For a small cabinet shop, choose by how the drawing becomes parts. WoodWright is free and covers cut lists, nesting and DXF output; Cabinet Cruncher starts at $99; SketchList 3D is $599.99 a year; Mozaik runs $125 to $325 a month. AI adds renders and drafting help, not cutting accuracy, so test it on a past kitchen.
A cut list comes from rules inside the design engine (panel sizes, edge banding, hinge boring), not from AI. AI sits at the two ends of the chain: the picture the client sees, and some first-pass drafting. So the buying questions run in a set order: the engine first, the hand-off to your machine second, and the AI claims last.
Where AI sits between the drawing and the machine
A kitchen job passes through the same stages in any shop, and each software tool covers some of them. The right-hand column shows where a vendor page I read actually claims AI.
| Stage | What happens | AI claim seen on a vendor page |
|---|---|---|
| Brief and first layout | Measure the room, place cabinets, agree a style | WoodWright's Draftsman drafts walls and cabinets for you to finish |
| 3D design | Cabinets from a library, resized to fit; changes ripple through | None |
| Client visuals | Render the design for the proposal | Mozaik AI Rendering, WoodWright renders, MyArchitectAI |
| Parts and cut list | Every panel with size, material and edge banding | None: engine rules |
| Sheet layout | Parts nested onto sheets, with labels | None: optimiser |
| Hardware and boring | Hinge, slide and handle positions and counts | None: engine rules |
| Machine output | G-code or DXF for a router, files for a panel saw | None |
That pattern matters when you read a sales page. The money-critical stages, where a wrong number scraps a sheet of plywood, are the ones with no AI claim at all. The AI is concentrated where the output is a picture or a rough sketch.
Six tools by price band, from their own pages
Prices below are as printed on each vendor's own pages in October 2026. Where a page shows no price, the cell says so, and I did not borrow a figure from a review site.
| Tool | Price as printed | Drawing to cut list | Machine hand-off | Quote features |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| WoodWright | Free CAD, $0 per shop; optional AI credits | Draw once; cut lists, nesting, QR labels and reports | Layered DXF part export to your CAM | Quotes and bills of materials listed in the free tier |
| Cabinet Cruncher with CabinetVIEW | 'Starting at $99', package not stated; 15-day free trial versions | Cut and material lists; 2,000+ SketchUp cabinet models; the workflow has you enter cabinet dimensions in CabinetCRUNCHER | Not mentioned | Professional Series adds estimating and material and labour costing |
| SketchList 3D | $79.99 a month; $599.99 a year; $899.99 for two years; $999.99 once, with a year of maintenance; 14-day trial | Cut list, part list, purchase list, optimised sheet layouts | DXF for CNC importing | No estimating feature listed |
| Mozaik | Manufacturing $125 a month; CNC $225; Enterprise $325; extra seats $60; 3-month paid trial | Complete cut lists, sheet layouts for saws, true-shape nesting on the CNC edition | Machine-ready G-code, with free stock post processors for over 175 CNC brands | 'Pricing estimates' that update as the design changes |
| Cabinet Pro | One-time: Standard $1,950, CNC $3,950 ($3,675 or $4,975 with Door Pro); quarterly rental, price not listed; free test drive | Shop drawings, unlimited cut-list reports, panel optimisation | User-defined post processor on the CNC edition; further post processors cost extra | Bidding and invoicing |
| Cabinet Vision | No price on the page I could open | Cut lists, bill of materials, material optimisation, photorealistic renderings | Machine-ready G-code for flat-table routers, panel saws and other machines | Bidding and costing |
Three bands show up. A free or near-free band (WoodWright, Cabinet Cruncher at $99 and up, and OpenCutList, a free donation-funded extension for SketchUp that produces cut lists and cutting diagrams). A mid band of about $600 to $1,000 up front or $125 to $325 a month (SketchList 3D and Mozaik). And a band of larger one-off licences, such as Cabinet Pro at $1,950 for Standard or $3,950 for CNC, with Cabinet Vision at the top showing no price on the page I could open. None of the pages for SketchList 3D, Cabinet Cruncher, Cabinet Pro or Cabinet Vision mention AI.
