Affinity Publisher
Ranked 4 of 6 desktop publishing software by recommenders
People recommend it as an easier, lower-cost alternative to Adobe's desktop publishing and design apps, and as a replacement for InDesign.
People recommend it as an easier, lower-cost alternative to Adobe's desktop publishing and design apps, and as a replacement for InDesign.
7 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 7
- criticize it
- 0
- approval share
- 100%
Recommended in 4 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 7 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- Nobody criticizes itNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 4 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Easy alternative to Adobe apps
“Affinity Publisher is probably the easiest alternative.”
Comment from 6 Apr 2026 in “Microsoft Discontinuing Publisher. Alternatives?” “just as good and in some cases better than Adobe's apps”
Comment from 5 Oct 2026 in “ArtCraft Apps – open-source Adobe compatible suite written in Rust” “i find Affinity mostly a great replacement for InDesign”
Comment from 8 Oct 2026 in “Show HN: Free open source Adobe Lightroom alternative, completely local with AI” Desktop publishing mode included
“Affinity also has desktop publishing capabilities, when you switch to that mode in the software.”
Comment from 6 Apr 2026 in “Microsoft Publisher will no longer be supported after October 2026” “i find Affinity mostly a great replacement for InDesign”
Comment from 8 Oct 2026 in “Show HN: Free open source Adobe Lightroom alternative, completely local with AI”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Some minor frustrations
“I haven't used Affinity Publisher much, and found a few minor things frustrating”
Comment from 9 Apr 2026 in “Microsoft Publisher will no longer be supported after October 2026” Seems too good, suspicion of catch
“too nice if you ask me... where's the catch?”
Comment from 8 Apr 2026 in “Microsoft Publisher will no longer be supported after October 2026”
Other desktop publishing software people recommend
The four most recommended other desktop publishing software, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adobe InDesign | 16 | 20 | 44% | 8 | — | — |
| Microsoft Publisher | 14 | 14 | 50% | 5 | — | — |
| Scribus | 8 | 5 | 62% | 6 | — | — |
| Affinity PublisherThis page | 7 | 0 | 100% | 4 | — | — |
| Vellum | 6 | 1 | 86% | 4 | — | — |
What people said
7 of the 8 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“i find Affinity mostly a great replacement for InDesign”
“just as good and in some cases better than Adobe's apps”
“It's much easier than the 8 pager on a single sheet. They have a booklet printing that handles page ordering”
“I haven't used Affinity Publisher much, and found a few minor things frustrating”
“too nice if you ask me... where's the catch?”
“Affinity Publisher is probably the easiest alternative.”
“Affinity also has desktop publishing capabilities, when you switch to that mode in the software.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.