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InDesign alternatives for small product catalogs

Choose a layout editor, a catalog builder, or a simple template according to how often your product data changes.

For
Small wholesale teams
Reading time
4 min

Start here

  1. Decide whether you are preserving an existing layout or creating a new one.
  2. Choose between page-layout control and repeatable product-data updates.
  3. Export a short sample and check the PDF with your printer.

Choose the publishing workflow

A twelve-product handout and a six-hundred-item wholesale catalog need different workflows. For the handout, an editable template may be sufficient. For the larger catalog, keeping prices tied to a product table matters more than choosing a familiar design interface.

SituationRoute to evaluate
Detailed print layout and an open-source desktop appScribus
A short catalog updated by handCanva or a simple page template
Recurring spreadsheet-driven catalogsCatalog Machine
An existing InDesign production processKeep InDesign and evaluate EasyCatalog

Scribus for page-layout work

Scribus is an open-source desktop publishing application. Evaluate it for a new print layout using your fonts and output requirements. Do not promise a lossless conversion of an old InDesign project: linked images, fonts, paragraph styles, and application-specific features need their own checks. Retain an exported reference PDF from the original project.

Canva for a short editable catalog

A shared design can be convenient when a small team edits a few products. Make the product code and price ordinary text that is easy to find. Keep an external product table, because editing a page visually does not by itself create a reliable data update process. Our catalog starter provides a printable layout and sample CSV rather than a hosted Canva template.

Data-driven catalogs

Catalog Machine describes product and price-list publishing; EasyCatalog connects data-driven workflows to InDesign. The latter is not an InDesign replacement, but may solve the actual repeated-layout problem without moving applications. Trial both with a changed price, a missing image, and a discontinued SKU.

Check the delivered PDF

Ask the printer which page size, bleed, color setup, and PDF specification they need. Print a sample containing the longest description and smallest code. Compare both the new design effort and the work required for next month’s price update. Avoid converting a whole archive before proving one representative file.

Sources

Updated October 30, 2026. Based on the linked documentation; the tools have not been benchmarked by NarrowTools. Editorial policy

Read next

Turn an Excel price list into a product catalogChoose between a catalog builder and InDesign automation, clean your product spreadsheet, and avoid stale prices in exported PDFs.Canva catalog template: plan the layout and product dataUse an original editable HTML starter and sample CSV, or recreate the same four-product layout in Canva.Canva line sheet template: wholesale fields and an editable starterDownload a simple line sheet and CSV with SKU, wholesale price, case pack, and MOQ fields, then adapt the layout in Canva.