Some terms deserve a second look before you pay. SketchList's page says there are no refunds once a payment is accepted, that subscriptions renew unless cancelled, and that a one-time licence includes a year of maintenance; it lists yearly maintenance plans for licence holders at $69.99 (Hobby) or $229.99 (Pro), and once maintenance lapses you keep only the version you have. Cabinet Pro's first three-month rental comes with one to two hours of free training, a useful extra if nobody in the shop has used cabinet software before. Mozaik says there is no free trial but a 3-month paid one, and its main page says that if you continue it converts to a one-year subscription, so ask whether the trial months count towards that year. If the shop is also weighing the admin side, the companion piece on cabinet shop software for quotes, cut lists and orders prices that half separately.
What the AI add-ons cost and what they keep
Three tools describe AI features on their own pages. All three work from your 3D model, which is the sensible design. What differs is price, allowance and how much the AI adds that you never drew.
| Feature | Price and allowance | What it keeps | What it adds |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mozaik AI Rendering (add-on) | $75 a month for 250 AI renders; Plus $195 for 2,000; per company; credits reset monthly, do not roll over, cannot be topped up mid-month | Layout, geometry, materials and joinery: 'your design stays exactly as you created it' | Furnishings, decor, lighting and lifestyle elements it styles into the scene |
| WoodWright renders | $0.30 per render from your 3D view, on prepaid credits ($10, $25 buys $27.50, $100 buys $115; good for 12 months) | Made from your 3D model | Photoreal finish; the page does not say what else it may add |
| WoodWright Draftsman | About $2 a kitchen at the default setting | Not applicable: it drafts walls and cabinets for you to finish | A first-pass layout to edit |
| MyArchitectAI | 10 renders free; plans from $29 a month (Starter, Studio and Team; higher tiers not priced on the page) | Render mode keeps geometry and materials unchanged | Edit mode can replace materials and add or remove objects |
On cost, Mozaik's add-on is $900 a year at the base tier. Against a $9,000 kitchen at a 30% gross margin, which is $2,700 of margin, one extra kitchen won every three years covers it. WoodWright's own example, 20 renders plus 4 Draftsman rooms in a month, comes to about $14. Price is rarely the obstacle. The obstacle is a render that shows things you are not quoting.
WoodWright's page puts the right attitude in a sentence: the AI is there if you want it, and the rest of the software works without it. At a balance of $0, its AI pauses and the design tools carry on. That is a safer arrangement for a small shop than an AI add-on bundled into a tier you must buy.
A 14-cabinet kitchen from drawing to quote
Following one job through the chain shows what it does to the paperwork. The kitchen has 8 base cabinets, 5 wall cabinets and a tall pantry, built from 3/4 in (19 mm) prefinished plywood with 1/4 in backs, with 20 doors and 9 drawer fronts bought in. The design engine hands you about 212 parts, 16 sheets of 3/4 in and 3 of 1/4 in, 540 ft of edge banding, 42 hinges (three each on the two tall pantry doors) and 9 pairs of drawer slides. The quote then needs only your prices.
| Step | By hand (hours) | With a design engine (hours) | Why it moves |
|---|---|---|---|
| Drawings and elevations | 5.0 | 3.0 | Library cabinets resize and update views together |
| Cut list and sheet count | 3.0 | 0.25 | Parts and nesting come from the drawing |
| Hardware list | 1.5 | 0.25 | Hinges and slides counted from the doors and drawers |
| Quote assembly | 2.5 | 1.0 | Quantities flow into your price list |
| Total | 12.0 | 4.5 | 7.5 hours saved |
At $45 an hour for the owner's time, 7.5 hours is $337.50 a kitchen. If nesting also saves one sheet of 3/4 in at an assumed $85, it is $422.50. At three kitchens a month that is about $1,270, against $125 a month for Mozaik's Manufacturing edition or $225 for CNC. These are assumptions to replace with yours, and the first two kitchens will take longer while you set up your library. But the sum shows why the subscription is not the main cost: your hours are.
