Best Nesting Software in 2026: Free and Paid Tools Compared
Nesting software compared: Deepnest, SVGNest, ProNest LT, MyNesting, SigmaNEST and Lapas on price, platform and free access. Prices checked Sept 2026.
If you cut parts from sheet material, steel, plywood, acrylic or fabric, you need nesting software. But with options ranging from free and open-source to five-figure enterprise licences, choosing the right one is not straightforward.
This guide compares the nesting tools available in 2026 on the criteria that decide a shortlist: price, deployment (browser or desktop), what the free access actually is, file format support, and who each tool suits. Every price below links to the vendor page it was read from.
What is nesting software?
Nesting software automatically optimizes the placement of parts on a sheet material to minimize waste. It solves the 2D irregular bin packing problem, finding the arrangement of parts that uses the least number of sheets while fitting all required quantities.
The difference between a good and bad nesting solution can mean the difference between 65% and 90% material utilization. On a shop spending $5,000/month on steel, that gap is $1,250/month in material cost. The academic literature on 2D irregular bin packing (Bennell & Oliveira, 2008, European Journal of Operational Research) puts typical manual layout utilization at 55 to 70% versus 82 to 93% for metaheuristic nesting solvers.
The tools compared
1. Lapas - Best browser-based option
Price: Free plan / $49 a month Pro (pricing)
Deployment: Browser (no install)
Best for: Laser cutting shops, plasma CNC, sheet metal, woodworking
Lapas runs in the browser, so there is nothing to install and it works on any operating system. It accepts DXF, DWG, SVG, vector PDF, Adobe Illustrator and LightBurn files, performs true-shape irregular nesting, shows the layout as it packs, and exports DXF and a PDF report. Any part can be dragged or rotated after the automatic nest, and the export reflects the edit. Plate sizes and spacing can be entered in inches or millimetres. G-code export is also available in beta for simple 2-axis work, though DXF into your existing CAM remains the production path.
Pros: No install, works on any OS, live preview, transparent pricing, DXF and PDF output, free plan with no expiry
Cons: Newer product than the desktop alternatives; no offline mode
2. Deepnest - Best free offline option
Price: Free (open source)
Deployment: Windows / macOS desktop (download required)
Best for: Hobbyists, makers, low-volume laser shops
Deepnest is the most well-known free nesting tool. It performs true-shape nesting using a genetic algorithm, supports DXF and SVG input, and outputs DXF and SVG.
The original (Jack000/Deepnest) has had no release since v1.0.5 in 2021, but a community fork, deepnest-next, is actively maintained and shipped v1.5.6 in May 2025 (checked July 2026). That fork is what most people install now, and it is the build our benchmark runs against.
Pros: Completely free, no account required, good nesting quality for simple jobs
Cons: Desktop install only (no browser version), no project history, Windows and Mac only, community-maintained rather than vendor-supported
Full comparison: Lapas vs Deepnest
See the measured benchmark: Lapas vs Deepnest across 37 nesting cases
3. SVGNest - Best browser-based free option
Price: Free (open source)
Deployment: Browser
Best for: Hobbyists, SVG workflows, LightBurn users
SVGNest is browser-based and requires no installation, which is its main advantage over Deepnest. It is used inside some LightBurn workflows. It accepts SVG input only, not DXF, and its last commit was in April 2019 (checked July 2026). Full head-to-head: Lapas vs SVGNest.
Pros: Browser-based, free, no install, academically well-documented algorithm
Cons: SVG only (no DXF), no commits since April 2019, no vendor support, dated interface
4. ProNest LT - Best for Hypertherm users
Price: $29.99 a month per user on the “Smart Start” plan, 7-day free trial (Hypertherm subscription plans, checked July 2026)
Deployment: Windows desktop (download required)
Best for: Shops cutting on Hypertherm plasma hardware
ProNest LT is Hypertherm’s entry-level nesting product. Its strongest differentiator is SureCut technology, meaning True Hole, Rapid Part and PlateSaver, which are hardware-specific optimizations available only with Hypertherm machines. On their machines that produces hole quality no third-party nester can reproduce, including this one. If you do not run Hypertherm hardware, those features are irrelevant to you.
