Adobe InDesign AlternativesOnly Free apps categorised as Desktop Publishers

The best free Desktop Publisher alternative to Adobe InDesign is Scribus, which is also Open Source. If that doesn't suit you, our users have ranked more than 50 alternatives to Adobe InDesign and five of them are free Desktop Publishers so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting free Desktop Publisher alternatives to Adobe InDesign are Affinity, Laidout, Omegadoc Designer and Passepartout.

filter to find the best alternatives

Adobe InDesign alternatives are mainly Desktop Publishers, but if you're looking for Graphic Design Tools or Image Editors you can filter on that. Other popular filters include Open Source, Free, Linux, Mac, Android, iPad and Chrome OS. You can also filter by region, for example EU-based alternatives if you prefer software developed in the European Union. These are just examples - use the filter bar below to find more specific alternatives to Adobe InDesign.
More about Adobe InDesign
Copy a direct link to this comment to your clipboard
Adobe InDesign alternatives page was last updated

Alternatives list

  1. Scribus icon

    Scribus

     413 likes

    Open-source desktop publishing software offering flexible layouts and typesetting, professional image setting, CMYK support, interactive PDFs, vector tools, and wide format support, perfect for creating newspapers, brochures, and more on Mac, Windows, Linux, and BSD.

    26 Scribus alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    • Flathub
    • PortableApps.com
    • Oracle Solaris
    • Flatpak
    Scribus screenshot 1
     
    |
    13
    Comments about Scribus as an Alternative to Adobe InDesign
    Top Positive Comment
    maurosoft391
    3

    depsite it's poorly designed, scribus is somewhat easy to use. the font problem can be fixable by writing in the internal editor

    Top Negative Comment
    Guest
    15

    absolute pain in the $$$ to work with. lacks basic functionality like showing up the font you select in the actual page

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    Guest
    Negative
    1

    It's very basic, and needs a lot of work to do even the simplest of things properly.

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    3 of 13 comments
    Scribus icon
    Scribus icon
    • Scribus is Free and Open SourceAdobe InDesign is Paid and Proprietary
    • Scribus is Lightweight and Privacy focusedAdobe InDesign is not according to our users
  2. Affinity icon

    Affinity

     55 likes

    Unified design solution merging advanced photo, vector, and layout tools for seamless workflow, non-destructive editing, RAW support, batch processing, AI enhancements, GPU acceleration, file compatibility, cloud asset integration, and tailored workspace options.

    68 Affinity alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Freemium
    • Proprietary

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    Affinity screenshot 1
     
  4. Laidout icon

    Laidout

     5 likes

    Laidout is desktop publishing software, particularly for multipage, cut and folded booklets, with page sizes that don't even have to be rectangular. The whole page view can be rotated to any angle. Warping is implemented.

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Linux
    Laidout screenshot 1
     
    |
    1
    Comments about Laidout as an Alternative to Adobe InDesign
    maurosoft391
    Negative
    1

    it's poorly designed and looks like a program from the 1990s

    Laidout icon
    Laidout icon
    • Laidout is Free and Open SourceAdobe InDesign is Paid and Proprietary
    • Laidout is LightweightAdobe InDesign is not according to our users
  5. Omegadoc Designer icon

    Omegadoc Designer

     Like

    A DTP app that stands out with: 1 - One click export of fixed-layout eBooks in two popular formats: EPUB3 and Amazon KF8 (Mobi) formats. 2 - Styling modeled after CSS3. 3 - Superior multiple-page viewing capability. 4. Intuitive and easy to use UI.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Windows
    Omegadoc Designer screenshot 1
     
  6. Passepartout icon

    Passepartout

     4 likes

    Passepartout is a desktop publishing system that is based on the idea of automatic typesetting of streams of XML based text documents.The project was started back in 2002 to facilitate a particular task — creating a newspaper. These days the project is somewhat dormant.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Alerts

    • Discontinued

    Platforms

    • Linux
    Passepartout screenshot 1
     
5 of 5 Adobe InDesign alternatives