It also shows what to protect. Everything in the right-hand column depends on the engine's defaults matching how you build, and that is where a plausible tool can quietly cost you a kitchen's worth of plywood.
The defaults audit that catches a wrong cut list
A realistic mistake. A shop builds toe kicks 4 1/2 in high, but the cabinet library defaulted to 4 in. Every base cabinet side came out 1/2 in too short in the first kitchen. Nobody noticed on screen, because the drawing looked right. The error showed up at assembly, when eight cabinets sat low. Sixteen side panels were remade: about a sheet and a half of plywood plus three hours.
The fix is an audit before the first paying job. Build one base cabinet by hand from your own method, then compare it with the software's cut list part by part. These are the defaults most likely to differ.
- Panel thickness. Nominal 3/4 in plywood is commonly a little thinner, around 23/32 in, so check the actual thickness setting against a sheet from your supplier.
- Toe-kick height and setback. Match your own build.
- Back panel thickness and groove or rabbet depth. They change the inside width and height of every box.
- Rail and stretcher widths. These alter the parts count and the drawer opening.
- Door overlay and gaps. Door sizes follow them directly.
- Drawer box clearances. Each slide type needs its own side gap.
- Edge banding thickness. Whether it is subtracted from the part or added to it.
- Grain direction and kerf. They affect nesting, yield and labelling.
- Hinge and slide boring distances. Compare with your hardware supplier's own chart.
Record the result in a one-page table: default, software value, your value, changed or not. A tool whose defaults can be edited and saved to a template passes. A tool that fixes them in the library does not, however good its renders look. The same checking habit applies to drawings made with an assistant: box sizes, reveals and hardware checks with AI shows the questions to ask.
What each tool hands to the CNC router
If you have a router, the machine hand-off decides whether the software suits you. The pages describe three different things: machine-ready code, a drawing file for separate CAM software, and nothing at all.
- G-code: Mozaik's CNC edition produces machine-ready G-code with free stock post processors for over 175 CNC brands, and Cabinet Vision's page describes machine-ready code for several machine types.
- DXF for your own CAM: WoodWright exports layered DXF parts, and SketchList 3D lists DXF for CNC importing. You still need CAM software and a post processor of your own.
- A post processor by edition: Cabinet Pro's CNC edition ($3,950 against $1,950 for Standard) includes a user-defined post processor and CNC nesting, and further post processors cost extra.
- Not mentioned: Cabinet Cruncher's pages describe cut lists, not machine output.
WoodWright says a program is sent to a machine only after someone in the shop saves it. That is a good habit to copy whatever you buy. Before trusting any output, cut a test panel from scrap. Measure five parts with calipers, check hole positions against the drawing, and confirm the first sheet's labels match the cabinet numbers. Ask the vendor who writes and updates the post processor for your controller, and whether that costs extra.
Testing a render before it goes in a proposal
An AI render of your own kitchen can sell a job, or create a dispute. Run it on a finished kitchen where you remember every detail. Use one saved 3D view and the same instruction in each tool that offers renders.
Render this saved 3D view of a painted shaker kitchen.
Keep every cabinet, door, drawer front, handle and panel exactly as modelled.
Do not add appliances, furniture, plants, pendant lights or wall art.
Worktop and floor as set in the model. Daylight from the window on the left.Then compare the picture with the elevation drawing, line by line. Six things drift most often, and each takes a minute to check.
- Handles and knobs. Type, size and position.
- Door and drawer-front style. Rail and stile widths, panel profile, the number of drawers in a stack.
