Adobe InDesign compared: layout, prepress and long documents by subscription

As its reference edition, this comparison looks at InDesign as a single app in a Creative Cloud subscription for one person, taken out as an annual contract with monthly payment. This is the cheaper of the two offers with full InDesign whose price was available on Adobe's German pages. Creative Cloud Pro includes InDesign together with more than 20 other programs and costs more; new customers pay a lower introductory price there for the first three months. According to the purchase dialog, InDesign is also available as a monthly plan that can be cancelled without extra fees and as an annual contract paid upfront. Adobe does not offer a perpetual licence: according to Adobe, Creative Cloud apps require a subscription.

The current version is InDesign 2026 with version number 21. According to Adobe, the system requirements apply to version 21.3 and later, and the German "What's new" page describes version 21.4 of May 2026 as the most recent one. In addition, Adobe maintains the previous version 20.5 as an LTS version with security fixes. Features labelled beta, such as the AI assistant or Generative Fill, and the separate InDesign (Beta) app do not count in this comparison.

Adobe names the following platforms:

• Windows 10 and Windows 11, each 64-bit, with a processor that supports AVX2.
• macOS 13 Ventura to macOS 26 Tahoe on Macs with an Intel processor or Apple chip (M1 to M4). Version 21 does not run via Rosetta, so it runs directly on Apple chips.
• Version 21 cannot be installed on 3rd-generation or older Intel processors or on the 2013 Mac Pro.
• The system requirements do not mention Windows on ARM, Linux, an iPad app or a browser version of InDesign.

The interface is available in German. You need an internet connection and an Adobe account for activation and subscription checks. During the term you get new features and versions, and the Creative Cloud app updates automatically by default. You can install the current and the previous major version. If you cancel, access to the paid apps remains until the end of the billing period; after that you only have the benefits of the free Adobe account. So export important layouts as IDML and PDF in good time.

For recurring elements such as page numbers, headers or logos, InDesign works with master pages. The English help now calls them parent pages, previously master pages; the German help speaks of Musterseiten. In the Pages panel you rearrange, combine or duplicate pages and spreads.

You format text with paragraph and character styles. According to Adobe, a paragraph style contains attributes for characters and paragraphs, while a character style applies to individual passages. In addition there are nested styles, GREP styles, object styles and table and cell styles. Text flows through linked text frames from frame to frame and across several pages; for longer texts there is the Story Editor. You set up a baseline grid for the whole document or for individual text frames so that lines in neighbouring columns sit at the same height.

You create tables directly or import them; they can break across several frames and can be nested inside each other. According to the plans page, more than 20,000 fonts are available via Adobe Fonts, and you can fine-tune variable fonts. For technical documents there are mathematical formulas.

Two features help when the format changes: Adjust Layout moves objects automatically when you change size, margins or bleed, and according to Adobe, Flex layouts adapt dynamically to content changes. You download templates from Adobe Stock directly into InDesign, and you can also browse the Adobe Express template collection and edit the templates there. You can also place images and graphics as native Photoshop and Illustrator files. Since version 21.3 you can edit images with Adobe Express tools without leaving InDesign.

For offset printing you set up colours as CMYK process colours or as spot colours, for example from colour libraries. The colour settings define the working spaces, and on PDF export InDesign can convert colours to a destination profile while keeping spot colours. With the Ink Manager you control whether spot colours are converted to process colours. The separations panel shows how colours overprint, and you can simulate spot colour overprinting. Since version 21.2 you can let the printer determine colours when printing. The help pages evaluated here do not describe soft proofing on screen, so it is not verified.

You export print PDFs to PDF/X standards such as PDF/X-1a, PDF/X-3 or PDF/X-4, with bleed and printer's marks. Preflight checks while you work and reports, for example, missing files or fonts and images with too low a resolution; you manage the preflight profiles yourself. Before hand-off, the Package feature collects all fonts and linked graphics used in a folder, optionally with an IDML file, a print PDF and a report with printing instructions.

For screens there are several routes:

• EPUB, according to Adobe reflowable or with a fixed layout; since version 21.4, EPUB exports no longer cut off text when the font size is changed.
• Interactive PDFs with buttons, media and fillable forms.
• Export as HTML and HTML5, in the current version series also via script.
• Publish Online creates a web version of your document, and the help also covers Google Analytics for it.

For accessible documents, InDesign can generate alt text with AI, supports ARIA roles and exports accessible glossaries and indexes.

For books and long publications, a book file combines several InDesign documents. You synchronise styles, swatches and master pages from a source document, pages are numbered consecutively, and you output the whole book as a PDF. Tables of contents are built from the paragraph styles you choose for them, including several tables of contents in one document and interactive ones for digital output. For each document or book you create one index with simple keyword lists or a detailed structure.

