Best Issuu Alternative For Retailers in 2025
As digital publishing continues to evolve, businesses and content creators are constantly seeking the best platforms to showcase their work in a visually appealing and interactive way. Issuu has long been a popular choice for turning static PDFs into dynamic flipbooks, but as user needs grow and technology advances, many are finding its limitations increasingly hard to overlook.
From high subscription costs to limited interactivity and monetization options, it’s no surprise that publishers are on the lookout for a better alternative—one that offers more flexibility, enhanced features, and better value for money.
In 2025, Publitas stands out as the ultimate Issuu alternative. With its focus on seamless integration, advanced shoppability features, and powerful customization options, Publitas empowers brands, marketers, and creators to deliver highly engaging, interactive content that drives results.
So, what makes Publitas the best choice for those ready to move beyond Issuu? Let’s dive in and explore why it’s the upgrade you’ve been waiting for.
Issuu
Founded in 2006, Issuu is where the world’s most innovative and growth-oriented content creators publish digitally. As the industry’s leading digital publishing platform, they give publishers the tools to deliver over 5 billion page views each month to the 80+ million readers who care most about their content.
Issuu helps publishers find, understand, monetize and grow a massive global audience on any device — while helping readers all over the world discover, enjoy and share new content. Headquartered in Palo Alto, California, Issuu is backed by Sunstone Capital and KDDI.
8 Reasons to look for an alternative to Issuu.
1. Limited E-commerce Features
Issuu lacks essential shoppable content capabilities, such as product overlays, shopping carts, and automatic SKU detection. This makes it difficult for retailers to turn their catalogs into sales-driven experiences.
2. Lack of SEO Optimization
Issuu does not offer built-in SEO optimization, making it harder for publications to rank in search engines. This limits organic reach and discoverability, which is crucial for businesses looking to attract a wider audience
3. No Google Analytics 4 (GA4) Integration
With Issuu, users miss out on advanced analytics capabilities provided by GA4, limiting their ability to track user behavior, gain actionable insights, and optimize content for better performance.
4. Third-Party Ads on Free Plans
Issuu displays third-party ads on free and lower-tier plans, which can clutter content and detract from a brand’s message, leading to a less professional experience for readers.
5. No Custom Domain with SSL Security
Issuu users are unable to publish their content under a custom domain with free SSL, which limits brand control and trustworthiness. Instead, they are restricted to Issuu-branded URLs.
6. Limited Content Personalization
Issuu offers a static viewing experience, meaning all readers see the same content without personalization options. In contrast, competitors provide dynamic experiences tailored to audience preferences.
7. No A/B Testing Capabilities
Without A/B testing, Issuu users cannot experiment with different versions of their publications to optimize engagement and conversions, making it difficult to refine content strategy effectively.
8. Basic Analytics and Reporting
Issuu’s built-in analytics provide only basic metrics, making it challenging for businesses to track detailed engagement patterns and measure the effectiveness of their publications.
What to look for choosing an Issuu alternative?
Choosing the best Issuu alternative for digital retail catalogs can be difficult. Many competitors, possibilities, tools, and platforms are available — each offering different solutions.
Whatever alternative platform you choose, it’ll have to offer the features and solutions that support you in meeting your revenue goals and digital catalog creation needs.
Let’s examine some essential requirements and helpful questions for evaluating your options.
Essential features for digital retail catalogs
At a minimum, a digital retail catalog requires the following features:
- Optimized for mobile devices
- Flip & slide effect
- Easy to navigate
- Create your catalog from PDF, product feed, or Excel sheet
- Add hotspots (product, video, link, etc.)
- Add interactive and shoppable images and videos
- Connection with GA4 (or other analytics platforms)
- eCommerce integration
- Reliable hosting
- Accessibility (ADA compliant)
- ISO27001 certification
- Search engine optimized
- Knowledge base and support team
Publitas
Publitas was founded in 2006 and is a leading B2B SaaS platform enabling businesses to provide seamless shopping experiences through Discovery Commerce, Digital Catalogs, and Shoppable Media. The user-friendly platform reaches 60+ million shoppers monthly and enables brands to create interactive and engaging online shopping journeys that inspire visitors and drive sales.
What Features Publitas offers compared to Issuu
Publitas and Issuu are both leading SaaS platforms for digital publications. However, Publitas focuses on retail and wholesale, whereas Issuu has a broader target audience. It empowers retailers with robust Discovery Commerce capabilities, driving increased digital catalog engagement, conversions, and revenue.
Publitas specializes in these advanced features while also being best-in-class for simple PDF upload and publishing
Make an informed decision by comparing the features and benefits of Publitas vs Issuu, and choose the digital catalog solution that best aligns with your brand’s unique requirements for online success. So how do Publitas and Issuu rank in a direct comparison? We have listed the main features below to compare both solutions on features and capabilities.
| Feature | Publitas | Issuu |
| External links | ✔ | ✔ |
| Video content (Youtube, MP4, Vimeo) | ✔ | ✔ |
| Image/GIF content | ✔ | ✔ |
| Custom branding | ✔ | ✔ |
| Multi-brand account structure | ✔ | ✔ |
| Advanced analytics solutions | ✔ | ✔ |
| API Access | ✔ | ✔ |
| Publication scheduling | ✔ | ✔ |
| Dedicated success manager | ✔ | ✔ |
| SEO optimization | ✔ | - |
| Integration with GA4 | ✔ | - |
| Custom domain with free SSL | ✔ | - |
| Shoppable content via product overlays | ✔ | - |
| Sync product info from online store | ✔ | - |
| Auto-detect products based on SKU tags | ✔ | - |
| Custom solutions | ✔ | - |
| A/B testing | ✔ | - |
| Shopping cart | ✔ | - |
| Dynamic products, pricing, and availability | ✔ | - |
| Personalization | ✔ | - |
| Automated SKU tags | ✔ | - |
| Shoppable video and images | ✔ | - |
| 3rd party ads | - | ✔ |
What users say after moving from Issuu to Publitas
FAQ about Issuu to Publitas migration
You can easily start with Publitas through a free trial.
To create a publication you can use the following steps:
- Upload your file
- Add hotspots (Silver plan or higher)
- Connect your product feed & add product hotspots (Gold or Enterprise plan)
- Add SEO details
- Setup Analytics
- Launch!
Yes, you can try Publitas Bronze, Silver, and Gold plans 14 days for free without needing to enter credit card details. If you are interested in an Enterprise plan, our team is happy to help you tailor the solution to your needs.
Publitas has integrations tailored to the retail and eCommerce industry. We integrate with Shopify, GA4, Matomo, Adobe, Bynder, and more. View all our integrations here.
- Import and update product feed
- SKU tagging
- Shopping cart
There are no data traffic fees for the Bronze, Silver, and Gold plans. On the Enterprise plan, there might be a variable cost depending on your usage. Contact us to learn more about the data traffic fees for the Enterprise plan.
Why organizations choose Publitas as the go to Issuu alternative?
- eCommerce integration
- Interactive media
- Intuitive platform
- Automated tagging
- Dynamic products & pricing
- Data analytics
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