One price. Nothing to buy after it.
StitchSitter is $199, sold through embroidery machine dealers. Find yours, or ask us which machines it has been tested on.
Compared
StitchSitter against EmbroideryConnect, BERNINA WiFi and USB to WiFi.
Four products promise designs on your machine with no USB stick. Only one of them needs no software, no computer and no network. Only one works on any machine that reads a USB stick and costs $199 with nothing to buy after it. Here is the whole comparison.
The price on the box is not the price.
Every one of these devices is sold with a number on it. For three of them the number is a down payment. Here is what each one costs before it will send a single design.
The whole costStitchSitterOn the box$199What you actually spend$199
Nothing. A phone, a tablet or any browser you already own.
That is the whole cost.
EmbroideryConnectOn the box$199.50What you actually spendFrom $398.50
Hatch, $199 to $1,199, or EmbroideryStudio, $1,000 to $4,000, on a Windows computer that stays on. You cannot buy the device without owning the software first.
The Hatch edition is withdrawn. The commercial one is sold by enquiry, USA only.
BERNINA WiFi DeviceOn the box$399What you actually spend$399 plus $1,299 to $2,499 of software
BERNINA Embroidery Software 9 on a Windows computer. It ships inside DesignerPlus, about $2,499, or as an add-on to Creator, about $1,299. Whether the free ARTlink level supports it is contradicted across BERNINA's own pages. BERNINA machines only.
Dealers list the device at $349 to $459. Windows only.
USB to WiFiOn the box$275What you actually spend$275 plus a computer that never sleeps
A Windows computer sharing a folder over SMB 1.0, which Windows switches off by default, switched on the whole time the machine is in use. The device is a window onto that folder.
PLR's own price. Resellers have listed the same unit at up to $500.
What you get that the others do not give you
Not features on a list. Things that happen at your machine on the first day, that the other three cannot do.
No software to buy, ever
EmbroideryConnect will not sell to you without Hatch or EmbroideryStudio. The BERNINA device needs BERNINA Software 9. StitchSitter needs the browser already on your phone.
No computer left switched on
The other three all send from a program, or a shared folder, on a computer that has to stay running. Ours keeps your designs on a card inside the dongle and serves its own page.
Sends from a phone
Any browser on your Wi-Fi is the control panel. Send from the kitchen, from the sofa, from the show floor. The other three send from a desk.
Works where there is no Wi-Fi at all
At a show or in a hall with no signal it makes a network of its own and your phone joins it. The other three stop at the door.
Any machine that reads a USB stick
It presents as a memory stick, so it is not tied to one brand. The BERNINA device is BERNINA only. Ours carries built-in rules for Janome, Elna, Brother and Tajima, a list of sixty-three more machines, and a generic setting for anything else.
Room for all your designs
There is a 2 GB memory card inside. EmbroideryConnect and the BERNINA device present an 8 MB stick, send one file at a time, and a firmware update wipes what is on them.
Shows the machine one design only
Choose a design and it is the only one the machine can see. The rest stay on the card. Nobody at the machine can pick the wrong one.
Opens as a drive on your computer too
Windows and Mac see it as an ordinary network drive, so a shop that lives in folders can keep living in folders. Nothing else on this page does both.
$199, and that is the end of it
No licence, no subscription, no upgrade to a newer software version next year. Firmware updates are free and the dongle fetches them itself.
From the box to the first design
Ease of use is not a feature you can list. It is how many things stand between opening the box and a design on the machine, and who has to do them.
StitchSitter
Anyone with a phone. No computer needed.
- 1Plug it into the machine's USB socket
- 2Scan the code on its screen with your phone
- 3Pick your Wi-Fi, or choose no Wi-Fi
- 4Answer five short questions
- 5Drop a design on the page
EmbroideryConnect
Somebody who already runs Hatch or EmbroideryStudio on Windows.
- 1Buy and install Hatch or EmbroideryStudio on a Windows computer
- 2Buy the device, which needs the software licence
- 3Run the seventeen-step set-up wizard in EmbroideryHub
- 4Plug it into the machine and leave the hub computer on
- 5Send designs one at a time from the software
BERNINA WiFi Device
A BERNINA owner with a Windows computer and Software 9.
