Professional CAD / CAM

JetCad3The Sketcher
That Doesn't
Fight You.

Professional 2D/3D CAD and CAM for machinists, plasma and laser operators, and CNC makers. Constraints that make sense and don't blow your sketch up. Offline/air-gapped use fully supported!

WindowsmacOSLinux
2D / 3D
Parametric solid modeling
Shape Generator
.jshape library · bundled + custom
Portable .exe
No install required on Windows
Win · Mac · Linux
Native desktop app
Drafting

Constraints that make sense.

JetCad3's sketcher does what it says on the tin. Draw lines, arcs, splines. Trim, extend, offset, mirror. Place text with any installed font — output as exact spline geometry, not rasterized glyphs. Mark geometry as construction and it stays out of your solid. Use window or crossing selection exactly like every other CAD tool you've ever touched. No phantom conflicts. No yellow sketches for no reason.

  • Full 2D parametric sketcher — line, arc, circle, spline, rectangle, parallel line
  • Trim, extend, offset, mirror, fillet, chamfer, pattern in-sketch
  • Text with any system TTF/OTF font — placed as exact spline geometry, zero approximation error
  • Text on Arc — curve any text label along an arc or circle without deforming glyphs
  • Construction geometry — toggle any entity with X; excluded from solid generation
  • Per-entity color and line styles — solid, dashed, center, phantom, and more
  • Window and crossing selection, chain-select, copy/paste — standard CAD workflow
  • 3D solid modeling — extrude, revolve, sweep, helix, fillet, chamfer
  • Re-editable feature history — open any feature and modify it
  • DXF and SVG import directly into active sketches
  • STEP, STL, and 3MF body export
Shape Generator

Parametric shapes you can ship like a file.

JetCad3 loads every shape as a portable .jshape file—JavaScript modules that declare parameters and emit 2D geometry through a small, documented API. Bundled mechanical, fabrication, and tool profiles ship with JetCad3, and you can add unlimited custom definitions: author in the built-in editor, refresh the catalog, and share the same file with your team or customers. Shapes run in a sandbox with no filesystem, network, or Node require access, so only the geometry you intend reaches your sketches, Design art, Laser jobs, and Plasma sheets.

  • Drafting Sketch, Design, Laser, and Plasma all open the same Shape Generator dialog
  • Growing bundled library — sprockets, gears, plates, flanges, tool profiles, and more
  • Parameters for lengths, angles, counts, booleans, selects, and grouped sections—typed inputs with unit suffixes
  • Import, export, and refresh .jshape files; open the shapes folder or edit in-place, then regenerate the list
  • Custom .jshape files for recurring shop geometry—distribute once, everyone gets live sliders instead of frozen DXF
  • Geometry helpers for lines, arcs, circles, polylines, rectangles, rounded rectangles, slots, bolt circles, and more
Portable

Your shop has six computers. Install on none of them.

On Windows, JetCad3 can be a single self-contained executable via the portable release — no installer, no admin rights, no IT ticket. Copy it to a USB drive, plug in at any machine in the shop, and you're making chips. Installer also supported if that's your preference. Because your time is better spent cutting metal than configuring software.

  • Windows: portable .exe or installer — runs from any folder or USB drive
  • macOS: standard .dmg — macOS 12 Monterey or later
  • Linux: one-line curl install script, x86_64
  • Browser / cloud mode coming soon — run from any device, no install
JetCad3.exesingle file · 7.2 MBPORTABLEDRIVE1 TBNO INSTALL · RUNS ANYWHERE
Plasma

Your plasma table deserves better CAM software.

JetCad3's Plasma workspace is available now. Full toolpath generation for plasma tables with arc-preserved G-code, auto-nesting, kerf compensation, lead-in/out, pierce delay, and cut simulation. Open SheetCAM `.job` files directly—keep your nested layouts or re-nest in JetCad3. Laser is available in the same tier—layer-driven cut and engrave operations, nesting, and controller-ready output including Ruida workflows. Router sheet CAM is available on Drafting + Full CAM—contour, bore, drill, chamfer, pocket, and engrave on a nesting-first sheet workflow. Mill is available on the same tier—setup-based 3-axis milling driven straight from the solid model. The lathe workspace is on the roadmap. Already on SheetCAM or Fusion 360? Import your jobs and posts—JetCad3's AI converter rewrites SheetCAM and Fusion post processors to native format in seconds.

