Best Free Publishing Software For Mac

QuarkXPress – Most Popular Software. While these programs could be used for products such as e-books, flyers, brochures, etc., most of these software are focused on producing magazines. These programs technically count as E-Magazine Software, but they are so flexible that they could serve other. Techradar.com - All the free software a writer or student needs We've hand-picked the very best free writing software which will make it easier to plan, write without The best free writing software for Mac and Windows in 2021 - Flipboard.

  1. Best Free Publishing Software For Mac
  2. Desktop Publisher For Mac Free
  3. Best Free Publishing Software For Mac Os X

When it comes to creating print media, posters, and publications, one can only think of Adobe InDesign. It is a well-known typesetting and desktop publishing software for all, including production artists and professional graphic designers. This tool helps you a lot if you are running image-related ventures.

Adobe InDesign enables users to create works like posters, flyers, newspapers, presentation, brochures, magazines, books, and other things. However, if you are looking for the best InDesign alternative, we have got your back. In this article, you will get to know about the top free InDesign alternatives along with their detailed description, including pros and cons. So, let’s get started with our list of the ten best InDesign alternatives for Windows & Mac!

PS: If you would like to know how to insert images in InDesign as well as how to resize an image in InDesign, this is just for you. Also, here is the detailed information on InDesign vs. Publisher.

Top 10 InDesign Alternatives for Windows & Mac

Top 10 InDesign Alternatives for Windows & Mac

Some of the best InDesign alternatives for Mac are listed as follows!

1. Scribus

Scribus is a publishing application for desktops. It is designed especially for producing flexible layouts to prepare files. This tool allows users to create interactive PDFs and animation. All of these striking features make Scribus an InDesign alternative for Mac.
Scribus features an easy-t0o-user interface. It comes with impressive features like bitmap formats, flexible page templates, ICC color management, PDF creation, spot colors, and CMYK colors. This tool even supports markup languages like Lilypond and Latex.

Pros

  • Available for free
  • Supports bitmap formats
  • User-friendly interface

Cons

  • No support for INDD files and Pantone colors
  • No print feature
  • Needs scripts for performing several functions

Compatibility: Linux, Mac, and Windows

2. PDFelement

PDFelement is the best InDesign alternative for Mac. This ODT2PDF converter tool was designed especially to deliver premium PDF experience. It even works perfectly with Mac OS 10.14 version. What makes PDFelement incredible is its superb features.
The amazing features of this PDF Page Remover tool help users to produce professional PDF files. Some of its features include OCR function and various editing tools. It is even capable of converting, extracting, protecting, and sharing files.

Pros

  • User-friendly and simple interface
  • Improved OCR experience to convert scanned PDFs to searchable and editable text
  • Product and turn PDFs into other formats
  • Annotate and edit PDFs like word processors
  • Protect PDFs with digital signatures, permissions, redaction, and passwords
  • 24/7 customer support along with an online forum
  • It can convert PDF to Midi file and convert or add text to PDF

Cons

  • Noted no cons so far

Compatibility: Up to MacOS 11 and Windows 10

3. VivaDesigner

VivaDesigner is another powerful InDesign alternative. It comprises of all the striking features that you get with InDesign. Undoubtedly, this tool is really powerful than InDesign. The best part is that VivaDesigner is so simple and easy to use.
This application offers amazing features like CMYK and master pages optimization. This makes the printing and assembling of documents a lot easier. With the integrated word processor of VivaDesigner, you can edit and write articles directly.

Pros

  • Intuitive user interface
  • Enhanced collaboration among users

Cons

  • Expensive InDesign alternative

Compatibility: Mac

4. QuarkXPress

It is another great InDesign alternative. QuarkXPress is designed especially for editing and developing complex files. It even works perfectly in a WYSIWYG setting with intricate files. With this tool, you can create editable PDF files.
The most recent version of QuarkXPress allows you to publish in 36 different languages other than English. It enables users to enjoy control over shapes, text, opacity, images, and shapes. QuarkXPress works great with a wide variety of file formats. The tool helps you in producing advertisements, magazines, brochures, catalogs, books, newspapers, mobile apps, flipbooks, etc.

