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Publishing · head to head

Affinity Publisher vs Pressbooks

Affinity Publisher logo

Affinity Publisher

Publishing

Desktop page layout application, free since the Affinity range was relaunched by Canva

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Pressbooks logo

Pressbooks

Publishing

Open source book production built on WordPress, and the default tool for open textbooks

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Affinity Publisher it cannot open native InDesign documents, only IDML exports, so inherited client archives either come across imperfectly or have to be rebuilt from scratch.; Pressbooks self-hosting is free in licence terms only; it requires WordPress multisite administration, upgrades and backups, which is a real staff cost most institutions underestimate.
  • They diverge on capability: Affinity Publisher covers Master pages and text flow, Pressbooks covers Single source, three outputs.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Affinity Publisher and Pressbooks actually diverge.

Attributes where Affinity Publisher and Pressbooks differ
AttributeAffinity PublisherPressbooks
Pricing modelFree, no licence feeOpen source, no licence fee
PlatformsmacOS, Windows, iPadOSWeb, Self-hosted

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Publishing).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Affinity Publisher

  • Master pages and text flow
  • Prepress output
  • Unified application
  • IDML import
  • Data merge
  • Cross platform files

Only in Pressbooks

  • Single source, three outputs
  • Cloning and adaptation
  • H5P interactive content
  • LMS integration
  • Open source under the GPL
  • Accessibility tooling

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Affinity Publisher

  • Freelance designers and small studios that cannot justify a monthly page layout subscriptionnot Pressbooks
  • In-house marketing teams producing brochures, reports and price lists for commercial printnot Pressbooks
  • Print buyers who need to check and correct supplied artwork without a design suite licencenot Pressbooks
  • Schools, charities and community publishers where a zero licence cost decides the toolnot Pressbooks

Pressbooks

  • A university library replacing a commercial textbook by adapting an existing open textbook rather than commissioning a new onenot Affinity Publisher
  • A course team that wants readings delivered inside Canvas or Moodle with embedded exercises rather than as a static PDFnot Affinity Publisher
  • A research institute publishing reports that must exist as a web page, an EPUB and a printable document without maintaining three filesnot Affinity Publisher
  • A consortium standardising open textbook production across several institutions with a shared catalogue of adaptable titlesnot Affinity Publisher

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Affinity Publisher

  • It cannot open native InDesign documents, only IDML exports, so inherited client archives either come across imperfectly or have to be rebuilt from scratch.
  • There is no scripting or plugin interface, so studios that automate catalogue or variable data production still need InDesign alongside it.
  • Signing in through a Canva account is now part of using the free application, which is a problem for regulated or offline environments that forbid cloud accounts.
  • The roadmap belongs to Canva, and the 2025 relaunch already reset the licence model that earlier perpetual buyers paid for, so long-term direction is outside your control.
  • Commercial printers and freelance collaborators still expect InDesign packages, so handoff usually means delivering flattened PDFs rather than editable files.

Pressbooks

  • Self-hosting is free in licence terms only; it requires WordPress multisite administration, upgrades and backups, which is a real staff cost most institutions underestimate.
  • Professional print PDF output depends on a commercial rendering engine that is licensed separately, so the genuinely free self-hosted route produces web and EPUB output but not press-quality print.
  • Design control is limited to the supplied themes unless someone writes custom CSS, so books tend to look recognisably like Pressbooks books.
  • There is no distribution, no ISBN service and no retail channel, so it produces files and web pages but plays no part in selling anything.
  • The editing experience inherits WordPress conventions, and authors working on long or heavily structured manuscripts find it slower than a dedicated writing application.

Pricing, plan by plan

Affinity Publisher

Free
  • AffinityFree
    • Free for everyone since the 2025 relaunch
    • Layout, vector and photo tools in one application
    • Requires a Canva account to sign in

Pressbooks

Free
  • PressbooksFree
    • GPL licensed, self-hostable with no software fee
    • WordPress multisite administration is your responsibility
    • Print PDF export depends on a separately licensed rendering engine

Which should you pick?

Choose Affinity Publisher if

  • You need master pages and text flow.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on macOS, Windows, iPadOS.
  • You also want prepress output.
Affinity Publisher review

Choose Pressbooks if

  • You need single source, three outputs.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Self-hosted.
  • You also want cloning and adaptation.
Pressbooks review

Questions people ask

Is Affinity Publisher or Pressbooks better?
Neither clearly leads. Affinity Publisher starts at Free and Pressbooks at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Affinity Publisher or Pressbooks?
Affinity Publisher starts at Free and Pressbooks at Free.
Does Affinity Publisher or Pressbooks run on more platforms?
Affinity Publisher runs on macOS, Windows, iPadOS. Pressbooks runs on Web, Self-hosted.
Can I use Affinity Publisher for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Affinity Publisher best used for?
Affinity Publisher is most often used for freelance designers and small studios that cannot justify a monthly page layout subscription, in-house marketing teams producing brochures, reports and price lists for commercial print, print buyers who need to check and correct supplied artwork without a design suite licence, schools, charities and community publishers where a zero licence cost decides the tool. Of those, freelance designers and small studios that cannot justify a monthly page layout subscription and in-house marketing teams producing brochures, reports and price lists for commercial print are not what Pressbooks is typically brought in for.
What can Affinity Publisher do that Pressbooks cannot?
Affinity Publisher covers Master pages and text flow, Prepress output, Unified application, IDML import. Pressbooks covers Single source, three outputs, Cloning and adaptation, H5P interactive content, LMS integration.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Affinity Publisher: Is Affinity Publisher really free now?

Yes. Since the 2025 relaunch the unified Affinity application is free. Artificial intelligence features need a paid Canva plan.

Pressbooks: Is Pressbooks really free?

The software is GPL licensed and free to self-host. The hosted service is priced, and professional print PDF output requires a commercially licensed renderer, so budget accordingly.

Affinity Publisher: Can it open InDesign files?

Only IDML interchange files, and complex layouts lose fidelity. Native INDD files cannot be opened at all.

Pressbooks: Can I sell a book made in Pressbooks?

You can sell the EPUB or the printed book through any distributor, but Pressbooks itself provides no ISBN, no storefront and no distribution.

Affinity Publisher: What happened to the perpetual licences people bought?

Canva made the relaunched application free to everyone, which superseded the paid version 2 licence model.

Pressbooks: Why do universities use it for open textbooks?

Because an openly licensed book can be cloned into another institution network and adapted for a different course, which turns a finished textbook into a starting point rather than a fixed artefact.

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