Microsoft never released Publisher for Mac. There is no Mac version. Opening PUB files on a Mac requires converting them first on a Windows machine, running Windows on the Mac via a virtual machine or using LibreOffice Draw (limited compatibility). The fastest path for Mac users with a PUB archive: convert all PUB files to PDF and DOCX on a Windows machine with Univik PUB Converter (no Publisher needed) or with Publisher if someone still has a working copy. Then move the converted files to Mac. On a Windows PC first, the free Univik PUB File Viewer opens your PUB files so you can read them before moving anything to the Mac. Since Publisher left Microsoft 365 on 1 October 2026, Windows colleagues on Microsoft 365 can no longer open those files in Publisher either. That makes conversion urgent for any mixed Mac-Windows team with PUB files in shared drives.
Update, 1 October 2026: Publisher has left Microsoft 365
Publisher never ran on macOS, so nothing changed on the Mac itself. The change is on the Windows side: colleagues on Microsoft 365 can no longer open .pub files in Publisher, so asking them to open or convert a file for you may no longer work. To read a PUB file on your Mac today, the free Univik Online PUB Viewer works right in Safari or any other browser. It reads Publisher 2003 and later files, and the file never leaves your Mac.
Publisher Was Never Available on Mac
Microsoft Publisher has been Windows-only for its entire 35-year history. There was never a Mac version. Microsoft never announced one. Publisher was positioned as a small business tool within the Windows ecosystem from the start.
This means Mac users encountering PUB files have always faced the same problem: the format is tied to an application that does not exist on their platform. To at least read the file on a Mac, an Online PUB File Viewer opens it in any browser without extra software. Since 1 October 2026 this matters more, because Windows colleagues on Microsoft 365 who used to convert PUB files for Mac users can no longer open them in Publisher.
If you are a Mac user with PUB files to access or convert, the options are mostly the same as they have always been. The easiest one used to be asking someone with Publisher on Windows. Since 1 October 2026 that only works if they have a perpetual copy of Publisher (2021, 2019 or 2016) or a Microsoft 365 copy that still opens for now.
“There has never been a Mac version of Publisher, so a Mac user is always looking at a converted file. We test those conversions in batch with old and new PUB files together and check graphics and text formatting on the Mac side.”
Nick Rogers
|Founder, Univik, building file conversion tools since 2013
Option 1: Convert on Windows First (Best)
The most reliable approach is to convert PUB files to PDF or DOCX on a Windows machine, then move the converted files to Mac. That Windows machine needs either Univik PUB Converter or a working copy of Publisher. Once converted, PDF and DOCX files open natively on Mac with no Publisher required.
If you have access to a Windows machine with a working copy of Publisher: Copy the PUB files to the Windows machine. Open each in Publisher and export to PDF (File then Export then Create PDF/XPS) or DOCX (File then Save As then Word Document). Transfer the converted files back to Mac.
For bulk conversion without opening each file manually: Use Univik PUB Converter on the Windows machine. It does not require Publisher to be installed. Load the PUB files, select PDF or DOCX as the output format and convert the entire archive in one batch. Transfer the output folder to Mac via shared network drive, USB or cloud storage. If you keep them online, the same conversion applies to PUB files in Google Drive.
If you do not have access to a Windows machine: Cloud-based Windows instances (Azure Virtual Desktop, Amazon WorkSpaces) provide temporary Windows access for conversion tasks. For a one-time conversion project, a short-term cloud Windows session is more practical than purchasing a perpetual Windows licence or hardware.
Option 2: Run Windows on Your Mac (VM)
Mac users who regularly work with PUB files can run a Windows virtual machine on their Mac using Parallels Desktop, VMware Fusion or Apple’s own Virtualization framework. This gives full access to Windows applications without separate hardware, including Publisher if you own a perpetual copy.
Parallels Desktop is the most popular option for Mac users and runs Windows smoothly on both Intel and Apple Silicon Macs. It is paid software, and a Windows licence is also required.
VMware Fusion Pro is free for personal use as of 2024 and runs Windows on Intel and Apple Silicon Macs. Requires a Windows licence separately.
Important consideration: Since 1 October 2026, Publisher on a Windows VM is only useful if you have a perpetual Publisher licence (2021, 2019 or 2016). A Microsoft 365 subscription no longer gives you Publisher, on a VM or on a physical Windows machine. Without a perpetual licence, the VM can still run Windows tools that do not need Publisher, such as the free Univik PUB File Viewer.
A VM is a good investment for Mac users who regularly need to work with PUB files or other Windows-only formats. For a one-off conversion project, the setup time and cost may not justify it compared to using a Windows machine at work or a cloud Windows instance.
Option 3: LibreOffice on Mac (Limited)
LibreOffice Draw on Mac has partial PUB file support. It can open some PUB files and render basic layouts. The compatibility is incomplete: files with complex layouts, custom fonts, layered images or master page elements frequently fail or produce a broken result.
LibreOffice Draw’s PUB support is worth trying for simple, text-heavy PUB files where layout complexity is low. Do not rely on it for brochures, newsletters with columns or any design-heavy Publisher output. The results are inconsistent, and there is no way to predict in advance which files will open correctly and which will not without testing each one.
LibreOffice is free and available for both Intel and Apple Silicon Macs at libreoffice.org.
LibreOffice PUB support is not reliable for complex files
LibreOffice has made efforts to support the PUB format, but the format has no published specification. LibreOffice’s PUB reader is based on reverse-engineering and handles only a subset of the format’s features. For important PUB files, always verify the LibreOffice output against the original before relying on it for distribution or archiving.
