Quilt design software
Quilt design software for Windows and Chromebook (2026)
EQ8 is at home on Windows, but not on every Windows laptop, and not on a Chromebook at all. Here are the options for each, side by side.
The short answer
On Windows: EQ8 (not on Windows on ARM or in S mode), Fern Mountain Quilt Architect, the free but dated Quilt Assistant, and any browser tool. On a Chromebook, use a browser tool such as NiftyFifty, QuiltLab or PreQuilt: EQ8 won’t run there.
What to look for
- On Windows, the kind of PC. EQ8 isn’t compatible with Windows on ARM (Snapdragon) computers, and won’t install in Windows S mode. Check before you buy a new laptop for it.
- On a Chromebook, a browser tool. EQ8 won’t run on one, and none of the Windows or Mac programs below says it does. Quilt software there means a website, or an Android app on the Chromebooks that have Google Play.
- Your EQ8 projects. If you have years of work in EQ8, ask whether the new tool opens them. Very few do.
- Printing at true size, if you sew from templates or foundations.
On Windows
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 |
| 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 |
| Quilt Assistant | Windows | Free | Free | No. It exports designs to Electric Quilt | Templates with seam allowances, and paper piecing patterns |
| 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) |
| 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 |
“Not mentioned” means we found no claim of EQ8 import on the product’s own pages.
Electric Quilt 8
EQ8 for Windows is version 1.1.0.6, released February 28, 2025, and recommends Windows 11 or 10. It runs on Windows tablets too, such as a Surface. More than 6,700 blocks and 6,200 fabrics built in.
Fern Mountain Quilt Architect
Its website’s Windows download goes to the Microsoft Store; the price we could read is the Mac App Store’s. Turns a photo or sketch into a foundation paper piecing pattern with no Y-seams.
Quilt Assistant
It says plainly that it isn’t meant as a cheap alternative to Electric Quilt: it has no block or fabric libraries. Its current download, version 2.25, is dated April 29, 2013.
Quiltler 3
On a Windows PC, its studio runs in the browser. Has a marketplace for selling patterns.
QuiltLab
Runs in your browser on a Windows PC, with nothing to install. Says EQ8 import brings fabrics, pieced blocks and quilts. Maker has a 7-day free trial.
NiftyFifty
Runs in any browser on a Windows PC, with nothing to install. Says the patterns you design are yours, for commercial use too.
PreQuilt
Runs in your browser; a color and layout planner with a fabric calculator. The Market plan lets pattern designers make coloring pages for their customers.
On a Chromebook
EQ8 won’t run on a Chromebook, Electric Quilt says, and none of the other Windows and Mac programs above says it does. What works is a tool that runs in Chrome. You can install a website as an app from Chrome’s menu, so it opens from the launcher like any other. Of the browser tools:
| Product | Runs on | Price | Free to use | Opens EQ8 projects? | Prints |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
- NiftyFifty names Chromebooks on its own page.
- QuiltLab and PreQuilt run in a web browser, but the pages we read don’t name Chromebooks. Try the free part on yours first.
Android apps from Google Play work on some Chromebooks, Google says. Of the apps we compared, only TideStitch mentions Android: a beta, by request. For using EQ8 itself from a Chromebook, see can you use EQ8 on a Chromebook?
A note on fairness. We make Quarter Inch, so we’re not a neutral judge, and it isn’t in the tables. We kept to what each product says on its own pages, read on October 26, 2026, and every source is linked below.
Where Quarter Inch fits
Quarter Inch runs in the browser on a Windows PC or a Chromebook, with nothing to install. Here it is on the same terms as the tables:
- 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
Does EQ8 run on Windows 11?
Yes. Electric Quilt recommends Windows 11 or 10. It isn’t compatible with Windows on ARM (Snapdragon) computers, and won’t install in S mode.
What quilt design software works on a Chromebook?
Software that runs in a web browser. NiftyFifty names Chromebooks; QuiltLab and PreQuilt run in a browser but don’t name them. EQ8 won’t run on a Chromebook.
Is there free quilt design software for Windows?
NiftyFifty is free in any browser, and Quilt Assistant is a free Windows program, last updated in 2013. QuiltLab has a free plan.
Can I run EQ8 on a Snapdragon laptop?
No. Electric Quilt says EQ8 isn’t compatible with Windows on ARM (Snapdragon) computers.
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.
- EQ8 System Requirements The Electric Quilt Company
- EQ8 Updates The Electric Quilt Company
- EQ8 on Microsoft Surface The Electric Quilt Company
- Install & use Android apps on your Chromebook Google Chromebook Help
- Use web apps Google Chrome Help
- Electric Quilt 8 The Electric Quilt Company
- EQ8 System Requirements The Electric Quilt Company
- Fern Mountain Quilt Architect Fern Mountain Follies
- Fern Mountain Quilt Architect on the App Store Apple App Store
- Free quilt design software Quilt Assistant
- Quiltler Quiltler
- Quiltler as an EQ8 alternative Quiltler
- Quiltler 3 on the App Store Apple App Store
- 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