Comparison

StitchPencil vs StoneLab

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

Head to head
About

StitchPencil

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HELLO WORLD. HELLO HOOP. Your idea. Your Apple Pencil. Your embroidery. What you draw becomes stitches. Doodle away, design letters, fill shapes with patterns or work your way down to the single stitch. StitchPencil brings together free drawing and everything a clean embroidery file needs. Quick to start, with plenty of room for your ideas. DRAW IT. STITCH IT. • Running stitch, triple stitch, satin and tatami, freehand or point by point • Satin like a brush: press harder for a wider stroke • Draw shapes, edit nodes, cut, combine and switch stitch types at any time • Bean zigzag, feathered edges and ready-made shapes for ideas that go beyond straight lines PATTERNS WITH EXTRA WOW • Ten traditional sashiko patterns • Color blends, carved patterns and decorative satin borders • 3D puff, appliqué and trapunto, with the right stops and placement lines CROSS STITCH: THE CLASSIC, FRESHLY PAINTED • Paint crosses right onto the grid, no counting squares • In as many colors as you like • Classic Cross look or bold Pixel blocks • Lay a picture underneath and paint over it • Turn a link into a QR code ready to stitch LETTERS WITH SOME THREAD • Hand-digitized fonts for satin, running stitch and fills • Text on curves or along your own lines • Design your own embroidery fonts in Font Studio, one letter at a time LOOK FIRST. THEN HOOP. • See your threads and the real stitch texture in the preview • Watch your design come to life stitch by stitch in the stitch player • Keep layers, stitch order and color changes in view • Spot possible trouble before needle meets fabric FROM YOUR IDEA TO YOUR MACHINE • Import SVG artwork and existing embroidery files • Export to PES, DST, EXP, JEF, VP3, HUS, XXX and TAP • Thread catalogs from Madeira, Sulky, Isacord and more, plus your own thread cabinet • Set your own hoop sizes • Send designs over Bluetooth to the StitchPencil stick in your machine's USB port • Export worksheets as PDF or print them BEING CREATIVE IS FREE. EXPORTING IS A ONE-TIME THING. Drawing, editing and importing are free, with no time limit. When your design is ready for the machine, unlock export with a one-time purchase. No subscription, no recurring costs, and your designs stay on your iPad.

About

StoneLab

Transform artwork into true-size rhinestone templates. This app calculates stone placement, color counts, and cutting instructions for your designs. Create custom rhinestone patterns for various projects.

Highlights
  • Artwork to rhinestone template conversion
  • Real rhinestone sizes (SS3-SS30)
  • Multiple layout options (grid, honeycomb)
  • Color detection and matching
  • Stone editing and text tools
  • Export to SVG, PDF, PNG, CSV, DXF
  • Built-in guided design course
Features
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StoneLab is the first app on the App Store to turn artwork into a true-size rhinestone template. Bring in a logo, drawing or photo, choose your stone size, and StoneLab works out where every stone goes, how many of each color you need, and exactly what to cut or print. DESIGN • Import from your photo library, files, or start from a blank canvas • Real rhinestone sizes, SS3 through SS30 (1.4 mm to 6.4 mm), or mix several sizes in one design • Set your design size in inches or centimeters and the gap between stones • Layouts: Lines (square grid), Honeycomb (tightest packing), Zipper, and Edge Lock (a locked outline with a packed fill) COLORS • Detects the colors in your artwork and groups them into stone colors • Choose whether white or black is the background to remove, and tap any patch to keep or remove it • Keep white inside shapes (an eye, the middle of an O) or leave it empty • Match colors to your manufacturer's palette EDIT • Select, add, draw, erase and recolor individual stones • Text and numbers in hundreds of fonts, perfect for names and team numbers • Layers, effects, transforms, reference images and a measurement grid • Undo and redo, saved versions you can go back to EXPORT • SVG at true size, PDF tiled to fit your paper, PNG preview, CSV stone coordinates • Stencil files for cutting (SVG and DXF) • Per-color files, supply lists and customer quotes • Mockups on your own photos LEARN • Built-in guided course walks you through every screen with practice designs PRIVACY StoneLab does not collect your data. Your artwork and projects stay on your device. SUBSCRIPTION Designing, editing and saving projects is free. Exporting requires StoneLab Pro: • StoneLab Pro Monthly, $9.99 per month • StoneLab Pro Yearly, $99.00 per year Payment is charged to your Apple Account at confirmation of purchase. Subscriptions renew automatically unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage or cancel in Settings > Apple Account > Subscriptions. Terms of Use: https://xzindustries.dev/stonelab/terms/ Privacy Policy: https://xzindustries.dev/stonelab/privacy/

Screenshots

StoneLab4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: StitchPencil at daily against StoneLab's weekly. StitchPencil also leads on iOS requirement (18.0 vs 26.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. StitchPencil sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and StoneLab sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

StitchPencil ships an update daily, StoneLab weekly. The most recent releases landed on November 10, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
StitchPencil versus StoneLab: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterStitchPencilStoneLab
PriceFreeFree
Rating—5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews—100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings—1 — better
Update frequencyDaily — betterWeekly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
Monetization—Free with in-app purchases
DevicesiPadiPhone, iPad — better
Requires iOS18.0 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size33 MB9 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMichael NettXZ Industries LLC

In-app purchases

1 purchases

StitchPencil

One-time1
  • Export Unlock$64.99
2 purchases

StoneLab

Subscriptions2
  • StoneLab Pro Monthly$9.991 Month
  • StoneLab Pro Yearly$99.001 Year

Questions

Is StitchPencil free?
StitchPencil is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is StoneLab free?
StoneLab is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do StitchPencil or StoneLab have ads?
Neither StitchPencil nor StoneLab shows ads.
Which is updated more often, StitchPencil or StoneLab?
StitchPencil ships an update daily, and StoneLab weekly. Most recently, StitchPencil was updated on November 10, 2026 and StoneLab on October 31, 2026.

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