Also, click here to find out how to see the word count in InDesign.

Pros

  • Supports almost all devices
  • Available for use in WYSIWYG environments

Cons

  • Advanced user-interface
  • Expensive InDesign alternative

Compatibility: Mac and Windows

5. Canva

Canva is a very popular graphic design application for non-designers and beginners. This InDesign alternative comes with a user-friendly interface. Here, users can select from a wide range of graphics, design visuals, document templates, and fonts. It enables users to produce a web-ready version of any design product.
This platform features various adders and icons. The amazing thing about this tool is that it is available for free. However, there are in-app purchases for layouts, templates, and photographs. Otherwise, this tool works fine without even paying a penny.

Pros

  • Drag-and-drop and simple interface
  • Available for free
  • Advanced features available
  • Comes with lots of features

Cons

  • The problem persists while billing

Compatibility: Mac and Windows

6. Affinity Publisher

Affinity Publisher comes with a revolutionized desktop publishing. This InDesign alternative comprises a lot of exciting features. Some of these features include photo editing tools and altered graphic design. It works on both Windows and Mac systems.
With Affinity Publisher, it is really easy to update spreads, master pages, and contents. The “Sections” tab allows you to allocate mater pages and control design in an intuitive way. One can simply edit the master layer on a single page with this tool. Its editing styles are really easy to control and work similarly to MS Word.

Pros

  • Easy to navigate and intuitive interface
  • Offers various templates
  • Comprises all the InDesign functions

Cons

  • Inadequate typography tools
  • Only available for beta users

Compatibility: Mac and Windows

7. Swift Publisher

Swift Publisher is a desktop publishing and plain page layout software. This InDesign alternative comes with impressive features. One can use these amazing features for creating professional documents like catalogs and brochures.
The template gallery of Swift Publisher offers more than300 options for advertisements, flyers, restaurant menus, and catalogs. Using the section “Electronic Media,” you can even design Twitter and Facebook covers. To manage multipage documents, you can use several options present on the window, including layout tools and toolbar.

Pros

  • Comes with 300 templates for various desktop publishing requirements
  • Affordable tool
  • Really easy and simple to use

Cons

  • Not available for Windows
  • Just key tools for importing and creating graphics files

Compatibility: Mac

8. PageStream

PageStream is a great desktop publishing tool. This InDesign alternative was launched initially under the tag “Publishing Partner,” which made its way in the market in 1986. PageStream works exactly like InDesign on Mac systems. Users can easily manage the work using the interesting features of this software.
The tool enables users to incorporate powerful and smooth graphics features into projects. Hence, you do not have to switch between tools to attain that illustration appeal. There are lots of tools available for promoting flexibility and speed in the design parameters.

Pros

  • Inexpensive InDesign alternative
  • Works across several operating systems
  • Easy to use interface

Cons

  • Bad customer support
  • No OCR feature

Compatibility: Linux, Mac, Amiga OS, and Windows

9. SpringPublisher

It is a free desktop publishing tool that helps in creating posters, brochures, flyers, books, magazines, presentation, newsletters, etc. This InDesign alternative is really easy and simple to use, which makes it perfect for beginners. One can use this tool for creating simple designs, adding texts, codes, and vector shapes.
With SpringPublisher, you can even work with layers and layouts. It even works great for editing images using a wide variety of available templates. Using its free version, you can save designs with a maximum of 180 DPI output.

Pros

  • Lots of amazing templates and layouts
  • Available for free
  • Great for beginners

Cons

  • No premium version available

Compatibility: Mac and Windows

10. Lucidpress

Lucidpress is a tool that users use to create and design various document layouts. This web-based software is great for print. It even carries out dynamic work when it comes to working with digital formats. The incredible features of this software make it the best InDesign alternative.
Lucidpress comes with a lot of amazing features, which are really easy to manage. Using these features, users can seamlessly work without facing an issue. It works efficiently as a graphic designing application. Just register on the application and start working on your documents.

