The short answer
You install Inkscape 1.0.2 or later and open it once, then run the Ink/Stitch installer for your Mac. There are separate downloads for Apple silicon and Intel, for macOS 12 or later, and on an Apple silicon Mac its guide also asks you to install Rosetta. The latest release when we checked was version 3.3.0, from July 31, 2026.
In Inkscape you draw or import artwork and turn each shape into fills, satin columns or running stitches, add lettering from its font library, and save a copy in your machine's format. It also opens existing machine files, in a manual stitch mode where you move individual stitches.
What Ink/Stitch does: Digitizing and lettering inside the Inkscape vector editor, with a font library, batch lettering, a stitch simulator and a density map; opens machine files in a manual stitch mode for editing individual stitches; reads more than 40 embroidery formats and writes DST, EXP, JEF, PEC, PES, U01, VP3, XXX, TBF and G-code.
Price: Free and open source (GPL-3.0).
Sources, read September 28, 2026: Project site, macOS install guide, File formats, Import and export, Lettering, Simulator and preview, v3.3.0 release, Licence.
Side by side
| Task | Ink/Stitch | Satinsmith (ours) |
|---|---|---|
| Runs on | macOS 12 or later on Apple silicon and Intel, inside Inkscape; also Windows and Linux | Apple silicon Macs with macOS 14 or later, as its own app; no Intel Mac or Windows version |
| Setting up | Install Inkscape, then Ink/Stitch; Rosetta on Apple silicon | Download one app |
| Cost | Free (GPL-3.0) | Free tier with five exports a month; paid plans are one-time, from Studio at $99 to Business at $999 |
| Digitizing your own artwork | Yes, free, with detailed manual control | Yes, from the Digitizer plan ($249); auto-digitizing in Digitizer Pro ($599) |
| Designs you already have | Opens a machine file through Inkscape's File menu, in manual stitch mode | Free library: add a folder to browse every design as a card, search, tag and rate them, and watch the stitches play back; your files stay where they are |
| Adding a name | Lettering tool with a font library, plus batch lettering for many names | Editable lettering in Studio ($99), saved as a project you can change later; batch personalization of up to 100 names in Business |
| Checking a design | Stitch simulator, stitch plan preview and density map | Free export checks: a report on what the chosen format keeps, a hoop check, design warnings and a density view |
| Converting formats | Reads more than 40 embroidery formats; writes DST, EXP, JEF, PEC, PES, U01, VP3, XXX, TBF and G-code, and can save several at once in a ZIP | Reads 24 machine formats and writes 14, including PES, DST, JEF, HUS, SEW and VP3; converting one file is free within the five exports, and converting many at once needs Studio |
Ink/Stitch facts from the sources above; Satinsmith facts from our plans, known limits and format guides.
Other options on a Mac
Embrilliance, StitchBuddy and Windows programs such as Hatch are in the full comparison, with what each one is good at, its limits and its sources.
Bringing your files
From Ink/Stitch to Satinsmith: save a copy of your design as PES, DST or another machine format, and keep the SVG for later changes, as Ink/Stitch's guide advises. Satinsmith opens the machine file free. It doesn't read Ink/Stitch's stitch settings, so the design arrives as stitches.
From Satinsmith to Ink/Stitch: machine files you export from Satinsmith open in Ink/Stitch in manual stitch mode. Satinsmith's own .ssdesign projects open only in Satinsmith.
To compare them on the same files, the free library lesson has original PES and DST practice files that open in both.
Which fits?
- You want to digitize your own artwork for free and are comfortable drawing in a vector editor: Ink/Stitch.
- You use an Intel Mac, or also work on Windows or Linux: Ink/Stitch, since Satinsmith needs an Apple silicon Mac.
- You mostly work with designs you bought or already have, and want to browse, check, personalize and convert them in one Mac app: Satinsmith. Its library, checks and single-file conversion are free.
- You want both: digitize in Ink/Stitch, save a PES or DST copy, and keep your design folder organized and checked in Satinsmith's free library.
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.