PE-DESIGN_VS_THREADSHIFTER
PE-Design 11 is Brother's official embroidery software. It's excellent for creating designs, editing stitches, and managing your Brother machine. But most Brother owners don't need those advanced features - they just want to convert files.
If you only need format conversion, you're paying $1,299 for features you'll never touch.
FEATURE_BREAKDOWN
| Feature | PE-Design | ThreadShifter |
|---|---|---|
| Convert PES Files | ||
| Convert DST to PES | ||
| Works on Mac | ||
| No Installation | ||
| Create Designs from Images | ||
| Lettering & Fonts | ||
| Stitch Editing | ||
| PRICE | $1,299 | FREE |
WHO_NEEDS_PE-DESIGN
You should buy PE-Design 11 if you:
- • Want to create custom embroidery designs from photos/logos
- • Need Brother's official lettering fonts
- • Require advanced stitch editing capabilities
- • Want to combine/merge multiple designs
- • Need to customize thread colors precisely
- • Use Brother-specific machine features
WHO_NEEDS_THREADSHIFTER
ThreadShifter is perfect if you:
- • Buy embroidery designs online (Etsy, marketplaces)
- • Receive designs in wrong format for your Brother machine
- • Only need to convert between PES, DST, JEF formats
- • Want instant conversion without learning software
- • Can't justify $1,299 for simple file conversion
- • Use a Mac (PE-Design is Windows only)
REAL_BROTHER_USER_STORIES
"I have a Brother PE800. I buy designs on Etsy but they're often in DST format. I almost bought PE-Design just for conversion, but ThreadShifter does it instantly for free. Saved me $1,299!"
— JENNIFER, HOBBY EMBROIDERER
"I switched from Janome to Brother. Had hundreds of JEF files. ThreadShifter converted my entire library to PES for free. PE-Design would have cost me over $1,000 just for this one task."
— MARIA, SMALL BUSINESS OWNER
THE_VERDICT
PE-Design 11 is worth $1,299 if: You create custom designs, need lettering tools, or want Brother's official software ecosystem.
ThreadShifter saves you $1,299 if: You only need file format conversion. Try it first - it's free. If you discover you need digitizing features later, then buy PE-Design.