13 Best Digital Magazine Creator (2019 Update)
[Update] If you’ve never heard of a digital magazine creator, I’ll forgive you. But be aware that this is the new way of reaching a ton of readers! That’s why I did a lot of research to finally narrow down the #1 digital magazine creator — Yumpu.
As more and more people prefer to read magazines online and on the go, many business owners are looking into becoming a digital magazine creator in order to expand their brand.
I’d seen the results my competitors were getting using free online magazine maker programmes to become digital magazine creators themselves, and I wanted a piece of the action. They got increased sales thanks to an increased readership! I wanted that too!
I didn’t have much money to invest in becoming a digital magazine creator, so I needed to find the greatest publishing software out there which didn’t cost the earth.
My research into digital magazine creator software has helped me become a skilled e magazine creator, publishing gorgeous and professional content using powerful digital magazine creator programmes.
As a result, my business is finally being taken seriously and I am personally considered a though leader in my industry.
But wait… you haven’t heard the best and latest bit.
I haven’t spent much at all; I haven’t gone back to school; I haven’t hired a professional; I haven’t even invested that much time.
I’ve become a digital magazine creator of the highest calibre in my SPARE TIME, with no previous experience and using free digital magazine publishing tools to do all the hard work!
I’ve decided it’s time to come clean and share my resources and secrets about digital magazine creator solutions with you, my loyal readers.
I’m going to count down the 13 greatest digital magazine creator tools I’ve found, to help you become a digital magazine creator just like me.
Before we start
In order for me to talk you through the most notable digital magazine creator tools out there, we need to make sure we’re on the same page.
If you’re considering becoming a digital magazine creator, there are a few things you need to be clear on from the start.
I had some questions about being a digital magazine creator myself, so I thought it would be useful to share the answers to them with you.
What is a digital magazine?
Don’t know?
I’ll tell you.
As a digital magazine creator, you’re going to need to recognize the difference between a virtual magazine and a traditional one.
Using a digital magazine creator to create a digital version of your publication isn’t the full extent of what we’re trying to do here.
As well as trying to make a digital magazine, a digital magazine creator will try to make it more engaging, more exciting than any hard copy publication could ever hope to be.
One of the biggest and most important differences for a digital magazine creator to understand is that, simply by being digital, these types of magazines have the potential to be so much more.
For a start, a good digital magazine creator will make their magazines all ready to be readable on any device (mobile devices such as iPhone or Android phone, desktop — windows and mac, laptop,…).
This means you can easily create digital magazine publications which can reach so many more people, whether they are on the train, at work or relaxing at home.
You can also use your magazine creator app to embed interactive elements into your digital magazine creator publication, instantly making it more engaging and exciting to read for your reader .
An interactive digital magazine could have followable links, video, photos, audio… as a digital magazine creator maker, it’s your job to make the most of the digital environment to make your own magazine stand out.
What is digital publishing?
Using html5 flipbook software to become a digital magazine creator is one way to get into online publishing.
However, this isn’t the limit of online publishing solutions.
To understand what online publishing is about and why it’s important to a digital magazine creator, we need to ask one more question…
What is the definition of digital publishing?
Originally digital publishing was all about the e-book, but as technology has changed, so has the definition.
Today, a more appropriate definition of digital publishing would be ‘Using digital technology to replace written material so that it is accessible via electronic device.’
To put it in plain English, it’s taking anything which is in hard copy format (images, sounds, words, music) and turning it into a digital alternative.
Some of the digitally published media examples you should be aware of as a digital magazine creator include:
- Ebook
- Blogs
- Catalogs
- Online Magazines
- Music
- Advertisements
- Flip Book
- Digital Publications
- And much more!
As a digital magazine creator, your job is to make something which can hold its own in the company of all these other things.
A good digital magazine creator will create a digital magazine which entices the reader and expands their brand, and that is your challenge!
Now we’re sure we know what a digital magazine creator needs to achieve, we can start looking at the different digital magazine creator options to see which is the bestest digital flip book publishing software out there.
