MaxCut V2 is a free desktop optimizer for sheet goods that framers sometimes adapt to moulding. RailChop is the framing-specific mobile tool built around picture-framing concerns. Here's the honest side-by-side.
MaxCut V2 is a free Windows desktop optimizer designed for cabinetmakers and sheet-goods shops. It's mature, well-supported, and good at what it's built for. Framers on the Picture Framers Grumble sometimes recommend it as a way to handle moulding optimization without paying for software, modeling moulding as a sheet one inch wide and as long as the stock stick.
RailChop is a framing-specific cut optimizer for mobile. Profile-aware math, rabbet width, remnant tracking by profile, AI scanning of work orders, and a workflow built around how a framer's day actually runs. It costs $9.99–$24.99/month after a permanent free tier, and runs on iPhone, iPad, and Apple Silicon Mac.
For non-framing work (cabinetry, shelving, sign work) MaxCut is a strong free option. For picture framing specifically, RailChop is built for the job.
| Feature | RailChop | MaxCut V2 |
|---|---|---|
| Built specifically for picture framing | ✓ | ×Sheet-goods tool |
| Mobile (iOS; Android coming) | ✓Native iPhone + iPad | ×Windows desktop only |
| Mac support | ✓Apple Silicon Mac | × |
| Multi-order cut optimization | ✓ | ✓Sheet-cut model |
| Remnant tracking with $ values | ✓Profile-aware, auto-saved | × |
| Profile-pool remnants | ✓ | × |
| AI work order scanning | ✓ | × |
| Rabbet & miter allowance math | ✓Built-in | ×Manual setup |
| Kerf math | ✓Configurable per saw | ✓ |
| Works offline at the saw | ✓ | ✓Local desktop |
| PDF cut tickets | ✓ | ✓ |
| Free tier | ✓3 batches/mo, 3 profiles | ✓Free version available |
| Entry-level price | $9.99/mo | Free |
It's free. Genuinely, fully free for the core feature set. For a hobbyist framer or a low-volume shop already on Windows, that's hard to argue with.
Mature optimizer. MaxCut V2 has been around for years with an established user base in cabinetmaking. The math is well-tested.
General-purpose. If your shop also does cabinetry, shelving, sign work, or any other linear cutting, MaxCut covers all of it in one tool. RailChop is framing-only.
Built for picture framing. Rabbet width, miter allowance, per-profile remnant tracking, and the way framers actually intake and process work orders — all built in by default rather than configured as workarounds. For a working frame shop, that translates to less setup time and less manual translation between how MaxCut thinks and how you think.
Mobile at the saw. RailChop runs on iPhone or iPad. MaxCut is Windows desktop. If your saw isn't sitting next to a Windows computer, RailChop is the one that goes with you. Most working shops cut moulding away from the desk — in a back room, basement, separate building — and that mobility matters more than the savings of a free desktop tool.
Remnant tracking by profile. RailChop saves every offcut automatically, tags it by profile, values it in dollars, and integrates it into future cut plans. MaxCut tracks stock at the stick level rather than remnants by profile, so leftover moulding doesn't automatically feed back into future planning.
AI work order scanning. Photograph a handwritten or printed work order with RailChop and it pulls out customers, dimensions, quantities, and profiles. MaxCut requires manual data entry through its desktop interface for every cut.
Workflow fit. A framer's day looks like: orders come in (handwritten, printed, POS), get optimized in batches, get cut at the saw, leave offcuts on the rack, return to the planner the next day. MaxCut doesn't model that loop — you bridge it manually. RailChop is built around it.
MaxCut V2 is the workaround that gets recommended on framers' forums when someone asks for a free option. It's a real recommendation — the optimizer is good, and free is hard to beat.
What MaxCut isn't: a tool built around how a picture framer actually works. Rabbet width, per-profile remnant tracking, intaking handwritten work orders, optimizing at the saw on a phone — none of those are MaxCut's design intent. They can be approximated with effort, and many framers do exactly that.
If your time is more valuable than the cost of a Pro subscription, a tool built specifically for your workflow saves more than it costs. If your time isn't yet, MaxCut V2 is a credible free option to start with. RailChop's permanent free tier exists for the same reason — you can evaluate the framing-specific approach without committing to a subscription.
RailChop is on the App Store today. The 14-day free trial includes every Business feature — AI Scan, Shop Dashboard, cut list import.
We’ll email you when the Android app is live. No spam.