Stitchmate vs KG-Chart
KG-Chart for Cross Stitch has been charting on Windows since 2000, and a lot of from-scratch designers learned the
craft in it. It still costs a one-time $35. Stitchmate is a browser-based editor with the same core charting tools
plus photo conversion, 50+ thread brands, layers, French knots, and beads
The short version
Don't have time for a deep dive? Here's the quick take.
Choose KG-Chart if you...
- Already know it and have years of KG-Chart files you don't want to convert
- Work on Windows and prefer a small, offline desktop program with no account
- Chart from scratch by hand and don't need photo conversion
- Want a $35 one-time license that covers every future update
- Want to try the full program first — Pro has a 14-day trial before its one-time $35 license
Choose Stitchmate if you...
- Use a Mac, Chromebook, iPad, or Linux machine — or switch between devices
- Convert photos and want confetti cleanup and a FLOW score on the result
- Stitch with Anchor, Cosmo, Madeira, or hand-dyed threads, not only DMC
- Follow charts in Pattern Keeper or sell PDFs and need a polished, branded export
- Want layers, a text tool, French knots, and beads alongside the basic charting tools
Platform & access
KG-Chart is a Windows program, full stop. Ikuta Software's answer for Mac and mobile is a different product, StitchSketchEx, rather than a KG-Chart port. Stitchmate runs wherever a browser does.
| Feature | Stitchmate | KG-Chart |
|---|---|---|
| Platform | Any browser (Windows, Mac, Linux, Chrome OS, iPad) | Windows 8/10/11 only |
| Download required | No | Yes |
| Mac / mobile / tablet | ✓ | — (separate StitchSketchEx product) |
| Works offline | ✓ | ✓ |
| Free tier | ✓ (full editor, PNG export, up to 2000 × 2000) | 14-day trial, then $35 |
| Max pattern size | 2000 × 2000 | Not documented |
| Current version | Continuously updated (2026) | 1.42.8 |
| Development history | New | Since 2000 (copyright notice 2000–2014) |
Photo conversion
KG-Chart imports images (BMP, PNG, JPG, GIF, ICO) into a chart, but it was built for hand charting; reviewers note the import works best on simple, high-contrast artwork. Stitchmate's photo converter is a first-class feature with quality tools around it.
| Feature | Stitchmate | KG-Chart |
|---|---|---|
| Image import | ✓ (PNG, JPEG, WebP, HEIC) | ✓ (BMP, PNG, JPG, GIF, ICO) |
| Color reduction | Target-aware k-means, matched to the chosen thread brand | Basic (reviewers: best with simple, high-contrast images) |
| Live preview while adjusting | ✓ | Not documented |
| Pixel art mode | ✓ (1:1 pixel-to-stitch) | Image import at native resolution |
| Color styles | ✓ (B&W, sepia, duotone, tritone, custom palettes) | Not documented |
| Confetti cleanup | ✓ (automatic, adjustable strength, global or brush-targeted) | — |
| FLOW score | ✓ (0–100 stitchability score) | — |
Thread support
KG-Chart's feature list describes a "color palette (mimic DMC's thread color)". Stitchmate's 50+ brand color values come from vetted community mappings and scanned color cards, tracked per brand, and a whole pattern can be remapped between brands in one click.
| Feature | Stitchmate | KG-Chart |
|---|---|---|
| Thread brands | 50+ (DMC, Anchor, Cosmo, Madeira, and more) | DMC-style palette (others not documented) |
| Hand-dyed threads | ✓ (Weeks Dye Works, Gentle Art, and more) | Not documented |
| Thread conversion | ✓ (1-click remap across all 50+ brands) | — |
| Perceptual color matching | ✓ (CIEDE2000) | Not documented |
| Blended threads | ✓ (multi-strand blends, in the legend too) | Not documented |
| Skein estimates | ✓ (thread-length and purchasing page in the PDF) | Not documented |
Editing tools
This is KG-Chart's home turf — drawing stitches by hand with symbol marks. Both tools cover that. Stitchmate adds the layer, selection, and text tooling that from-scratch designers tend to reach for as charts get larger.
| Feature | Stitchmate | KG-Chart |
|---|---|---|
| Drawing tools | ✓ (brush, fill, line, shape, gradient) | ✓ (pixel drawing with symbol marks) |
| Selection tools | Rect, lasso, magic wand, transform | Not documented |
| Layers | ✓ (all plans) | Not documented |
| Text tool | ✓ (cross stitch fonts) | Not documented |
| Symmetry modes | ✓ | Not documented |
| Reference image overlay | ✓ | Not documented |
| Open other programs' files | ✓ (.PAT, .OXS, .XSD, .aseprite) | — (images only) |
| Cloud save / sync between devices | ✓ (auto-save, signed-in sync) | Local files (cloud sync not documented) |
Stitch types
KG-Chart's official feature list names full stitches and backstitch. Reviewers report fractional stitches as well; because the site itself doesn't list them, we have marked them as reported rather than confirmed.
