--- title: Scribus Reviews meta\_title: 'Scribus Reviews 2026: Details, Pricing, & Features | G2' meta\_description: Filter 28 reviews by the users' company size, role or industry to find out how Scribus works for a business like yours. aggregate\_rating: rating\_value: 4.1 review\_count: 28 scale: '5' date\_modified: '2026-08-07' parent\_category: name: Graphic Design url: https://www.g2.com/categories/graphic-design --- # Scribus Reviews & Product Details Scribus is an open source alternative for entry-level desktop publishing. * * * Seller [The Scribus Team](https://www.g2.com/sellers/the-scribus-team) Discussions [Scribus Community](https://www.g2.com/products/scribus/discuss) Solution Type Best-of-Breed Show More ## Value at a Glance Averages based on real user reviews. ### Perceived Cost $$$$$ [ View More Pricing Information ](https://www.g2.com/products/scribus/pricing) ## Top-Rated Alternatives [ ![Canva](/assets/transparent-ad5be28fbcd25b7b08d2cebe1d957125437fb5407d75ee717965ad22c8808791.gif "Canva") Canva 4.7/5(7,649) ](https://www.g2.com/products/canva/reviews) [ ![Adobe InDesign](/assets/transparent-ad5be28fbcd25b7b08d2cebe1d957125437fb5407d75ee717965ad22c8808791.gif "Adobe InDesign") Adobe InDesign 4.6/5(3,439) ](https://www.g2.com/products/adobe-indesign/reviews) [ ![Microsoft Publisher](/assets/transparent-ad5be28fbcd25b7b08d2cebe1d957125437fb5407d75ee717965ad22c8808791.gif "Microsoft Publisher") Microsoft Publisher 4.3/5(1,007) ](https://www.g2.com/products/microsoft-publisher/reviews) [ View All Alternatives ](https://www.g2.com/products/scribus/competitors/alternatives) ## User Insights Average based on 28 real user reviews. Perceived Cost $$$$$ [Log in to unlock pricing and user insights](/login) ![Tim D.](/assets/transparent-ad5be28fbcd25b7b08d2cebe1d957125437fb5407d75ee717965ad22c8808791.gif "Tim D.") TD Tim D. Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) 4/29/2023 "Powerful Open-source Publishing Software" 5/5 What do you like best about Scribus? Free, opensource software makes all the difference for the small nonprofit where I work. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. What do you dislike about Scribus? While there are user-made videos giving tutorials on youtube, there isn't a centralized way to learn all of the intricacies of the software. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. What problems is Scribus solving and how is that benefiting you? When our non-profit needs to design a brochure, flyer, or newsletter, this software is my go-to. While it might not be as powerful as an Adobe program (though it certainly can be in the right hands), it is LEAPS and BOUNDS beyond what you can do with Microsoft Word or google docs. Manipulating text, images, shapes, transparencies, and other objects work seamlessly to create a cohesive and visually satisfying published document. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. Show More Current UserValidated ReviewerIncentivizedSource: G2 invite ![Verified User in Computer Software](/assets/icons/anonymous-avatar-purple-4ae1032bdb50ee5682003170c8184aee790d25958bd397abbd384ba52c596a7b.svg "Verified User in Computer Software") UC Verified User in Computer Software Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) 5/11/2023 "Brilliant free home desktop publishing solution" 5/5 What do you like best about Scribus? It's free, it "just works" and it creates booklets/magazines/really anything you want to put together simply and easily. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. What do you dislike about Scribus? You do need to read exactly \*how\* to do things in Scribus but once you've done it once it's easy to do again. The interface seems a bit dated (particularly on high resolution screens) but it's great for being clutter free. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. What problems is Scribus solving and how is that benefiting you? I used to use Adobe products for desktop publishing and to be honest, they're a mess, they cost too much (subscription? awful) and if you don't stay on top of things your files become impossible to work with. I decided to give scribus a try while working on a new project and I was able to knock up a whole booklet in matter of \*hours\* with none of the issues I faced with Adobe products. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. Show More Current UserValidated ReviewerIncentivizedSource: G2 invite ![Paolo N.](/assets/transparent-ad5be28fbcd25b7b08d2cebe1d957125437fb5407d75ee717965ad22c8808791.gif "Paolo N.") PN Paolo N. Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) 5/16/2023 "A great and simple software for publications" 4.5/5 What do you like best about Scribus? Scribus has a simple way of arranging text, and has a nice workflow in general for the design of documents and publications, both for academic and comercial work. It's easy to use and straightforward. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. What do you dislike about Scribus? I would like a bit more options in terms of customizing pages and styles. I feel that some features found on other commercial software that have the same goals are still missing. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. What problems is Scribus solving and how is that benefiting you? Providing a solution for publications that is multi platform and works for Linux users as well. It really helps me create publications with ease and efficiency. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. Show More Current UserValidated ReviewerIncentivizedSource: G2 invite ![Brian "Sully" S.](/assets/transparent-ad5be28fbcd25b7b08d2cebe1d957125437fb5407d75ee717965ad22c8808791.gif "Brian "Sully" S.") BS Brian "Sully" S. Principal Internet Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) 4/25/2023 "Free, Open Source alternative to InDesign" 5/5 What do you like best about Scribus? So far, I cannot find a limitation to Scribus that InDesign offers. It is full-featured and powerful DTP software that can be used for highly layered, sophisticated, professional page layouts. The CMYK colour management tool is a standout. