Microsoft Publisher end of life
Microsoft Publisher is going away. Here is what to do.
Microsoft is retiring Publisher after October 2026. Your .pub files do not expire, but the only app that opens them does. This guide lays out the dates that matter, what actually changes, and the three ways to keep your work.
Updated September 2026
The dates that matter
When does Microsoft Publisher shut down?
Microsoft Publisher is being discontinued after October 2026. Microsoft 365 stops installing it on October 1, 2026, and support for the perpetual 2016, 2019, and 2021 copies ends October 13, 2026. Your .pub files do not expire on either date. Here is the full calendar.
October 1, 2026
A Microsoft 365 subscription can no longer install Publisher. If Publisher lives inside your Microsoft 365, this is the day it goes.
October 13, 2026
Support ends for the perpetual copies, Publisher 2016, 2019, and 2021. They keep opening .pub files, but there are no more updates or fixes.
Already shipped
Office LTSC 2024 arrived with no Publisher at all. The last release with Publisher is the last one there will be.
Microsoft's own advice
Convert your existing files to another format before October 1, 2026. Read the Microsoft notice.
Read this first
Will my .pub files stop working when Publisher ends?
No. Your .pub files do not stop working, and they do not expire. Only the app is going away. When the last computer with Publisher installed is gone, a .pub becomes a file nothing can open, so the safe move is to convert your work to PDF while you still can.
One app is being retired. Your files are not being deleted. The .pub format has no kill switch, no expiry date, and no phone-home. The file that sits on your disk today will sit there unchanged next year.
What you lose is the program that reads it. When the last computer with a working Publisher is gone, a .pub file becomes a box you can no longer open. That is the real deadline, and it is why Microsoft, and everyone else, says the same thing: get your work into a format that outlives the app.
The one thing to do: convert your .pub files to PDF now, while you still have access. A PDF keeps every page exactly as Publisher drew it, and it opens on any device, forever.
Your options
How do I keep my Publisher files after 2026?
You have three options: convert your files to PDF now, keep an old copy of Publisher running as a stopgap, or move to a desktop app that opens .pub directly. Most people convert to PDF now and pick up the desktop app later. You can do both.
1. Convert your archive to PDF
The safest, fastest way to keep every finished page. PubKeep Converter turns your .pub files into exact PDFs, page for page and font for font, a whole folder at once. Best for anything you need to read, share, or print.
3. Keep editing in PubKeep desktop
A desktop app that opens .pub files and keeps your layouts editable, on your own computer, with no copy of Publisher needed. Best if you still need to update newsletters or bulletins after Publisher is gone.
2. Keep an old copy of Publisher running
A stopgap, not a plan. A perpetual Publisher from 2016, 2019, or 2021 still opens .pub files, but it is unsupported after October 13, 2026, tied to one aging machine, and one hard-drive failure from gone. Fine as a bridge while you convert. Not something to rely on for the long run.
Why the timing matters
Why should I convert my .pub files now?
Convert now because a clean conversion depends on Publisher still being able to read the file. Once the app is gone from your machines, you are left with importers that guess at the closed format and reflow your pages. Convert while your archive still opens cleanly and you keep a copy that always will.
Free importers like LibreOffice Draw will attempt a .pub file, but they are reading a closed format from the outside and guessing. Fonts get swapped, text reflows, and booklet layouts fall apart. The results range from close to unusable, file by file.
PubKeep produces exact PDFs instead: page for page, font for font, with bleeds and rotated frames intact, nothing re-flowed or approximated. The point of doing it now is simple. Once the app that reads .pub is gone from your machines, your options narrow to whatever can still guess at the format. Convert while your archive still opens cleanly, and you keep a copy that always will.
Questions
Common questions about the shutdown.
Yes. Publisher is retiring. Microsoft has confirmed it will no longer be supported after October 2026, it is being removed from Microsoft 365, and there will be no new version. Whether you have seen it called going away or retiring, it is the same shutdown.
No. People sometimes worry that Publisher expires and takes their files with it. It does not: the .pub on your disk does not change, and there is no kill switch. What goes away is the app that reads it. Convert to PDF while you still have access, and you keep a copy you can always open.
Not on its own anymore. Microsoft no longer sells Publisher (or MS Publisher, as many people search for it) as a standalone app. Perpetual copies from Office 2016, 2019, and 2021 keep running, but their support ends October 13, 2026, and Office LTSC 2024 shipped with no Publisher at all.
Rarely. Publisher layouts do not map cleanly onto Word, so text reflows and the design breaks. A PDF keeps every page exactly as Publisher drew it. If you need to keep editing, the PubKeep desktop app opens .pub files directly.
No. The free tools take one file at a time, but PubKeep takes a whole folder at once, subfolders included, and hands back a matching zip of PDFs plus a short report. See how to open a .pub file for the full walkthrough.
Keep reading
Related guides.
How to open a .pub file without Publisher
Every method that works in 2026, honestly compared.
Microsoft Publisher alternatives
What to move to, for editing versus just keeping your files.
Publisher for churches and nonprofits
Save years of bulletins and newsletters before the deadline.
Convert .pub to PDF
The bulk converter, pricing, and how it works.
Before October 1
Keep your files while you still can.
Need to keep editing? PubKeep desktop opens .pub files natively.