Guides · From the stitching basket
The 6 best Pattern Keeper alternatives in 2026
Published October 23, 2026 · By the Bargello team
Short answer: if you are leaving Pattern Keeper because it is Android-only, Markup R-XP is the closest like-for-like chart markup app on iPhone, iPad and Android. Cross Stitch Saga (iPhone and iPad) and knitCompanion (nearly every platform) cover the same job differently. And if what you actually want is to track the whole project — photos, stitching time, threads, notes — rather than the chart, Bargello is built for that part of the basket.
People go looking for a Pattern Keeper alternative for three honest reasons. First, it is Android-only: its official site still lists only Google Play, with an iOS version “in early development.” Second, it only reads charts from designers whose files it supports — the site names Heaven and Earth Designs, Paine Free Crafts, Charting Creations and Artecy among them, and the list keeps growing, but your favourite chart may not import cleanly yet. Third, plenty of stitchers do both cross stitch and needlepoint, and a chart reader is not a project tracker.
At a glance: 6 apps compared
| App | Best for | Price | Platforms | Key difference from Pattern Keeper |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bargello | Tracking the whole needlepoint project | Free tier; optional Premium | iPhone & Android (coming soon) | Photos, timer, notes and supply plans — but no chart markup |
| Markup R-XP | Marking up charts on any device | Free 14-day trial, then in-app purchase | iPhone, iPad, Android | Runs on iOS too, and accepts any designer's PDF, image or scan |
| Cross Stitch Saga | Interactive charts on iPhone/iPad | US$14.99 one-time | iPhone, iPad | Opens protected interactive SAGA files, not plain PDFs |
| knitCompanion | Any PDF, many crafts | Free basics; US$30/year upgrade | iPhone, iPad, Mac, Android, Fire | Subscription, built for knitting first, but works with any PDF |
| StitchSketchEx | Designing your own charts | US$7.99 one-time | iPhone, iPad | A chart designer, not a mark-as-you-stitch reader |
| Stitch Fiddle | Free chart making in a browser | Free with limits; Premium US$5.50/month | Any web browser | Designs and stores charts; does not track stitching progress |
1. Bargello — track the project, not just the chart
Platforms: iPhone and Android — Bargello is coming soon, pre-launch. Price: free for up to 3 active projects with 20 progress photos each; an optional Premium upgrade unlocks unlimited projects and photos, monthly or yearly through the App Store or Google Play.
Bargello is on this list for the reason many people outgrow Pattern Keeper: the chart is one part of a project, and the rest — which threads you have, how far along the last session got, where the project bag lives — has no home. Bargello gives each canvas a record with a stitching timer and sessions, progress photos, notes, a supply plan for its threads, and offline sync, with a catalog of canvases and community Q&A alongside. Our supply-plan walkthrough shows the routine it supports.
Trade-offs, honestly: Bargello does not import or mark up PDF charts — it is a project tracker, not a chart reader, and it does not count stitches for you. It is also needlepoint-first rather than cross stitch-first, and it is not launched yet. If you need chart markup today, keep reading; pair one of the chart apps below with Bargello when it ships.
2. Markup R-XP — the closest like-for-like
Platforms: iPhone, iPad and Android (markuprxp.co.uk; App Store and Google Play). Price: free download with a 14-day trial, then a paid unlock via in-app purchase — the developer, Kewin Lawson Smith Limited, shows the current price in the app.
Markup R-XP is what most “Pattern Keeper for iPhone” threads point to. It marks up counted stitch charts: you tap or drag to mark stitches done, keep your place, and count as you go. The two things Pattern Keeper holdouts ask for are exactly its pitch: it runs on iOS and Android, and it skips the supported-designer list — any designer's chart works, imported as a PDF, an image, a photo or a scan, and multi-page charts combine into one continuous chart. It carries a 4.7-star rating on the US App Store, and the Google Play listing notes bundles with charts from designers such as Artecy.
Trade-offs: the trial-to-subscription-or-purchase model means checking the current price in your store before committing, and because it reads almost any file, a low-quality scan imports as-is — garbage in, gridded garbage out. It is a chart tool, so project-level tracking (photos, threads, time) is out of scope.
3. Cross Stitch Saga — interactive charts on iPhone and iPad
Platforms: iPhone and iPad (App Store). Price: US$14.99 one-time. Its Google Play listing (US$12.99) remains, but since December 26, 2024 Google Play has suspended sales of apps from its Russia-based developer, who now directs buyers to the App Store.
Cross Stitch Saga takes a different route to the same job: instead of parsing PDFs, it opens interactive charts that cross stitch designers distribute as protected SAGA files, plus files from pattern-making programs. Because the chart is interactive, the app can offer legend tools, per-colour statistics and mark-as-you-stitch pen modes documented on its official help site. For stitchers whose favourite designers sell SAGA versions, it is the smoothest chart experience on iOS.
Trade-offs: it is iOS-only in practice, and its superpower is also its limit — if a designer does not publish SAGA files, there is no PDF import to fall back on. At US$14.99 it is the priciest one-time purchase on this list, though still less than a month of many subscriptions.