Pros

  • Works perfectly with all browsers
  • No need to download any app
  • Protected with SSI through AES-25bit encryption

Cons

  • Its free version allows publishing to just three pages
  • Complex user-interface

Compatibility: Mac

Here, ends our list of the best ten alternatives to InDesign. All of these applications come with several pros and cons. Here, each and every application comes with its own amazing features. If you are looking for the best alternative to InDesign, you need to consider the above-mentioned tools. Check out the features, pros, and cons of every InDesign alternative before settling on a tool.

So, you can go with the desired InDesign alternative based on your needs and requirements. Choose any of the applications from the options given above and download the best InDesign alternative to get rid of the complex interface of InDesign! Also, click to find out how to wrap text in InDesign and learn more about the Architecture Cover Letter Sample and Tips.

Acrobat Pro DC 19.021.20049
There’s a better way to work. Anywhere.Work can't always happen in the office. You need a smart way to take itwith you, wherever you go. Adobe Acrobat DC is the world's best PDFsolution. And it’s all you need to scan, convert, sign, and managedocuments on any device.
  • License: Demo, Acrobat Pro DC $15/mo
  • Developer/Publisher: Adobe
  • Modification Date: October 24, 2019
  • Requirements: Mac OS X 10.11 or higher - 64-bit

Download File Size: 2.4 MB Installer

Acrobat Reader 19.021.20047
Adobe Acrobat Reader DC software is the free global standard for reliably viewing, printing, and commenting on PDF documents.
Acrobat Reader has a new modern look. This includes a full set ofcommenting tools to add sticky notes, highlight text, and use lines,shapes, and stamps on your PDFs.
Easily e-sign any document or form. Type responses on your PDF, add youre-signature or initials, and send the form electronically. Use smartautofill to make form-filling faster.
  • License: Freeware
  • Developer/Publisher: Adobe
  • Modification Date: October 1, 2019
  • Requirements: Mac OS X 10.11 or higher - 64-bit

Download File Size: 210.7 MB

Affinity Publisher 1.7.3
Bring your vision to life with Affinity Publisher, the next generationof professional publishing software. From magazines, books, brochures,posters, reports and stationery to other creations, this incrediblysmooth, intuitive app gives you the power to combine your images,graphics and text to make beautiful layouts ready for publication.
  • License: Buy, $50
  • Developer/Publisher: Serif Labs
  • Modification Date: October 1, 2019
  • Requirements: Mac OS X 10.7 or higher - 64-bit

Download File Size: 415 MB

BookLightning 1.7.4
BookLightning is a Mac OS X 10.3 native utility for imposing PDF filesinto booklets, either for further processing or to print directly on aduplex or non-duplex printer. Operation couldn't be simpler: just drop aPDF file on the BookLightning icon, and it will create a new PDF withthe pages of the original file arranged on sheets that are twice thesize, two up and arranged so that they will form a booklet of theoriginal size when folded in the middle. BookLightning does its job veryquickly, generating the new PDF file typically takes less than a second.
For non-duplex printers, BookLightning splits the front and back pages,allowing two-sided booklets to be printed in two passes.
To create a booklet that will be created by printing on and foldingletter size paper ( 8.5 x 11 ), set up your original document's pagesize to half that size: 5.5 x 8.5. This is exactly the size that theindividual pages will appear at in the final booklet, because two ofthem have to fit on each side of the letter size sheets. For users withISO 'A'-style paper sizes, just drop down one size from the size of thepaper you will be printing on.
  • License: Demo, $10
  • Developer/Publisher: Marcel Weiher
  • Modification Date: December 15, 2011
  • Requirements: Mac OS X 10.7 or higher - 64-bit

