Purl vs Crossly Stitch
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Purl
Track your cross-stitch, knitting, and crochet projects seamlessly. Mark your progress directly on PDF patterns, organize your threads, and keep all your projects safely backed up. Watch your creations grow with progress photos.
- PDF pattern import and stitch marking
- Cross-stitch, knitting, and crochet tracking
- Thread inventory with barcode scanner
- Automatic cloud backup via iCloud
- Progress photo timeline
- Multi-language support
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Finally, a pattern tracker that doesn't lose your work. Just your patterns, always where you left them. Purl is the cozy companion for cross-stitch, knitting, and crochet makers who are tired of losing their place or losing their data. Mark your progress, organize your threads, and keep every project safely backed up — all in one calm, beautiful app. NEVER LOSE YOUR PLACE Purl scans your PDF pattern and lets you mark stitches directly on the chart. Row by row, stitch by stitch — your progress is saved automatically. Come back a week later and pick up exactly where you stopped. ONE APP, THREE CRAFTS Cross-stitch. Knitting. Crochet. Track all your projects in one place, with craft-specific tools for each. No more switching between apps. YOUR THREAD STASH, ORGANIZED Log your DMC and Anchor threads, track stock levels, and scan barcodes to add new colors instantly. Know exactly what you have — and what you need — before you start a project. REAL BACKUP, REAL PEACE OF MIND Your projects sync automatically across iPhone and iPad via iCloud. Everything is backed up to the cloud — only you can access it. Even if you lose your phone, your patterns are safe. PROGRESS PHOTOS Photograph your work as you go. Purl saves each photo with its date and completion percentage, so you can watch your project grow from first stitch to finished piece. WORKS IN 12 LANGUAGES English, Turkish, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Dutch, Swedish, Polish, Russian, and Japanese. WHAT YOU GET - Unlimited pattern imports (PDF) - Cross-stitch chart viewer with stitch marking - Knitting row tracker - Crochet round counter - DMC & Anchor thread inventory with barcode scanner - Progress photo timeline - iCloud sync across all your Apple devices - Full backup & restore - 12 languages Purl. Your patterns, your progress, your peace of mind. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://qubillc.com/purl/privacy
Crossly Stitch
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Crossly turns your photos into cross-stitch patterns you'll love stitching. Pick a photo, touch and hold your dog, cat or loved one to lift them out of the background, and Crossly makes a chart with DMC threads, ready to stitch. Everything happens on your iPhone or iPad: no account, no uploads. FROM PHOTO TO PATTERN • Touch and hold to lift a pet, person or thing out of the photo; the background stays bare fabric • Frame just the face, the head and chest, or the whole subject in one tap • Paint away anything you don't want, or paint it back • Round hoop, square or free frame • Presets for pets, people, houses, flowers and landscapes PATTERNS THAT ARE NICE TO STITCH • Colours matched to 489 DMC threads the way your eye sees them • Stray single stitches tidied up, while highlights like the sparkle in an eye stay • Choose the size, the number of colours and the fabric count SEE IT BEFORE YOU START • Preview it finished in a hoop, framed or on a towel • Share the picture with the person it's for TOWELS • A special mode for towels with an Aida band: hand towel, guest towel, bath towel, bib and more • Your motif is fitted to the band, once in the middle or repeated along it BEAD PATTERNS TO DMC • Found a lovely MARD bead chart? Take a screenshot and Crossly turns it into a DMC pattern • Get a bead colour to DMC list to copy or share CLEAR CHARTS AND PDFS • Zoomable chart with symbols, bold lines every 10 and centre marks • Thread list with skeins, and a shopping list to copy • PDF with a thread key and chart pages, for printing or for pattern-tracking apps Made for stitchers of every age: large, clear text that follows your iPhone's text size, and available in 15 languages. DMC is a registered trademark of DMC SAS. Crossly is not affiliated with or endorsed by DMC.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Crossly Stitch at none against Purl's 1. Purl's advantage is update cadence (every 2 days vs every 11 days) and iOS requirement (16.0 vs 26.0). On price, ads and device support 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
Both are free to download. Purl sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Crossly Stitch asks for nothing beyond the download.
Purl ships an update every 2 days, Crossly Stitch every 11 days. The most recent releases landed on October 25, 2026 and October 21, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Purl | Crossly Stitch |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 2.3 (3 ratings) — better | — |
| Number of ratings | 3 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 2 days — better | Every 11 days |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 — better | 26.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 119 MB | 2 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | KADIR KARAKAS | Ruben Mennings |
In-app purchases
Purl
- Purl Lifetime$9.99
Crossly Stitch
No in-app purchases









