A free CutList Plus alternative that runs in your browser

Quick verdict

Side by side

The rows below cover the points that actually differ between the two tools. Where CutList Plus fx offers something only in a higher edition, the edition is named.

Based on each vendor's own website, checked September 2026. Plans and limits change; check the vendor's current pricing page.

Where CutList Plus fx is better

It is a workshop administration tool, not only an optimizer. Every edition tracks sheet goods, lumber, labour and hardware in the same project, and produces material cost calculations and usage reports. Gold adds customer pricing and proposals, combining projects and shared materials. cutlistlab stops at the cutting plan and a shopping list; it has no labour costing, no proposals and no customer records.

One purchase, no subscription. You pay $89, $249 or $499 once, with no annual fee, a refund guarantee, and upgrades for the price difference. For a shop that wants to own its software and not think about renewals, that is a real advantage over most subscription tools.

Heavier professional import and export. Platinum imports parts from cabinet design software such as KCD, exports diagrams as DXF and imports and exports raw materials. Gold and Platinum also allow 5,000 copies per part. cutlistlab exports DXF too, but it cannot read project files from design software; parts come in by typing or pasting from a spreadsheet.

Site licences and a fixed Windows PC. If your work happens on one or more Windows machines in a shop, installed software with a site licence is a clean setup. The free viewer apps let you look at a project on a phone or tablet.

Where cutlistlab fits better

Mac, Linux, Chromebook, phone. CutList Plus fx has no Mac version; the vendor points to Parallels, Fusion or Boot Camp. cutlistlab runs in whatever browser you already have. Nothing to install, nothing to keep up to date, and the calculation runs locally in the browser rather than on a server.

Free, with no part limit. The whole optimizer is free: no 50-part cap, no watermark, no paywall, no account needed. An optional free account saves projects on the server and syncs projects and offcut stock across devices. Without it, everything stays in your browser, with a project file export for backups.

A cabinet designer that feeds the cut list. Pick a bookcase, wardrobe, drawer unit, kitchen cabinet or TV unit, set the sizes, and the parts flow straight into the cutting plan and update live. There is a front, side and 3D view with an exploded-view slider, plus back panel, plinth and shelf options. For a hobbyist who builds a cabinet now and then, this skips the parts-list spreadsheet entirely.

Offcuts kept as stock. Leftover pieces from one project are saved and offered for the next one ("Use my offcuts"), so a usable half sheet gets used before a new sheet is bought.

Real store sheets and a cut-along mode. cutlistlab has a library of store sheet sizes with prices for 41 country markets (Home Depot, Lowe's and Menards in the US, for example), a "search extra layouts" option, three optimization goals (least waste, fewest cuts, lowest cost), manual drag-and-lock adjustments, and a full-screen step-by-step "Cut along" mode for the saw. It works in metric and imperial (with fractions) and has 40 interface languages.

Pricing and free plan

CutList Plus fx is sold as a one-time purchase with no annual fee. The vendor lists three editions, a refund guarantee, site licences, and upgrades between editions for the price difference:

• Silver, $89: 50 parts per project, 1,000 copies per part, sheet goods, lumber, labour and hardware, part labels, free iPhone, iPad and Android viewer apps.
• Gold, $249 (the vendor's most popular): unlimited parts, 5,000 copies per part, edge banding, multiple copies of a project, combining projects, customer pricing and proposals, shared materials.
• Platinum, $499: everything in Gold, plus advanced part importing (KCD and similar), DXF export of diagrams, raw materials import and export.

cutlistlab is free. There is no paid edition: no part limit, no daily calculation cap, no watermark and no paywall, and no account is required. The optional account, which adds server-side saving and sync, is free as well.

Pricing checked: September 2026. Plans and limits change; check the vendor's current pricing page.

Workflow comparison

If you run a small cabinet shop

CutList Plus fx is the more complete tool. Labour and hardware in the same project, material cost and usage reports, customer pricing and proposals on Gold, and a licence you own. cutlistlab can produce the cutting plan and the shopping list for the same job, but the quoting and administration would live somewhere else.

If you work on a Mac

This is the clearest case for cutlistlab. CutList Plus fx needs Parallels, Fusion or Boot Camp on a Mac; cutlistlab opens in Safari, Chrome or Firefox and is ready to go. The same applies to Linux and Chromebooks.

If you are standing next to the saw with your phone

CutList Plus fx offers free viewer apps for iPhone, iPad and Android, so you can look at a project made on the PC. cutlistlab runs the full optimizer in the phone browser: you can change a part, recalculate, and step through the cuts in the full-screen "Cut along" mode without going back to a computer.

If you have a spreadsheet with 80 parts

In CutList Plus fx, 80 parts is over the Silver limit of 50 per project, so you would need Gold. In cutlistlab, paste the rows from Excel or CSV and there is no part limit. If your parts come from cabinet design software such as KCD, CutList Plus fx Platinum has an importer for that and cutlistlab does not.

If you build a cabinet once every few months

For an occasional build, a one-time licence of $89 to $499 is still money spent for a tool that sits idle most of the year. cutlistlab costs nothing and the cabinet designer gives you a parts list without drawing anything first. Offcuts from the last build are waiting in your stock for the next one.

Who should choose which?

• Professional shop on Windows, needs costing, proposals or KCD import: CutList Plus fx.
• Wants to own the software outright with no subscription: CutList Plus fx (one-time purchase). cutlistlab has no subscription either, but it is a web tool, not software you install and keep.
• Mac, Linux or Chromebook user: cutlistlab, unless you already run Windows in a virtual machine and need the business features.
• Hobbyist or occasional builder: cutlistlab. Free, no part limit, a cabinet designer, and offcuts kept between projects.
• Wants to plan and adjust at the saw on a phone: cutlistlab. The CutList Plus fx viewer apps show a project; they do not optimize.

Frequently asked questions

Sources checked. Competitor information checked against the vendor's official website in September 2026: cutlistplus.com, cutlistplus.com/Purchase.

Product names and trademarks belong to their respective owners. cutlistlab is not affiliated with the products compared here.