Brother's PE-Design software is the official digitizing suite for their embroidery machines. It's powerful — but it costs between £300 and £700 depending on the version, requires a Windows PC, and has a steep learning curve. For hobbyists, small businesses, and occasional users, that price is hard to justify.
What PE-Design Does (and What You Actually Need)
PE-Design's core job is to take an image or drawing and convert it into a PES file your Brother machine can stitch. Most users never touch the advanced features — they just want a clean PES file from a PNG logo or a monogram. That's exactly what SewFlow does, for free, in your browser.
SewFlow vs PE-Design: Quick Comparison
| Feature | PE-Design | SewFlow |
|---|---|---|
| Price | £300–£700 | Free |
| Platform | Windows only | Any browser, any OS |
| Installation | Software download required | No install needed |
| PES output | Yes | Yes |
| JEF / DST output | No | Yes (bonus) |
| Background removal | Manual | AI-powered, automatic |
| Text to embroidery | Yes | Yes |
| Stitch preview | Yes | Yes, animated |
How to Create a PES File Free with SewFlow
- 1Open sewflow.com/image in any browser — Chrome, Safari, Firefox, Edge.
- 2Upload your image (PNG, JPEG, SVG, BMP, or WebP).
- 3Use the background removal toggle to clean up logos or photos.
- 4Adjust the hoop size with the width and height sliders.
- 5Select PES as the output format.
- 6Click 'Download PES' — the file is ready in seconds.
- 7Transfer the .pes file to your Brother machine via USB.
Create a free PES file for your Brother machine:
Open Image Converter →What About Monograms and Text?
SewFlow's Text to Embroidery tool lets you type any text, choose from a range of embroidery-optimised fonts, set thread color, and download a PES file. It's a direct alternative to PE-Design's lettering module — and it's free.
Convert text to a PES embroidery file:
Open Text Converter →Compatible Machines
SewFlow's PES files are compatible with the full Brother PE-series range (PE535, PE570, PE800, PE830, PE900, SE1900, Innov-is series) as well as Babylock machines that share the PES format.