European CAM Software

#1 GO2cam

Lyon, France Not published; contact GO2cam or a reseller. Demo version available. Demo on request

Best for: Machine shops that want a graded CAM range, from basic 2.5-axis milling to turn-mill and Swiss work

• Operating company. SAS GO2cam International
• Jurisdiction. EU (France)
• Where the data sits. Desktop application
• Source code. Closed source
• Replaces. Mastercam, Fusion CAM

GO2cam is the broadest machining suite on this list, and it is built as a ladder.

The milling line starts at Mill Basic for 2.5-axis pockets, contours and holes on imported wireframe CAD, adds solid-based milling in Mill Basic+, and reaches 3 to 5 axes in Mill Classic and Mill Expert. Turning runs from two-axis work with grooving and threading up to TurnMill Expert with C, B and Y axes. Swiss-type machining and wire EDM are separate lines, so a shop can add a machine family without changing vendor.

SAS GO2cam International is based at rue Vendôme in Lyon, and the company says the software is still made there and that its employees bought the firm. That is a vendor claim from its own about page, as is the staff count of more than 50. Prices are not published and add-ons such as probing, gun drilling and the machine tool environment module cost extra, so the quote has to be read line by line. A demo version is available.

Standout feature. GO2cam is the only tool here that covers milling, turn-milling, Swiss-type machining and wire EDM as separate product lines from one French vendor.

#2 Vectric

Alcester, United Kingdom See website; prices are loaded dynamically. Upgrades priced as the difference between products. Demo on request

Best for: Router-based workshops, sign makers, woodworkers and makerspaces

• Operating company. Vectric Ltd
• Jurisdiction. United Kingdom (adequacy decision, outside the EEA)
• Where the data sits. Desktop application
• Source code. Closed source
• Replaces. Mastercam (router work), Fusion CAM for 2.5D carving

Vectric builds drawing and toolpath software for CNC routers, and its range is easy to read: Cut2D for plain cutting, VCarve for V-carving and inlays, Aspire for 3D relief modelling, and Spark on macOS. VCarve Desktop is limited to a 24 by 24 inch work area, while VCarve Pro lifts the limit and adds true shape nesting, toolpath merging, templates and job setup sheets. A shop that outgrows one tier pays the difference to the next.

Vectric Ltd is registered in England and Wales under company number 05382596, with its office in Alcester.

Its licence is a direct agreement between user and company, and it states free lifetime support, free minor upgrades and a trial before purchase. The forum is listed with more than 25,000 users. The pages checked show no 5-axis or mill-turn work, and the price list is script-loaded, so no figure is given here. The UK sits outside the EEA with an adequacy decision.

Standout feature. Vectric keeps drawing, nesting and toolpath creation in a single program, with a Mac edition, for router work.

#3 TopSolid

Evry, France Founded 1977 Quote on request; see website Demo on request

Best for: Manufacturers that want design and machining in one French system

• Operating company. TOPSOLID SAS
• Jurisdiction. EU (France)
• Where the data sits. Desktop application
• Source code. Closed source
• Replaces. SolidWorks, Fusion, Inventor

TopSolid takes the integrated route: the suite joins part design with machining, so a part is modelled and its toolpaths are prepared in one environment, with PDM next to it. The product range is grouped by industry, with TopSolid'Design, Wood, Steel, Mold, Cut, ShopFloor and Progress, which means a joinery workshop and a tooling shop license different configurations of the same platform.

TOPSOLID SAS has its seat in Evry and was founded in 1977, and the tool page describes it as management-owned since 2018. The vendor offers training, technical support, a forum, web help and an API. It also lists offices in the USA and China among its locations, though the contracting entity is French. It is a mechanical and manufacturing system, not a DWG drafting tool, and prices are on request.

Standout feature. TopSolid is the one system here where the part model, product data management and the toolpaths live together.

