Microsoft Publisher vs. QuarkXPress

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Microsoft Publisher
Score 7.5 out of 10
N/A
Microsoft Publisher is a desktop publishing application available with an Office 365 subscription, or as a standalone download.
$139
one time purchase
QuarkXPress
Score 10.0 out of 10
N/A
QuarkXPress from Quark Software headquartered in Denver introduces modern responsive web design with Flex Layouts, reimagined Tables, and productivity-boosting design features.N/A
Pricing
Microsoft PublisherQuarkXPress
Editions & Modules
Microsoft Publisher
$139
one time purchase
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Microsoft PublisherQuarkXPress
Free Trial
NoYes
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeOptional
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Microsoft PublisherQuarkXPress
User Ratings
Microsoft PublisherQuarkXPress
Likelihood to Recommend
8.0
(0 ratings)
9.9
(0 ratings)
Usability
8.0
(0 ratings)
10.0
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
8.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
Microsoft PublisherQuarkXPress
Likelihood to Recommend
Microsoft Publisher is well suited for almost any situation. It is something that I'm sure has far more advanced tools than I use or am aware of, but it is also very simple for entry-level users to create professional documents quickly. I have used it for very involved brochures in real estate scenarios and I have also used it for very simple "Construction Zone" signs at a job site under construction. There are so many uses for this program!
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If you are looking for a great design solution that does not break the bank then QuarkXPress is the way to go. We use Quark not only due to the low cost but, the customer support is amazing and every year you get a new release with updates that you never knew you needed. Quark's development team takes on suggestions and often will implement some of them if the need is great enough. I cannot express the saving of time and money enough when it comes to using QuarkXPress.
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Pros
  • Microsoft Publisher is just like Word, but Publisher, give much more features like multi page printing of single image and banner
  • We have faced very much difficulties for picture control in Microsoft Word, but Microsoft Publisher has much advanced picture. Control features with multiple alignment and distortion correction function.
  • We are also using Publisher for big banners for streets for promotion of our products, which is helping us on a very large scale advertisement with in-house design, designing, and printing of large banners easily
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  • Excellent project conversion into PDFs and digital formats.
  • Incredibly user friendly and intuitive to use.
  • Works seamlessly with our Adobe Suite of programs.
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Cons
  • Formatting in general. It's a pain to refine a layout in Publisher in my opinion.
  • Microsoft is so invested in their approach to software and making it look and feel like an Office 365 application that they inadvertantly cripple applications like Publisher.
  • Earlier versions of Publisher gave you a lot more latitude and creative freedom. They were also much easier to work with. Not everything has to look like it's part of Office 365. They did the same ... thing to Access.
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  • Currently does not have a way to open really old archived QuarkXPress files.
  • Text manipulation could be expanded upon (ie be able to warp or distort text).
  • Be able to output files in InDesign format.
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Usability
It has a great feature set but does not overwhelm me with its complexity. This is not an entry-level program, but it is also not one of the top of line graphic designer programs, like Abode In-Design. I can use Publisher to do 95% of what I need to get done. The other 5% I farm out to the graphics design person in the organization. It simply works and does so in a simple to use manner.
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This is an industry standard. It is intuitive and pretty simple. I have been using it for 40 years and by no means do I use its potential, rather it does just what I want it to do.
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Support Rating
While I have not directly used support for Microsoft Publisher, I have used their help files and found them to be useful. I have also found that most answers that I need can be found through simple web searches and chat platforms. In all though, there are very few times when the preloaded help files have not given me the answers that I need.
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Alternatives Considered
Microsoft Publisher is more for beginners, or for basic needs, anyone with some familiarity with the Microsoft suite should be able to use it easily. If you’re looking to create something more graphic and advanced, you’d probably want to look into something like InDesign, which is not as user friendly if you’re not familiar with it at all. For basic needs the average employee should be able to use Microsoft Publisher with ease.
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QuarkXPress has more user-friendly features compared to Adobe InDesign where we can set up the page layout for any sort of medium. We can compress the pdf size here as per the requirement. Also, we can export pdf in a quicker manner by choosing it as a default output format.
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Return on Investment
  • Don't really have a way to measure ROI in my industry (Religious organization), but let me say, Publisher is at the heart of the way that I do things. If I did not have it, then my productivity would be crushed and the ability to communicate with individuals within the annual conference would be greatly diminished.
  • Publisher allows me to produce quality, sometimes complex, documents in a simple and efficient manner.
  • It has been my go-to program for the majority of my communication needs for more than 10 years. It would be difficult to do my job without Publisher.
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  • We've been able to design modern print materials.
  • Easy to convert projects from other formats.
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ScreenShots

QuarkXPress Screenshots

Screenshot of macOS Sequoia CompatibilityScreenshot of AI-Powered Text Editing with Quarky AIScreenshot of AI-Powered Font PairingScreenshot of Easily Ideate and Apply Colors with New Colors TabScreenshot of Create Multiple Font CollectionsScreenshot of Import and Manage Markdown Language