Is there a free layout program for Mac or Linux?
Layout by Zaweba, free page layout software, has a Mac and Linux version built from the same engine as the Windows app, with no account or subscription.
There is. Layout by Zaweba, a free page layout app for magazines, books, brochures and catalogues, has a Mac and Linux version. It was built on 31 October 2026 from the same engine as the Windows app, using a cross platform interface, and the Mac and Linux packages are produced by an automated build. Like the Windows version it's free software, with no account.
Free page layout on the Mac and on Linux has long meant choosing between simple tools that can't handle a proper book and powerful ones with a steep learning curve. A version of a full layout app that shares its engine with the Windows release gives another option.
Same engine, different interface
The important part is the engine. That's the code that lays out pages, composes text, handles colour and writes exports. Because the Mac and Linux version uses the same engine, documents are built by the same rules on every system. The interface around it is a separate cross platform build rather than the Windows one.
The Windows app is the original and the most widely used, and Windows 10 and 11 (64-bit) remain the main supported systems in the app's specifications. The Mac and Linux version is newer, so expect it to be refined as people use it and send feedback.
What Layout does
Layout by Zaweba is aimed at serious print work. Pages sit side by side in spreads on a pasteboard, with spreads of 1 to 10 pages for gatefolds and trifolds. Parent pages can be based on other parents and overridden page by page. Bleed and slug are set per edge.
Typography gets the full treatment: kerning, tracking, OpenType features, the paragraph composer, UK English hyphenation, nested and GREP styles, drop caps and baseline grids, footnotes and cross-references. Swatches can be CMYK, RGB, Lab or HSB, with spot inks and tints, separations preview and an ink limit warning.
Live preflight watches for overset text, missing fonts and pictures, low resolution, RGB in print and bleed problems as you work. Books join several documents with running page numbers, synchronised styles, one contents and one index. Exports include PDF with press and PDF/X style presets, EPUB 3, HTML, SVG, PNG, JPEG, TIFF, RTF and text.
Who might use it on a Mac or Linux
A self-publisher who writes on a Mac and wants a proper book layout without a subscription. A society or club where the volunteer editor runs Linux. A small studio with a mix of machines that wants one layout tool across all of them. A teacher or student who needs to learn page layout properly.
Things to bear in mind
Fonts are the ones installed on each computer. When moving documents between Windows, Mac and Linux, make sure the same fonts are installed on each, or preflight will flag them as missing. Use Package to gather a document with its pictures and fonts when handing work from one machine to another.
Colour management is basic in Layout: CMYK comes from a built-in model and ICC profiles aren't used. That's the same on every system.
Layout works offline with no account, no cloud and no telemetry, which matters on Linux in particular, where many people prefer software that doesn't phone home.
The honest summary
If you're on a Mac or Linux and want a free layout program with spreads, parent pages, proper typography and print-ready PDFs, Layout by Zaweba now has a version for you. It shares its engine with the Windows app, so the layout and output you get are built the same way.
