Comparison · KCD Software

Their cut list is tier three. Ours is the download.

KCD Software is good software with published prices and real phone support, and shops have run it for years. It also puts the cut list in its third tier and the CNC output in its fourth. WoodWright puts both in the free download — with one caveat about the CNC that this page states plainly rather than burying.

DownloadJoin the waitlistMeasure a roomSee what's free →
The money

What KCD publishes, and what it adds up to

KCD is one of the few packages in this market that puts every price on a public page. Every figure below is theirs, checked 9 September 2026 — you can open their pricing page and check each one.

KCD Designer$99 / month — 2D and 3D design, elevations, dimensioned drawings
KCD Professional$128 / month — adds estimates, proposals and reports
KCD Workshop$168 / month Standard, $195 Plus, after a $570 three-month startup — adds cut lists and sheet optimization
KCD CNC Commander$295 / month after a $1,995 three-month startup — adds CNC machine code and true-shape nesting
Paying yearlyTwo months free, per their page
WoodWright$0. Design, cut lists, nesting, drawings and CNC output. No seats, no trial clock, no card

The arithmetic below is ours, on their numbers, with the working shown so you can check it: a first year on CNC Commander is the $1,995 startup plus nine months at $295 — $4,650. A first year on Workshop Plus is $570 plus nine at $195 — $2,325. Both before the year-two renewal, and both for one seat.

The case

The two things you are paying to unlock

This is not an argument about which package draws a nicer cabinet. It is about where the line sits between the tier you can afford and the tier that does the work you actually needed.

The cut list

Cut lists, part sizes with construction details, and sheet optimization begin at KCD's third tier. In WoodWright the cut list is generated from the design itself — every part sized and grouped by material, solid stock routed to a lumber chop list, QR labels for the floor — and the sheet layout sits beside it. It is in the free download, and there is no tier above it to buy.

The machine

Design-to-machine code is KCD's top tier. WoodWright writes a layered DXF for any CAM, plus posts for ShopBot, Biesse, woodWOP, Xilog and generic ISO controls — free, and each one documented per controller.

Your files

Jobs are saved to your own disk in the open .ww format and open forever — no login, no seat check, nothing that stops working when a subscription lapses.

No meter

No seat count, no revenue cap, no trial clock and no card to start. The only paid part of WoodWright is the optional cloud AI, which runs on prepaid credits you never have to buy. Everything on this page works without them.

The other side

Where KCD is the better buy

If this page only listed reasons to leave, you would be right not to trust the rest of it. These are real, and the first one is the one that costs us most.

Questions

Straight answers

What does KCD Software cost?
KCD publishes four tiers on its own pricing page: Designer at $99 a month, Professional at $128 a month, Workshop at $168 a month for Standard or $195 for Plus with a $570 three-month startup, and CNC Commander at $295 a month with a $1,995 three-month startup. Paying yearly gets two months free. Those are their published figures, checked on 9 September 2026 — the link is on this page so you can check them yourself.
Which KCD tier do I need for a cut list?
Workshop, their third tier. Cut lists, unit part sizes with construction details, and OptiSaw sheet optimization all start there — $168 a month for Standard or $195 for Plus, after a $570 three-month startup. The two tiers below it are design, estimates and proposals. In WoodWright the cut list and the sheet nesting are in the free download; there is no tier above them.
Which KCD tier drives a CNC?
CNC Commander, their top tier: $295 a month after a $1,995 three-month startup. On their published numbers that is $4,650 for the first twelve months. WoodWright exports a layered DXF for any CAM, plus G-code posts for ShopBot, Biesse, Homag woodWOP, SCM Xilog and generic ISO controls, at no cost — with one honest caveat in the next answer.
Is WoodWright’s CNC output as trustworthy as KCD’s?
No, and this is the honest answer rather than the comfortable one. KCD has been driving real machines in real shops for years. Of WoodWright’s six outputs only the layered DXF is proven; the five G-code posts are built, simulated and verified against their own re-read, but no machine has cut one of them yet. Every post’s documentation page says so above the fold. If your shop cannot afford a first cut going wrong on an unproven post, that is a real reason to pay KCD.
What does KCD do that WoodWright does not?
Free live phone support during business hours, which for a shop learning new software is worth real money. Cabinotch integration, which sends a design out to be machined and returns parts ready to build — WoodWright has no equivalent and no plans for one. And years of shops running it daily on real machines. WoodWright is free, keeps your files in an open format on your own disk, and does not meter seats; it is not older, and it is not phone support.
Do I have to convert my existing KCD jobs?
No, and you should not try to. There is no KCD import and none is promised. The realistic way to try WoodWright is to draw the next new job in it alongside whatever you already run, and compare the cut list against the one you would have cut anyway. It costs nothing but the time, and nothing is switched off while you look.
DownloadJoin the waitlistMeasure a roomSee the whole app

Related: what free actually means · the cut list · sheet nesting · CNC post processors · doing this in SketchUp