Download File Size: 3.0 MB - 1.7.4

Download File Size: 3.2 MB - 1.7.3 Demo

Cheap Impostor 3.3
Cheap Impostor is a simple yet powerful alternative to fancy pageimposition software. It doesn't offer all the features of high-endimposition software (which costs hundreds of dollars). Hence the name.However, if you want to print and bind booklets, magazines, or even longbooks, this program might be all the imposition software you need.
  • License: Shareware, $35
  • Developer/Publisher: Dylan McNamee
  • Modification Date: March 17, 2013
  • Requirements: Mac OS X 10.6 or higher - 64-bit

Download File Size: 654 Kb

Cisdem PDF Converter OCR 7.5.0
Convert PDF to Word, PPT, Text, Rtfd, ePub, Html, Keynote, Pages, Image,and create/merge files to PDF accurately with advanced Mac PDFconverter. Keep original layout without data loss.
Cisdem PDF Converter OCR with OCR to convert scanned PDFs and images into editable files
  • License: Demo, $60
  • Developer/Publisher: Cisdem Inc.
  • Modification Date: October 22, 2019
  • Requirements: Mac OS X 10.10 or higher - 64-bit

Download File Size: 388.6

Combine PDFs 5.4
Find a group of PDFs on your Mac, highlight them, and right-click.Choose the Services menu near the bottom. If all went well, you shouldsee Combine PDFs in the list. Choose it.
  • License: Shareware, $30
  • Developer/Publisher: Monkeybread Software
  • Modification Date: August 19, 2019
  • Requirements: Mac OS X 10.10 or higher - 64-bit

Download File Size: 20 MB

Combine PDFs Service 2.0
Drop some PDF or picture files on the application or the main window.Reorder or remove pages as you want. Enter some meta information likethe Title and save the new PDF. Analysing and processing of PDFs maytake a while.
  • License: Freeware
  • Developer/Publisher: Brooks Duncan
  • Modification Date: June 8, 2015
  • Requirements: Mac OS X 10.6.8 or higher - 64-bit

Download File Size: 129 Kb

FineReader Pro 12.1.13
Delivers the reliability you'd expect from a world-leader in OCR software.Easily transform paper documents, PDFs and digital photos of text intoeditable and searchable files. No more manual retyping or reformatting.Instead you can search, share, archive, and copy information fromdocuments for reuse and quotation - saving you time, effort and hassles.
  • License: Demo, $120
  • Developer/Publisher: ABBYY
  • Modification Date: October 4, 2019
  • Requirements: Mac OS X 10.11 or higher - 64-bit

Download File Size: 614.7 - Demo

Download File Size: 610.3 - App Store

Download File Size: 614.7 - Update

ghostscript 9.27
An interpreter for the PostScript language and for PDF.
  • License: AGPL License is Freeware
  • Developer/Publisher: Artifex Software, Inc.
  • Modification Date: April 4, 2019
  • Requirements: macOS

Download File Size: 42.3 MB

Homebrew installation: $ brew install ghostscript

gv 3.7.4
GNU gv allows to view and navigate through PostScript and PDF documentson an X display by providing a graphical user interface for theGhostscript interpreter.
gv is a improved derivation of Timothy O. Theisen's Ghostview,originally developed by Johannes Plass.
  • License: Freeware
  • Developer/Publisher: Free Software Foundation
  • Modification Date: March 17, 2013
  • Requirements: macOS, Ghostscript, X11

Download File Size: 759 Kb

Homebrew installation: $ brew install gv
The following 3 dependencies will be installed if you install gv with Homebrew: Ghostscript, Pkg-config and X11.

