Is Design Previewer cheaper than MysticThumbs?

Yes. MysticThumbs lists a single personal seat at US$34.95. A Design Previewer lifetime licence is a lower one-time price, and the yearly plan is lower again.

Which design formats does Design Previewer show that MysticThumbs does not list?

Sketch files, and the single Affinity .af format. Both appear as thumbnails in File Explorer and in the preview pane.

Can I use Design Previewer for client work?

Yes. One licence covers one computer, whether it is used at home or in a business. The price is the same.

Can both be installed at the same time?

Windows uses one thumbnail provider per file type, so the two would compete for the same files. Uninstall one before trying the other.

Can I try it before paying?

Yes. Everything is unlocked for 15 days, with no account and no card.

Will it slow File Explorer down?

No. Nothing runs in the background. It works only when Explorer asks for a thumbnail, and reads a few kilobytes of the file to make one.

Design Previewer vs MysticThumbs

The MysticThumbs alternative built for designers

Every design format you work with, including Sketch and Affinity .af files, for a lower one-time price. And the same licence covers your business.

Try it free for 15 days See the full comparison

No account, no card · Everything unlocked · Windows 10 and 11

Lifetime licence

$15, once

Design Previewer

US$34.95

MysticThumbs

One payment and it is yours, with every update included.

Sketch files

Included

Design Previewer

Not listed

MysticThumbs

Designs sent from a Mac show a thumbnail on your Windows PC.

Business use

Same price

Design Previewer

Separate licence

MysticThumbs

MysticThumbs prices its single seat for personal use.

01Side by side

Design Previewer vs MysticThumbs, line by line

Price, licence and every design format, with nothing left out.

Compared	Design Previewer	MysticThumbs
Price and licence
Lifetime licence	$15, once	US$34.95, personal use
Yearly plan	$7 a year	Not listed
Use it at work	Same licence, same price	Business licence, priced separately
Free trial	15 days, everything unlocked	14 days
Design formats
Photoshop (PSD, PSB)	Yes	Yes
Illustrator (AI) and EPS	Yes	Yes
CorelDRAW (CDR, CMX)	Yes	Yes
InDesign (INDD, INDT)	Yes	Yes
PDF	Yes	Yes
Adobe XD	Yes	Yes
Affinity Designer, Photo, Publisher	Yes	Yes
Affinity .af files	Yes	Not listed
Sketch	Yes	Not listed
Day to day
Setting it up	Nothing to configure	A control panel of settings
What it changes	Design files only	Many image, photo and game formats
Help when a file will not preview	Help desk, answered by a person	See its website

Details for MysticThumbs are as published on its own website in October 2026 and may have changed since. “Not listed” means it does not appear there. MysticThumbs belongs to its respective owner and is not connected with Design Previewer.

02Why switch

Four reasons designers choose Design Previewer

A lower price, paid once

A lifetime licence costs less than a MysticThumbs seat, and a yearly plan costs less again if you would rather start small.

Try it free for 15 days See pricing

Licensed for your studio

Freelancer, agency or print shop: it is the same licence at the same price. There is no separate business tier to ask about.

Sketch and .af covered

Sketch files from a Mac and the single Affinity .af format both show real thumbnails. Neither is on the MysticThumbs format list.

Made for very large files

A 623 MB Photoshop file is previewed by reading 192 KB of it. File size stops deciding how fast a folder opens.

03Questions

Switching from MysticThumbs

Still have a question? Open a support ticket

04More comparisons

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Stop opening five files to find one

Install it in two minutes and see every design file in the folder. Everything is unlocked while you try it.

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No account, no card
Never changes your files
Clean uninstall