How to open a .pub file without Microsoft Publisher (2026)

A .pub file only opens in a program almost nobody has any more. Here's what can actually read one — and the fastest way to see what's inside, today, in a browser.

Somebody sent you a .pub file, or you found a folder of them on the office computer, and double-clicking does nothing useful. That's because .pub is Microsoft Publisher's own format. Beyond Publisher itself — which Microsoft retires on October 1, 2026 — the only program that reads it is LibreOffice Draw (free, fiddly, and not always faithful to the layout), plus a handful of converters like the one on this page.

The good news: you don't need Publisher to get at what's inside. The fastest route is converting the file to a PDF, which keeps the layout and opens everywhere — that's what the drop zone on this page does, and your first file is free.