What 1 October 2026 Changed for Mac Users
Publisher never ran on macOS, so Mac users did not lose anything on their own machines on 1 October 2026. The change hits the files they get from Windows colleagues. Those colleagues used to open and convert PUB files on request, and many of them can no longer do that.
Since 1 October 2026, Microsoft 365 subscribers on Windows can no longer open .pub files in Publisher. Some Microsoft 365 copies still opened on that day with a “Publisher is retiring” banner, but do not count on that lasting. If your organisation relied on a Windows colleague to open PUB files and convert them for Mac users, that workaround now depends on the colleague having a perpetual copy of Publisher. Support for Publisher 2021 ends on 13 October 2026, though the app keeps running without security fixes.
The practical step: find the PUB files in shared drives, SharePoint or OneDrive and get them converted now. The files themselves are not deleted, but fewer colleagues can open them in Publisher than before. Univik PUB Converter on any Windows PC can convert them without Publisher.
For a full picture of the October 2026 timeline and what it means for different licence types, see our Microsoft Publisher end of life guide.
Mixed Mac and Windows Teams
Organisations with both Mac and Windows users often have PUB files scattered across shared storage inherited from Windows users, created by a single Windows power user or imported from an external source. These files are inaccessible to Mac team members without conversion.
The recommended approach for mixed teams:
Audit shared storage for PUB files now. Search SharePoint, OneDrive and network drives for *.pub. Identify who owns each file and which are still actively needed.
Convert the active files now. Convert actively used PUB files to PDF and DOCX with Univik PUB Converter or a Windows colleague’s working copy of Publisher. Replace the PUB files in shared storage with the converted versions so Mac users can access them immediately.
Archive the originals. Keep the original PUB files in an archive folder rather than deleting them. Since 1 October 2026 they only open in Publisher on a Windows PC with a perpetual copy, but PUB viewers and converters can still read them. They may also have historical value.
Creating New Content on Mac After Publisher
Mac users replacing Publisher for new content creation have several strong options.
Canva: browser-based and works identically on Mac and Windows. The most popular choice for non-designers. Free tier covers basic use cases. See our Publisher to Canva migration guide for the workflow.
Affinity: one free app from Canva that combines the old Designer, Photo and Publisher tools, available on Mac and Windows. The closest feature equivalent to Publisher. The generative AI features need a paid Canva plan, and it has no PUB import. Native Apple Silicon support. The strongest professional desktop publishing alternative for Mac users.
Apple Pages: free on Mac and iOS. Handles newsletter and brochure layouts adequately for simple use cases. Not a professional layout tool, but available at zero cost.
Adobe InDesign: available on Mac and Windows. Industry standard for professional print layout. Sold as a monthly subscription. The right choice for professional designers or studios with commercial print requirements.
Which Way to Open PUB Files on Mac?
| Method | Needs Windows? | Fidelity | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Convert on Windows first | Yes, a Windows PC once | High | Free to paid |
| Windows VM on the Mac (Parallels, VMware) | Runs Windows inside macOS | High | Paid (Windows plus VM) |
| LibreOffice Draw on Mac | No | Limited, basic files only | Free |
Frequently Asked Questions
Was there ever a Mac version of Microsoft Publisher?
No. Microsoft Publisher has been Windows-only for its entire existence from 1991 to its retirement in 2026. Microsoft never released a Mac version. This distinguishes Publisher from most other major Microsoft Office applications (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook), which all have Mac versions. Publisher was always a Windows-only product.
Can I open a PUB file on a Mac without any additional software?
No. macOS has no built-in PUB viewer or converter. The file will appear in Finder as an unknown document with no associated application. You cannot double-click it to open it. You need LibreOffice (free, limited compatibility), a browser-based viewer such as the free Univik Online PUB Viewer (files from Publisher 2003 and newer) or a converted version of the file (PDF or DOCX) that macOS applications can open natively.
Does Affinity Publisher on Mac open PUB files?
No. Despite the similar name, Affinity Publisher (now part of the free Affinity app from Canva) is an entirely different application from Microsoft Publisher. Affinity does not open PUB files and has no PUB import. The name similarity causes confusion, but the two applications are unrelated.
What is the easiest way to get a PUB file opened on a Mac right now?
For a single file, open it in the free Univik Online PUB Viewer in your Mac’s browser. It reads files from Publisher 2003 and newer and uploads nothing. You can also ask a Windows colleague to export the file to PDF, but since 1 October 2026 that only works if they have a perpetual copy of Publisher or a Microsoft 365 copy that still opens. For a library of PUB files, arrange a batch conversion on a Windows PC with Univik PUB Converter, which does not need Publisher.
What happens to PUB files in our shared OneDrive after October 2026?
The files remain in OneDrive. They are not deleted. What changed on 1 October 2026 is who can open them in Publisher. Mac users never could. Windows users on Microsoft 365 no longer can. Windows users with a perpetual copy of Publisher 2021, 2019 or 2016 still can, though support for Publisher 2021 ends on 13 October 2026 and the older versions are already out of support. Convert shared PUB files to PDF and DOCX and replace them in OneDrive with the converted versions.
The Short Version
Publisher was never on Mac and never will be. That is not a new problem. Mac users have been locked out of PUB files since 1991. What changed on 1 October 2026 is the most practical workaround: asking a Windows colleague to open and convert PUB files in Publisher. Colleagues on Microsoft 365 can no longer do that.
Convert now. A Mac user with a handful of inherited PUB files and an IT admin managing shared drives in a mixed team have the same job: turn the PUB files into PDF or DOCX while you still have a way to read them.
How many PUB files are on your shared drives or personal storage that Mac team members cannot currently access? That count is the starting point for the conversion project.