Cabinet Design Software for Cabinetmakers: How to Choose
Compare cabinet design software for cabinetmakers: design-and-sales tools vs design-to-manufacturing CAD/CAM, cut lists, nesting, CNC and published prices.
· 7 min read
Choosing cabinet design software is one of the bigger decisions a cabinet shop makes, because it shapes how you sell, how you draw and how you build. Some tools are built to win the job with fast layouts and attractive renders, while others are built to turn a design into cut parts and CNC programs. This guide explains the two categories, what a shop actually needs, how the main tools compare, and where OpenKitchen3D fits.
Two categories: design and sales vs design-to-manufacturing
Most cabinet design software falls into one of two camps, with some products spanning both.
Design and sales tools
These tools help designers and dealers create a kitchen layout, present it to a client and produce a price. Typical features:
- Manufacturer catalogs with sizes, options and pricing
- Floor plans, elevations and 3D renders
- Item lists, quotes and order reports
- Cloud projects and client sharing
They are ideal if you sell manufactured cabinet lines, run a showroom or design for clients who buy from several manufacturers.
Design-to-manufacturing (CAD/CAM) tools
These tools model how each cabinet is built, not just how it looks. Typical features:
- Construction rules for box, joinery, backs, shelves and hardware
- Cut lists and bills of material
- Sheet optimization and nesting
- Shop drawings and labels
- CNC post-processors that generate machine-specific G-code
They are essential if you build cabinets yourself, especially with a CNC router.
What a cabinet shop actually needs
Before comparing products, list what your shop needs. Common requirements:
- Catalog and construction rules. Your standard box sizes, material thicknesses, reveals, toe-kick heights and door styles should be built in so every design follows them.
- Accurate drawings. Dimensioned plans and elevations that installers and clients can sign off on.
- Cabinet schedule and BOM. A list of every cabinet, filler, panel and accessory, which drives pricing and ordering. See our guide to the kitchen cabinet BOM and schedule.
- Cut lists. Every part with dimensions, material and edge banding.
- Nesting. Arranging parts on sheets to reduce waste.
- CNC post-processors. Converting nested parts into code your specific machine understands, including tool libraries and machining operations.
- Integration. Links between the sales design and the shop data, so you do not redraw the job.
Not every shop needs all of this. A shop with a panel saw and no CNC needs reliable cut lists far more than G-code. A dealer selling manufactured lines may never need a cut list at all.
The main tools compared
Product details, catalogs and prices change, so confirm everything with each vendor. Prices below are those published at the time of writing (October 2026); check current pricing.
Design and sales
- Cyncly Design Flex / 2020 Design Live. Professional kitchen and bath design and sales software with configurable manufacturer catalogs, live product and pricing data, item lists, cloud projects and photorealistic rendering. A strong choice for dealers and designers working with many manufacturers. See our 2020 Design comparison.
- ProKitchen. Built for dealers and designers, with 500+ catalogs and automatic updates, estimates and reports, cloud collaboration, ray-traced renders, 360 panoramas and interactive 3D sharing.
- Chief Architect. Residential design software with smart parametric cabinets, door and drawer styles, construction drawings and visualization. Good if you design whole homes or remodels, not only kitchens.
Flexible modeling
- SketchUp with extensions such as OpenCutList. A flexible general modeler. With consistent modeling conventions and plugins, it can produce cut lists and cutting diagrams. It needs more setup and discipline for structured cabinet work than dedicated tools.
Design-to-manufacturing
- Cabinet Vision (Hexagon). Design-to-manufacturing CAD/CAM with cut lists, BOM, shop drawings and CNC G-code.
- Mozaik. Cabinet shop software covering design through manufacturing. Published prices at the time of writing (October 2026): $125/month Manufacturing, $225/month CNC, $325/month Enterprise; check current pricing.
- KCD Software. Design, elevations, estimates, cut lists, nesting and CNC. Published prices at the time of writing (October 2026): Designer $99/month, Professional $128/month; check current pricing.
- Microvellum. Parametric design built on AutoCAD or BricsCAD, aimed at custom cabinet and millwork manufacturers that need deep control over construction and engineering.