- 1Install BERNINA Software 9 Creator or DesignerPlus on a Windows computer
- 2Update the machine to current firmware
- 3Set the device up in the WiFi Connector and leave that open
- 4Plug it into the machine
- 5Send designs one at a time from the software
USB to WiFi
Somebody comfortable sharing a folder on Windows.
- 1Turn on SMB 1.0 and share a folder on a Windows computer
- 2Point the device at that folder
- 3Plug it into the machine
- 4Keep the computer on and sharing
- 5Copy each design into the folder
Everything, side by side
| OursStitchSitter | EmbroideryConnectWilcom and Hatch | BERNINA WiFi Device | USB to WiFiPLR Electronics | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cost | ||||
| Device price | $199 | $199.50, list $399 | $399 | $275 |
| Software you must own | None | Hatch from $199, or EmbroideryStudio from $1,000, on Windows | BERNINA Software 9 Creator or DesignerPlus, on Windows | A Windows computer sharing a folder |
| Setting up | ||||
| Set up from a phone alone | ||||
| Nothing to install on a computer | a folder must be shared | |||
| A computer must stay on | Windows, the hub computer stays on | Windows, with the WiFi Connector left open | sharing the folder | |
| New software to learn | it is a web page | it is a folder | ||
| Every day | ||||
| Send from a phone | any browser | |||
| Works with no Wi-Fi | makes its own | |||
| Keeps designs on the device | a 2 GB card inside | an 8 MB stick, one file at a time | an 8 MB stick, one file at a time | they stay on the computer |
| Opens as a drive on your computer | Windows and Mac | It is the shared folder | ||
| Preview before sending | from the stitches | In the software | In the software | |
| Stitch count, colours and size | In the software | In the software | ||
| Converts formats | to DST or JEF in the browser | In the software | In the software | |
| Show the machine one design only | A queue, read by barcode | |||
| The device itself | ||||
| Status shown on the device | Colour screen | Colour lights | ||
| A name and colour per unit | eight colours | |||
| Machines | ||||
| Machines it works with | any machine that reads a USB stick. Built-in rules for Janome, Elna, Brother and Tajima. Sixty-three more machines on the list, and a generic setting for anything else | Many with a USB socket | BERNINA only | Most with a USB socket |
| Several machines | One dongle each, one page, one drop reaches all | One device each | One device each | One device each |
Questions people ask when they are comparing
Is there an alternative to EmbroideryConnect that does not need Hatch?
Yes. StitchSitter needs no software at all. EmbroideryConnect can only be bought and used by somebody who owns Hatch or EmbroideryStudio, and it sends from that program on a computer. Ours is a web page served by the dongle, so a phone or any browser will do.
What does EmbroideryConnect really cost?
The device is $199.50 against a $399 list. You must already own Hatch, which starts at $199 and is $699 at the tier most people buy, or EmbroideryStudio. So the real starting price is about $400, and the Hatch page now says the device is no longer for sale. The BERNINA device is a bigger jump: $399 on top of Software 9 at $1,299 to $2,499.
Will the BERNINA WiFi Device work with a Janome or a Brother?
No. It is for BERNINA machines on current firmware, and it needs BERNINA Software 9. If your room has more than one make, one BERNINA device will not cover it.
Do I need to leave a computer switched on?
Not with StitchSitter. The PLR USB to WiFi unit mirrors a folder shared from a Windows computer, so that computer has to stay on and stay shared. EmbroideryConnect and the BERNINA device both send from a program running on a computer. Ours keeps designs on a card inside the dongle.
Which of these works where there is no Wi-Fi?
Only StitchSitter. It makes a network of its own, so a show, a hired hall or a workshop with no signal still works. The other three need a network already there.
Where these figures come from
Every claim above was read from the makers' own websites on 7 September 2026. The EmbroideryConnect price and the Hatch tiers come from Hatch. Its Windows-only rule, 8 MB memory, one-file limit and set-up steps come from Wilcom's EmbroideryHub guide and EmbroideryStudio supplement. The BERNINA device price is the mid-point of what BERNINA dealers list. Its software requirement, Windows-only rule, 8 MB memory and one-file limit come from BERNINA's own quick-start guide, help pages and release notes. The PLR price is from PLR's own store, and its SMB 1.0 requirement from PLR's own set-up manual. Prices change and products are withdrawn. Check before you buy, and tell us if you find something here that is out of date.