Quilt design software
EQ8 alternatives: quilt design software compared (2026)
EQ8 is still the deepest quilt design program. Here’s how the other options compare on devices, price and whether they open your EQ8 projects.
The short answer
No one app does everything EQ8 does. For EQ8 projects, only QuiltLab’s paid plans list import. For an iPad, look at TideStitch or Quiltler; for free, NiftyFifty; for paper piecing, Fern Mountain or QuiltPop. Many quilters keep EQ8 and use a second app too.
EQ8 and the others
No other app does everything EQ8 does. EQ8 is still the deepest quilt design program you can buy, with more than 6,700 blocks built in and printing for almost everything you sew. What’s changed is where quilters design: more of us want to plan on an iPad, a Chromebook or in a browser, and EQ8 runs only on Windows and Mac computers.
So the best alternative depends on what you want it for. And you don’t have to choose one or the other. You can keep EQ8 for detailed work at the desk and use a lighter app elsewhere.
What to look for
- Your devices. Do you want to design on an iPad, a Chromebook, a Windows PC, a Mac, or all of them?
- Your EQ8 projects. If you have years of work in EQ8, can the new app open it? Very few can.
- How you pay. A one-time purchase, a subscription, or free.
- What you sew. If you love foundation paper piecing, appliqué or printed templates, check that the app prints them at the size you need.
- Whether it’s looked after. An app that hasn’t been updated in years may stop working on a new device.
At a glance
Each row is what the product says about itself on its own website or App Store listing, as of October 2026. Prices change, so check before you buy.
| Product | Runs on | Price | Free to use | Opens EQ8 projects? | Prints |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Electric Quilt 8 | Windows and Mac. Not Chromebooks, iPads, Android or Windows on ARM | $239.95 once. Both Windows and Mac: add the $24.95 Migration Kit | No free version listed | Its own format | Yardage estimates, rotary cutting charts, templates and foundation patterns |
| QuiltLab | A web browser | Maker $10 a month, Pro $25 a month; 20% less billed yearly | A free plan: 25 quilt designs and 10 PDF exports a month | Yes, on the paid Maker and Pro plans | PDF exports |
| NiftyFifty | Any web browser, tablets and Chromebooks included | Free | Free, with no account needed to design | Not mentioned | Cutting charts, true-size templates, and mirrored foundations with a ¼″ seam allowance and a 1″ check square |
| PreQuilt | A web browser | A subscription (Basic or Market), monthly or yearly. Prices are on its plans page | Try it on a grid free; solid color cards are free to use | Not mentioned | A fabric calculator: yardage, cut lists, cutting diagrams, backing and binding |
| TideStitch | iPad, Mac and iPhone (iPadOS 18, macOS 15 or later). Android in beta, by request | $29.99 once, or $49.99 once with the Studio block designer. No subscription | Free for up to 4 designs | Not mentioned | A PDF pattern with cut sizes, yardage and sewing steps; foundation paper piecing with Studio |
| Quiltler 3 | A browser studio on a Mac or PC, and an iPhone and iPad app | $7.99 a month or $49.99 a year; $4.99 for one quilt’s pattern; Designer $99 a year | Free to use; a free account saves one quilt | No, it says so | Yardage, cutting charts and printable patterns with full-size templates (paid) |
| Fern Mountain Quilt Architect | Mac (macOS 26.4 or later) and Windows | $49.99 once on the Mac App Store | No free version listed | Not mentioned | Foundation paper piecing templates as PDFs, cutting templates with seam allowances, and a yardage list |
| QuiltPop | iPhone and iPad | Free | Free | Not mentioned | Foundation paper piecing blocks on a home printer, with a numbered sewing order |
| Quiltography | iPad | $14.99 once | No free version listed | Not mentioned | PDF patterns from its photo quilt tool; yardage estimates on screen |
| Quilt Assistant | Windows | Free | Free | No. It exports designs to Electric Quilt | Templates with seam allowances, and paper piecing patterns |
“Not mentioned” means we found no claim of EQ8 import on the product’s own pages.
The options, one by one
Electric Quilt 8
The one the others are measured against. It doesn’t run on iPads or Chromebooks. On a Mac it runs through Rosetta: read EQ8 on macOS 27 and 28. More than 6,700 blocks and 6,200 fabrics built in.