Quick comparison
| Tool | Category | Strongest at | Published price (Oct 2026) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cyncly Design Flex / 2020 Design Live | Design and sales | Manufacturer catalogs, live pricing, renders | Contact vendor |
| ProKitchen | Design and sales | 500+ catalogs, estimates, renders and 3D sharing | Contact vendor |
| Chief Architect | Residential design | Whole-home drawings, parametric cabinets | Contact vendor |
| SketchUp + OpenCutList | General modeling | Flexibility, custom work | Contact vendor |
| Cabinet Vision | Design-to-manufacturing | Cut lists, shop drawings, CNC G-code | Contact vendor |
| Mozaik | Design-to-manufacturing | Shop workflow, CNC | $125 / $225 / $325 per month |
| KCD Software | Design to CNC | Design, cut lists, nesting, CNC | $99 / $128 per month |
| Microvellum | Design-to-manufacturing | Custom millwork engineering on CAD | Contact vendor |
| OpenKitchen3D | Design and sales (in development) | Open project and catalog formats | Open source (MIT), not released |
"Contact vendor" means we did not find a published price to cite, not that the product is expensive.
How to choose
Match the tool to your business model
- Dealer or showroom selling manufactured lines: prioritize catalogs, pricing accuracy and presentation. Cyncly, ProKitchen or Chief Architect are the usual candidates.
- Small custom shop without CNC: prioritize reliable construction rules, cut lists and drawings. KCD, Mozaik or SketchUp with OpenCutList are common starting points.
- CNC production shop: prioritize post-processor support for your machine, nesting quality and shop drawings. Cabinet Vision, Mozaik, KCD and Microvellum are built for this.
- Custom millwork manufacturer: look at Microvellum and other CAD-based engineering tools.
Run a real job through the trial
Take a recent, awkward kitchen with a blind corner, fillers, an appliance garage and a scribe panel, and build it in each candidate. Check:
- How long the layout takes
- Whether drawings are client-ready
- Whether the cut list matches how you actually build
- Whether the CNC output runs on your machine without hand edits
Consider data ownership
Ask how projects are stored, whether you can export them, and what happens to your catalog work if you change tools. Years of construction rules and pricing are a real asset.
Where OpenKitchen3D fits
OpenKitchen3D is MIT-licensed, open-source kitchen and cabinet planning software powered by the OpenPlan3D floor-plan engine. It is in development; the cabinet planner and iPhone/iPad app are not released yet.
Its first focus is design and sales, not manufacturing:
- RoomPlan scanning to capture the room with an iPhone or iPad
- Parametric cabinet runs with automatic countertops, fillers and toe-kicks
- Plan, elevation and 3D views from one model
- Clearance validation
- BOM, cabinet schedule, estimate and PDF exports
- An open project JSON and an open, versioned catalog format so shops can describe their own lines
Manufacturing features such as cut lists, nesting and CNC are planned for a later beta that will be validated separately. OpenKitchen3D is not CNC-ready, and it should not replace Cabinet Vision, Mozaik, KCD or Microvellum in a production shop. Today those tools are far stronger for manufacturing, and Cyncly and ProKitchen are far stronger for catalog-driven sales.
Where it may help is upstream: a fast, open way to capture a room and produce a clean layout and cabinet schedule that can move into other systems. Follow the roadmap for progress, and see our comparison pages for more detail.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between kitchen design software and cabinet manufacturing software?
Kitchen design software focuses on layouts, presentation and pricing, often using manufacturer catalogs. Cabinet manufacturing software models how each cabinet is built and produces cut lists, nesting and CNC code. Some products cover both, but most are stronger on one side.
Which cabinet design software includes CNC output?
Among the tools covered here, Cabinet Vision, Mozaik (CNC tier), KCD Software and Microvellum are built for design-to-manufacturing workflows that include CNC output. Always confirm that a post-processor exists for your specific machine and controller before buying.
How much does cabinet design software cost?
At the time of writing (October 2026), Mozaik published prices of $125/month for Manufacturing, $225/month for CNC and $325/month for Enterprise, and KCD Software listed Designer at $99/month and Professional at $128/month. Other vendors typically quote directly. Check current pricing with each vendor.
Can SketchUp work for cabinet shops?
Yes, many shops use SketchUp with extensions like OpenCutList to generate cut lists and cutting diagrams. It is flexible, but it relies on you modeling parts consistently. Dedicated cabinet software enforces construction rules automatically, which can save time on repeat work.
Is OpenKitchen3D ready for production cabinet shops?
Not yet. OpenKitchen3D is in development, and its first focus is design and sales: layouts, drawings, schedules and estimates. Cut lists, nesting and CNC are planned for a later, separately validated beta, so production shops should keep using their current manufacturing software.