To keep Microsoft Publisher working you’ll need one-time purchase version of Microsoft Office, one that still includes Publisher. Your options in 2026 are more limited than ever. Microsoft 365’s Publisher stops working in October. Finding a Office perpetual license that includes Publisher requires careful comparison. Here’s a clear breakdown of which Microsoft Office editions you can still buy outright, what they include, and the best choice for Publisher users.
Publisher as part of Microsoft 365 for Windows will stop working completely on 13 October 2026. There’s no way around that ‘kill switch’.
The only versions of Publisher that will work after October 2026 are non-subscription purchases:
- Office 2021 and earlier versions that have Publisher
- Standalone purchases of Publisher.
These will continue to work but without security or bug updates after the October 2026 cutoff.
Be careful when buying, because not all Microsoft Office bundles include Publisher. Consumer versions don’t.
Some “Volume Licence” versions of Office have Publisher. Officially, volume licence purchases are for organizations buying many copies of Microsoft software. In practice, there are unofficial ways to buy single licences.
Office 2024 does not have Publisher in any version.
Microsoft Publisher only
If you only need Publisher and not the full Office suite, there’s Publisher 2021 as a perpetual standalone product you can buy separately (one-time purchase), without a subscription.
However standalone Publisher isn’t often available for sale. While an Office bundle that includes Publisher is available from many places.
Microsoft Office 2021
- Office 2021 Professional – includes Publisher.
- Office 2021 Professional Plus – includes Publisher.
Office 2021 Home & Student and Home & Business editions do not include Publisher.
Microsoft Office 2019
- Office 2019 Standard – includes Publisher (volume licensing edition).
- Office 2019 Professional – includes Publisher.
- Office 2019 Professional Plus – includes Publisher.
Home & Student and Home & Business editions of Office 2019 do not include Publisher.
Office LTSC (Long-Term Servicing Channel)
LTSC = Long-Term Servicing Channel. Enterprise/volume-license variants rather than retail boxes)
- Office LTSC Standard 2021 – includes Publisher.
- Office LTSC Professional Plus 2021 – includes Publisher.
How to buy ‘old’ Microsoft Office?
Microsoft and major retailers don’t sell older versions of Microsoft Office, let alone the volume license versions.
People can buy volume licence versions of older Office through unofficial channels, check out Ultra-cheap Microsoft Office deals, are they legal and work?