- Cabinet heights and run lengths. A wall cabinet a few inches taller changes both the look and the price.
- Appliance positions and sizes. The cooker, extractor and fridge opening.
- Finish names. The paint colour in the picture is not your sample.
- Added items. Anything not in the model, such as stools, plants, pendant lights or a bowl of fruit.
The money shows why this matters. Suppose a shop sends a render in which the cabinets carry bar handles, while the model and the quote specify 29 knobs. The client signs from the picture, expecting bars. Swapping 29 pulls at about $6 each is $174, plus two hours of re-drilling at $45, so $264 and an awkward phone call. Nothing was wrong with the cut list. The picture overpromised.
Mozaik's own page says its AI styles the scene with furnishings, decor, lighting and lifestyle elements, so staging items are a described behaviour, not a bug. That is fine for a mood image, provided the proposal says what is and is not in the price. A short line works: 'Image is illustrative. Furnishings, decor and plants are not included. Cabinetry, finishes and hardware are as listed on page 3.'
Four AI claims, tested against your own files
Each claim below is vendor wording from the pages I read. The right-hand column gives a test to run in a trial and a question to send in writing before you pay.
| Claim on the page | What it implies | Test and question |
|---|---|---|
| Mozaik: 'your design stays exactly as you created it', and the AI 'automatically styles your scene with furnishings, decor, lighting and lifestyle elements' | Your cabinetry is fixed, but the room around it is invented | Render a finished kitchen without asking for decor and list every item that is not in the model. Ask whether staging can be switched off |
| Mozaik: 250 AI renders a month on the $75 add-on, credits reset monthly, no top-up mid-month | A hard monthly ceiling | Count renders per proposal for two weeks. Four renders a proposal and 25 proposals is 100 of the 250, but a fussy client needing 20 renders is a different month. Ask what happens on render 251 |
| WoodWright: the Draftsman, about $2 a kitchen, with 'walls and cabinets drafted for you to finish'; at $0 the AI pauses and the CAD carries on | A first draft, not a drawing | Give it a room you have already measured, time your edits against drawing from scratch, and check every dimension with a tape. Ask who verifies dimensions before they reach a cut list |
| MyArchitectAI: render mode keeps 'geometry and materials unchanged'; edit mode can replace materials and add or remove objects | Two modes with different risks | Render a model with an unusual detail, such as a panelled appliance front, in render mode and check it survives. Ask what the terms say about client use and stored files; the pages I read show an IP ownership heading with no detail under it |
Two further questions apply to every tool. Where are my 3D files processed, and are they kept or used to train anything? And can the AI be switched off with the rest of the software still working? WoodWright's pause at zero credits answers the second. The pages for four of the six design tools mention no AI at all, which is useful information in itself.
Year-one cost for one seat, band by band
This is for one seat in a one-to-three person shop. Each figure is from the vendor's page, in dollars as printed, and excludes any maintenance, training or CAM software you may need separately.
| Option | How it is worked out | Year one |
|---|---|---|
| WoodWright free CAD | $0, plus AI credits only if used (the page's example is about $14 a month) | $0 to about $168 |
| Cabinet Cruncher | 'Starting at $99'; confirm which package and whether it is a one-off | From $99 |
| SketchList 3D | $599.99 for the one-year plan, or $999.99 once with a year of maintenance | $599.99 to $999.99 |
| Mozaik Manufacturing | $125 a month for 12 months | $1,500 (the annual plan with monthly payments saves 10% on the first seat) |
| Mozaik CNC | $225 a month for 12 months | $2,700 |
| Mozaik AI Rendering on top | $75 a month | +$900 |
| Cabinet Pro Standard or CNC | One-off licence; update fees and extra post processors are not priced on the page | $1,950 or $3,950 |
| Cabinet Vision | No price on the page I could open | Ask for a quote |
So a small shop can run for nothing, for a few hundred dollars, or for a few thousand. Over three years the one-off licences look different: Cabinet Pro CNC at $3,950 once against Mozaik CNC at $8,100 in subscriptions, before Cabinet Pro's update fees, which its page does not price, so ask for them before comparing. The step up to Mozaik's CNC edition at $2,700 buys true-shape nesting and G-code for a router, and only makes sense with a router. The step to $3,600 for CNC plus AI renders buys visuals on top of the machine output. Rank the spend by how much each step changes what reaches the machine or the client, and the render comes last.
