Comparison

Silk vs Markup R

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Silk

Discover a vast collection of cross stitch patterns and designs to fuel your creativity. Whether you're a beginner or a seasoned pro, this app offers inspiration, resources, and tools to enhance your embroidery art. Explore new charts, view color palettes, and access material lists to bring your stitching projects to life.

Highlights
  • Huge collection of cross stitch charts
  • Multiple chart formats
  • View color palette while stitching
  • Zoom functionality for designs
  • Vertical and horizontal rulers
  • Material lists for stitching
Features
Read full description

Are you looking for new cross stitch designs to express your creativity? Silk – Cross Stitch Patterns app is here for you. Step foot into a world of endless creativity, breathtaking cross stitching art, useful resources and more with this exciting app dedicated to cross stitching enthusiasts. Whether you are beginner seeking inspiration and help on what to stitch next or you are a pro at cross stitching who needs to explore new designs, the Silk app is here to help you in countless ways. Try Silk – Cross Stitch Patterns now! Explore New Cross Stitch Patterns Are you getting bored of the pattern monotony in your cross stitching routine? Make things simpler, easier and more exciting with this app. Seek new creative inspiration, counter your art block and be your best creative self with the help of this amazing cross stitching app. Delicate, Traditional Cross Stitching Skill No need to waste your time watching long tutorials to find new patterns for cross stitching. We know just how much embroidery art means to you and we are here to help you by providing an amazing reserve of traditional, delicate cross stitching patterns. Features of Silk – Cross Stitch Patterns • Huge collection of beautiful, delicate cross stitch charts • Three formats of the cross stitching charts are available • Easily view the color palette while stitching the artwork • Zoom in to enlarge the blocks and zoom out to bring the whole design in appropriate perspective • Vertical and horizontal ruler is available to underline your stitching pattern • Complete material list by the mains of cross stitching such as Soied´Alger and DMC Are you ready to cross stitch and express your creativity? Download and use Silk – Cross Stitch Patterns today!

About

Markup R

This app allows users to mark up any stitch chart from any designer. It can automatically detect grids, symbols, and colors from PDFs or photos, and even stitch together multi-page charts. Users can track progress, identify stitch counts, and utilize built-in shade cards for thread colors.

Highlights
  • Load any chart from any designer
  • Automatic grid, symbol, and color detection
  • Stitch multi-page charts together
  • Automatic symbol and thread color detection
  • Built-in shade cards (DMC, Anchor, Madeira)
  • Track progress and statistics
  • Customizable markup tools
Features
Read full description

Spend your stitching time stitching, not counting. Markup R-XP is a cross stitch pattern tracker that turns your PDF, paper, book and magazine cross stitch patterns into digital charts you can zoom, highlight and mark off as you stitch. No more taping pages together, no more highlighter on your paper patterns, and no more hunting for the square you stopped on. Join thousands of stitchers who've made their cross stitch charts easier to follow. Try it free for 14 days. STITCH THE CHARTS YOU ALREADY OWN Your cross stitch charts, from any designer, in one digital workspace. • PDF pattern import: open cross stitch PDFs from independent designers, Etsy shops and major publishers • Paper, book and magazine scanning: photograph a printed pattern and Markup R-XP lines it up into a digital grid • Full Chart mode: join multi-page charts into one continuous chart, so page joins stop being a counting puzzle • Free cross stitch charts included: start stitching straight away with ready-to-go designer charts NEVER LOSE YOUR PLACE Spend less time finding your place and more time enjoying every stitch. • Last-stitch marker: reopen your project and pick up where you stopped • Symbol highlighting: tap a symbol to light up every matching stitch across the whole chart • Detailed zoom: zoom right in on tiny symbols and busy confetti sections MADE FOR THE WAY YOU STITCH From a beginner's first kit to a full-coverage piece. • Parking method: track parked threads with your own markers, ideal for full-coverage and confetti-heavy charts • Backstitch layer: mark backstitch separately, with snap-to-grid, solid or dashed lines • Fractional stitches: track them alongside your full stitches • Thread palettes: DMC, Anchor, Madeira and other floss ranges built in • Stitch-alongs (SAL): add new chart parts as they release without losing your progress WATCH YOUR PROGRESS GROW Make every stitching session count. • Track stitches completed, stitches remaining and percentage done • Set daily goals and keep your stitching streak going • See every WIP move closer to a finished piece YOUR STITCHING WORKSPACE ON IPHONE AND IPAD • Works on iPhone and iPad • Back up and transfer projects between supported devices MADE FOR CROSS STITCHERS Markup R-XP is built by a dedicated small team. Join our global stitching community to share tips, find help and get more from your cross stitch and embroidery projects. Questions or feedback? Contact us at info@markuprxp.co.uk or visit markuprxp.co.uk