iCalamus 2.19
iCalamus offers an easy approach to DTP, and is an excellent choice forcreating simple posters to complex magazines, scientific works and forbook publishing. iCalamus is the multi-lingual, frame-oriented desktoppublishing solution for OS X.
Working with precise measurement units is a breeze. Out of the box,iCalamus offers flexible masking options with many predefined,dynamically changeable frame shapes. Users may build virtual copies formultiple document elements and change them afterwards with just a fewmouse clicks.
iCalamus can import all image and text formats which are supported by OSX. Easily grab text content from large PDF documents for further textprocessing. Images from digital cameras, scanners or iPhoto librariescan be imported, as well as complete web pages. Print output supportsall printers, and iCalamus can optionally output documents in variousPDF formats (e.g. PDF-X, encrypted PDF, PDF Fax).
  • License: Demo, $55
  • Developer/Publisher: Lemke Software
  • Modification Date: February 7, 2019
  • Requirements: Mac OS X 10.11 or higher - 64-bit

Download File Size: 143 MB

InDesign 14.0.2
Craft elegant layouts at your desk or on the go.
The industry-leading page design and layout toolset lets you work acrossdesktop and mobile devices to create, preflight, and publish everythingfrom printed books and brochures to digital magazines, eBooks, andinteractive online documents.
  • License: Demo, Starting at $20/month
  • Developer/Publisher: Adobe
  • Modification Date: April 3, 2019
  • Requirements: macOS 10.13 or higher - 64-bit

Download File Size: 2.3 MB Installer

iStudio Publisher 1.4.1
Create stunning documents with iStudio Publisher. Powerful and intuitivepage layout software for desktop publishing. Designed exclusively forMac.
Featured by Apple in ‘Apps for Designers’, iStudio Publisher is perfectfor designing anything you want to layout and print, and comes withworld class support.
  • License: Demo, $30
  • Developer/Publisher: iStudio Software
  • Modification Date: July 31, 2018
  • Requirements: Mac OS X 10.7 or higher - 64-bit

Download File Size: 23.7 MB

Label Printer Pro 7.37
Create professional results with incredible ease. Easy to use softwareis perfect for any of your labeling projects from return addresses tosimple to create, eye popping business cards.
With easy to use image support you can make incredible name tags, CD/DVDlabels Post Cards, Tent Cards and even T-Shirts.
  • License: Buy, $10
  • Developer/Publisher: Pay & Play Software
  • Modification Date: November 19, 2018
  • Requirements: Mac OS X 10.9 or higher - 64-bit

Download File Size: 2.5 MB

LaTeXiT 2.13.2
Should LaTeXiT be categorized, it would be an equation editor. This isnot the plain truth, since LaTeXiT is 'simply' a graphical interfaceabove a LaTeX engine. However, its large set of features is a reason tosee it as an editor; this is the goal in fact.
  • License: Freeware
  • Developer/Publisher: Pierre Chatelier
  • Modification Date: March 19, 2019
  • Requirements: Mac OS X 10.4 or higher - 64-bit, a working LaTeX installation (TeX Live or MacTeX)

Download File Size: 15.6 MB

LyX 2.3.2
LyX is a document processor that encourages an approach to writing basedon the structure of your documents (WYSIWYM) and not simply theirappearance (WYSIWYG).
LyX combines the power and flexibility of TeX/LaTeX with the ease of useof a graphical interface. This results in world-class support forcreation of mathematical content (via a fully integrated equationeditor) and structured documents like academic articles, theses, andbooks. In addition, staples of scientific authoring such as referencelist and index creation come standard. But you can also use LyX tocreate a letter or a novel or a theatre play or film script. A broadarray of ready, well-designed document layouts are built in.
LyX is for people who want their writing to look great, right out of thebox. No more endless tinkering with formatting details, “fingerpainting” font attributes or futzing around with page boundaries. Youjust write. On screen, LyX looks like any word processor; its printedoutput — or richly cross-referenced PDF, just as readily produced —looks like nothing else.
  • License: Freeware
  • Developer/Publisher: lyx.org
  • Modification Date: December 10, 2018
  • Requirements: Mac OS X 10.6 or higher - 64-bit

Download File Size: 135.8 MB

PDF Expert 2.4.25
Fast, robust and beautiful PDF editor. Read, annotate and edit PDFs,change text and images. Fill forms and sign contracts like never before.
  • License: Demo, $60
  • Developer/Publisher: Readdle Inc
  • Modification Date: May 27, 2019
  • Requirements: Mac OS X 10.11 or higher - 64-bit

