BEST ENTRY LEVEL SOFTWARE

Carveco Maker has come in strong since its release in 2019, its sleak interface mimicking Photoshops, its high quality toolpaths and features makes it the NINJA's number 1 pick. It is more advanced than others on the list and we like it because it does alot more for it money than some of the others. Carveco Makers price point makes it a clear winner at $15pm.

V-Carve Pro is one of the oldest on the block and has a solid feature set. Like Carveco Maker it is feature packed with high quality features. We like it because of its capabilities. At $699 it is one of the more expensive entry level software's on the list but a solid contender. It does however feel a little dated in its interface. 

As you would expect from a company like Autodesk this product is jam packed with features, but for makers the learning kerb is high on this product. Its capable of most things, but as it is the only true CAD system on our list it stands out as a major player due to its functionality and the fact it is free. 

A prime example of usability over functionality. EASEL is known as one of the easiest software on the market to start with, unfortunately a downside to this is its lack of features and quality of toolpathing. As EASEL is relatively new to the market once it catches up on functionality its easy to use interface will start moving this product up our NINJA rankings. 

Carbide Create is a simple to use product that has average functionality, originally designed for Shapeoko users to meet the needs of the CNC companies customers. Its reasonably simple to use, but more complex than EASEL and has some of the features you need to get going, but price wise its $120 per year seems expensive compared to Carveco Maker due to its superior functionality.