If you're an Apple quilter weighing your options, Quiltography and Quiltler are the two names that come up most. They share a lot of DNA — both are native, touch-friendly apps that let you design blocks, photograph your stash, and calculate yardage. The real differences come down to which devices you use, how you like to pay, and a handful of features. Here's an honest head-to-head.
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What Quiltography and Quiltler share
Both apps are built for Apple users and avoid the dated feel of desktop software. In both you can design quilt blocks and layouts with touch, build a digital fabric stash by photographing the fabrics you own, and calculate the yardage you'll need. If you've used one, the other will feel familiar. Both also let you start without paying: Quiltography is a one-time purchase, and Quiltler has a genuinely useful free tier, with optional subscriptions only if you want the advanced features.
Quiltography's strengths (a fair look)
Quiltography has been around for a while and it's well-regarded for good reason.
- Mature and polished. Years of updates have produced a clean, dependable iPad experience.
- A strong template library. It ships with roughly 180+ block templates ready to drop into a design.
- Paper piecing & pixel designs. Foundation paper-piecing and pixel-style design tools are built in — great for certain traditional and photo-style projects.
- One-time purchase. You pay once (around the $20 range), with no ongoing cost.
If you exclusively use an iPad and want a proven, focused tool with mature paper-piecing, Quiltography is a perfectly good choice.
Where Quiltler pulls ahead
Quiltler is the newer app, and it's designed around the way many quilters actually work today — starting in a web browser on any computer, then picking the design back up on an iPhone or iPad, with everything synced between them.
- A full web studio — no download at all. This is the biggest difference. Quiltography lives on the iPad; Quiltler runs the same studio online in any modern browser, so you can design on a Windows PC, a Chromebook, or a work laptop with nothing to install. Design a quilt online and it's waiting on your iPad later.
- Also on iPhone, iPad, Mac & Vision Pro. Beyond the web, the native apps work on your phone in the fabric aisle, your iPad on the couch, your Mac at the desk, and Vision Pro.
- Cloud sync everywhere. Your designs and stash follow you across the web and every Apple device automatically — no exporting or emailing files to yourself.
- Free to try. Design as much as you like, build an unlimited fabric library, work out your yardage and save your first quilt before deciding on a subscription, so there's no upfront gamble.
- Custom Cut Designer. Create your own unique shapes, not just preset templates.
- A pattern marketplace. Buy editable patterns that open right in the studio to redesign with your own fabrics — or, on the Designer plan, sell your own.
- Community sharing. Share designs and custom cuts in the community feed and get inspired by others.
- Automatic yardage + PDF. Quiltler shows your quilt's finished size and total yardage for free and, with a subscription, breaks it down fabric by fabric and exports printable cutting instructions and pattern packs; try the fabric calculator to see it in action.
How Quiltler is priced. Designing, an unlimited fabric library, on-screen yardage and your first saved quilt are free. The Quilter plan ($7.99/month or $49.99/year) adds unlimited saved & synced quilts, printable pattern packs, imports, publishing and watermark-free exports. The Designer plan ($11.99/month or $99/year) adds selling in the marketplace at a reduced fee plus seller tools. Quiltography, by contrast, is a single up-front purchase with no marketplace or web studio.
The multi-device test: If you ever start a design on one device and want to finish on another, Quiltler's iCloud sync makes it effortless. Try Quiltler free and see how it follows you around.
Quiltography vs. Quiltler, side by side
Apps and prices change over time, so use this as guidance and confirm current details before buying.
| Feature | Quiltler | Quiltography |
|---|---|---|
| Platform | Web, iPhone, iPad, Mac, Vision Pro | iPad (Apple) |
| Design in a web browser | Yes (no download) | No |
| Price model | Free, then Quilter $7.99/mo or $49.99/yr; Designer $11.99/mo or $99/yr | Paid up front (~$20) |
| Free tier to try | Yes (design free, save your first quilt) | No |
| Pattern marketplace (buy & sell) | Yes | No |
| Block templates | Growing library | Yes (~180+) |
| Photograph your stash | Yes | Yes |
| Paper piecing | Custom shapes via Cut Designer | Yes |
| Custom shape designer | Yes (Cut Designer) | Yes |
| Automatic yardage + PDF | Yes | Yes |
| Cloud sync across web & devices | Yes | No |
| Community sharing | Yes | No |
Who should pick which
Choose Quiltography if you design exclusively on an iPad, prefer a single up-front purchase, and want its mature paper-piecing and pixel-design tools.
Choose Quiltler if you want to design in a web browser as well as (or instead of) on an iPad, use more than one device, want cloud sync so your work travels with you, like the idea of trying the app for free first, or want a pattern marketplace and community sharing alongside a custom Cut Designer and automatic yardage.
If you're not sure, the free tier makes Quiltler the low-risk place to start — you can design a real quilt, work out its yardage and save it before spending anything.
Try Quiltler today
The best way to decide is to design something. Open the studio in your browser — no download required — or grab the free app for iPhone and iPad, photograph a few fabrics from your stash, and tile a block into a layout in minutes. New to digital design? Start with our guide to quilting on iPad, browse block patterns, or follow how to make a quilt from design to binding. You can also see how Quiltler compares to desktop software in our EQ8 alternative and the full app comparison.