Pros: Good nesting quality, free trial, Hypertherm hardware integration, trained support
Cons: Windows-only, no browser version, no free plan after the trial, additional seats quoted separately
Full comparison: Lapas vs ProNest LT
5. MyNesting - Best for repeat-part workflows
Price: $49 a month (Solo), $150 a month (Business), or a $25 day pass (mynesting.com/pricing, checked July 2026)
Deployment: Browser, with a separate desktop download
Best for: Repeat-part workflows, teams, one-off jobs
MyNesting is a cloud nesting tool with a parts library for repeat jobs and a genuine international footprint: its homepage carries ten named customer testimonials with company and country (checked September 2026). The friction point is the trial, which asks for a credit card for immediate access, with card-free trials available on application. The $25 day pass is the cheapest way to run a single job without a subscription. Full head-to-head: Lapas vs MyNesting.
Pros: Browser-based, good nesting quality, parts library for repeat jobs, day pass option
Cons: Credit card required for the immediate trial, two pricing models to reconcile ($25 a day against $49 a month)
6. SigmaNEST - Best enterprise option
Price: Quote only, no pricing published (sigmanest.com, checked September 2026)
Deployment: Windows desktop
Best for: High-volume fabrication shops, MES and ERP integration
SigmaNEST is the most comprehensive platform in this list, combining nesting, CAM, shop floor management and ERP integration. It ships in five product tiers, from AutoNEST up to PowerPack Premium, and publishes customer success stories and machine partner integrations rather than prices. Full head-to-head: Lapas vs SigmaNEST.
Pros: Extremely comprehensive, deep machine and ERP integration, tiered to the size of the shop
Cons: Quote-only pricing, no free plan or public trial, enterprise cost, no browser version
Comparison table
Price, platform and free access only, each row linking to the page those facts were read from. Feature claims sit in the sections above, where the source for each one is given.
| Tool | Price | Deployment | Free access | Facts from |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lapas | Free plan, Pro $49/mo | Browser | No expiry, no card. Try free | Lapas pricing |
| Deepnest | Free, open source | Desktop download | Unlimited | deepnest-next releases, Jul 2026 |
| SVGNest | Free, open source | Browser | Unlimited | SVGnest commits, Jul 2026 |
| ProNest LT | $29.99/mo per user | Windows desktop | 7-day trial only | hypertherm.com, Jul 2026 |
| MyNesting | $49/mo, or $25 day pass | Browser, plus desktop | Trial, card required | mynesting.com/pricing, Jul 2026 |
| SigmaNEST | Quote only | Windows desktop | None published | sigmanest.com, Sep 2026 |
How to choose
- I want completely free, no limits: Deepnest via the maintained deepnest-next fork (desktop only)
- I want browser-based and free to start: Lapas
- I cut on Hypertherm plasma hardware: ProNest LT
- I run a high-volume fabrication shop needing ERP integration: SigmaNEST
- I am a hobbyist with an SVG workflow: SVGNest
Which process you cut on also changes what matters in the layout itself. Kerf width and minimum part spacing are set differently on a laser and on a plasma table, and both are covered on our pages for nesting software for laser cutting and nesting software for plasma cutting.
How this comparison was made
Deepnest is the one tool here that has been run rather than read about: the deepnest-next v1.5.6 build was installed and nested the same 37 cases as Lapas Core v1.1 for our benchmark. Every other tool was assessed from its own vendor pages, read most recently on 13 September 2026, and each row of the table links to the page its price and platform came from. Vendor pricing changes without notice, so treat any figure here as something to re-check against those links. The Lapas Core v1.1 versus Deepnest benchmark is the only measured comparison on this site: 37 nesting cases, scored by an independent program that recomputes every number from the output geometry, with the raw data published under CC BY 4.0. Everything else on this page is documented features and published prices rather than test results. For what utilization actually looks like outside a vendor demo, the Nesting Utilization Report 2026 publishes the median and quartiles measured across over 6,900 real jobs, with the row data under CC BY 4.0.
Bottom line
In 2026, the nesting software that suits most cutting shops is browser-based (no install, any OS), has a free tier you can evaluate with real jobs, and supports DXF in and DXF out so it drops into an existing CAM workflow. Lapas meets those three criteria, Deepnest meets the free and the DXF ones offline, and the desktop products earn their price where the machine integration is the point.