  • Arc-preserved G-code — curves output as G2/G3, not linearized point clouds
  • SheetCAM `.job` import — open existing jobs, preserve layouts or re-nest in JetCad3
  • Geometry-based cut rules — slow small holes, skip features, spot pierce, THC and lead overrides
  • Auto-nesting — Skyline, NFP, and Genetic Algorithm optimizer
  • Kerf compensation, lead-in/out, pierce delay, feed and speed controls
  • Cut simulation with live DRO
  • AI post converter — pick your Fusion 360 or SheetCAM post processor and AI prepares a ready-to-use JetCad3 post. Switching has never been easier.
  • Laser — cut, engrave, and post for production tables
  • Router — 2.5D sheet CAM with adaptive pockets, tool library, and GRBL/MASSO posts (Full CAM tier)
  • Mill — setup-based 3-axis milling with dynamic pocketing and GRBL/FluidNC/LinuxCNC posts (Full CAM tier)
Pricing

Big features. Small-shop pricing.

JetCad3 aims to bring the depth of expensive CAD/CAM software within reach of small shops and serious garage builders—without the enterprise tax.

Free Forever

Free / Hobby

Create a free jetcad.io account and get the full Drafting + Full CAM feature set — metered hobby hours instead of feature limits.

$0/forever
  • Everything in Drafting + Full CAM — Mill and eCAD included
  • 1 hour/day · 5 hours/week of active design time
  • 2× hours on evenings (7pm–midnight) and weekends
  • Idle time never counts — the clock only runs while you work
  • Machine control (GcodePilot) is never metered, never locked
  • Design workspace never metered — unlimited even without an account

No credit card. Not a trial — free forever. No internet? Free/Hobby also works without an account — limited to 1 component, 5 sketches, and 500-line G-code posts.

Create Free Account
Available Now

Drafting

Full-featured 2D/3D parametric CAD, plus eCAD — schematic capture with a real circuit simulator behind it. Everything you need to design and export parts.

$20/mo
  • Full 2D and 3D parametric CAD
  • Unlimited parts and assemblies
  • Re-editable feature history
  • Parametric geometry generator (gears, sprockets, pulleys, splines)
  • eCAD — schematic capture, available now
  • Live circuit simulation — probe nets, throw switches and turn pots while it runs
  • PCB design and layout — coming soon
  • STEP, STL, and 3MF body export
  • DXF and SVG sketch import/export
  • Windows · macOS · Linux
  • Portable .exe on Windows
Available Now

Drafting + Plasma, Oxyfuel & Laser

Everything in Drafting, plus plasma, oxyfuel and laser sheet CAM. Already on SheetCAM or Fusion 360? AI converts your existing post processors automatically.

$40/mo
  • Everything in Drafting
  • Plasma — available now
  • Oxyfuel — flame cutting with preheat, cutting-oxygen control, and creep lead-ins
  • Laser — cut and engrave operations, nesting, and controller-ready posts (including Ruida workflows)
  • Auto-nesting (Quick, Medium, Max effort)
  • SheetCAM `.job` import — open existing jobs on Plasma or Laser
  • Arc-preserved G-code (G2/G3)
  • Kerf compensation, lead-in/out, pierce delay
  • Plasma contour rules — skip, spot pierce, feed/THC/lead overrides by geometry
  • Feed, speed, and power controls tuned for laser and plasma
  • Cut simulation with live DRO
  • AI post converter — pick your Fusion 360 or SheetCAM post, get a ready-to-use JetCad3 post instantly
Available Now

Drafting + Full CAM

Everything in Plasma, Oxyfuel & Laser, plus Router and Mill CAM now. Lathe/turning toolpaths are next on this tier.

