Three tools, measured inside each one
We opened Ember and SewFlow, used them, and wrote down what we saw. Every number below has the day it was measured next to it, because a price is only true on a date. Where they are better than us, that is on this page too.
| digitizing.app | Ember | SewFlow | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Machine formats | 7 — dst, pes, jef, vp3, exp, xxx, svg | 10, all machine | 6, all machine |
| Vector file out | Yes — svg, the drawing itself | No | No |
| See it before you pay | Yes, the whole mark | Digitizing is behind Pro | Free plan has 0 downloads |
| One file, no account | $9 | Not offered | Not offered |
| Cheapest month | $20 — Studio billed yearly ($29 monthly) | $9.99 | $9 |
| 100 files a month | $55 yearly ($79 monthly) | — | $19 |
| Lettering | $5 a file, eleven typefaces | — | — |
| A person builds it by hand | Not offered | Not offered | $19.99 a file, back in 24h |
| Units | Millimetres only | Inches | — |
Where each one is stronger
- Ember
- Ten machine formats to our seven, and the cheapest month in the three at $9.99. If your machine takes u01, pec, sew or tbf, they write it and we do not.
- SewFlow
- 100 files for $19 a month is the cheapest volume in the trade. Our Shop step is $55 a month billed yearly — still three times more per file. If you run names and logos every day, that is a real number.
- digitizing.app
- The whole mark is on screen before you pay, with no account. The vector drawing comes out too, which neither of the others can export. And every measurement on this site is our own, published with the file it was measured on.
Questions people actually ask
- Is there a free alternative to Ember for digitizing?
- You can work out a whole mark here and look at every stitch without paying or making an account — the file is what costs money. Embers auto-digitizing sits behind their Pro plan, and SewFlows free plan allows zero downloads, both measured on 23 August 2026.
- Which one exports a vector file?
- Only this one. We checked both: Embers export list has ten formats and a search for «svg» returns nothing; SewFlow writes «all 6 formats» and all six are machine formats. A vector is the drawing, not the stitches — it is what a designer needs and what neither of them writes.
- Which is cheapest?
- For one file with no subscription, this one: $9, and lettering is $5. Our cheapest month is $20, Studio billed yearly. For a hundred files a month, SewFlow at $19 is cheaper than our $55 — we say so because it is true. Measured 23 August 2026; check their pages before you decide.
- What if the automatic file is not good enough?
- SewFlow sells a person on top of their own automatic: «Want it perfect? Go Pro — a professional digitizer hand-builds your file — machine-tested and back in 24h for $19.99», in their own window on 23 August 2026. That is a different product from a subscription file, and it changes the sum: one hand-built file costs more than a whole month. We do not sell a person at all — the file you look at is the file you get.
- Do I have to subscribe?
- Not here. One file is one payment and there is no account. Ember and SewFlow are both subscriptions — the cheapest way in is $9.99 and $9 a month, and you have to remember to cancel.
- Can I trust a comparison written by one of the three?
- Judge it by whether the numbers can be checked. Every one has the day it was measured, and the two places we lose are on the page. If you find one that is wrong, it is wrong and we will fix it — the address is on the terms page.
Measured inside each tool on 23 August 2026.