Free Cutlist Optimizer for Plywood and Sheet Goods

What this cutlist optimizer does

This free cut list optimizer takes the size of your sheet, the size of every part you need, and the width of your saw blade. It then works out how to lay the parts on as few sheets as possible and draws each sheet as a cutting diagram. You get the number of sheets, the percentage of material actually used, the leftover area, and a numbered list of cuts to follow at the saw.

It is built for woodworkers and DIY builders who are standing in front of a few sheets of plywood, MDF or melamine and want a plan before the first cut. There is nothing to install and no account to create. Open the page, type your sizes, press Calculate, and the answer is on the screen. It works on a phone held in one hand in the shop as well as on a laptop.

How to use the cut list optimizer in three steps

1. Describe the sheet. Choose inches or millimeters, then enter the sheet length and width. The example that loads is a 4 x 8 ft sheet (48 x 96 in) with a 3 mm (1/8 in) saw kerf. Change any of it. If you need more than one sheet, you do not have to say how many; the tool tells you how many it needs.
2. List your parts. Add one row per part with a name, length, width and quantity. In inches you can type fractions the way you would write them on a pencil list: 23 1/2, 3/4 and 23.5 are all understood. Turn off the rotate switch on any part whose grain has to run along the sheet.
3. Press Calculate. The layout appears below the form. Read the summary first, then look at each sheet, then follow the numbered cuts.

Your inputs are remembered in your browser, so a refresh does not wipe the list you just typed.

Rules the layout follows

Saw kerf is counted

A blade removes material. If you plan two parts side by side and ignore the blade, the second part comes out short by the width of the kerf. This cutlist optimizer reserves the kerf width at every cut, so the diagram you see is one you can actually cut.

Grain direction is respected

Grain on the sheet runs along its length. A part with rotation turned off is always placed with its length along the sheet length. A part with rotation turned on may be turned 90 degrees if that saves material. Use the switch for rails, face frames, shelf fronts and anything else where a visible pattern matters, and leave it on for hidden parts such as cabinet backs or drawer bottoms.

Every cut goes edge to edge

The planner uses guillotine cuts: each cut runs all the way across the piece in front of you, the way you would push it through a table saw or follow a track saw guide. Layouts that need a cut to stop in the middle of a board are not produced, because they are hard to make safely and accurately.

A cut order that keeps fence changes low

A diagram alone does not tell you what to do first. Alongside each sheet you get a numbered list such as 1. Rip at 24" (fence 24"). The steps are written in the order you would make them, starting with the long rip cuts and moving on to the cross cuts. Cuts that need the same fence setting are placed together, so you set the fence once and run every piece that needs that width before moving it.

One complaint woodworkers raise about layout tools is that a plan that saves material on screen is not the one they would choose to cut, because it asks for a different fence position every few cuts. The step list is the answer to that complaint. It is read directly from the structure of the layout, so each step matches the diagram.

What this tool does not do

• It does not guarantee the mathematically best layout. Optimal packing is a hard problem. The tool tries several sorting, placement and splitting strategies and keeps the one that uses the fewest sheets, then the highest yield, then the fewest cuts. A different arrangement may exist that saves one more part.
• It cannot see your wood. For solid lumber, knots, checks, sapwood and color matching need a human eye. Treat the diagram as a starting point and adjust by hand.
• It does not mix sheet sizes. One sheet size per calculation. Mixed sizes are on the list of things we may add, and nothing is promised.
• It assumes a rectangular, uniform sheet. Damaged edges, trimmed factory edges and thickness differences are not modeled. Measure your actual sheet.
• Always check the result. Compare part counts and sizes against your own list before you cut anything.

Compared with pencil and paper, and with desktop software

By hand, a handful of parts is easy. Fifteen different sizes on three sheets is where mistakes and wasted offcuts begin, and recalculating after one change means starting again. This tool recomputes in a moment, so you can test what happens if you shorten a shelf by half an inch.

Desktop cut list programs can do more: mixed stock, cost tracking, edge banding and long-term project files. Many are tied to one operating system or a license on a limited number of machines. This page runs in any modern browser on a phone, tablet or computer, needs no sign-up, and keeps your data on your own device. Choose the tool that fits the job; for a weekend cabinet or a shop-day plywood breakdown, a page that opens instantly is often enough.

What is free and what is not here yet

Everything described above is free and has no daily limit on calculations: unit switching, fractions, the parts table, the layout, the cutting diagrams, the cut order, printing and copying as text. You can save up to three projects in your browser. A paid plan called Pro, at $9 per month, appears below the results as a test of interest only. It is not available yet and nothing is charged.

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