Optimizer
Lay out plywood, MDF, timber, glass and metal cuts free in your browser. No download, no sign-up, and a generous limit that fits real projects.
Yes. Cutlist Evolution is a free cut list optimizer that runs in any web browser, with no download and no sign-up. Enter your parts and the stock you can buy, and it lays them out for you. That covers sheet material such as plywood, MDF, glass and sheet metal, linear stock such as timber, pipes and extrusions, and rolls of vinyl or fabric. The free version has a generous limit on the number of parts and stock, and it runs the same engine that is used on industrial saw lines.
Free here is not a teaser. Cutting diagrams, sheet counts, offcut positions, kerf and grain settings and PDF export all work without paying, and there is no card to enter first.
No download, no sign-up
Parts go in by typing, or by import from a spreadsheet, a CSV file, or a 3D model in Fusion 360 or Shapr3D. Dimensions work in millimetres, decimals or inch fractions. Each part can carry its own grain or pattern orientation, so a drawer front keeps its figure running the right way while shelving rotates freely to save material.
The optimizer allows for blade kerf on every cut and a trim allowance to keep finished parts clear of factory edges. Sheet, linear and roll materials each have their own algorithm, and once the parts are placed a second pass reworks the pattern so the job needs the fewest cuts. You get a diagram for every sheet, a count of how many the job needs, and the position of every usable offcut. Offcuts can be fed back into the next calculation with a click, which is how a rack of leftovers stops growing.
Layouts export as a PDF ready for the shop floor, and printable part labels keep the pile on the bench sorted. There are also CSV, DXF, SVG and PTX exports for spreadsheets, CNC machines and beam saws. Any project can be shared with a link, which is the easy way to send a cut list to a supplier when ordering material cut to size.
Pricing follows part and stock requirements. The free version limits how much a single project can hold, and the paid plans, Starter through Enterprise, raise that limit and add professional features for people who cut for a living. You upgrade when your projects outgrow the free tier, not before.
Enterprise brings inventory management: the app tracks your materials, automatically selects the best offcuts for future calculations, and discards offcuts below a size you set. Organisation accounts cover a whole team on one subscription, so nobody buys a plan per person. If one large project is all you need, there is one-day access instead of a subscription. And nothing locks you in, since plans can be cancelled at any time from the account page.
Nothing, for most projects. Cutlist Evolution is free to use with a generous limit on parts and stock, and the free version produces the same cutting diagrams, sheet counts and offcut tracking as the paid plans. Paid plans exist for larger projects and professional features such as CSV, SVG, DXF and saw-format exports, and current prices are on the plans page. There is no trial clock on the free version and no card required.
The free version is not running a lesser algorithm. The engine has had ten years of continuous development, the same optimization that runs on industrial saw lines, and in published benchmarks it comes out around 10% more material-efficient than comparable tools. On one construction order it cut a supplier's estimate by 51 sheets, 3,416 square feet of material.
Sheet layout is a hard problem in the strict mathematical sense, the same puzzle as the bin packing problem, and the last few percent of yield is where optimizers earn their keep. The layouts also stay cuttable. The tightest packing on paper is worthless if no rip frees a part, so the optimizer balances material efficiency against a cutting sequence a person at a saw can actually follow.
A weekend build fits comfortably. A built-in wardrobe, a run of garage cabinets or a camper van fit-out sits well inside the free limits, and so do most one-off jobs in a small shop. It also earns its place before you buy anything: run the parts list through the optimizer and you know the sheet count before a supplier quotes one at you. The user guide covers importing, options and export formats in more detail.
The optimizer is the same wherever you start, but there are walkthroughs for specific jobs. Grain, veneer and thickness live on the plywood cut calculator page, and the standard imperial sheet workflow on the 4x8 plywood cut calculator page. Turning a parts list into a document a saw operator works from is the cut sheet calculator. Timber, pipe and other one-dimensional stock belong to the linear cut list calculator, framing lumber to the 2x4 cut list calculator, and irregular metal parts to the plate nesting calculator.
Free to use