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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    Inkscape

    Score8.9 out of 10
    N/AInkscape is a free and open source vector drawing app for Windows, MacOS & Linux, available for download free under the GPLv3+ license. The tools aims to support illustrators, designers, web designers or anyone wanting to create vector graphics.N/A

    Microsoft Publisher

    Score8.4 out of 10
    N/AMicrosoft Publisher is a desktop publishing application available with an Office 365 subscription, or as a standalone download.

    $139

    one time purchase

    Pricing
    InkscapeMicrosoft Publisher
    Editions & Modules
    No answers on this topic
    Microsoft Publisher
    $139
    one time purchase
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    InkscapeMicrosoft Publisher
    Free Trial
    NoNo
    Free/Freemium Version
    YesNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoNo
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
    Additional Details——
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    InkscapeMicrosoft Publisher
    Considered Both Products
    Open Source
    No answer on this topic
    Microsoft
    No answer on this topic
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    100%
    Would buy again
    6 Answers
    92%
    Would buy again
    12 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
    100%
    Delivers good value for the price
    6 Answers
    100%
    Delivers good value for the price
    10 Answers
    Happy with the feature set
    100%
    Happy with the feature set
    6 Answers
    92%
    Happy with the feature set
    12 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    100%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    6 Answers
    80%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    4 Answers
    Implementation went as expected
    100%
    Implementation went as expected
    6 Answers
    83%
    Implementation went as expected
    5 Answers
    Best Alternatives
    InkscapeMicrosoft Publisher
    Small Businesses
    GIMP
    Score8 out of 10
    Adobe InDesign
    Score9.2 out of 10
    Medium-sized Companies
    Adobe Illustrator
    Score9.4 out of 10
    Adobe InDesign
    Score9.2 out of 10
    Enterprises
    Adobe PhotoShop
    Score9.2 out of 10
    Adobe InDesign
    Score9.2 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    InkscapeMicrosoft Publisher
    Likelihood to Recommend
    8.6
    (6 ratings)
    8.4
    (13 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    -
    (0 ratings)
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    Usability
    8.9
    (2 ratings)
    8.3
    (5 ratings)
    Support Rating
    -
    (0 ratings)
    8.0
    (3 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    InkscapeMicrosoft Publisher
    Likelihood to Recommend
    Open Source
    I would 100% recommend Inkscape to anyone starting out with graphic design or illustration, as it isn't that difficult to get the hang of on the first day of using it. I am not recommending Inkscape for beginners alone, even experts in the field can use Inkscape professionally as it cuts of the expense of needing to buy a paid graphic design software which provides almost the same features. Inkscape is also great for beginners because it can be treated like a stepping stone to move onto a paid graphic designing software like Adobe Illustrator, so Inkscape can be used to test the waters before making the leap. Inkscape and Illustrator are almost the same so there wont be any difficulty in switching later on.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    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!
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Pros
    Open Source
    • Creating mockups using all kinds of graphic elements together.
    • Creating Video thumbnails and thumbnail templates.
    • Online 'how to' resources help a great deal.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    • Design of my quarterly full color magazine: (usually 28-56 pages in length)
    • Design of the quarterly planning system used by me and others in the annual conference.
    • Design and layout of any document that requires graphics/photos.
    • Simple to use with ample flexibility and strength of features
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Cons
    Open Source
    • Can be tricky to get the hang of at first
    • UI is not always naturally intuitive but generally it is good
    • May require reading documentation and watching tutorials to skill up before using it efficiently
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    • 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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Likelihood to Renew
    Open Source
    No answers on this topic
    Microsoft
    We use this product 2-3 times a month and have not been able to find a comparable alternative.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Usability
    Open Source
    It is very good in general, but there are steps that I wish could be eliminated as they seem to be "duplicative".
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    There are a few quirks with Microsoft Publisher that make some functions a little tricky for new users at first, but most of our employees are able to figure out the quirks and work around them to use the product for their job. It is relatively high on the scale of usability.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Support Rating
    Open Source
    No answers on this topic
    Microsoft
    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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Alternatives Considered
    Open Source
    It is free. Easy to install Easy and simple to use and master. I find it as the best solution to do simple things without spending much time loading the API and trying to find the menu necessary to do the job. It produces vector graphics which is very well suited to illustrate research papers.
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Return on Investment
    Open Source
    • fast, efficient illustrations
    • inexpensive (donation based) enough for a tiny business
    • now can make custom labels for test products using our in-house printer
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    • we have invested on our Microsoft license for our team and that has made a very big productivity for making banners and holdings for our projects as making it from third party would cost much higher and the return is very well over the comparison with third-party vendors
    • Functionality is very easy, so we don’t have to train much to get it in production and use it efficiently so we don’t have to invest much on training and learning things and we can work on it directly with a very basic knowledge as well
    • It has functionality to get stored and share things directly to the OneDrive and using curated links, which is very secure and reliable to transfer files without losing picture and banners quality and share them in lossless quality.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    ScreenShots