Is the cut list generator free?

Yes, in the browser with no account, within daily export limits. Saved projects, stock inventory and DXF export require a paid plan.

Can I generate a cut list from a spreadsheet I already have?

Yes. Import CSV or XLSX and the column headings get matched to the fields, so you rarely have to rearrange the file first.

Can it generate a cut list from a drawing or 3D model?

Yes - AI plan scanning reads PDF plans, and glTF, GLB and Collada models can be imported. Both have monthly caps that are higher on paid plans, and both outputs should be reviewed before cutting.

Does it generate cut lists for lumber and pipe as well as sheets?

Yes, through the linear optimizer. Panels and lengths are generated and optimized separately because they are different packing problems.

What is the difference between a cut list generator and an optimizer?

The generator produces the parts table; the optimizer decides where those parts sit on stock. Most tools, including this one, do both.

Calculator page · 5 min read

Cut list generator

A cut list generator turns whatever form your part information is currently in - a sketch, a spreadsheet, a PDF plan, a 3D model - into a clean table of parts with sizes and quantities, and then into a cutting layout you can take to the saw. The generating is the boring half; the useful half is what happens next. This page covers the four ways to get a list started, what a generated list should contain before you trust it, and how to turn it into stock counts you can order from.

Open free sheet cut list optimizer See cut list examples

Four ways to generate a cut list

Pick the one that matches where your information already lives. Retyping is the most common and least necessary step in the whole process.

Starting point	Route	Good for
Nothing yet	Type parts directly into the optimizer	Small jobs, one-offs, quick checks
A spreadsheet	Import CSV or XLSX	Anyone already keeping lists in Excel or Sheets
A PDF plan or supplier sheet	AI plan scan, then review	Drawings you did not produce yourself
A 3D model	Import glTF, GLB or Collada	Work modelled in CAD before it is costed

Typing and spreadsheet import are on the free tier; plan scanning and model import have monthly caps that are higher on paid plans.

What a generated list must contain before you trust it

A generator that produces a plausible-looking table is not the same as one that produces a correct one, and the failure mode is quiet. Check these before you order material.

Finished sizes, not nominal ones - a 2×4 is 38 × 89 mm and the list should say so
Internal dimensions that account for panel thickness, which is where imported lists most often go wrong
One row per part type with a quantity, rather than duplicated rows
Material and thickness on every row, spelled identically where it is the same stock
A single unit system throughout - mixed millimetres and inches survive import and break layouts
Grain flags on parts that will be visible, and only those

Scanned and model-derived lists especially deserve a read-through: the geometry is usually right and the naming usually is not, and unnamed parts are indistinguishable at the saw.

Filled-in cut list examples Blank template

How the generator builds a cut plan from your list

Once the list is right, the rest is arithmetic you should not be doing by hand.

Add the stock you actually purchase - sheet sizes or stick lengths, by the SKU on the delivery note. Set kerf for the tool that will cut. Run the layout, and read the stock count before anything else: that is the number that becomes a purchase order. Then look at the diagram as the person who has to cut it, and try a second layout strategy if the sequence looks awkward.

Export the PDF when the diagram matches how your shop works. If a dimension changes afterwards, edit the row and re-run - the layout refreshes and the old PDF is the one to throw away.

Generate a sheet cut list Generate a linear cut list

Cut list generator showing entered parts alongside the generated sheet layout — Parts on the left, generated layout on the right - editing a row re-runs the nest immediately.

Sheet parts and linear parts generate separately

A cut list generator handles two different shapes of problem, and mixing them produces nonsense. Panels are rectangles nested in two dimensions on a sheet. Lumber, trim, pipe, tube, bar and extrusion are lengths packed in one dimension onto sticks.

Most real jobs have both. Generate the panel list and run it through the sheet optimizer; generate the stick list and run it through the linear optimizer; combine the two PDFs in one job pack. The material summary that goes to purchasing lists both.

Sheet vs linear optimization Splitting a list by material

What you can export

A generated list is only useful in the formats the next person needs it in.

PDF cut plans with nested diagrams and a parts table, for the shop floor
CSV and XLSX parts tables, for pricing, purchasing, or an ERP import
DXF layouts for CAM, on paid plans
Printable labels and part lists that match the diagram numbering

Free anonymous use covers 3 PDF exports per day with unlimited editing and re-running, up to 20 part rows per session, and CSV or XLSX import up to 5 rows. Saved projects, stock inventory and DXF export need an account.

Generator, optimizer, or calculator?

The three words get used for the same software, but they describe different halves of it, and knowing which you need saves a fruitless search.

A generator produces the list of parts. An optimizer arranges those parts on stock. A calculator usually means a material-specific front end onto both - a plywood calculator and a pipe calculator are the same engine with different defaults and different worked examples.

If you already have a parts list, skip the generating and go straight to the optimizer.

How a cut list optimizer works All calculators

You have	You want	Start here
A design, no list	A parts list	Cut list generator
A parts list	Stock counts and diagrams	Sheet or linear optimizer
A spreadsheet	Both, without retyping	Import, then optimize
A PDF plan	Both, without reading it manually	Plan scan, then review and optimize

FAQ

Is the cut list generator free?: Yes, in the browser with no account, within daily export limits. Saved projects, stock inventory and DXF export require a paid plan.
Can I generate a cut list from a spreadsheet I already have?: Yes. Import CSV or XLSX and the column headings get matched to the fields, so you rarely have to rearrange the file first.
Can it generate a cut list from a drawing or 3D model?: Yes - AI plan scanning reads PDF plans, and glTF, GLB and Collada models can be imported. Both have monthly caps that are higher on paid plans, and both outputs should be reviewed before cutting.
Does it generate cut lists for lumber and pipe as well as sheets?: Yes, through the linear optimizer. Panels and lengths are generated and optimized separately because they are different packing problems.
What is the difference between a cut list generator and an optimizer?: The generator produces the parts table; the optimizer decides where those parts sit on stock. Most tools, including this one, do both.