Convert PUB to PDF online

How to convert PUB to PDF, step by step

1. Upload your file. Drag a .pub file onto the box above, or click Choose files. You can also drop a whole folder or a ZIP archive.
2. Wait a few seconds. Each file usually takes a few seconds. Large batches are processed in parallel and you can watch the progress.
3. Check the previews. The first page of every converted document is shown as a thumbnail. Files that deserve a closer look are marked Check layout with a note explaining why.
4. Download. The first 3 PDFs and the first Word file are free. To get all files of the upload as one ZIP, pick the plan that matches your file count (from $9, one time).

Why convert .pub files to PDF now

For years, a .pub file was easy to deal with: double-click it and Publisher opened. That stopped being true in October 2026, when Microsoft retired Publisher. It is no longer part of Microsoft 365, and the last standalone version is out of support. Most other programs can't open the format either, so a folder of newsletters, flyers and certificates can suddenly become a folder of files nobody can read.

PDF is the safest place to move them to. A PDF looks the same on Windows, Mac, phones and tablets, prints exactly as laid out, and will still open in twenty years. It's also what printers, school offices and church administrators usually ask for anyway.

What a good PUB to PDF conversion needs to get right

Publisher documents are page layouts, not flowing text. A converter has to place every text box, picture and shape at the right spot on the page. Generic converters often get the parts right but the layout wrong. These are the issues we specifically handle:

• Linked text boxes. Newsletters often flow one story through two or three columns. Some converters print the whole story into each column, so text appears twice or three times. We split the text across the linked boxes the way Publisher does.
• Text box sizes. When text no longer fits, some converters let boxes grow until they overlap the rest of the page. We keep boxes at their original size and, like Publisher, hide what doesn't fit; the file is then marked Check layout so you can see where.
• Fonts. Publisher files often use fonts that came with Microsoft Office. We substitute metric-compatible fonts with the same character widths, so headlines stay on one line and pages don't reflow.
• Text wrapping around pictures. Text flows around pictures and shapes the way it did in Publisher.

We don't promise a pixel-perfect copy for every file: decorative WordArt and very old (Publisher 98/2000) files are the hardest cases and can differ from the original. That's exactly why previews are free: you see what you're getting before you pay.

Converting many .pub files at once

If you're moving an archive (years of weekly bulletins, every flyer a club ever made, a folder of certificates) converting files one by one is painfully slow. Put the folder into a ZIP or drag the folder itself onto the upload box. We keep subfolder names, so the ZIP you download has the same structure as the one you uploaded. One upload can contain up to 5000 files. See bulk conversion for tips on large archives.

Other ways to convert PUB to PDF

If you still have a working copy of Publisher on an old computer, you can open each file and use File > Save As > PDF. That gives the best possible result, one file at a time. LibreOffice Draw can also open many .pub files for free. It works well for simple documents but often struggles with multi-column layouts and missing fonts. PubRescue is for when you don't have Publisher anymore, or when you have too many files to do by hand.

Privacy

Your files are only used to produce your PDFs and Word files. Free uploads are deleted automatically 24 hours after upload, paid ones after 7 days, and each upload lives at a random link only you know. Details are in our privacy policy.