Metal · Cutting
Linear cutting software for bars and profiles: what each program publishes
What each program says about itself, side by side. The programs people look for when they search for a linear cut list optimizer, with what their own websites publish: the price, whether it runs in the browser or has to be installed, what the free version allows, and whether it uses the offcuts in stock and counts the saw kerf. Each row carries the page it was read on and the date.
The programs side by side
| Program | Price as published | Where it runs | Free version | Offcuts and stock | Saw kerf | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SyntaxFlow | Free to work out the plan; Pro €29 once | Browser, nothing to install | Yes: the plan, the bars to buy and the link, with no limit of cuts. Pro adds every label (12 free), 50 saved jobs (1 free) and the stock library | Yes: the offcuts on the rack are used before a new bar | Yes, the blade and the end trim | syntaxflow.io/pricing |
| Corte Certo Linear | €590 a year | Not published | A version to try before buying; limits not published | Keeps the stock of bars; the plan shows what is left | Yes | cortecerto.com/produto/corte-certo-linear read 12 Nov 2026 |
| Cutting Optimization Pro | €55 one licence, for ever (the version bought), before VAT | Windows | Not published; it asks to try before buying | Yes: useful waste goes to the inventory | Not published | optimalprograms.com/cutting-optimization read 12 Nov 2026 |
| optiCutter | Free; Standard €9 a month or €90 a year; Professional €19 a month or €190 a year | Browser, no installation | Yes: 5 stocks, 20 lengths, 500 parts | Not published | Not published | opticutter.com read 12 Nov 2026 |
Each row is what that company publishes on its own website, read on 12 November 2026. «Not published» means the site does not say it, not that the program cannot do it. Prices are as published, in the currency and with the taxes each site states, and they change: check the source before buying. Our own row says what the tool does today.
What to look at before choosing
- Offcuts in stock. A workshop has short lengths on the rack: a tool that uses them before a new bar saves bars that a plain list does not.
- The saw. Every cut takes the blade's width, and the ends of a bar are trimmed: a plan that ignores them comes up short at the saw.
- Where it runs. A browser tool works on the phone at the saw; a Windows program needs a PC and a licence per computer.
If you are looking for a free one
The SyntaxFlow linear optimizer works out the plan, the bars to buy and what is left of each, free, with no limit of cuts and no sign-up; what Pro adds is on the pricing page. Some programs in the table publish a free version with limits: the table says which and how far. Open the optimizer · What Pro adds and what it costs
Questions people ask
- Is there free linear cutting software?
- Yes. The SyntaxFlow linear optimizer works out the plan, the bars to buy and the offcuts for free in the browser, with no limit of cuts and no sign-up. Some programs in the table publish a free version with limits.
- Does linear cutting software use my offcuts?
- Some do: the table says what each website publishes about offcuts and stock. The SyntaxFlow optimizer uses the offcuts you list before any new bar.
- Does it have to be installed?
- Not always. Some run in the browser; others are Windows programs. The table says what each one publishes.