Comparisons / Pic2Pat
Pic2Pat vs Cross-Stitch.com: Simple Photo Converter vs Free Photo-to-Pattern Editor
Pic2Pat
One of the oldest photo-to-cross-stitch converters online, in continuous use since the early 2010s. Upload a photo, choose colors, fabric count, and width, and it generates a downloadable PDF chart with a symbol grid, color key, and thread list. Generating a pattern is presented as free on their own site; there's no built-in tool to manually repaint, resize, or otherwise edit the result afterward — it's a converter, not an editor.
Cross-Stitch.com
Also converts a photo to a pattern for free, but the result opens straight into a full editor — repaint cells, change or merge colors, resize, mirror, undo — the same one used for every design in the catalog, so you're never stuck with the first automatic result.
Feature comparison
| Pic2Pat | Cross-Stitch.com | |
|---|---|---|
| Photo → pattern | ✅ | ✅ |
| DMC color-matching accuracy control | Not advertised as a feature | ✅ Choose Standard, Better, or Best Color Match before converting |
| Edit the pattern after converting | ❌ No built-in editor | ✅ Full editor: repaint, resize, mirror, fill, undo |
| Free pattern catalog to browse | ❌ | ✅ Thousands, free |
| Save and come back later | Not applicable — no accounts/editor | ✅ Free account, resume anytime |
| Progress tracking while stitching | ❌ | ✅ Free (Stitch Mode) |
| Account required to generate | ❌ | ❌ |
Where Pic2Pat wins
Pic2Pat is about as simple as photo-to-pattern conversion gets — upload, pick a few settings, download. If all you want is a quick chart with no editor to learn, that simplicity is genuinely appealing, and it's a long-standing, well-known tool in the community for exactly that reason.
Where Cross-Stitch.com is different
An automatic conversion is a starting point, not always the finished design — a stray pixel of background color, a face that needs one more shade of skin tone, a palette that's one color too busy. I built the editor because my own converted patterns needed that second pass, and I didn't want to redo the whole conversion from scratch just to fix one thing.
Bottom line
If you want to fine-tune the pattern a photo converter gives you — merge two similar colors, clean up stray pixels, resize for different fabric — try the free converter and editor. If you just want a fast, no-frills chart and don't expect to touch it afterward, Pic2Pat's simplicity has its own appeal.
Try the free converter →Frequently asked questions
- Can I edit my pattern after converting it on Pic2Pat?
- Pic2Pat doesn't include a built-in editor — it generates a chart directly from your settings. Cross-Stitch.com's converter opens straight into a full editor for repainting, resizing, and cleaning up the result.
- Is Cross-Stitch.com also free to convert a photo?
- Yes — converting a photo and editing the result are free with no account. An account (also free right now) is only needed to save the pattern or download the PDF.
- Does either site have a browsable pattern catalog?
- Cross-Stitch.com has a curated, free catalog of thousands of ready-to-stitch patterns. Pic2Pat is a converter only, with no catalog to browse.
Other comparisons
Facts about Pic2Pat last verified 2026-07-30 against their own site. Pic2Pat's own site doesn't clearly state PDF pricing; some third-party reviews mention a historical per-pattern fee that wasn't independently confirmed on 2026-07-30 — verify again before publishing if exact pricing claims are added. Pricing and features change — if something here looks out of date, let us know.