Markup R-XP alternative: track your cross stitch charts with one payment
Markup R-XP is a good markup app, and it's a subscription: £14.99 a year plus tax after a two-week trial, renewed every year, with a separate subscription if you use both an Apple and an Android device. If you'd rather pay once, Skeinshot tracks the PDF charts you bought on any phone, tablet or computer, in the browser, for a single C$34.99 payment. You can try it free first.
Try it free with one of your charts
Side by side
| Markup R-XP | Skeinshot | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | £14.99 a year + tax, recurring | Free for one imported chart at a time; Pro C$34.99 once |
| Runs on | iPhone, iPad and Android apps | Any browser: iPhone, iPad, Android, Windows, Mac, Chromebook |
| Apple and Android together | Needs a subscription on each | One purchase works everywhere |
| PDF charts | Yes, almost any PDF | Yes, including picture-only PDFs |
| Photos of paper charts | Yes | No: PDF and OXS files only |
| Thread numbers from the key | Some setup on some charts | Read from the chart's key, DMC with Anchor equivalents |
| Make your own patterns | No, markup only | Yes: from a photo, or draw your own with lettering, fractionals and backstitch |
| Moving to another device | Export and import (paid version) | Back up to a file and open it on the other device |
Markup R-XP details from its own FAQ, checked October 2026. Prices change, so check their site before you decide.
When Markup R-XP is the better pick
- Most of your patterns are on paper, and you want to photograph them and mark them up. Skeinshot doesn't read photos of paper charts.
- You want a native app from the App Store or Google Play rather than a browser app on your Home Screen.
When Skeinshot is the better pick
- You'd rather pay once than every year.
- You switch between an iPhone and an Android tablet, or stitch from a laptop too.
- Some of your charts are picture-only PDFs and other apps struggle with them.
- You also want to turn photos into patterns, or design your own, in the same app.
How tracking works in Skeinshot
- Tap Import a chart and pick the PDF. Skeinshot finds the grid, the symbols and the thread key.
- Check the thread list. If a symbol is missing from the key, it tells you and lets you pick the thread.
- Tap or drag to mark stitches, drag a box to mark a whole area, park threads at the next block, and highlight one colour at a time.
- See stitches done today, time this sitting, how many are left and an estimated finish date.
Your charts stay on your device. Nothing is uploaded and there's no account. On iPhone, add the site to your Home Screen so Safari keeps your patterns, and back up now and then from Settings.
Coming from Pattern Keeper on Android? See tracking patterns on iPhone. Comparing pattern makers? See cross stitch pattern software compared.
Markup R-XP is a trademark of its owner. Skeinshot isn't affiliated with Markup R-XP or its makers.