Free embroidery digitizing software: an honest comparison

The table shows what you get without paying, what the paid version costs, and whether the software can turn a picture into stitches automatically.

"Learning curve" is our own assessment, based on how much of the digitizing each tool leaves to you. The sections below explain each option in more detail.

Ink/Stitch is a free, open-source embroidery extension for Inkscape, the free vector drawing program, released under the GNU GPL version 3. It runs on Windows, macOS and Linux and writes the main machine formats, including PES, DST, JEF, EXP, VP3 and XXX, with nothing to pay and no limits.

The catch is that you are the digitizer. The design has to be in vector form, so a picture is first traced (Inkscape's Trace Bitmap is the usual starting point) and then cleaned up, because traced shapes are often too small or fragmented for embroidery. You then choose for each shape whether it is a satin column, a fill or a running stitch, and set its parameters. Ink/Stitch has helpful automatic tools for routing satin columns and running stitches, but they work on vector shapes, not on a photo.

Choose it if you want to learn digitizing properly, need full control over every stitch, or want a free tool to edit and combine designs. It is the same open-source project that parts of the StitchMyPic engine are based on, so we know how capable it is.

Embrilliance Express is the free mode of Embrilliance's software for Windows and macOS. According to the vendor, it lets you type words and names with Embrilliance's .BX fonts and open and save .BE files in machine formats. It is not a general design editor and it does not digitize.

The paid products build on it. Essentials (list price $159) adds merging, resizing with stitch recalculation and colour changes, and saves to many formats including PES, DST, JEF and EXP. The digitizing module, StitchArtist, comes in three levels with list prices of $179, $389 and $699. Embrilliance says clearly that StitchArtist is not a photo-to-stitch or auto-digitizing program: you import a picture and draw the stitches over it.

Choose it if you mainly add names and monograms with BX fonts, or you want affordable, well-supported manual digitizing on a Mac.

SewArt from S & S Computing is a Windows program that supports both automatic and manual digitizing. It converts raster pictures (JPG, PNG, BMP, GIF, TIF) and vector files (SVG, EMF, WMF), with image-processing tools and a step-by-step wizard. It saves PES, DST, JEF, EXP, HUS, VIP, VP3 and XXX.

There is a free 30-day demo, and the full version costs $75 as a download, with free lifetime updates. The vendor warns that updating during the demo ends the trial immediately. The vendor's pages we checked do not say whether the demo can save files. Mac users need an emulator such as CrossOver.

Choose it if you work on Windows, want automatic conversion on your own computer and prefer a one-time price.

Hatch Embroidery 4 is made by Wilcom and comes in four levels: Organizer ($199), Personalizer ($299), Composer ($699) and Digitizer ($1,199), as one-time purchases in US dollars. The free trial lasts 30 days, needs no credit card and includes all four levels, with a limit of 30 exported designs.

Auto-digitizing of photos and artwork is included only in Composer and Digitizer. Hatch states that it supports most machine formats. It runs on Windows only and requires Windows 11; Hatch says that on Apple silicon Macs it runs through Parallels.

Choose it if you digitize regularly on Windows and want auto-digitizing plus professional editing tools. The trial is a good way to see whether you will use it enough to justify the price.

Artspira is Brother's free app for iOS and Android. It works with Brother machines that have wireless LAN, such as the SE700, SE2000, PE900 and NQ1700E, and sends designs to the machine without a USB stick. It can open PES, PHC, PHX and DST files.

The free version includes a basic embroidery drawing tool. Photo digitizing and AI picture treatments are part of Artspira+, which costs $12.99 per month or $119.99 per year in the US, with a free first month for new subscribers. Brother's FAQ notes that a design digitized with Artspira+ cannot be transferred to the machine again after you cancel. The pages we checked do not say whether you can save embroidery files to your computer.

Choose it if you own a compatible wireless Brother machine and want to work from your phone.

StitchMyPic is not free software, and we would rather say so clearly. It runs in a web browser on a computer, tablet or phone, with nothing to install. You upload a PNG, JPG, WEBP or SVG and it converts the picture automatically: colour reduction, satin, fill or running stitch for each shape, underlay, pull compensation and sew order. The stitch preview is free and you can try it without an account.

Downloading a design costs 1 credit. One credit is $4.99, and packs and monthly plans lower the price per design (pricing). New accounts get one free credit. Every download is a ZIP with PES, DST, JEF and EXP, and for 7 days you can re-export the same design at another size.

It is built for automatic conversion, not for editing stitches one by one. It works best on logos, lettering and flat artwork; for detailed illustrations and photos, a digitizer or full software gives you more control.

It depends on what you want to spend: money or time.

• No budget, time to learn: Ink/Stitch. It is free with no limits, but you do the digitizing.
• Only names and monograms: Embrilliance Express with BX fonts.
• Automatic conversion on your own Windows computer: try the SewArt demo or the Hatch trial, then decide whether the price is worth it.
• A wireless Brother machine and a phone: Artspira, with Artspira+ for photo digitizing.
• A file from a logo or drawing in a few minutes, without installing anything: an online tool such as StitchMyPic, where you pay per design.
• Complex artwork or a production run: a professional digitizer. Our picture to embroidery file guide compares the cost and time of each approach.

Whatever you choose, the preparation is the same: a clean picture, few colours, the right size for your hoop and a test stitch-out. Our guide to the best images for embroidery helps with the first steps.