Built in Newcastle upon Tyne · Used across fabrication, joinery & more
Stop guessing how much material to order
Know exactly what to order before you cut a single sheet or bar,
then send the customer a quote. Works for steel, timber, acrylic, tube, extrusion and more.
You had 4 sheets on the previous quote — CutNest says 3.
3
sheets
Sheet 1 of 3 — 2450×1150mm — 89% utilisation
Door Front
800×600
Side L
450×380
Side R
450×380
Base Panel
700×280
Total Cost
£675
Saved vs 4 sheets
£225
Avg Fill
87%
R
“I work in sheet metal fabrication. Every week we’d quote a job, order steel, and end up with offcuts we couldn’t use. I built CutNest to solve that — and quickly realised the same problem exists in timber, joinery, acrylic, glass. Anyone cutting from sheet material wastes money without a proper cut list.”
Ryan — Sheet Metal Fabricator & founder · Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
First job we ran through it — the quote said 4 sheets of stainless, CutNest said 3. It was right.
<30s
to a result
Enter your pieces, hit calculate. The result is instant — no waiting, no server, no account.
£225
saved, first use
One sheet of 316 brushed stainless. That’s more than a year of Pro, paid for by a single job.
Free vs Pro
The free version works. Pro is for when it’s saving you money every week.
One material is enough to see if CutNest works for you. But most jobs involve more than one material. That’s where Pro pays for itself — usually on the first job.
✓ 1 material per job ✓ 2 sheet sizes per material ✓ Bar & tube cutting ✓ Edge trim ✓ Visual layouts ✓ CSV export ✗ Customer quotes ✗ Stock limits per size ✗ Multiple materials ✗ Grain lock & guillotine ✗ Remnants & offcut stock ✗ Master library ✗ DXF export ✗ Job history ✗ Unit multiplier
Pro — £12/mo
✓ 5 materials per job ✓ Up to 12 sheet sizes per material ✓ Bar & tube cutting ✓ Edge trim ✓ Visual layouts ✓ CSV export ✓ Customer quotes ✓ Stock limits per size ✓ Sheets and bars in one job ✓ Grain lock & guillotine ✓ Remnants & offcut stock ✓ UK library, 32 grades ✓ DXF export (CNC/laser) ✓ Job history (50 jobs) ✓ Unit multiplier
Try it here
A real cut list, worked out right on this page
Pick a sample job, change any size or quantity, press Calculate. It’s the same engine as the app — no sign-up, and nothing leaves your browser.
The real app
What you get, screen by screen
Real screenshots of CutNest, not mock-ups. Tap any one to see it full size.
Results. What to order in one line, the cost, and every sheet drawn to scale — with a badge when no layout could use fewer sheets.Cut sheets. One page per sheet for the machine: dimensioned, parts numbered, and the saw’s cut sequence in order.Bar & tube. Each cutting pattern once, with how many bars to cut that way, the offcuts worth keeping and the marks from the end.Quote builder (Pro). Cutting time from the layout, your rates, markup and VAT, totalled as you type.The quote your customer gets. Your name and logo, itemised, numbered and dated.
If you can fill in a spreadsheet, you can use CutNest. There’s nothing to install and no account to create.
1
Add your pieces
Type them in, paste from an email, or open your CSV or Excel cut list. Millimetres or inches and fractions. Works for steel, timber, MDF, acrylic, glass — any sheet material.
2
Hit calculate
CutNest works out the most efficient way to fit everything onto the fewest sheets. Most jobs take a second or two, and it all runs in your browser.
3
Order with confidence
You get an exact sheet and bar count, total material cost and a visual layout showing where every piece goes. Print it for the shop floor, or turn it into a customer quote.
Features
If you cut sheet or bar and quote jobs, this is built for you
Whether you’re a fabricator, joiner or sign maker — if you’ve ever over-ordered because your cut list was a guess, you know the problem CutNest solves.
From cut list to customer quote
CutNest already knows the material. Now it prices the whole job: cutting time worked out from the actual layout (the saw’s cut sequence, the laser’s cut length), handling, setup and extras at your own rates, markup and VAT. Out comes a quote with your logo, ready to send.
Pro
Bar, tube & extrusion
Box section, angle, flat bar, aluminium extrusion, timber lengths — cut to length from your stock lengths with the fewest bars, a saw list for every cutting pattern, and the offcuts worth keeping marked. With Pro, sheets and bars go in the same job and the same quote.
All plans
Grain direction lock
Brushed stainless, veneered MDF, patterned glass, wood grain — some materials can’t be rotated. Lock the grain on a whole material, or set it part by part: lock the doors, let the shelves turn. CutNest never flips a locked piece against the grain.
Pro
Cost-aware optimisation
Enter your sheet prices and CutNest minimises your total spend — not just sheet count. A cheaper smaller sheet that creates more waste isn’t always better. CutNest knows the difference.
Pro
Guillotine mode
Running a saw or guillotine as well as a punch press or laser? Set cutting method per material. Free placement for CNC work, guillotine mode for straight cuts. Ideal for timber, decking and steel sheet alike. Comes with a numbered cut sequence for the saw.
Pro
Fast. Always.
CutNest runs in your browser, not on a shared server. A 50-piece job across three materials — steel, ply and acrylic — calculates in seconds. No queue, no waiting, works offline once loaded.
Works offline
Your materials, your prices
Set up your stock library with your actual sheet sizes and prices. Set an edge trim for sheets with rough edges. Pro takes up to 12 sizes per material, respects how many of each you actually have, and starts you off with a library of common UK grades.
Stock limits & extra sizes: Pro
Works with your existing setup
CutNest sits at the quoting stage — before production. Your tooler keeps using Dr. ABE Blank, AP100 or whatever they already run for punch programming. No conflict, no retraining, no disruption to your shop floor.