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. What do you dislike about Scribus? I think the GUI would benefit from some updating. Everything is in a logical order, but it has an old styling. Also, additional base templates for needs like social media banners or ebook layouts would be great. They're available online, but having them shipped intrinsic to Scribus would be nice. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. What problems is Scribus solving and how is that benefiting you? I have used Scribus for many DTP projects--stationery, the layout of books and eBooks, cut sheet flyers, and advertising spots. It does anything InDesign can do without the proprietary software price tag. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. Show More Validated ReviewerIncentivizedSource: G2 invite ![Joel L. H.](/assets/transparent-ad5be28fbcd25b7b08d2cebe1d957125437fb5407d75ee717965ad22c8808791.gif "Joel L. H.") JH Joel L. H. Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) 4/27/2023 "Scribus is a world class tool" 5/5 What do you like best about Scribus? It has an easy learning key. It is highly featured. I am able to do all my required tasks easily and efficiently. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. What do you dislike about Scribus? I find very few to nothing that I dislike. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. What problems is Scribus solving and how is that benefiting you? Magazine-ready copy. Scribus is OpenSource that brings improvements quickly & often. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. Show More Validated ReviewerIncentivizedSource: G2 invite ![Verified User in Consumer Electronics](/assets/icons/anonymous-avatar-purple-4ae1032bdb50ee5682003170c8184aee790d25958bd397abbd384ba52c596a7b.svg "Verified User in Consumer Electronics") UC Verified User in Consumer Electronics Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) 6/22/2019 "Scribus: a program of multi-platform page layout, free and with good capabilities." 5/5 What do you like best about Scribus? It is an application that offers a professional support to elaborate diverse documents and publications, in our case it was about giving support to a client that was elaborating a book for self-publishing in his University. The Scribus design presents a pleasant and orderly interface that allows the presentation of professional effects, such as: combinations of colors and creation of pdf files in a fast and dynamic way. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. What do you dislike about Scribus? It is an important detail to point out that although the program's interface is easy to understand, the use of drop-down menus nowadays (where the tape interface has become too common, practically a standard of all kinds of programs) , then, that makes the program look a bit "Old" or "Old", but that does not diminish the capacity to make very good layouts. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. Recommendations to others considering Scribus: The designer with whom I worked commented that although it was possible to import documents in ODT, DOC and DOCX format without problems, the import of HTML files forced him to make some adjustments due to limitations in that action. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. What problems is Scribus solving and how is that benefiting you? Although I used it as an operator only, in support of the designer's work, for a single recent job that was requested by a client with whom we already have time working, it seemed to me that the problem that allowed to solve this program was to lay out a material for its subsequent printing as a self-publishing book at very low cost, an issue that was decisive for his choice, because in a university context the budget is always "too small" Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. Show More Validated ReviewerIncentivizedSource: G2 invite ![Donna B.](/assets/transparent-ad5be28fbcd25b7b08d2cebe1d957125437fb5407d75ee717965ad22c8808791.gif "Donna B.") DB Donna B. free-lance photographer Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) 7/31/2018 "Works great for designing with text and images" 5/5 What do you like best about Scribus? I really appreciate high-quality, useful open-source free software. As a free-lance wildlife photographer, the ability to access free software is critical. Adopting Scribus has allowed me to drop Adobe Creative Cloud. Whenever I have had a question about how to do anything with the software, a quick Google search has always provided an immediate answer. A Scribus forum is available to ask questions as well. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. What do you dislike about Scribus? Image boxes do not have a caption function. Captions can, of course, be added by creating an image box and a text box for the caption. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. Recommendations to others considering Scribus: It is an acceptable substitute for much more expensive software. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. What problems is Scribus solving and how is that benefiting you? Using Scribus and my wildlife photographs, I've designed growth charts to record children's heights which I sell on Etsy. In addition, I use Scribus to design newsletters and MagCloud publications. I've also produced my business cards and letterhead in Scribus. