Adobe InDesign Alternatives for 2025

Adobe InDesign is very popular among designers and businesses who want competent desktop publishing software. If you are happy with what InDesign has to offer, then great! But, not everyone is satisfied with what InDesign offers. That being said, let’s list the alternatives to Adobe InDesign below.

Our list of Adobe InDesign alternatives starts with Affinity Publisher. The software is slowly gaining traction in the already competitive desktop-publishing market. It is feature-rich and also cheap. It also resembles many interfaces to InDesign, making it easy to transit if you are coming from InDesign. The pricing model is the best part here, as it is a one-off fee. So, if you are transiting from InDesign, you can easily do it as it also supports the InDesign file format. In addition, Affinity Publisher is available for Windows and Mac but not Linux.

QuarkXPress is one of the best InDesign alternatives out there. It is one of the oldest desktop-publishing software as it started its journey in 1987. Moreover, QuarkXPress is a worth-page layout software with industry-standard publication options. It is available for Windows and MAC, and you can get it for a one-off fee compared to a monthly payment of Adobe InDesign. Like InDesign, you can create catalogs, flyers, brochures, ebooks, and even magazines.

If you are looking for a free InDesign alternative, check out Scribus. It is a free desktop publishing software aimed at Indie publishers with a limited budget. Also, it is one of the few desktop-publication software available on Linux. However, Scribus is only recommended if you start fresh from scratch, as it doesn’t import files from QuarkXPress or InDesign.

Swift Publisher is a Mac-only InDesign alternative that offers excellent desktop publishing capabilities while on a budget. It has 500 templates and many other creatives, including clipart images, image masks, etc. In addition, it offers an excellent layout and key features, including unlimited layers, customizable grids, and excellent export support.

One of the most common complaints about InDesign is its learning curve. It is complex and requires some prior knowledge to use effectively. In that case, Canva comes into play. It is a Software-as-a-Service(SaaS) platform focusing on usability and ease of use. Canva lets you create flyers, eBook covers, and other text-based designs with easy drag-and-drop tools and components. You also get access to tons of professionally designed templates. It also lets you publish or share directly from the software. Canva offers a free-to-use model with paid subscription options.