My top 13 digital magazine creator tools for 2019
I’ve scoured the internet for the greatest digital magazine creator tools out there and am going to share the fruits of my hard work with you.
PS: At the very end I added one very special bonus digital magazine creator, which is my all-time-favorite! You don’t want to miss this one!
Some of these digital magazine creator tools will allow you to create a magazine or flip book from start to finish, others are digital magazine creator tools for a particular element of the process.
See what you think:
1. iMag
Hosting content from around 2.5 million businesses worldwide, iMag is possibly the biggest digital magazine creator out there that I’d never heard of. The best thing about this software is, undoubtedly, the extensive SEO features which are built into the platform. Doesn’t matter if you don’t know your Googles from your Bings, because the software takes care of it all on your behalf. The worst thing about it? You don’t even get Google Analytics on the basic package, which kinda makes all your SEO efforts somewhat wasted, unless you’re willing to stump up for the business level subscription (but it’s definitely worth it!).
2. Issuu
With this modern pdf flip book creator you can convert your PDF to flash with the click of a button using the digital magazine creator built into it. Issuu is, in essence, a digital magazine creator publishing platform with many nice features to choose from. What is a publishing platform you ask? Well, it’s like a digital bookshelf where you can store and display all your magazines for people to find. You can also decide to print magazines on paper and distribute them. When you’re looking at publishing platform comparison, having a large user base is crucial. Issuu has around 80 million, so it’s a perfect choice for sharing your content online (no download needed). Sharing your created flipbook/ brochure/ products catalog on social media (Facebook, Twitter & Co.), via email, embedding it into your website is easily done and will increase the visibility and drive more reader. There is a free plan but if you want to upgrade to one of their paid plans pricing starts at $22/month. If you need some additional information that further helps you decide which tool to choose you might want to check out their website.
3. XFlip
For any budding digital magazine creator publisher, the home page XFlip is an ideal tool. When you want to be able to read magazines online free PDF converters like this are essential. This digital magazine creator takes your PDF file and changes it into a dynamic Flash page, using a simple digital magazine creator that’s easy to master. This flip magazine maker has loads of free magazine templates built in, helping you become a pro digital magazine creator in no time. This way you will attract a ton of readers. In case there are still questions left or you need help/ support to get started you can always contact their support team.
4. Flipsnack
This is another digital magazine creator which allows you to upload your PDF file for conversion, but you can also use the magazine layout design software to style your digital publication too. As a new digital magazine creator, I found this software incredibly easy to use and enjoyed the amazing results too without having to download it. Pricing starts at $32/month.
5. LucidPress
This digital magazine creator website isn’t completely free, although it is pretty affordable and there’s a free trial to get you started. The digital magazine creator subscription is just $5.95 a month, and for such a powerful magazine maker app, I didn’t think that was bad. As well as being a digital magazine creator, Lucidpress lets you make digital brochures, newsletter, flyers, newsletters and reports too with flash page flip effect, so it’s a good all-round tool for business owners. It even works on mobile devices, desktop, ipad etc.
6. Magloft
This software turns PDF documents into interactive digital creations with just a couple of clicks. The Magloft free digital magazine creator plan lets you use the software for no charge including some nice features to choose from. The only downside is the digital flipbook maker branding is applied to your magazine. If that doesn’t matter, this is a great digital magazine creator.
7. Bote
You don’t sail it anywhere, but Bote is certainly something I’d rely on to keep me afloat. This intuitively designed software offers a great publishing solution for anyone looking to develop online flipbook publications with unlimited number of pages. It’s smooth, modern user interface hides a whole lot of technical expertise behind it, with superfast conversion from PDF to page flip, and a hosting solution provided by Amazon Web Services. That means you can rely on 99.9% uptime for your documents, which is great peace of mind for anyone. It’s affordable, there’s a free trial, so if you’re on the fence about which software to use, it’s definitely one to thoroughly check out.
8. Boxoft
If you need a digital product magazine creator that is not online, Boxoft is a downloadable digital magazine creator, letting you create magazines and ebook offline too. It has built in 3D flipping page graphics, which make your sites look amazing. It is really easy to convert PDFs to flipbook with this tool. For an offline digital pdf magazine creator, this is free, and I think it’s also a really nice one!
