Pattern Keeper vs Stitchmate
Pattern Keeper follows on Android. Stitchmate follows in any browser. Here is which one to pick, and how to use both.
Last updated: Sep 2, 2026
The short version
These two aren't really rivals. Pattern Keeper is a chart reader for PDFs you bought. Stitchmate's tracker is for patterns you made. Plenty of people should use both.
Choose Pattern Keeper if you...
- ✓Stitch on an Android phone or tablet
- ✓Buy PDF charts from many designers and want to track those
- ✓Need to stitch with no connection at all
- ✓Want a one-time purchase (about $9)
Choose Stitchmate if you...
- ✓Stitch on iPhone, iPad, Mac, Windows, or a Chromebook
- ✓Want progress to follow you between devices
- ✓Design or convert your own patterns, or open .PAT / .OXS / .XSD files
- ✓Need backstitch tracked, or track diamond painting, beads, or C2C
- ✓Want it free
Use both, honestly
Stitchmate has exported Pattern Keeper compatible PDFs since long before its own tracker existed, and it still does. Every paid plan includes the PK-ready file in the download bundle next to the color and black-and-white charts. So the workflow a lot of Android stitchers land on is: convert the photo or design the chart here, track it here on the laptop and phone, and hand the same PDF to Pattern Keeper on the tablet.
One thing we do that nobody else does: before you download, Stitchmate counts the exact number of backstitch segments and partial-stitch cells Pattern Keeper will drop, and shows you the numbers. That's Pattern Keeper's constraint, not ours, but you shouldn't find out about it on the tablet. The PDF export handbook covers the setting.
What doesn't cross over yet is progress itself. Marks you make in Pattern Keeper stay in Pattern Keeper, and vice versa. Its export format is documented, so an import is possible; it isn't built.
Feature by feature
| Feature | Stitchmate progress tracker | Pattern Keeper |
|---|---|---|
| Platform | Any browser: iPhone, iPad, Android, Mac, Windows, Chromebook | Android only |
| Price | Free, every pattern | About $9 one-time after a trial month |
| Reads PDF charts from any designer | — | ✓ 58 designer presets, camera import |
| Opens .PAT / .OXS / .XSD pattern files | ✓ | — |
| Design and edit patterns | ✓ Full editor, photo conversion | — Tracker only |
| Mark by tap and drag | ✓ | ✓ |
| Highlight one color | ✓ Plus lock marking to it | ✓ |
| Next stitch | ✓ | — |
| Parking, frog, and highlight marks | ✓ | ✓ 8 markup types |
| Backstitch tracking | ✓ Per segment, drag along outlines | — |
| Fractional stitches | ✓ One tap per stitch in the cell | ✓ Per quadrant |
| Finish estimate, streaks, session stats | ✓ | Completion percentage |
| Progress syncs across devices | ✓ Signed in | — Device-local, manual transfer file |
| Works offline | — Needs a connection to open | ✓ |
| Crafts | Cross stitch, needlepoint, diamond painting, fuse beads, C2C crochet | Cross stitch |
| Progress import / export | Backup and restore to a file | .pk_progress and .pktfer transfer files |
Pattern Keeper details from its Google Play listing and app behavior as of September 2026. Tell us if something changed.
Three stitchers, three answers
The HAED stitcher with an Android tablet
Full-coverage charts from a designer, bought as PDFs, stitched on a tablet propped on the frame. Pattern Keeper, no question. It reads the PDF, works offline, and its parking marks are built for exactly this. If you also design your own, export the PK file from Stitchmate and keep the same habit.
The phone-and-work-laptop stitcher
iPhone in the evening, a laptop you can't install apps on at lunch. This is the person Pattern Keeper has never been able to help. Stitchmate's tracker runs in the browser on both, syncs between them, and doesn't care that the laptop is locked down.
The designer testing their own chart
You made the pattern here. Tracking it in Stitchmate is one press of F, with backstitch tracked, and when you spot a problem the editor is right there. Then export the PK-ready PDF for the customers who track on Android, and read the limits warning so you know what they'll see.
The bottom line
Pattern Keeper wins on third-party PDFs and offline use, and it costs about $9 once. Stitchmate wins on every platform that isn't Android, on sync, on backstitch, and on price. If your patterns come from Stitchmate, or from PAT, OXS, and XSD files, start with Stitchmate. If they come as PDFs from other designers and you own an Android tablet, keep Pattern Keeper and use Stitchmate to make the charts. You can read more about how the tracker works on the stitch counter page.
Tried both? Tell other stitchers what worked.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Is Pattern Keeper free?
Pattern Keeper has a free trial month, then costs about $9 as a one-time purchase on Google Play. There is no subscription. Stitchmate's progress tracker is free on every pattern, with no per-pattern unlock and no pass required.
Does Pattern Keeper work on iPhone, PC, or Mac?
No. Pattern Keeper is Android-only, and has been for years despite requests. Stitchmate's tracker runs in the browser, so it works on iPhone, iPad, Mac, Windows, Chromebook, and Android with nothing to install. If you want the Pattern Keeper workflow on a device that isn't Android, that is the gap Stitchmate fills.
Does Stitchmate export patterns for Pattern Keeper?
Yes. Every paid plan exports a <strong>Pattern Keeper compatible</strong> PDF, and the download bundle includes it alongside the color and black-and-white charts. Before you download, Stitchmate counts the exact backstitch segments and partial stitches Pattern Keeper will not display and tells you, so nobody finds out on the tablet.
Can I move my Pattern Keeper progress into Stitchmate?
Not yet. Pattern Keeper's progress export format is documented and unencrypted, so an import is feasible, but it is not built. Today the two trackers keep separate progress. If you switch mid-project, you re-mark what is done.
Which one tracks backstitch?
Stitchmate. Backstitch is its own target: tap a line or drag along an outline to mark segments worked, with per-color counts for outline threads. Pattern Keeper does not track backstitch, which is its most-requested missing feature.
Which is better for diamond painting or fuse beads?
Stitchmate. Pattern Keeper reads cross stitch PDFs. Stitchmate tracks every craft the Stitchmate editor makes: cross stitch, needlepoint, diamond painting, fuse beads, and C2C crochet, with the counts in each craft’s own units.
Can I track a PDF I bought from a designer in Stitchmate?
Not directly. Stitchmate does not read PDF charts. It tracks patterns you made or converted in Stitchmate and pattern files you open in the editor (.PAT, .OXS, .XSD). For third-party PDF charts, Pattern Keeper is the right tool, and it is why this page says use both.