Quick verdict
Choose MaxCut if…
- You run a cabinet or joinery business and need quotations and job costing.
- You want a library of reusable cabinet designs on a fixed workshop PC.
- You want labour cost tracking and machine charge calculations.
- You need holes and grooves on panels, mass changes and batch report printing.
- Windows desktop software suits how your workshop is set up.
Choose cutlistlab if…
- You want nothing to install and want to use a Mac, Chromebook, tablet or phone.
- You want the whole optimizer free, with no part limit and no subscription.
- You build furniture as a maker or DIYer, not as a business.
- You want a built-in cabinet designer that feeds the cutting plan directly.
- You want to keep offcuts as stock for the next project.
Side by side
The table only lists the points that matter for this comparison. Cells are kept short on purpose.
| Feature | MaxCut | cutlistlab |
|---|---|---|
| Platform | Windows desktop (PC) | Web browser, any device |
| Installation | Windows install | Nothing to install |
| Mac, Chromebook, phone | No web or Mac version | Yes, in the browser |
| Free version | Community Edition: hobbyists, education, new businesses, 90-day trials | Whole optimizer, free for everyone |
| Paid plan | Business: $20/month or $200/year per device | None |
| Licensing | Community: free with eligibility conditions, any number of PCs; Business: per device | No licence, no account needed |
| Sheet layout optimization | Yes | Yes, plus a 1D linear mode |
| Cabinet designs | Library of reusable designs | Parametric cabinet designer |
| Quotations and job costing | Yes | No |
| Labour and machine costs | Business Edition | No |
| Holes and grooves on panels | Business Edition | No |
| Labels | Panel and job item labels | Part labels, grouped per sheet |
| Cost estimation | Yes | Lowest-cost goal, sheet prices |
| Reports | Batch report printing (Business) | Print or PDF per project |
Where MaxCut is better
Running a cabinet business. MaxCut is aimed at cabinet makers, joiners and woodworkers who sell their work. Its site highlights cost estimation, job costing and professional quotations, and the Business Edition adds cost versus selling price comparisons, labour cost tracking for delivery, installation and assembly, and machine charge calculations. cutlistlab has none of that: no quotes, no customer records, no business reports.
Cabinetry detail. The Business Edition supports holes and grooves on panels and custom saw blade thicknesses, and it keeps a library of reusable cabinet designs. If you build the same cabinet carcasses again and again for different customers, that library saves real time. cutlistlab handles grain, edge banding and kerf, but it does not model holes or grooves.
Production paperwork. MaxCut prints panel labels and job item labels and, in the Business Edition, batch reports and mass changes across a job. cutlistlab prints part labels and a cutting plan per project, which is fine for one build at a time but not designed for a queue of jobs.
A fixed workshop PC. MaxCut is Windows desktop software. That is a good fit for a workshop PC that stays put next to the saw, but less convenient if you want to open the same tool on a Mac, Chromebook or phone.
Where cutlistlab fits better
Nothing to install, any device. cutlistlab runs in any modern browser on a phone, tablet, Mac, Windows, Linux or Chromebook. The optimization runs locally in the browser, so there is no software to install and no per-device licence to think about.
Free in full. The whole optimizer is free: no part limit, no daily calculation cap, no watermark and no paywall. You do not need an account. The optional free account only adds saving on the server and syncing projects and offcut stock across devices.
A cabinet designer for makers. Instead of a design library, cutlistlab has a parametric cabinet designer: bookcase, cabinet with doors, wardrobe, drawer unit, TV unit, kitchen base and wall cabinets, wall or bathroom cabinet, room divider and an attic cabinet with a sloped side. You set the sizes, choose the back panel, plinth and shelves, check the front, side and 3D view, and the parts update in the cutting plan as you go.
Offcuts as stock. Usable leftovers from one project are kept as stock and offered first in the next one ("Use my offcuts"). For a hobby workshop with a pile of half sheets in the corner, that matters more than job costing.
Store sheet sizes and prices. cutlistlab has a library of real store sheet sizes with prices for 41 country markets (for example Home Depot, Lowe's and Menards in the US, or Hornbach and OBI in Germany), so the lowest-cost goal can work with what you can actually buy. Your own sizes and prices can be entered too.
At the saw. The layout drawing has numbered parts and a numbered cutting order, and a full-screen "Cut along" mode walks through the cuts step by step. That is meant to be used on a phone next to the saw.