No disruption
Shop-floor paperwork
Visual layout showing exactly where every piece lands. Total sheets, total cost, waste percentage. Export to CSV, PDF or DXF, print dimensioned cut sheets and saw lists for the machine, and (Pro) print a numbered label for every part so nothing gets mixed up on the bench.
Proof, not a guess
Every result is checked against a mathematical lower bound. When CutNest hits it, the layout is marked provably optimal: no arrangement of those parts, by any software, fits on fewer sheets or bars. When it can’t prove it, it says so honestly.
All plans
Bring your cut list
Open a CSV or Excel file straight from your drawing office or estimating sheet — CutNest reads the header row and finds the name, sizes, quantity and grain columns itself. Or paste from an email. Nothing is uploaded; the file is read in your browser.
All plans
Millimetres or inches
Work in mm, or in inches with the fractions your tape measure uses — type 23 5/8 or 8′ 6 and it just works. Pounds, dollars or euros. Every layout, cut sheet and export comes out in your units.
All plans
What you get
Built for how fabrication shops actually work
Most cut optimisers are general-purpose. CutNest Pro is shaped around quoting and cutting real sheet material.
🔒 Secure payment via Lemon Squeezy · VAT added at checkout where applicable · Licence key emailed instantly
🔐 How to activate: After payment, Lemon Squeezy emails you a licence key instantly. Open the CutNest app, click the ⚙ Settings button in the top right, paste your key into the Licence Key field, and click Activate Key. Takes 10 seconds.
FAQ
Straight answers
Yes, with Pro. Set the cutting method per material. “Free placement” for CNC punch, laser and router. “Guillotine” for saw or shear cutting where every cut goes edge to edge. Works for timber, steel sheet, acrylic — mix both in the same job.
Yes — that’s the whole point. Go to Library, enter your sheet sizes and prices. Steel, MDF, ply, acrylic, glass — whatever you work with. CutNest uses your actual numbers. Free handles 2 sizes per material; Pro handles up to 12, picks the cheapest mix, and can be told how many of each size you actually have. Pro users also get a pre-built library of common UK grades as a starting point.
Yes, on every plan. Add a bar material in your Library with the stock lengths you buy (for example 6m and 7.5m), their prices, and optionally an end trim and your saw’s kerf. Enter the lengths you need and CutNest works out the fewest bars (or the cheapest mix of lengths), shows each cutting pattern once with how many bars to cut that way, and prints a saw list with the offcuts worth keeping. Pro users can put sheet and bar materials in the same job.
With Pro, yes. After you calculate, Quote works out the cutting time from the actual layout — the saw’s cut sequence, a laser or router’s cut length and pierces, or the number of saw cuts on bar — at the speeds you set per material, then adds handling, setup, any extra lines, your markup on material and VAT. It prints as a quote with your logo and business details, numbered and dated, ready to send.
Yes, on every plan. Click Paste list, then Open a file, and choose a CSV or Excel (.xlsx) file. If the first row has headings like Name, Length, Width, Qty and Grain, CutNest uses them to find the right columns; otherwise it reads each row as name, width, height, quantity. You see a preview before anything is added. The file never leaves your computer.
Yes. Choose inches in Settings (or on first start) and every size is typed and shown in inches, with fractions: 23 5/8, 3/32 kerf, 8′ 6. Layouts, cut sheets, CSV and DXF exports all come out in inches, and you can switch back to millimetres at any time. Prices can be in pounds, dollars or euros.
With Pro, yes. The Labels button prints one label per part on standard Avery sheets (L7160, L7163, L7159 on A4, or 5160 and 5163 on US Letter). Each label shows the job, part name, size, material and the same sheet and part number as the cut sheet, and flags parts whose grain is locked. You can skip labels already used on a part-used sheet.
Yes. Set an edge trim on the material in your Library (for example 10mm) and CutNest nests parts inside the trimmed area, on every plan. Saw cut sheets tell the operator to trim first and measure everything from the trimmed edge; CNC layouts show the trim as a border to keep clear of.
With Pro, tick “Lock grain” on that material in your library, or set it per part with the grain button on each row — so doors stay with the grain while shelves and backs are free to turn and fill the gaps. Works for brushed stainless, veneered MDF, wood grain, patterned glass — any material where rotation matters. CutNest will never flip a locked piece against the grain.
No to both. Open cutnest.co.uk/app in any browser and start using it. Your library and job history are saved in your browser — nothing is sent to a server. For Pro, you just enter a licence key in Settings after purchase.
After payment you’ll get a licence key by email within a minute. Open the app, tap Settings, paste the key. Pro unlocks immediately. One key works for your whole company — share it with your team.
No — CutNest works at the quoting stage, before production starts. Your tooler keeps using whatever they already run (Dr. ABE Blank, AP100, SigmaNEST etc) for punch programming and NC code. The two tools serve completely different purposes and never overlap.
Free placement uses the MaxRects algorithm to pack pieces anywhere on the sheet — the same approach used in industrial nesting software. It’s ideal for CNC punch presses, plasma cutters, lasers, and routers where you can cut in any direction. Guillotine mode restricts cuts to full edge-to-edge straight lines, just like a manual guillotine shear or panel saw. Use guillotine mode for timber, MDF, and sheet cutting on saws where you can only make straight cuts across the full sheet. You set the cutting method per material in your library. Guillotine mode is part of Pro; the free plan uses free placement.
CutNest saves your settings in your browser’s local storage (always — it’s how the app works offline). We’d also like to use Google Analytics for anonymised usage stats. No ads, no cross-site tracking. See our Privacy Policy.
