Softpress

What Softpress does

Softpress Systems is a privately held, micro-ISV software company founded in 1993 that develops native macOS applications for creative professionals. Its flagship product is Xway, a visual website design application released in 2025 as the ground-up successor to the discontinued Freeway, which was retired after Apple dropped 32-bit application support in macOS Catalina. Supporting products include Exhibeo for website galleries and slideshows, Chroma for color palette extraction from images, and Fretspace, a chord and scale editor for fretted instruments. Together these tools share a design philosophy of accessible, code-free creative work on the Mac.

The technology is built around native macOS applications optimized for both Apple Silicon and Intel Macs, with file-format integrations into Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, the Apple Color Picker, and the company's own Freeway/Xway workflow. Distribution combines direct-to-consumer download and license sales through softpress.com with Apple App Store availability; payment processing and merchant-of-record duties are outsourced to Paddle, and the website runs on Cloudflare.

Softpress monetizes exclusively through perpetual, one-time software licenses priced between $10 and $99, with a 50% discount for education, non-profit, and senior buyers. There is no subscription tier, no channel partner program, and no enterprise sales motion; the company sells to web designers, creative professionals, and a long tail of individual Mac users, supported by a Discourse-based community forum (Softpress Talk), a knowledge base, YouTube tutorials, and a small Facebook presence.

Name

Softpress

Legal name

Softpress Systems Inc.

Website

https://softpress.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1993

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Softpress Systems is a privately held macOS software developer founded in 1993 that builds native design tools for creative professionals, headlined by Xway, a visual code-free website builder, plus Exhibeo, Chroma, and Fretspace, sold as perpetual licenses directly via its website and the Apple App Store.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Mac Web Design Software

NAICS

Software Publishers (5132)

SIC

Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)

akta.pro primary industry

Industry-Specific Low-Code Platforms (Vertical App Platforms) (HDAEAKAL)

Keywords

• MacOS design software
• Visual website builder
• No-code web design
• Creative tools for Mac
• Web design applications

Headquarters

HQ city

Witney

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Software Licenses: One-time purchase of perpetual software licenses for macOS applications. Products sold include Xway, Exhibeo, Chroma, Fretspace, and the legacy Freeway. No subscription model mentioned.
2. Template Packs: Sale of website template packs for Freeway Pro and Freeway Express. Pack 1 and Pack 2 contain 8 templates each. Templates are sold as add-ons to the base software.
3. In-App Purchases: In-app purchases processed through Paddle payment platform.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Softpress develops and sells native macOS design applications for individual creative professionals. Its flagship product, Xway, is a next-generation visual website builder that replaces the discontinued Freeway application and enables users to build standards-based websites without writing code. Supporting products include Exhibeo (image galleries/slideshows), Chroma (color palette extraction from images), and Fretspace (guitar chord/scale editor). All products are sold as one-time perpetual licenses.

Product overview

Softpress offers a suite of Mac-native design software applications. The flagship product is Xway, a next-generation website design application that replaces the legacy Freeway product. Supporting applications include Exhibeo for image galleries and slideshows, Chroma for color palette generation from images, and Fretspace for guitar chord and scale editing. The company also offers a marketplace of website templates under the Softpress Templates brand, though these are designed primarily for the legacy Freeway product.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Softpress Talk: Community forums for Softpress products providing customer support, knowledge base, and general discussion.

Products and services

• Xway Next-generation visual website design application for macOS and the flagship Softpress product. Xway is a no-code website builder that enables creative professionals to design standards-based websites visually, without writing HTML or CSS. Supports both Apple Silicon and Intel Macs and is positioned as the modern replacement for the discontinued Freeway application.
• Exhibeo Gallery and slideshow application for macOS that puts images front and center. Creates image presentations designed to integrate with Xway and Freeway websites.
• Chroma Color palette generator for macOS that automatically extracts harmonious color palettes (over fifty colors) from images, with support for PSD and RAW files. Exports color palettes to Photoshop, Illustrator, Freeway, and the Apple color picker.
• Fretspace Chord and scale editor for macOS for guitars and other fretted instruments, supporting any tuning configuration.
• Softpress Templates (Freeway Template Packs) Collection of website templates for Freeway, including Template Pack 1 (8 templates), Template Pack 2 (8 templates), the Freeway Express Template Pack (12 templates), and the free Esperanto template. Sold as add-ons to the Freeway software on a one-time perpetual basis.

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• PaddlecoreTechnology or IntegrationPaddle handles payment processing for all in-app purchases on softpress.com. Their Privacy Policy applies to purchase transactions. Paddle is a merchant of record responsible for tax compliance on digital sales.
• CloudflarecoreTechnology or IntegrationCloudflare provides web hosting services for softpress.com. Their privacy policy governs their data handling practices.
• ApplecoreTechnology or IntegrationSoftpress products are designed exclusively for macOS. Xway supports both Apple Silicon and Intel Macs. Products are distributed through the Apple App Store. The company maintains native macOS applications.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Squarespace: Mass-market website builder with strong design positioning. Adjacent competitor in the 'no-code website building for creatives' category, but a much larger, publicly listed incumbent.
• Webflow: Cloud-based visual website builder targeting professional designers. A much larger incumbent that competes with Xway for the same 'designer who wants visual control without code' persona, but with a hosted SaaS model.
• Adobe (Dreamweaver / Muse): Adobe's Dreamweaver (and discontinued Muse) historically competed directly in visual website building for designers. Adobe is the broad incumbent in creative software and a structural competitor in web design tooling.
• Wix.com: Mass-market no-code website builder with broad SMB and prosumer appeal. Adjacent competitor in the visual no-code website category, competing for some of the same Mac-using creative professionals.

Direct peers

• Bare Bones Software: Mac-native software developer of BBEdit and other professional text/development tools. Comparable as a long-running, small, Mac-only software house serving creative professional users.
• Sketch: Mac-native design application for digital design (originally web/UI). Comparable as a Mac-only, design-focused, direct-to-consumer creative tool targeting a similar professional designer persona.
• MacRabbit: Mac-only developer of Espresso, a web editor/IDE for macOS. Closely comparable as a small Mac-native web design tool company with a similar professional-creator target customer.
• Panic Inc. Long-established Mac and iOS software developer (Coda, Nova, Transmit) with a similar profile: small, profitable, Mac-native, design-focused tools sold direct-to-consumer. Comparable in scale, ethos, and go-to-market.
• The Iconfactory: Small Mac and iOS software developer (e.g., Tot, Twitterrific). Comparable as a similarly sized, long-running, Mac-native design software company with direct-to-consumer distribution.
• Realmac Software: Mac-native software company producing design and productivity tools (RapidWeaver website builder, Ember, Clear). Highly comparable as a similarly small, Mac-focused software maker with a flagship website building product.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/softpress

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Softpress