Quilting apps have a reputation problem. Most of them are either glorified calculators, design tools that haven't been updated since the iPad 2, or tutorial libraries that need a Wi-Fi connection to be useful. But a few genuinely good ones have emerged — each solving a different piece of the quilting workflow. The honest answer to 'which quilting app should I use?' is: it depends what you actually need. This is a straightforward breakdown of the apps worth knowing about in 2026, what they're good at, where they come up short, and who each one is really built for. One of these is ours — we'll be upfront about that — but we'll be equally upfront about the others.
What most quilters actually need from an app
Before comparing apps, it helps to know what problem you're trying to solve. Quilters typically want some combination of: (1) yardage and cutting calculations so they don't overbuy or run short, (2) a way to visualize a quilt design before cutting, (3) fabric stash tracking so they know what they own, and (4) reference material — techniques, patterns, tips — they can access offline. No single app does all of these brilliantly. The best strategy is knowing which need is your biggest one, then picking accordingly.
Quiltography — best for block design and fabric visualization
Quiltography has been around for years and earned its reputation as the highest-rated quilting app on the App Store for good reason. It's built around a library of 180+ traditional block templates — each named, each customizable — and a fabric stash tool that lets you photograph your fabric and assign it to blocks to see how combinations will look. The interface is iPad-first (it's less useful on a phone), and the visual design tools are genuinely impressive for the price.
- Price: $14.99 one-time purchase — no subscription
- Best for: quilters who want to audition fabrics and design blocks visually before cutting
- Strengths: 180+ block templates, fabric stash photos, basic yardage estimate, one-time cost
- Limitations: iPad-optimized (cramped on iPhone), yardage calculator is basic (estimates only), no real manufacturer fabric library, no project sync or cloud backup
Quilt Geek — best pure calculator app
Quilt Geek (by the Designed to Quilt team) takes a different approach: it's not trying to be a design tool. It's 20+ specialized calculators in one app — backing yardage, binding, half-square triangles, flying geese, borders, seam allowance, and more. Each calculator is focused and accurate. If you find yourself constantly pulling up formulas or doing quilt math in your head, Quilt Geek removes that friction entirely. The tradeoff is that it's purely a utility — there's no design view, no fabric library, no project management.
- Price: $2.49/month or $29.99/year (7-day free trial)
- Best for: quilters who want fast, accurate calculations at the cutting table or fabric store
- Strengths: 20+ calculators, accurate and fast, works on iPhone and Android
- Limitations: no design view, no fabric stash, no pattern library — purely math
PreQuilt — best web-based design tool
PreQuilt isn't a phone app — it's browser-based, which means it works on any device but requires internet access. The strength is pattern visualization: you can pick a quilt layout, drop in color blocks, and get a sense of how a design reads from a distance. Quilters use it mainly for color-planning before they start buying fabric. It's free to start, with paid tiers for more features. The limitation is that it lives in the browser, doesn't have a mobile app, and isn't connected to your actual stash or any real fabric collections.
- Price: free tier available, paid plans from ~$5/month
- Best for: color planning and visualizing overall quilt composition
- Strengths: free entry point, good for big-picture layout decisions, works on any device
- Limitations: web-only (no offline use), no fabric stash, no yardage calculations, not great on a phone screen
Missouri Star Quilt Company — best tutorial library
Missouri Star's app is different from the others — it's not a design or calculation tool at all. It's a tutorial library built around Jenny Doan's massive YouTube catalog of quilting how-tos. If you're learning to quilt or want step-by-step video guidance for a specific technique, it's excellent. It's free and approachable. But it won't calculate yardage, track your stash, or help you design a quilt — it's purely educational content.
- Price: free
- Best for: beginners learning techniques, visual learners who want video instruction
- Strengths: massive tutorial library, free, Jenny Doan is a genuinely great teacher
- Limitations: no design tools, no calculations, no stash management — reference only
StitchLogic — best all-in-one (our app, full disclosure)
StitchLogic is ours, so take this section with appropriate skepticism — but we'll be straight about where it stands. We built it because we kept running into the same problem: every existing app solved one piece of the quilting workflow but forced you to switch apps for everything else. StitchLogic tries to keep your whole project in one place: 58+ quilt patterns you can customize, a real fabric library from Moda, Robert Kaufman, Riley Blake, and others (not just photos — actual collections with colorways), a yardage calculator that handles blocks, sashing, borders, binding, and backing simultaneously, photo-based fabric stash tracking, cloud sync between devices, and an AI Quilt Coach for technique questions and color help. It's the newest of the apps listed here, which means it has fewer user reviews and less of a track record than Quiltography's years on the App Store.
- Price: free tier available, Pro subscription for full access
- Best for: quilters who want one app that handles design, fabric, calculations, and planning together
- Strengths: real manufacturer fabric libraries, full project yardage calculator, AI coach, cross-device sync, modern interface
- Limitations: newer app with fewer reviews than established options, some features still rolling out
Which app is right for you?
Here's the honest decision guide. If you mostly need yardage math done fast: try Quilt Geek. If you want to visualize fabric combinations before buying: Quiltography at $14.99 is a great one-time buy. If you're learning to quilt and want video guidance: Missouri Star is free and excellent. If you want to plan your quilt's overall color layout before committing: PreQuilt's free tier is worth 20 minutes. If you want one app that handles all of it — design, fabric library, calculations, and project planning: StitchLogic is what we built for that.
- Best calculator: Quilt Geek
- Best one-time purchase for design: Quiltography
- Best free tutorial resource: Missouri Star
- Best web-based color planning: PreQuilt
- Best all-in-one: StitchLogic
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