Download File Size: 44.4 MB

PDF OCR X 3.0.28
PDF OCR X is a simple drag-and-drop utility for Mac OS X and Windows,that converts your PDFs and images into text documents or searchable PDFfiles. It uses advanced OCR (optical character recognition) technologyto extract the text of the PDF even if that text is contained in animage. This is particularly useful for dealing with PDFs that werecreated via a Scan-to-PDF function in a scanner or photo copier.
  • License: Demo - Demo Limited to single-page images and PDFs, Buy $30 No Limit on Size of PDF
  • Developer/Publisher: Solutions Corp
  • Modification Date: October 14, 2019
  • Requirements: Mac OS X 10.9 higher - 64-bit

Download File Size: 40.1 MB

PDFKey Pro 4.3.9
- Recover Documents: Unlock PDF documents protected for printing and copying when you've forgotten your password.
- Unlock PDFs: Unlock, with your password, PDF documents that cannot otherwise be viewed.
- Lock PDFs: Lock PDF document with a password, restrict usage permissions on your documents.
- Automate: Batch-process multiple PDF files or folders without additional input.
  • License: Shareware, $25
  • Developer/Publisher: Michele Balistreri
  • Modification Date: September 21, 2017
  • Requirements: Mac OS X 10.8.3 or higher - 64-bit, Java (contained within the application)

Download File Size: 76 MB

PDFpen 11.1.1
PDFpen is your PDF editor for Mac. From signing and filling forms tocorrecting typos, OCRing scans and redacting sensitive info, PDFpen isyour go-to app.
PDFpenPro has everything from PDFpen, and more. Powerful form-buildingtools, more export options, control over permissions and tables ofcontents are just a few extras.
  • License: Demo, $75 - Pro $125
  • Developer/Publisher: SmileOnMyMac
  • Modification Date: October 2, 2019
  • Requirements: Mac OS X 10.12 or higher - 64-bit

Download File Size: 76.7 MB

PDFScanner 1.14.3
Details
* Support for all scanners that are supported by the Mac OS X ImageCapture application (please check that using the scanner in ImageCapture works before purchasing to be sure)
* Optical character recognition (OCR) to make the document searchable,allow to find it via Spotlight and other search tools or copy the text.
Best Free Publishing Software For Mac* Supported OCR languages: English, German, French, Spanish, Italian,Dutch, Portuguese, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian and Finnish
* Intuitive and fast user interface to reorder, delete or edit pages
* Fully automatic straightening of crooked pages (deskew)
* Full multithreading support
* Scanning, OCR and straightening is done on multiple pages in paralleland you can even reorder or delete pages while PDFScanner is stillworking
* 'Fake Duplex“ mode to simplify scanning of double sided documentswithout a duplex scanner
* Saving to PDF (optionally compressing the scan inside the PDF to savedisk space)
* It is also possible to open or import existing PDF documents and performOCR on them via a menu option (the language can be set in thePreferences).
* These features make PDFScanner the perfect software for people who ownan all-in-one printer with an ADF (automatic document feeder) scannerwhich often come with crappy scanning software for Macs (or even withoutany software besides the driver at all).
  • License: Buy, $18
  • Developer/Publisher: Felix Rotthowe
  • Modification Date: October 9, 2019
  • Requirements: Mac OS X 10.11 higher - 64-bit

Download File Size: 116.7 MB

PDF Squeezer 3.10.5
PDF Squeezer is an easy-to-use PDF compression tool.It reduces the size of large PDF documents by compressing images andremoving irrelevant information. This will help you obtain importantsavings in bandwidth costs, digital storage costs and networktransmission times.
  • License: Demo, $6
  • Developer/Publisher: Witt Software
  • Modification Date: August 27, 2019
  • Requirements: Mac OS X 10.10 or higher - 64-bit