4. knitCompanion — any PDF, any platform
Platforms: iPhone and iPad (iOS 15.4+), Mac (12.5+), Android (8.0+) and Fire tablets (knitcompanion.com). Price: free download with free kCBasics for all your patterns; the Setup+Essentials subscription is US$30/year with a 7-day free trial, per the official FAQ.
knitCompanion is the broadest-tent option: it works with any PDF from any source — Ravelry, Dropbox, email, the web — on nearly every device a household owns, and its docs cover cross stitch under “Beyond Knitting.” The paid tier's markers, smart counters and one-tap row tracking do the keep-your-place job Pattern Keeper is loved for, and projects sync via iCloud or Dropbox.
Trade-offs: it is a subscription, not a one-time US$9 purchase, and its heart is knitting — cross stitch support means your PDF set up with markers, not a symbol grid it understands. The free tier is generous for reading, but the tracking features live in the subscription.
5. StitchSketchEx — design your own charts
Platforms: iPhone and iPad (mozusystems.com; App Store). Price: US$7.99 one-time for StitchSketchEx mobile, by the creator of the long-running KG-Chart and StitchSketch apps.
A different job, but one that overlaps: if the reason you are leaving Pattern Keeper is that nobody publishes the chart you want, StitchSketchEx is a well-established tool for drawing your own — cross stitch, bead weaving, Perler-style iron beads, knitting charts — with DMC, Anchor, Cosmo and other palettes, photo-to-chart conversion, and PDF export you could then mark up in an app above.
Trade-offs: it is a designer, not a reader — there is no mark-as-you-stitch tracking, and the older StitchSketch app it succeeds is now listed as legacy on the developer's site.
6. Stitch Fiddle — free charts in the browser
Platforms: any web browser (stitchfiddle.com). Price: free with limits on pattern count and size; Premium is US$5.50 for a month or US$33 for a year, non-renewing, per its pricing page.
Stitch Fiddle is the no-install answer: design a chart, import an image to convert, and keep your patterns in the browser — free. We covered it in more depth in our roundup of the best needlepoint apps; for Pattern Keeper refugees it plays the StitchSketchEx role (making charts) with zero upfront cost, on whatever device is nearby.
Trade-offs: no native app, no offline markup on a phone, and no stitch tracking — the free tier's size limits bite if you chart something large.
Which alternative should you pick?
| If you are… | Pick | Because |
|---|---|---|
| On an iPhone or iPad, wanting PK itself | Markup R-XP | Same mark-as-you-stitch idea, any chart file, iOS and Android |
| Buying charts from SAGA-publishing designers | Cross Stitch Saga | Interactive charts beat a scanned PDF when the designer supports it |
| Stitching on several devices, several crafts | knitCompanion | Any PDF on iPhone, iPad, Mac, Android and Fire, with cloud sync |
| Making your own charts | StitchSketchEx or Stitch Fiddle | One-time US$7.99 app, or free in the browser |
| Mostly needlepoint, tracking canvases | Bargello | Photos, timer, notes, supply plans — the parts of the project a chart app skips |
Nothing here is a scandal: Pattern Keeper is a US$9, one-time, Android-only app that does one job well, and its fans say so loudly. The alternatives exist because you own an iPhone, or your designer's files are not supported, or your hobby is bigger than one chart. If you also stitch needlepoint — many cross stitchers do, and our needlepoint vs cross stitch guide explains how the two crafts differ — the chart apps above will not follow you there, which is exactly the gap Bargello is being built to fill.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a Pattern Keeper app for iPhone or iPad?
Not yet. Pattern Keeper is Android-only, and its official site says an iOS version is “in early development” with no release date. iPhone and iPad stitchers who want the same mark-as-you-stitch experience use Markup R-XP or Cross Stitch Saga instead.
Is Pattern Keeper free?
No. Pattern Keeper is free to try as a beta from Google Play, and after a trial it costs a one-time US$9 lifetime in-app purchase, per its own pricing page. There is no subscription.
What is the best free Pattern Keeper alternative?
For marking up charts, Stitch Fiddle is free with limits in any browser. For tracking whole projects rather than charts, Bargello's free tier covers up to 3 active projects with 20 progress photos each, and knitCompanion's free kCBasics work with any PDF. Fully free chart markup with no limits is rare on phones.
Do any of these mark stitches off a PDF chart like Pattern Keeper?
Yes. Markup R-XP imports PDFs, images, photos and scans from any designer and combines multi-page charts into one. knitCompanion works with any PDF across iPhone, iPad, Android and Fire tablets. Cross Stitch Saga instead opens interactive SAGA files from participating designers rather than plain PDFs.
Can I track needlepoint projects with Pattern Keeper?
Not really. Pattern Keeper reads gridded cross stitch charts, and a hand-painted needlepoint canvas has no symbol grid to parse — we unpack why in our best needlepoint apps guide. Needlepoint projects are better tracked with progress photos, stitching time and notes, which is what Bargello is built for.
Keep every canvas in one cozy place
Bargello is a needlepoint project tracker app coming soon to iPhone and Android. Start a project from a catalog canvas, keep a supply plan for its threads, time your stitching sessions, and save progress photos and notes together, even offline. You update your own progress; Bargello doesn’t count stitches for you. It’s free to start, with an optional Premium upgrade.
Join the Bargello launch waitlist for one email when it’s ready, and while you stitch, pair it with your chart app of choice above — or browse more needlepoint guides in the meantime.