Pricing and free plan
MaxCut has two editions. The Community Edition is free, but with conditions: MaxCut's terms of use allow it for hobbyists (non-commercial use), education (with MaxCut's permission), new businesses (operating under six months with less than USD 10k revenue) and companies trialling MaxCut (one 90-day window of commercial use, then 90 days off). Established businesses need the Business Edition. You can install the Community Edition on as many computers as you want. The pricing page describes it as having limited library items and basic cut list functionality, with email support. We could not find a stated part limit per project, so we make no claim about that. The Business Edition costs $20 USD per month per device, or $200 USD per year per device, excluding VAT. It adds unlimited library items, advanced cabinetry features (custom saw blade thicknesses, holes and grooves on panels), mass changes, batch report printing, cost versus selling price comparisons, labour cost tracking and machine charge calculations.
cutlistlab has one plan and it is free: the whole optimizer, with no part limit, no daily cap, no watermark and no paid tier. An account is optional and also free; it adds server-side saving and sync across devices. Without an account everything stays in your browser, with a project file export and a share link as backup options.
Workflow comparison
If you run a small cabinet shop
MaxCut. You need quotations for customers, job costing, labels per job and reports that cover a batch of work, and MaxCut is built for that. cutlistlab will optimize the same sheets, but it stops at the cutting plan, the labels and a shopping list.
If you build a cabinet once every few months
cutlistlab. Open the browser, pick a cabinet type or type your parts, choose a sheet from the store library, and print the plan. There is no software to keep updated and no licence to renew for something you use a few times a year. MaxCut Community Edition is also free for eligible users (hobbyists, education, new businesses and 90-day trials), but it is Windows desktop software that you install on the Windows computers where you want to use it.
If you are standing next to the saw with your phone
cutlistlab. It is mobile-first, the "Cut along" mode shows one cut at a time, and the offcuts you end up with can be saved as stock on the spot. MaxCut is desktop software, so at the saw you would be working from a printout or a laptop.
If you work on a Mac, Linux or a Chromebook
cutlistlab, because it runs in the browser. MaxCut has no web or Mac version, so you would need a Windows PC or a Windows environment on your Mac.
If you need holes, grooves or machine costing
MaxCut Business Edition. cutlistlab does not model holes and grooves on panels and has no labour or machine costing. It does have a CNC mode with tighter non-guillotine nesting and DXF export, but that is about the layout, not the joinery detail.
Who should choose which?
- Professional cabinet maker or joiner on Windows: MaxCut, most likely the Business Edition.
- Hobbyist or brand-new business that wants a free desktop optimizer on Windows: MaxCut Community Edition (check its eligibility terms).
- Maker or DIYer who wants a free optimizer with no install and no limits: cutlistlab.
- Anyone on a Mac, Chromebook, tablet or phone: cutlistlab.
- Someone who wants to design a cabinet and cut it from the same tool: both; MaxCut with its design library, cutlistlab with its parametric designer. Try which one matches how you think about a cabinet.
Try it yourself. Already have a cut list? Put the same parts into both tools and compare the layouts. Open cutlistlab: free, no sign-up, nothing to install.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a MaxCut version for Mac?
Not according to the MaxCut website: MaxCut is Windows desktop software, with no web or Mac version. If you work on a Mac, Chromebook or Linux machine, cutlistlab runs in the browser and needs no installation. If you prefer MaxCut itself, you would need a Windows PC or a Windows environment on your Mac.
Is MaxCut free?
Partly. The MaxCut Community Edition is free for hobbyists (non-commercial use), education, new businesses (under six months old with less than USD 10k revenue) and a 90-day commercial trial, and you may install it on as many computers as you want. The vendor describes it as having limited library items and basic cut list functionality. The Business Edition costs $20 per month per device or $200 per year per device, excluding VAT, and adds the cabinetry, costing and reporting features. cutlistlab is free in full, with no paid tier.
Can cutlistlab do quotations and job costing like MaxCut?
No. cutlistlab can optimize for the lowest material cost using sheet prices and gives you a shopping list, but it has no quotations, customer records, business reports, labour cost tracking or machine charge calculations. If you need those, MaxCut Business Edition is the better fit.
Does cutlistlab have a cabinet library like MaxCut?
It takes a different approach. MaxCut offers a library for reusable cabinet designs. cutlistlab has a parametric cabinet designer: you pick a cabinet type, such as a bookcase, wardrobe or kitchen base cabinet, set the dimensions and options, and the parts flow straight into the cutting plan. You can save the project, locally or with a free account, but it is not a design library in the MaxCut sense.
Does cutlistlab upload my cut list to a server?
The optimization itself runs locally in your browser, in a background worker, not on a server. Without an account, projects and offcut stock stay in the browser on your device, and you can export a project file as a backup. If you create the optional free account, projects are saved on the server so they sync across your devices.
Sources checked. Competitor information checked against the vendor's official website in September 2026: maxcutsoftware.com, maxcutsoftware.com/pricing-subscription-plans, maxcutsoftware.com/terms-of-use.
Product names and trademarks belong to their respective owners. cutlistlab is not affiliated with the products compared here.