9. MadMagz
I love the interactive online magazine creator at MadMagz and its features. It’s been used by big brands such as Nike and L’Oréal and is a simple yet powerful digital magazine creator. It is possible to use it for free; the digital magazine creator has a free template designed and lets you host your magazine online for free. However, if you want to use a new template they start from just $10, and the digital magazine creator will allow you to add a link, sounds and video for just $24.98.
10. Canva
This isn’t a true digital magazine creator, but for creating gorgeous covers, it’s definitely worth a mention. There’re loads of digital magazine creator templates built in, helping you design an eye-catching, beautiful cover that looks like a professional did it. It’s perfectly possible to create a cover using this digital magazine creator for free, or you can spend from $1 on different fonts, layouts and image .
11. Joomag
Joomag is another popular digital magazine creator, used by millions worldwide. They are used by big companies such as KFC, Walmart, Mini and Costa Coffee to create gorgeous page flipping magazines with their simple digital magazine creator for you to save. There are more than 300 free templates built into the digital magazine creator but be aware the free trial is only for 14 days, after which it’s $79+ per month.
12. Flowpaper
Flowpaper is a digital magazine creator service that lets you add links, photo, video and more all for free. The free digital magazine creator plan allows you to turn your PDF files into digital magazines at no price at all. There will be a bit of digital magazine creator branding applied, and you’re limited to 10 pages. However, it’s a pretty good offer for such a powerful digital magazine creator.
13. Magzter
This isn’t really a digital magazine creator, but it is one of the most notable digital magazine platforms for hosting/ to publish your creation. The website got more than 17 million users/ customers reading magazine issues and is populated by big name mags like Forbes, Men’s Health and ELLE. As a new digital magazine creator, you’ll be able to get on iOS, Android, Kindle and more by hosting your magazine here. It’s free to use, but they’ll take a share of your revenue if you want to sell subscriptions.
Bonus: Yumpu (ps.: my personal favorite)
Well, as I told you at the very beginning — the best always comes last.
From all the tools that I tried out, I can confidently say that Yumpu is simply the best one can use to create custom high-quality magazines.
I have been using it now for 3 years and I am constantly amazed.
I started out with their free plan, which lets you add multimedia such as audio, video, images and even hyperlinks to your magazine!
So when I started to get deeper into digital publishing about 2 years ago I upgraded to their Adfree plan which is only $19,95/month (ps.: there is a 30-day free trial to test it out).
I ever since us their Adfree plan as I love how you can integrate Google Analytics to see what kind of content works well and is liked by my readers.
My flipbook is even optimized for search engines, there is no advertising in my magazine and I get to decide who can view my flipbook thanks to their privacy settings.
So now you have my list/guide and tips of digital magazine creator tools and the one which has allowed me to achieve huge success in the world of digital flip book publishing.
It’s taken me multiple weeks to whittle down the options for my greatest digital magazine software, so I hope you’ll take the plunge and become a digital magazine creator yourself and I hope this review was of help to you!
So, what is the best digital magazine software?
I did say I was going to highlight the bestest free magazine creator services, and I already did just a few paragraphs above.
Each and every single one of the digital magazine creator is special on its own. However, my all-time favorite is the free digital magazine creator Yumpu.
Some publishers tools are great for layout, some give you a huge selection of template formats, some let you add your logo and different color to bring it all to life, some for design, some for easy digital magazine creator functions…
…for me, Yumpu ticked everything off that I wanted and needed.
Most options come with magazine maker free printable instructions to help you get to grips with the software fast, so you can use the digital magazine creator right away.
I honestly couldn’t do what I do without every single one of these digital magazine creator programs.
I love all of them, and hope that as a new digital magazine creator you’ll try them out yourself.
Heck, you might even discover some page flip book maker gems that I’ve overlooked!
If so, please get in contact and share your digital magazine creator discoveries and reviews with me in the comments below this blog post; we’re all learning, all the time!