$60/mo
  • Everything in Plasma, Oxyfuel & Laser
  • Router workspace — 2.5D nesting-first sheet CAM (available now)
  • Mill workspace — setup-based 3-axis milling (available now)
  • Contour, drill and bore, facing, chamfer, engrave, and dynamic pocketing
  • GRBL, FluidNC, and LinuxCNC mill posts with work offsets
  • Lathe / turn toolpaths (coming soon)
  • Post-processor converters for lathe
Pay once, for a fixed term

Not ready to own it forever, done with monthly bills?

A Pre-Paid License buys one to three years of JetCad3 outright, on one computer. Pay for it once, up front, and the longer the term the less each year costs. Nothing renews, nothing is billed again, and there is nothing to cancel.

1 year
from $216
save 10%
2 years
from $345
save 28%
3 years
from $453
save 37%
Buy a Pre-Paid License →

Savings are measured against paying month to month for the same span. You enter the machine code from the app at checkout — it is on the Offline Key sign-in tab, and in the profile menu once you are signed in.

  • Pay once, up front — no recurring bill, no card kept on file, and nothing to cancel.
  • The discount grows with the term: the longer you buy, the less each year costs.
  • Available for all three plans — Drafting, Plasma/Oxyfuel & Laser, or Full CAM. Pick the term and the plan you need.
  • One license per computer. It is tied to that machine's code, entered at checkout; if the computer dies, rebind it from your dashboard rather than buying again.
  • The term runs on the calendar from the day you activate it, then simply ends — and the licensed machine needs no account and no connection, the same as every other way to license JetCad3.
  • Every update released during your term is included.
  • Buy another before the current one runs out and the new term picks up where it ends — no overlap, nothing wasted.
Own it forever

Prefer to own your software?

Not a fan of subscriptions? Neither are we. The JetCad3 Lifetime Unlimited License is a one-time purchase: a hardware key that unlocks the entire suite for good. No monthly bill, no expiration — just plug it in and own it.

$3,000one-time · own it forever
Get the Hardware Key →

The hardware is the license — there's no cloud backup or replacement program for a lost, stolen, or destroyed key. Keep it safe.

  • USB-C hardware key — the hardware is the license. Works fully offline; no account, no internet, no phone-home.
  • Covers every workspace — Drafting, Plasma, Oxyfuel & Laser, and Router/Full CAM — current and future.
  • All future updates included — no version cap, no update subscription, no expiration date.
  • License Sharing — one key covers your whole shop: every JetCad3 on your local network runs the full Unlimited tier, no unplugging or carrying the key between machines.
  • Yours to keep — the license transfers with the hardware, so you can resell or gift it.
  • Backed by a 5-year hardware warranty against manufacturing defects.

A free jetcad.io account is the Free/Hobby tier — the full feature set, metered at 1 hr/day and 5 hr/week of active use (2× on evenings & weekends). No account? The app still works offline: Design unlimited, Drafting and CAM with hobby limits. Paid plans include a 30-day free trial; credit card required to activate the trial. License via desktop sign-in online, or an offline license key for air-gapped installs. Your part files are standard formats saved locally; they're yours regardless of subscription status.

Download

Running in under a minute.

Pick your platform. Sign in with a free jetcad.io account to get the full Drafting + Full CAM feature set on metered hobby hours — 1 hr/day · 5 hr/week, 2× on evenings & weekends. Free forever, no credit card. Prefer no account? The Design workspace is unlimited offline; Drafting and CAM run with hobby limits.

Windows
64-bit · Windows 10+

Installer for a normal setup, or grab the portable .exe — no install, no admin rights, runs from a USB drive.

macOS
Universal · .dmg

Requires macOS 12 Monterey or later.

Download .dmg
Linux
x86_64 · curl install
curl -fsSL https://jetcad.io/api/install | bash
Install instructions →
Windows builds

Choose the installer for a standard setup, or the portable .exe — a single self-contained executable with no registry entries and no admin rights required. Copy it to a USB drive and run JetCad3 on any Windows machine in your shop.