Best Linear (1D) Cut Optimizers Compared: Lumber, Pipe, Tube and Extrusion

A linear (1D) cut optimizer takes the lengths you need and packs them onto the stick lengths you buy (lumber, pipe, tube, bar, extrusion) so you buy the fewest sticks and leave the least scrap. As of September 2026, the browser-based tools with a real 1D mode are optiCutter, Cutlist Evolution, Cutlistor, CutWize, CutOptim and EZNESTING. CutList Optimizer's web app, MaxCut and CutPlan.ai show no linear mode on their own sites. CutLogic 1D does linear cutting but runs on Windows only, and OpenCutList does it inside SketchUp.

Here is how they compare. Every competitor fact below comes from the vendor's own site, checked in late September 2026; EZNESTING prices are as of October 2026. Prices and limits change, so confirm on the vendor's page before you buy.

Tools with no linear mode on their own sites: CutList Optimizer (the web app's label bundle has no linear or bar strings), MaxCut ("specifically designed to optimize rectangular parts") and CutPlan.ai (sheets and rolls only).

A comparison table can't tell you whether an optimizer is any good. A stick count can. We ran four typical cut lists through EZNESTING's linear mode with the inputs below. Every number in this section is what the engine returned. Rotation and grain don't apply to linear stock, so the only settings are stock length, kerf and the cut list.

Yield here means total part length divided by total stock bought. EZNESTING's results panel shows average utilization per stick, which also counts the material lost to kerf, so it reads a few tenths higher (87.7%, 86.0%, 91.8% and 88.2% for these four).

"Minimum possible" is the proof that the count can't be beaten. For the workbench and the extrusion, it's plain division: 588" of 2x4 parts ÷ 96" = 6.1, so no layout can use fewer than 7 sticks, and 27,440 mm ÷ 6000 mm = 4.6, so 5 bars is the floor. The railing and conduit jobs are trickier. Division says 9 sticks for each, but 9 can't actually be done. On a 20 ft stick, the best you can do is two rails plus one picket, one rail plus three pickets, or five pickets, and no mix of those across 9 sticks yields 6 rails and 36 pickets (it tops out at 33 pickets). For the conduit we checked every combination of cuts that fits a 10 ft stick, and 9 sticks can't cover the list either. So all four results are the true minimum.

Here is how the engine laid out the railing, which is the kind of plan you'd tape to the saw:

• 3 sticks: 94½" + 94½" + 41½", offcut 9⅜"
• 6 sticks: 41½" × 5, offcut 32¼"
• 1 stick: 41½" × 3, offcut 115⅜" (nearly 10 ft of reusable tube)

That last stick matters. A good linear optimizer puts the waste together in one long, reusable drop instead of spreading it out as ten useless 8" stubs. Enter the railing list in linear mode and you'll get the same layout.

Every tool in the table packs lengths onto sticks. The differences that show up at the saw are these:

• Kerf on every cut. A 1/8" blade over 20 cuts eats 2½" of stock. Any tool that ignores kerf will hand you a plan where the last piece on the stick comes up short. Check that the kerf setting is there before you trust a count; EZNESTING defaults to 1/8".
• Several stock lengths in one job. Real racks hold 8, 10, 12 and 16 ft lumber (plus 92⅝" precut studs, see our 2x4 cut calculator). How a tool chooses among lengths matters. EZNESTING fills the longest sticks first and doesn't weigh price per foot, so enter the quantities you actually have (or want to buy) of each length, rather than an unlimited supply of everything.
• Offcut reporting. You want the leftover on every stick listed, so a 115" drop goes back on the rack and not in the scrap bin.
• Units your trade uses. Fractions like 41 1/2 for wood and steel, millimeters for extrusion. EZNESTING accepts inches, feet, millimeters, centimeters and meters, and each row can use its own unit.
• Output someone can cut from. A printable cut diagram per stick at minimum. EZNESTING's linear mode exports a PDF report, DXF, CSV and Excel, and all of them are free.
• Getting the list in. If your cut list lives in a spreadsheet, check for CSV/Excel import. EZNESTING imports both into linear mode.
• Metering. Free tiers are capped in different ways: per day, per month, by part count, by export. Match the cap to how you work. If you run one fence job a month, three runs a month is plenty. If you're quoting all day, it isn't.

An honest pick for each situation:

• You want the most generous free tier with DXF: optiCutter. Its free plan allows 5 stock lengths, 20 part sizes and 500 total parts, with PDF, XLS, CSV and DXF export, for both linear and panel jobs.
• You run lots of small jobs: Cutlist Evolution. Unlimited calculations on the free tier, as long as each job is 40 parts or fewer.
• You already model in SketchUp: OpenCutList. It's free, it reads parts straight from your model, and its "Dimensional" materials get 1D cutting diagrams. You never retype a cut list.
• You want a Windows desktop app with a one-time license: CutLogic 1D. The free Community edition covers 250 parts and 10 part sizes per plan. Paid editions are one-time purchases starting at $799.
• You cut both sheet goods and linear stock on the same jobs: EZNESTING. Cabinet boxes and face-frame stiles, plywood shelves and steel tube legs. Sheet and linear live in one tool, with the same exports for both. Free covers up to 5 part sizes and 3 stock sizes per job. Pro ($7.99/month or $79.99/year) removes the limits.

If you only ever cut one material type and one of the others already fits your workflow, there's no reason to switch.

1. Open the optimizer in linear mode. No account needed.
2. Add your stock: length and how many sticks you have or will buy. Add a second row for each other length on the rack.
3. Add each cut as length × quantity. Fractions (41 1/2) and metric both work, or import the list from CSV/Excel.
4. Set the kerf in Settings. The default is 1/8"; use your blade's actual width.
5. Click Optimize. You get sticks needed, a diagram per stick showing where each cut goes, and the offcut on each one.
6. Print the PDF for the saw or export DXF/CSV/Excel.

For more on the mode itself, see the linear materials optimizer overview. For the math behind why a stick count can be proven minimal, see the cutting stock problem, explained with a real cut list. For pipe and conduit specifics, see the pipe cut list calculator.

Free: unlimited optimizations, up to 5 part sizes and 3 stock sizes per job, with every optimizer feature included (kerf and trim, grain direction, edge banding, CSV/Excel/DXF import, and PDF, CSV, Excel and DXF export). No signup needed to try it.