.1.16[2]  10 November 2025 |
2002[3] | Apache License 2.0 (Apache OpenOffice 3.4 and later) |
| Canva | Canva Pty Ltd | Rolling updates | 2013 | Proprietary SaaS |
| Collabora Online[4] | Collabora | 25.04.9.3[5] 16 March 2026 |
2016 [6] | MPL-2.0 and others |
| CorelDRAW | Corel | 24.5 September 18, 2023 | 1989 | Proprietary |
| InDesign | Adobe | CC 2024 20.0 October 2024 | 1999 | Proprietary Trialware |
| LibreOffice Draw[7] | The Document Foundation | 26.2.1[8] 26 February 2026 |
2011 | LGPL v3 |
| LyX | The LyX Team | 2.5.0[9] 21 February 2026 |
1995 | GPL v2[10] |
| Marq | Draper | Rolling updates | 2013 | Proprietary SaaS |
| Microsoft Publisher | Microsoft Corporation | 2021 October 5, 2021[11] | 1991 | Proprietary Trialware |
| Pages | Apple Inc. | 13.2 September 21, 2023[12] | 2005 | Proprietary |
| QuarkXPress | Quark, Inc. | 2024 20.0.0 November 14, 2023 | 1987 | Proprietary |
| Scribus | The Scribus Team | 1.6.4[13] 20 April 2025 | 2003 | GPL |
| The Print Shop | Broderbund | 23.1 2009[a] | 1984 | Proprietary |
| VivaDesigner | Viva Vertrieb GmbH | 11.4.0.9212 18 July 2025[14] | 1992 | Proprietary |
| Desktop publishing software | Developer(s) | Latest stable version | Initial release | License |
OS and Online support
This table shows Operating System (OS) compatibility with the latest version of the desktop publishing applications, there are five possibilities:
- No indicates that it does not exist or was never released.
- Partial indicates that the application lacks important functionality and it is still being developed.
- Beta indicates that while a version of the application is fully functional and has been released, it is still in development (e.g. for stability).
- Yes indicates that the application has been officially released in a fully functional, stable version.
- Dropped indicates that while the application works, new versions are no longer being released for the indicated OS; the number in parentheses is the last known stable version which was officially released for that OS.
Application names that are on a light purple background are discontinued.
| Desktop publishing software | Android | ChromeOS | iOS | iPadOS | Linux | MacOS | Windows | Web, Online, Cloud | Other OS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Affinity Publisher | No | No | No | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | No[15] |
| Apache OpenOffice Writer | No | No | No | No | Yes | Yes[b] | Yes | No | Yes[16][c][d] |
| Canva | Yes[e] (App[17] and Online) | Yes (App and Online) | Yes[e] (App[18] and Online) | Yes (App and Online) | Yes | Yes (App and Online) | Yes (App and Online) | Yes | No[19] |
| Collabora Online | Yes[e] (App[20] and Online) | Yes (App[21] and Online) | Yes[e] (App[22] and Online) | Yes (App and Online) | Yes (App and Online) | Yes (App[23] and Online) | Yes (App and Online) | Yes | Yes[f][d] |
| CorelDRAW | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | No | No[24] |
| InDesign | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | No | No[25] |
| LibreOffice | No | Yes[26][d] | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes[f] |
| LyX | No | Yes[27] | No | No | Yes[28] | Yes | Yes | No | OS/2, Haiku |
| Marq | Yes[e][29] (Online) | Yes (Online) | Yes[e][30] (Online) | Yes (Online) | Yes (Online) | Yes (Online) | Yes (Online) | Yes | No |
| Microsoft Publisher | No | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | No | No |
| Pages | No | No | Yes | Yes | No | Yes[31] | No | No | No |
| QuarkXPress | No | No | No | No | No | Yes[32] | Yes | No | No |
| Scribus | No | Yes[33] | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | OS/2 Warp 4, ArcaOS, eComStation, OpenIndiana, Solaris, Haiku |
| The Print Shop | No | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | No | No |
| VivaDesigner | No | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Desktop publishing software | Android | ChromeOS | iOS | iPadOS | Linux | MacOS | Windows | Web, Online, Cloud | Other OS |
Input format
This table gives a comparison of the file formats that can be opened or imported.
| Desktop publishing software | EPS | SVG | HTML | OpenDocument ODT | Microsoft DOCX | Other | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Affinity Publisher | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | Yes | Yes[34] |
| Apache OpenOffice Writer | No | Yes | No | No | Yes | No | Yes[35] |
| Canva | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | PNG, WebP, audio, video, fonts, others[36] |
| Collabora Online | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | PUB, TeX/LaTeX, WebP, others[37][38] |
| CorelDRAW | No | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | others[39] |
| InDesign | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | WebP, others[40] |
| LibreOffice | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | PUB, WPD, TeX/LaTeX, RTF, others[41] |
| LyX | No | No | No | Yes | No | No | CSV, TeX/LaTeX, others[42] |
| Marq | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | PNG |
| Microsoft Publisher | No | No | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | RTF |
| Pages | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | RTF[43] |
| QuarkXPress | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | PSD, AI, SWF, PNG PDF, RTF |
| Scribus | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | PUB, TeX/LaTeX, others List |
| The Print Shop | No | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| Desktop publishing software | EPS | SVG | HTML | OpenDocument ODT | Microsoft DOCX | Other |
Output format
This table gives a comparison of the file formats each software can export or save.
| Desktop publishing software | EPS | PNG | SVG | WebP | EPUB | HTML | Other | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Affinity Publisher | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | Yes, others[44] |
| Apache OpenOffice Writer | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | [45] |
| Canva | Yes | No | Yes[g][46] | Yes | Yes | No | No | JPEG, Video:GIF, MP4, others[47] |
| Collabora Online | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ODF, others[48][49] |
| CorelDRAW | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | PSD, AI, SWF, WPD, others[50] |
| InDesign | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | JPG, RTF, others[51] |
| LibreOffice | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ODF, JPEG, RTF, other[52] |
| LyX | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | PS, ODF, TeX/LaTeX, DOCX, others[53] |
| Marq | Yes | No | Yes | No | No | No | No | JPEG, GIF, MP4, others[54] |
| Microsoft Publisher | Yes | No | Yes | No | No | No | Yes | JPG, TIFF |
| Pages | Yes | No | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | RTF[55] |
| QuarkXPress | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | Kindle[56] |
| Scribus | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | List, TeX/LaTeX |
| The Print Shop | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| Desktop publishing software | EPS | PNG | SVG | WebP | EPUB | HTML | Other |
See also
Notes
- release date not stated on vendors web page
- Rosetta 2 emulation is required to run on all current Apple macOS hardware which use Apple silicon (M1, M2, M3...). Native CPU support remains for previous Intel based macOS devives.
- Build your own application from source code
- unsupported
- not supported on mobile web browsers.
- Online or Build your own application from source code
- The free version of Canva does not support transparent backgrounds. Canva Pro or Enterprise have an option to “Remove Background” from images