| Feature | Stitchmate | KG-Chart |
|---|---|---|
| Full cross stitch | ✓ | ✓ |
| Half stitch | ✓ | Reported by reviewers (not on official list) |
| Quarter and three-quarter stitch | ✓ | Reported by reviewers (not on official list) |
| Petite stitch | ✓ | Not documented |
| Backstitching | ✓ (any angle, per-line strand count) | ✓ |
| French knots | ✓ | Not documented |
| Beads | ✓ | Not documented (separate KG-Chart for Bead Weaving product) |
Export options
KG-Chart prints, previews, and exports images. Stitchmate's export is built around a customizable multi-page PDF that Pattern Keeper reads, with SVG, PNG, and an editable .OXS file alongside.
| Feature | Stitchmate | KG-Chart |
|---|---|---|
| PDF export | ✓ (multi-page, paid options) | Print / print preview (PDF via a Windows PDF printer) |
| Pattern Keeper compatible | ✓ (all paid options) | Not documented |
| PNG / image export | ✓ (free) | ✓ (BMP, PNG, JPG, GIF, ICO) |
| SVG export | ✓ (paid options) | — |
| Realistic stitched preview | ✓ | ✓ ("real view") |
| Editable pattern file (.OXS) | ✓ | — (native format only) |
| Skein estimates | ✓ (skein estimates per color) | Not documented |
| Custom branding on PDF | ✓ (logo, QR code, socials; brandless on Seller Pass) | — |
Pricing
KG-Chart's pricing is about as simple as software gets: $35 once, every future update included, no refunds. Stitchmate is also one-time — no auto-renewing subscription — but splits the choice by how much you export, from a single $5.99 pattern to a lifetime Pass.
| Option | Stitchmate | KG-Chart |
|---|---|---|
| Free tier | ✓ (full editor up to 2000 × 2000, PNG export, PDF preview) | 14-day trial, then $35 |
| 1 pattern | $5.99 (PDF unlock forever, with edits) | — |
| Unlock packs | $12 for 5, $20 for 10 ($2 per pattern, never expire) | — |
| 30 days | $14.99 Personal / $24.99 Seller (one-time, does not renew) | — |
| Lifetime | $99 Personal / $149 Seller (commercial license) | $35 one-time (Pro) |
| Future updates | Included in all options, including Free | Included with the registration key |
| Installs | Any device, sign in and continue | Any number of PCs, registered user only |
How they compare in practice
Feature tables can be unkind to a program from 2000, so it is worth saying plainly what KG-Chart gets right.
KG-Chart is small, fast, and predictable. It opens instantly, it has never asked anyone to create an account, and the $35 you paid a decade ago still unlocks today's version. For designers who chart by hand — placing every stitch deliberately, working from a sketch rather than a photo — that focus is the appeal. The interface looks like the Windows it was born on, and reviewers are consistent that development has slowed; Ikuta Software's energy has moved to StitchSketchEx, the cross-platform successor. But "finished" is not the same as "broken", and plenty of stitchers are happy with a tool that does one thing and stopped changing.
Stitchmate covers the same hand-charting workflow — brush, fill, line, shape, symbol marks, backstitch — and then widens it in three directions KG-Chart never went. First, platform: it runs in a browser on a Mac, a Chromebook, an iPad, or a Windows PC, and a chart started on one continues on another. Second, photo conversion as a real feature rather than an image import: live preview, confetti cleanup, and a FLOW score that predicts how the pattern will feel to stitch — a 0–100 score built from fragmentation, locality, optimization, and workability. Third, threads: 50+ brand catalogs instead of a DMC-style palette, with one-click remapping when a customer asks for the Anchor version.
Files are the sticking point. KG-Chart's native format isn't something Stitchmate opens, and KG-Chart doesn't write .OXS or .PAT. The workable path for a designer switching is to export each chart from KG-Chart as a PNG at one pixel per stitch and open it in Stitchmate's pixel art mode, which keeps colors 1:1. Full stitches come across cleanly; backstitch has to be redrawn. That is a real cost for a large back catalog, and worth weighing honestly.
Export is where the gap is widest. KG-Chart prints and previews. Stitchmate's PDF export is a deep surface — paper size, tile size and overlap, grid colors and line weights, a cover page, custom instruction pages with live placeholders for stitch count and finished size, skein estimates, and your own logo and QR code. The PDF is Pattern Keeper compatible in every paid option, and a single download can bundle the color chart, a black-and-white chart, and the Pattern Keeper version together. If you sell patterns, this is the part of the comparison that matters most.
Thread colors: Stitchmate's color values come from scanned official color cards where we could get them and vetted community mappings elsewhere, tracked per brand rather than guessed. KG-Chart describes its palette as mimicking DMC's thread colors, which is what most software of its era did. Small differences compound across a 40-color palette.
The bottom line
KG-Chart is the right choice if you are on Windows, chart by hand, and want a lean $35 program that has stayed out of the way for two decades. A 14-day trial of Pro lets you try the full program before its one-time $35. The tradeoffs: Windows only, a DMC-style palette, basic image import, no documented Pattern Keeper support, and a codebase whose own copyright notice stops at 2014.