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. Show More Current UserValidated ReviewerIncentivizedSource: G2 invite ![Rheana B.](/assets/transparent-ad5be28fbcd25b7b08d2cebe1d957125437fb5407d75ee717965ad22c8808791.gif "Rheana B.") RB Rheana B. Self Employed Furniture Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) 10/27/2017 "Swictched from Indesign to Scribus" 5/5 What do you like best about Scribus? This free program can do pretty much anything InDesign can do. I have the CS4 f InDesign and have used it for years. I do a 25-page (60-70 color photos) monthly email PDF newsletter. I decided to switch when my desktop PC went into the shop for two weeks with a mysterious monitor blackout problem. InDesign can only be installed on 1 computer. A killer if you have to switch to your backup machine. I installed Scribus on my laptop and used creating a duplicate of my previous issue as a way to learn it. It is very different from InDesign and the learning curve is a little steep, but I have found that once you have it down it does anything I want, and it handles sizing photos better than InDesign. (Instead of Placing a photo you draw an image frame. Can set frame to image size or image to frame size. Very good idea.) . I now have it on both my PC and laptop, and keep a daily backup on an external hard drive that can be moved from one machine to another. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. What do you dislike about Scribus? Once in a while hitting Ctrl-V to paste something in the clipboard causes the program to close, losing your latest changes. I have gotten into the habit of saving before pasting. But on the whole I am very happy with Scribus. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. What problems is Scribus solving and how is that benefiting you? Cutting cost on design software Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. Show More Validated ReviewerIncentivizedSource: G2 invite ![Francesco S.](/assets/transparent-ad5be28fbcd25b7b08d2cebe1d957125437fb5407d75ee717965ad22c8808791.gif "Francesco S.") FS Francesco S. Titolare, progettista Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) 10/13/2017 "A prouduction-ready Desktop publishing software, free and open-source" 5/5 What do you like best about Scribus? Scribus is a multiplatform, open source, free desktop publishing software. It can import a wide range of formats and allows a full control over the page. It features many professional marks, like CYMK support, image packing, and a wonderful PDF export function, very appreciated by professional printing services. It also plays nicely with other open-source software, like Inkscape. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. What do you dislike about Scribus? The interface is a steep learn curve at the beginning, and some features, like the text editor, show still room for improvement. Also, being so portable it does not integrates completely with the native features of some operating system, lime Mac OS. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. Recommendations to others considering Scribus: The learning curve is a bit steep at the beginning, but it pays back soon! Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. What problems is Scribus solving and how is that benefiting you? Scribus is a wonderful tool to prepare booklets for printing, pdf forms, and presentations. It is free and multi-platform, so we can deploy it on every machine and bring it around with us, without worrying of license codes. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. Show More Validated ReviewerIncentivizedSource: G2 invite ![Santiago Elías R.](/assets/transparent-ad5be28fbcd25b7b08d2cebe1d957125437fb5407d75ee717965ad22c8808791.gif "Santiago Elías R.") SR Santiago Elías R. Ilustrador y animador independiente Animation Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) 6/7/2016 "Excellent and professional free product" 5/5 What do you like best about Scribus? I used this tool for the first time when I was asked to do an animation book layout for a movie project. Since this was not the kind of work I usually do I didn't want to spend a large amount of money in a commercial sofware like InDesign. I was really happy to see that this open tool had everthing I needed to get a professional result. It has many functions for text and image editing and was also easy to understand at a basic level, so it didn't take me too long to start working with my first layout. Scribus can also be integrated with Gimp, a more complete open tool for image editing. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. What do you dislike about Scribus? It can be a little hard to move the objects to the exact position you need them to be. There are times when you need to calculate the positions numerically or move the objects little by little since the program can't aligning objects automatically.. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. Recommendations to others considering Scribus: Scribus has all the functionalities required to get very proffesional results. This surely is your best option if you don't want to spend your money in an expansive desktop publishing software. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. What problems is Scribus solving and how is that benefiting you? This very complete and professional tool is an excellent free alternative to more expensive publishing software. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com. Show More Current UserValidated ReviewerIncentivizedSource: G2 invite ##### Pricing Pricing details for this product isn’t currently available. Visit the vendor’s website to learn more. [ View More Pricing Information ](https://www.g2.com/products/scribus/pricing) Scribus Comparisons ![Product Avatar Image](https://images.g2crowd.com/uploads/product/image/small_square/small_square_956058913e41e97bb6879cf2871f678b/microsoft-publisher.png "Product Avatar Image") Microsoft Publisher 4.3/5(1,007) [ Compare Now ](https://www.g2.com/compare/microsoft-publisher-vs-scribus) ![Product Avatar Image](https://images.g2crowd.com/uploads/product/image/small_square/small_square_b63a01034ac032eb534b8ffbbe659987/adobe-indesign.png "Product Avatar Image") Adobe InDesign 4.6/5(3,439) [ Compare Now ](https://www.g2.com/compare/adobe-indesign-vs-scribus) ![Product Avatar Image](https://images.g2crowd.com/uploads/product/image/small_square/small_square_cd884d4c079edd9ade6d7e5e9dbbbf23/quarkxpress.png "Product Avatar Image") Quark 4/5(304) [ Compare Now ](https://www.g2.com/compare/quarkxpress-vs-scribus) ## Work at The Scribus Team? 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