A two-week trial plan with a past job
SketchList 3D offers a 14-day trial with no card, Cabinet Cruncher a 15-day one and Cabinet Pro a free test drive. Mozaik offers only a paid trial of three months, and WoodWright has no trial because the free tier is the trial. Use a finished kitchen with known costs for all of them.
- Days 1 and 2: model the kitchen. Time yourself, and note every library cabinet you had to edit.
- Day 3: run the defaults audit. Build the one test cabinet by hand and compare the parts.
- Day 4: compare the totals. Sheets, edge banding and hardware against what you actually bought for that job.
- Day 5: price it. Push the quantities into your own price list and compare the quote with what you charged.
- Days 6 and 7: machine output. Export for your router or saw, and cut a test panel from scrap.
- Days 8 to 10: change the design. Move a window, widen two cabinets and add a drawer base. See whether every list updates and how long it takes.
- Days 11 and 12: AI features. Run the render test above and note the cost per render.
- Days 13 and 14: exit. Export a job, read the cancellation or refund terms, and decide.
Score the tool out of five for the audit, the totals, the quote, the machine output and the exit, and leave the AI score for last. If you are still unsure after the trial, the joinery AI app checklist adds a broader set of pre-purchase checks, and cutting list software against AI compares an engine with an assistant on the same job.
Cabinet design software: questions before you pay
Is there free cabinet design software that makes cut lists?
Yes. WoodWright's free tier lists cut lists, nesting and layered DXF export, and OpenCutList is a free, donation-funded SketchUp extension that makes cut lists and cutting diagrams. Both still need a test: build one known cabinet by hand and compare every part before trusting either on a paying job.
Does AI generate the cut list?
Not on any page I read. Cut lists, nesting and machine output come from the design engine's rules. The AI features described are renders of a 3D view and, in one tool, a drafting helper that sketches rooms for you to finish. Treat the engine's defaults as the thing to audit.
Do I need CNC output in my first software?
Only if you own or are buying a router. Without one, a cut list and sheet layout for a panel saw is enough, and some tools sell that tier cheaper. Mozaik, for example, prices its non-CNC edition below its CNC edition. Check that output formats match your machine before paying for the higher tier.
Can I put AI renders in client proposals?
Only with care. Some renders add furnishings or decor that are not in your quote, and the pages I read gave no commercial-use terms. Label every render as an illustration, list what is included and excluded in writing, and ask the vendor where its terms allow client use.
Further reads
- AI Construction Design Software: What Renovation Contractors Can Draw — A renovation contractor's guide to AI design software: scan-to-plan, layout options and mock-ups compared, with the points where a professional must take over.
- Best AI for Cabinet Making: Supplier Orders, Lead Times and Chasers — How a small cabinet shop can use AI to chase board, hardware and door orders: a lead-time tracker, chaser prompts and acknowledgement checks.
- AI Tools and AI Development: The Complete 2026 Guide — the AI hub, including every tutorial in the AI-for-business series.
Sources: vendor pages read in October 2026: WoodWright (home and pricing), Cabinet Cruncher (home and CabinetVIEW pages), SketchList 3D (home and pricing), Mozaik (home, products and AI Rendering pages), Cabinet Pro (home and purchase pages), Cabinet Vision (Hexagon product page), OpenCutList and MyArchitectAI (home and pricing). Kitchen, hours and hardware figures in the examples are made up.