# Affinity Publisher

7 Hacker News commenters recommended Affinity Publisher and 0 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 4 of 13 months.

**Verdict:** People recommend it as an easier, lower-cost alternative to Adobe's desktop publishing and design apps, and as a replacement for InDesign.

## Why people recommend it

- Easy alternative to Adobe apps (3 comments): "Affinity Publisher is probably the easiest alternative." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47667837)) "just as good and in some cases better than Adobe's apps" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49961305)) "i find Affinity mostly a great replacement for InDesign" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50012794))
- Desktop publishing mode included (2 comments): "Affinity also has desktop publishing capabilities, when you switch to that mode in the software." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47655844)) "i find Affinity mostly a great replacement for InDesign" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50012794))

## What people warn about

- Some minor frustrations (1 comments): "I haven't used Affinity Publisher much, and found a few minor things frustrating" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47697739))
- Seems too good, suspicion of catch (1 comments): "too nice if you ask me... where's the catch?" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47688758))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [Adobe InDesign](https://hackerapproved.com/p/adobe-indesign.md): 16 recommend
- [Microsoft Publisher](https://hackerapproved.com/p/microsoft-publisher.md): 14 recommend
- [Scribus](https://hackerapproved.com/p/scribus.md): 8 recommend
- [Vellum](https://hackerapproved.com/p/vellum.md): 6 recommend
- [Adobe FrameMaker](https://hackerapproved.com/p/framemaker.md): 5 recommend

## Where to get it

- [Visit the official site](https://www.affinity.studio)

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Affinity Publisher", https://hackerapproved.com/p/affinity-publisher/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).