Download File Size: 16.5 MB

Download File Size: 14.6 MB - App Store

Preview 11.0
View and annotate PDFs, fill out and sign forms, and edit images. Whenyou’re done, share your file, export a password-protected PDF, or exportimages in a variety of file types.
  • License: Comes with your Mac
  • Developer/Publisher: Apple
  • Modification Date: August 24, 2019
  • Requirements: macOS 10.15 - 64-bit, Earlier versions come with earlier operating systems
Printopia 3.0.14
Wireless printing to any printer
Share any printer, old or new, with your iPad or iPhone.
No App to Install
Printopia works with your iPad or iPhone's built-in printing capability.Just launch Printopia on your Mac, and you'll be able to print from yourdevice.
  • License: Demo, $20
  • Developer/Publisher: Decisive Tactics
  • Modification Date: October 8, 2019
  • Requirements: Mac OS X 10.7 or higher - 64-bit

Download File Size: 9.6 MB

QuarkXPress 2018 14.2.1
QuarkXPress is the leading graphic design and page layout software forcreative professionals.
It's used by hundreds of thousands of users around the world who valuequality and performance in their daily production of print and digitalprojects.
  • License: Demo, $849
  • Developer/Publisher: Quark
  • Modification Date: January 24, 2019
  • Requirements: Mac OS X 10.11 or higher - 64-bit

Download File Size: 666.7 MB Demo

Best Free Publishing Software For Mac

Scribus 1.4.8

Desktop Publisher For Mac Free

Welcome to Scribus, a page layout program for Linux, FreeBSD, PC-BSD,NetBSD, OpenBSD, Solaris, OpenIndiana, Debian GNU/Hurd, Mac OS X, OS/2Warp 4, eComStation, Haiku and Windows. Since its humble beginning inthe spring of 2001, Scribus has evolved into one of the premier OpenSource desktop applications. Encouraged by professionals and beginnersalike, the Scribus Team, with support from a large and growing number ofenthusiastic contributors from all over the world, is dedicated todevelop and improve “one of the most powerful and useful open-sourceprojects out there” (TechRepublic). Underneath a user-friendlyinterface, Scribus supports professional publishing features, such asCMYK colors, spot colors, ICC color management and versatile PDFcreation. Scribus has many unexpected touches, such as powerful vectordrawing tools, support for a huge number of file types via import/exportfilters, emulation of color blindness or the rendering of markuplanguages like LaTeX or Lilypond inside Scribus. The Scribus file formatis XML-based and open.
  • License: Freeware
  • Developer/Publisher: The Scribus Team
  • Modification Date: March 3, 2019
  • Requirements: Mac OS X 10.8 or higher - 64-bit

Download File Size: 110.7 MB

ForSkim 1.5.3
Skim is a PDF reader and note-taker for OS X. It is designed to help youread and annotate scientific papers in PDF, but is also great forviewing any PDF file.
  • License: Freeware
  • Developer/Publisher: Michael O. McCracken
  • Modification Date: October 1, 2019
  • Requirements: Mac OS X 10.6 or higher - 64-bit

Download File Size: 6.2 MB

Swift Publisher 5.5.1
Swift Publisher is a page layout and desktop publishing app for Mac.This software provides all you need to create effective desktoppublishing materials, such as flyers, brochures, catalogs, magazines,booklets, newsletters, calendars, posters, menus, cards, Facebook andTwitter covers, ad banners and many more.
  • License: Shareware, $20 - $28
  • Developer/Publisher: BeLight Software
  • Modification Date: October 17, 2019
  • Requirements: macOS 10.12 or higher - 64-bit

Download File Size: 389.4 MB

Texmaker 5.0.3
Texmaker is a free, modern and cross-platform LaTeX editor for linux,macosx and windows systems that integrates many tools needed to developdocuments with LaTeX, in just one application.
Texmaker includes unicode support, spell checking, auto-completion, codefolding and a built-in pdf viewer with synctex support and continuousview mode.
Texmaker is easy to use and to configure.
Texmaker is released under the GPL license .
  • License: Freeware
  • Developer/Publisher: Pascal Brachet
  • Modification Date: October 30, 2018
  • Requirements: macOS 10.12 or higher - 64-bit