Stitchmate is the right choice if you want the same hand-charting tools on any device, plus photo conversion with confetti cleanup and FLOW score, 50+ thread brands, layers, French knots and beads, and a Pattern Keeper-compatible PDF in every paid option. The free tier is a full editor up to 2000 × 2000 with PNG export, so you can chart for as long as you like before paying anything.
For pattern sellers: KG-Chart's license doesn't address commercial use one way or the other on its purchase page. Stitchmate's Seller Pass ($24.99 for 30 days or $149 lifetime) includes the commercial license, custom PDF branding, a brandless export option, and skein estimates — see what Stitchmate offers sellers.
For Mac users: KG-Chart is not an option, and Ikuta Software's own answer is a different product. Stitchmate runs in Safari, Chrome, or Firefox on macOS with nothing to install, and the same account follows you to an iPad.
Looking for a KG-Chart alternative? If you want the hand-charting workflow you know, on a modern platform, with photo conversion and a PDF export built for today's tablets, Stitchmate covers it — and the free editor costs nothing to try alongside the KG-Chart you already have.
Used Stitchmate? Tell others how it went.
The best way to compare? Try both.
KG-Chart offers a 14-day Pro trial before its one-time $35. Stitchmate is free to start with PNG export. Chart the same motif in each and see which workflow fits you better.
Works on any device — phone, tablet, or computer. No desktop software required.
All comparisons · All features · 12-program review · Photo converter · Pixel art to cross stitch · DMC color chart · vs PCStitch · vs WinStitch · vs Musely
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is KG-Chart for Cross Stitch?
KG-Chart for Cross Stitch is a Windows desktop charting program from Ikuta Software (the site now shows Mozusystems, LLC in its footer). The current version is 1.42.8 and it runs on Windows 8, 10, and 11. Its official feature list covers drawing stitches with symbol marks, a color palette that mimics DMC thread colors, backstitch drawing, print, preview, and 'real view' rendering, and import/export to and from BMP, PNG, JPG, GIF, and ICO images. The copyright notice reads 2000–2014.
How much does KG-Chart cost?
The Pro edition is a one-time US $35. The registration key is valid for all future updates and can be installed on any number of PCs as long as the registered user is the one using it. Payment is through Amazon (US billing addresses only) or PayPal, and the purchase page states there are no refunds. The free LE edition has been discontinued; the only way to try the program now is a 14-day trial of Pro.
Does KG-Chart work on Mac?
No. KG-Chart for Cross Stitch is Windows only. Ikuta Software points Mac users to a separate cross-platform successor, StitchSketchEx, which runs on Mac, Windows, iOS, and Android and can read KG-Chart files. Stitchmate runs in any browser — Windows, Mac, Linux, Chromebook, iPad — with nothing to install.
Can I open my KG-Chart files in Stitchmate?
Not directly. Stitchmate imports .PAT (PCStitch), .OXS (WinStitch/MacStitch), .XSD (Pattern Maker), and .aseprite files, but KG-Chart's native format is not among them. The practical route is to export the chart from KG-Chart as a PNG at one pixel per stitch and open that in Stitchmate's pixel art mode, which preserves colors 1:1. Backstitch does not survive that path and would need to be redrawn.
Is KG-Chart still being updated?
The download page lists version 1.42.8 for Windows 8/10/11, and the site footer carries a 2026 copyright, so the program is still distributed and still runs on current Windows. The application's own copyright notice stops at 2014, and the developer's newer effort is StitchSketchEx. Reviewers generally describe KG-Chart as stable but no longer actively developed. Stitchmate ships new features regularly.
Does KG-Chart export Pattern Keeper compatible PDFs?
KG-Chart's site documents print and print preview, but neither PDF export nor Pattern Keeper compatibility is mentioned. You can print to a PDF printer on Windows, but whether Pattern Keeper will read the result is not documented. Stitchmate's PDF export is Pattern Keeper compatible in every paid option, from $5.99 for a single pattern.
Which has more thread brands, Stitchmate or KG-Chart?
KG-Chart's official feature list describes a 'color palette (mimic DMC's thread color)'. Stitchmate ships 50+ thread brand catalogs — DMC, Anchor, Cosmo, Madeira, Sullivans, Kreinik, and hand-dyed lines like Weeks Dye Works and Gentle Art — with colors matched perceptually (CIEDE2000) and one-click remapping of a whole pattern between brands.
Is Stitchmate a good KG-Chart alternative for drawing charts from scratch?
Yes. KG-Chart's strength has always been from-scratch charting — placing stitches by hand with symbol marks. Stitchmate covers the same workflow in the browser with brush, fill, line, shape, and gradient tools, rectangle, lasso, and magic-wand selection, layers, symmetry modes, a text tool with cross stitch fonts, and free-angle backstitch, French knots, and beads. It adds photo conversion, which KG-Chart handles only through basic image import.