Screenshots

Silk4 screens
Markup R4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Silk at every 5 days against Markup R's monthly. Silk also leads on iOS requirement (12.4 vs 16.0). Markup R's advantage is review sentiment (66% vs 54%) and ratings volume (3.1K vs 501). On price, rating, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Silk sells 11 one-off in-app purchases and Markup R sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $19.99 per year. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for Silk against 4.7 for Markup R. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Markup R has 3.1K ratings behind it against 501, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 54% of Silk's written reviews are positive against 66% of Markup R's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Silk ships an update every 5 days, Markup R monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Silk versus Markup R: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSilkMarkup R
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (501 ratings) — better4.7 (3.1K ratings)
Positive reviews54.2% of reviews66.1% of reviews — better
Number of ratings5013.1K — better
Update frequencyEvery 5 days — betterMonthly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS12.4 — better16.0
Further details — not scored
Size12 MB318 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperCSP Embroidery Digital UG haftungsbeschranktKewin Lawson Smith Limited

Customer experience

Silk

All ratings500 ratings
Positive95.6%
Neutral1.2%
Negative3.2%
Written reviews24 reviews
Positive54.2%
Neutral12.5%
Negative33.3%

Markup R

All ratings3,055 ratings
Positive94.2%
Neutral1.5%
Negative4.3%
Written reviews354 reviews
Positive66.1%
Neutral5.4%
Negative28.5%

User reviews

Silk

From 501 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Easy to use interface
  • ✨ Beautiful pattern designs from European designers
  • 📊 Helpful stitch tracking and progress monitoring
  • 🎨 Ability to mark stitches and highlight progress
  • 💰 Reasonably priced patterns

Room to improve

  • 💳 Misleading free pattern pricing (charged unexpectedly)
  • 🔗 No cross-device synchronization of purchases or progress
  • 📱 iOS only (not available on Android or PC)
  • 🌐 Requires internet connection to function
  • 🔍 No search bar for browsing patterns

Markup R

From 3.1K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Easy to use and intuitive
  • 🚀 Speeds up stitching process
  • 💡 Helpful features like highlighting symbols and tracking progress
  • 🤝 Excellent customer support and responsiveness
  • 🎨 Customizable to user preferences

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Issues with grid alignment and symbol recognition
  • 💰 Yearly subscription cost may be high for some users
  • 🔍 Steep learning curve for some features
  • 🔌 Battery drain concerns with extended use

Bugs and requests

Silk

Reported bugs

6 issues
  • Free patterns charged $19.99 without clear notification
  • Purchased patterns disappearing from library
  • No synchronization between iPad and iPhone
  • App requires internet connection to open
  • Stitch timer continues even after erasing highlighted stitches
Show 1 more
  • Printing limitations without AirPrinter support

Requested features

11 requests
  • Search bar for pattern browsing
  • Cross-device synchronization of purchases and progress
  • Ability to import personal PDF patterns
  • Create custom pattern layouts
  • Expand to Android and PC platforms
Show 6 more
  • Offline functionality
  • Highlight stitching path planning tool
  • Custom thread color selection
  • Extended fabric count calculations (28ct linen support)
  • More diverse and modern pattern designs
  • Ability to add patterns from other sources

Markup R

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Crashes and freezes when marking up certain patterns
  • Inconsistent symbol highlighting and placement
  • Difficulty loading and aligning some scanned patterns

Requested features

5 requests
  • Ability to track floss stash and needed supplies
  • Syncing across multiple devices
  • Improved support for password-protected PDFs
  • Font size controls for rulers and labels
  • Rotation/flipping options for patterns

In-app purchases

11 purchases

Silk

One-time11
  • AlphabetsFree
  • NumbersFree
  • Ancient Land HCH 1811Free
Show 8 more
  • Black SwanFree
  • A Secret Sky: Bonus AlphabetFree
  • Frohe OsternFree
  • A Christmas Carol in Rose 1Free
  • A Christmas Carol in Rose 2$3.99
  • A Christmas Carol in Rose 4$3.99
  • My Flower Garden$7.99
  • Christmas SAL 2020 Shooting St$8.99
2 purchases

Markup R

Subscriptions1
  • Yearly Access$19.991 Year
One-time1
  • Markup R-XP Full$9.99

Questions

Is Silk free?
Silk is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Markup R free?
Markup R is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Silk or Markup R?
Silk is rated higher. Silk averages 4.8 out of 5 from 501 ratings, while Markup R averages 4.7 from 3.1K ratings.
Do Silk or Markup R have ads?
Neither Silk nor Markup R shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Silk or Markup R?
Silk ships an update every 5 days, and Markup R monthly. Most recently, Silk was updated on October 24, 2026 and Markup R on October 25, 2026.

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