QuiltLab
Its home page has an “Import EQ8” button and a QuiltLab vs EQ8 page. It doesn’t say which parts of an EQ8 project don’t come across, so try a copy of one file first. Says EQ8 import brings fabrics, pieced blocks and quilts. Maker has a 7-day free trial.
NiftyFifty
Nothing to install, and nothing to pay. Says the patterns you design are yours, for commercial use too.
PreQuilt
A browser app for planning quilts in color, with solid color cards preloaded. The Market plan lets pattern designers make coloring pages for their customers.
TideStitch
A newer app, made for iPad and Mac first, and it promises no subscription. Shows photos of your fabric at true scale.
Quiltler 3
Its own EQ8 page says plainly that it does not import EQ8 project files. Has a marketplace for selling patterns.
Fern Mountain Quilt Architect
A focused tool for foundation paper piecing, rather than whole-quilt design. Turns a photo or sketch into a foundation paper piecing pattern with no Y-seams.
QuiltPop
For laying out quilts and printing paper piecing blocks at home.
Quiltography
A yardage calculator and stash tracking on the iPad. Its App Store listing shows its last update on September 30, 2016.
Quilt Assistant
A Windows program for drafting blocks and turning photos into quilts. It says it isn’t meant as a cheap alternative to Electric Quilt. Its current download, version 2.25, is dated April 29, 2013.
Looking for one device in particular? See Mac, iPad, Windows and Chromebook and free options.
A note on fairness. We make Quarter Inch, so we’re not a neutral judge, and we’ve left it out of the table. We’ve kept to what each product says about itself on its own website or App Store listing, read on October 26, 2026, and linked every source below.
Where Quarter Inch fits
Quarter Inch is quilt design software for iPad, Mac, Windows, Chromebook and phone. Here it is on the same terms as the table:
- Runs on: a web browser on an iPad, Mac, Windows PC, Chromebook or phone, with the same quilts on each.
- Price: a Free plan, with 3 quilts being designed at a time and the yardage. Quilter is $9 a month or $89 a year.
- Opens EQ8 projects: yes, and EQ7 ones, free and with no account to open them. Every file gets a report of what came across, and your originals are never changed. See what comes across.
- Prints: with Quilter, a cutting chart, templates, paper piecing foundations, and one PDF at true size with a 1″ test square.
- Also: 524 blocks, curves included, and a block editor that works with Apple Pencil, on every plan.
You don’t have to stop using EQ8 to try it: use both. Switching from EQ8 explains how moving works, and Free and Quilter what each plan includes.
Questions
Short answers.
Something else? A real person replies.
hello@quarterinch.app
Which quilt design apps open EQ8 projects?
Of the products we compared, only QuiltLab lists EQ8 import, on its paid Maker and Pro plans. Quiltler says it doesn’t import EQ8 files. Quarter Inch, which we make, opens them free.
Is there a free alternative to EQ8?
NiftyFifty’s browser tools, QuiltPop and Quilt Assistant are free. QuiltLab has a free plan, and TideStitch is free for up to four designs. None of the free options lists EQ8 import.
Is there a version of EQ8 for iPad?
No. Electric Quilt says EQ8 won’t run on iPads or Chromebooks. Our EQ8 on iPad guide covers the options.
Should I stop using EQ8?
Not unless you want to. EQ8 is still a very capable program. You can keep using it alongside something else.
Sources
We checked every fact above against these pages on , and we update this guide when they change. Spotted something out of date? Write to hello@quarterinch.app.
- Electric Quilt 8 The Electric Quilt Company
- EQ8 System Requirements The Electric Quilt Company
- QuiltLab QuiltLab
- Pricing QuiltLab
- QuiltLab for AI assistants (llms.txt) QuiltLab
- Free quilt design software NiftyFifty
- Quilt design software for Mac NiftyFifty
- Free FPP pattern maker NiftyFifty
- PreQuilt PreQuilt
- Plans PreQuilt
- TideStitch Slack Tide Studio
- TideStitch: Quilt Designer on the App Store Apple App Store
- Quiltler Quiltler
- Quiltler as an EQ8 alternative Quiltler
- Quiltler 3 on the App Store Apple App Store
- Fern Mountain Quilt Architect Fern Mountain Follies
- Fern Mountain Quilt Architect on the App Store Apple App Store
- QuiltPop Pixamark
- QuiltPop on the App Store Apple App Store
- Quiltography on the App Store Apple App Store
- Free quilt design software Quilt Assistant