The short answer
Ink/Stitch is completely free and open source. It digitizes and letters designs inside the Inkscape vector editor, which suits people who are comfortable with vector drawing. Installing it on a Mac takes a few extra steps.
StitchBuddy is a free download from the Mac App Store that views, edits, converts and combines designs. The free version saves designs of up to 1,000 stitches; in-app upgrades cost $49.99 (Pro) and $29.99 (Creator).
Satinsmith's free tier opens, previews and organizes your design library and runs export checks, with five exports a month. Editing, lettering and digitizing are in the paid plans.
What Ink/Stitch does: Digitizing and lettering inside the Inkscape vector editor; writes DST, EXP, JEF, PES, VP3, XXX and other formats.
Price: Free and open source (GPL-3.0).
Sources, read September 24, 2026: Project site, macOS install guide, File formats.
Your options on a Mac
| Option | On a Mac | Digitizing | How it is sold |
|---|---|---|---|
| Satinsmith (ours) | Native Apple silicon app (M1 or newer), macOS 14 or later | Yes, from Digitizer | Free tier with five exports a month |
| StitchBuddy | Native Mac app from the Mac App Store, macOS 12 or later | No | Free download (saves designs of up to 1,000 stitches) |
| Ink/Stitch | Extension for Inkscape (1.0.2 or later) on macOS 12 or later, with Apple silicon and Intel downloads | Yes, inside Inkscape | Free and open source (GPL-3.0) |
| Embrilliance | Runs natively on Mac and Windows | Yes, with StitchArtist (sold separately) | One-time purchases, bought separately and added together: Essentials $159 list ($139 in a sale running when checked) |
The full comparison has what each one is good at, its limits and its sources.
Bringing your files
Whichever you try, test it with a copy of your own design folder before deciding.
Satinsmith opens PES, DST, JEF, VP3 and other formats free. The format guides explain what each one stores, and the free library lesson has practice files to try it with.
Which fits?
- You want free digitizing and are comfortable in a vector editor: Ink/Stitch.
- You mainly view, convert and combine existing designs, and they're small or you'll pay a little later: StitchBuddy.
- You want to organize and check a large design folder, with a few exports a month: Satinsmith's free tier.
- You'll convert or save designs often: expect to pay for an upgrade in any of them, and compare the one-time prices in the full comparison.
Try Satinsmith with your own files
Opening, previewing and checking designs is free, with five exports a month. Download Satinsmith for an Apple silicon Mac with macOS 14 or later, or start with the free library lesson and its practice files.
Satinsmith is not affiliated with any company named here. Product names are trademarks of their owners and are used only to identify their products.