Download File Size: 72.7 MB

TeXShop 4.44
TeXShop is a TeX previewer for Mac OS X, written in Cocoa. Since pdf isa native file format on OS X, TeXShop uses 'pdftex' and 'pdflatex'rather than 'tex' and 'latex' to typeset in its default configuration;these programs in the standard TeX Live distribution of TeX produce pdfoutput instead of dvi output.
TeXShop uses TeX Live, a standard distribution of Tex programsmaintained by the TeX Users Group (TUG) for Mac OS X, Windows, Linux,and various other Unix machines. The distribution includes tex, latex,dvips, tex fonts, cyrillic fonts, and virtually all other programs andsupporting files commonly used in the TeX world. The most recent versionof this distribution is maintained for the Mac by the MacTeX TeXnicalWorking Group of the TeX Users Group and available under the 'Obtaining'tab.
  • License: Freeware
  • Developer/Publisher: Richard Koch and Dirk Olmes
  • Modification Date: October 23, 2019
  • Requirements: Mac OS X 10.10 or higher - 64-bit, and a working LaTeX installation (TeX Live or MacTeX)

Download File Size: 46.5 MB

TeXstudio 2.12.16
TeXstudio is an integrated writing environment for creating LaTeXdocuments. Our goal is to make writing LaTeX as easy and comfortable aspossible. Therefore TeXstudio has numerous features likesyntax-highlighting, integrated viewer, reference checking and variousassistants.

Best Free Publishing Software For Mac Os X


TeXstudio is open source and is available for all major operating systems.
  • License: Freeware
  • Developer/Publisher: Benito van der Zander, Pascal Brachet
  • Modification Date: May 19, 2019
  • Requirements: Mac OS X 10.10 or higher - 64-bit

Download File Size: 53.6 MB

TeXworks 0.6.3
The TeXworks project is an effort to build a simple TeX front-endprogram (working environment) that will be available for all today'smajor desktop operating systems—in particular, MS Windows (XP/Vista/7),typical GNU/Linux distros and other X11-based systems, as well as Mac OSX. It is deliberately modeled on Dick Koch's award-winning TeXShop forMac OS X, which is credited with a resurgence of TeX usage on the Macplatform.
  • License: Freeware
  • Developer/Publisher: Jonathan Kew, Stefan Löffler, Charlie Sharpsteen
  • Modification Date: March 16, 2019
  • Requirements: Mac OS X 10.6.8 or higher - 64-bit

Download File Size: 23.1 MB

Trapeze 2.0
Trapeze is a drag-and-drop text extraction utility that converts PDFfiles to editable HTML, RTF, ASCII or plain text.
Trapeze puts you in control over the conversion process, with optionsfor white space stripping, paragraph rewrapping and page break marking.Additional features include advanced text encoding, targeted RTFoptimization (TextEdit or Microsoft Word), and support for encrypted(password protected) PDF.
Trapeze's powerful reformatting engine is capable of standard HTMLconversion, high quality RTF rendering and faithful plain textreproduction; a must for users interested in PDF web publishing,content data mining or repurposing.
  • License: Freeware
  • Developer/Publisher: Danny Espinoza
  • Modification Date: April 7, 2013
  • Requirements: Mac OS X 10.4 or higher - 64-bit

Download File Size: 361 Kb

VueScan 9.7.05
Can't find a driver for your scanner? VueScan is here to help
Don't you hate how scanner manufacturers stop releasing drivers whenevera new operating system comes out? VueScan works differently. We createscanner drivers for old scanners so you can keep using the scanner youalready have.
  • License: Shareware, $40
  • Developer/Publisher: Hamrick Software
  • Modification Date: October 17, 2019
  • Requirements: Mac OS X 10.7 or higher - 64-bit

Download File Size: 10.6 MB