You create footnotes and endnotes or take them over from Word and RTF documents; footnotes can span several columns and can be converted to endnotes. Cross-references take readers from one place in the document to another, and you control their appearance with cross-reference formats. With conditional text you show or hide passages for specific outputs, and condition sets save these settings.

For structured content you tag documents with XML, import XML data from external sources and export content as XML. Support for DITA is not documented on the vendor pages that were read.

Data merge combines data sources such as CSV or text files with a layout, for example for letters, envelopes or shipping labels. You can automate InDesign with scripts in JavaScript (ExtendScript), AppleScript and VBScript; there are also plug-in, scripting and server SDKs, plug-ins based on UXP and distribution through Adobe Exchange. For editorial workflows where writers work in parallel with the layout, Adobe connects InDesign with the separate program InCopy via assignments and checking content in and out.

The stable version includes several AI features based on Adobe Firefly:

• Text to Image creates images from a text prompt.
• Generative Expand enlarges images beyond their edges, for example for a larger frame or the bleed.
• Rewrite creates and revises text in different tones and can fit text to the frame, according to the "What's new" page since version 21.4.
• Alt text for images can be generated with AI.

According to Adobe, Generative Fill is labelled beta, as is the AI assistant; neither counts here. According to Adobe, you must be connected to the internet for the generative features. They use generative credits, one credit per generation for standard features. The plan considered includes 25 credits per month, and unused credits expire at the end of the month. If they run out, you wait for the next month or, according to Adobe, buy additional credits via Firefly or credit plans. Creative Cloud Pro, by contrast, offers unlimited standard AI features for images. Whether Rewrite and AI alt text use credits is not stated on the pages that were read. Converting PDF files into InDesign documents also requires an internet connection and signing in to your Adobe account.

You can only work offline to a limited extent: the apps check the licence every 30 days, and with an annual plan there is an offline grace period of 99 days. On training, Adobe states in its terms of use that it does not train generative AI models on your content. Adobe may analyse content stored on its servers to improve its products, but not content on your device. You can switch off this content analysis in your account settings.

For collaboration there is sharing for feedback: you create links through which others leave comments and annotations, and you see the feedback directly in InDesign. Cloud documents save automatically, keep older versions and can be synced for offline access, and you invite collaborators to edit them. Whether several people can work on the same document at the same time is not described on the pages that were read.

For brand guidelines you use Creative Cloud Libraries with colours, text styles and graphics. You export layouts to Adobe Express, where others adapt them; Adobe Express Premium is included in the subscription. According to Adobe's help, however, locking elements against changes in Express is only available in the plans for teams and enterprises, not in the individual plan.

InDesign saves documents in its own INDD format and books as book files. IDML is used for exchange: with it you can also open a document or book in earlier InDesign versions. The table in this comparison shows which other layout programs open IDML.

On import, InDesign takes over Word documents and maps Word styles to its own text styles, and footnotes from Word and RTF come along. You place Photoshop and Illustrator files natively. You convert PDF files of up to 100 MB and 200 pages into editable documents via "File > Open PDF"; paragraph and character styles are created in the process. According to Adobe, the fonts used should be installed on your computer for this. Illustrator files can be converted the same way if they were saved as PDF-compatible.

For the print shop you export PDF/X files or send a package with fonts, linked graphics, IDML, a print PDF and printing instructions. You can also export to EPUB, interactive PDF, HTML, HTML5 and XML, and export to Adobe Express.

When switching to another program, IDML is the key bridge, while PDF serves as an archive and print format. When your subscription ends, you can no longer work with InDesign; so export ongoing projects as IDML and PDF beforehand.

In our view, InDesign suits you if:

• you prepare print products for print shops and need PDF/X, spot colours, a separations panel, preflight and print packages,
• you typeset books, magazines or catalogues with master pages, book files, tables of contents, an index and footnotes,
• you exchange layouts with agencies, publishers or clients in InDesign format or as IDML,
• you want to create variants from table data or output layouts as EPUB, interactive PDF or HTML5,
• you are fine with an ongoing subscription with regular updates and AI features.

In our view, InDesign is less suitable if:

• you want to work without a subscription or buy once,
• you work on Linux, on an older computer without AVX2 or without a regular internet connection,
• several people need to work on the same layout at the same time,
• you mainly create quick social media graphics from templates; Adobe Express is included in the subscription for that,
• you want to maintain large technical documentation in a structured way, for example with DITA,
• you want to use AI features heavily and 25 credits per month are not enough.