#4 hyperMILL

Wessling, Germany Founded 1994 Not published; quote from OPEN MIND or a sales partner Demo on request

Best for: Mould, tool and production shops with complex 5-axis and automation needs

• Operating company. OPEN MIND Technologies AG
• Jurisdiction. EU (Germany)
• Where the data sits. Desktop application
• Source code. Closed source
• Replaces. Mastercam, Siemens NX CAM, PowerMill

hyperMILL is the module-based multi-axis CAM from OPEN MIND Technologies AG in Wessling, founded in 1994. Instead of tiers, OPEN MIND sells strategies one by one: 3D and 5-axis milling, the MAXX package for roughing and finishing, mill-turn, probing, knife cutting, electrode manufacturing and wire EDM through OPTICAM. The 2026 release is described as bringing new algorithms, rest-material strategies and better orientation control for multi-axis parts.

Automation is the second pillar: BEST FIT aligns parts automatically, feature macros and a tool database speed up repeated jobs, and a separate virtual machining product generates, optimises and simulates NC code. CAD comes from its own functions or from SOLIDWORKS and Autodesk Inventor integrations. OPEN MIND took a majority stake in the MES maker Hummingbird at the start of 2022. Prices are not published, and local support can run through a sales partner.

Standout feature. hyperMILL ties its multi-axis modules to automation and a virtual machining product within one German vendor.

#5 Tebis

Martinsried/Planegg, Germany Founded 1984 Not published; contact Tebis or a local office Demo on request

Best for: Single-part and small-series manufacturers, especially mould, die and model making

• Operating company. Tebis Technische Informationssysteme AG
• Jurisdiction. EU (Germany)
• Where the data sits. Desktop application
• Source code. Closed source
• Replaces. Mastercam, Siemens NX CAM, PowerMill

Tebis calls itself a process provider, and the software behind that name spans CAD, CAM, CAQ and MES. The CAM pages list 2.5D, 3D and 5-axis milling, high-performance and high-feed cutting, turn-milling, sinker and wire EDM, laser hardening and weld cladding, with a CNC simulator and robotic machining on top. SmartOps and Tebis Automill apply stored machining knowledge to repeated parts, and a multiple-setup function helps with parts clamped several times.

Tebis Technische Informationssysteme AG was founded in 1984 and sits in Martinsried/Planegg. Its heritage is single-part and small-series work in moulds, dies and models, and its reference customers include automotive groups and aerospace suppliers. Prices and licence terms are not on the public site, and numbered releases come with maintenance and a help desk as paid services. A simple job shop may find the platform heavier than it needs.

Standout feature. Tebis links NC programming to inspection data and shop-floor planning through its CAQ and MES modules.

#6 Almacam

Saint-Martin-d'Hères, France Not published; contact ALMA. A free trial of 2D nesting is offered. Demo on request

Best for: Sheet-metal subcontractors and fabricators with laser, plasma, punch or tube machines

• Operating company. ALMA (Almacam)
• Jurisdiction. EU (France)
• Where the data sits. Desktop software with cloud components
• Source code. Closed source
• Replaces. Mastercam for sheet-metal cutting, other nesting suites

Almacam is the sheet-metal and tube CAM from the French cooperative ALMA, based in Saint-Martin-d'Hères. The 2D line covers laser, plasma, oxy-cutting, water jet, punching-nibbling and routing machines, with a separate bending module and an unfold function that turns 3D parts into flat patterns. Tubes, profiles, 5-axis cutting and 3D blocks are covered too, and off-line programming of welding, cutting and bending robots completes the range.

ALMA says its nesting algorithms are developed in-house, which is the vendor's own claim, and it sells those algorithms as a nesting component and as the Nest&Cut web app for software companies and machine builders. Almaquote handles estimates and a workshop planner handles scheduling. A free trial of 2D nesting is offered, a SaaS 2D CAM application exists, and licence terms and prices are not public. It does not replace milling or turning CAM.

Standout feature. Almacam is the only tool on this list that sells its nesting engine as a component for other software makers.

#7 Lantek

Miñano (Álava), Spain Not published; contact Lantek Demo on request

Best for: Sheet-metal manufacturers that want programming, MES and ERP from one vendor

• Operating company. LANTEK SHEET METAL SOLUTIONS, S.L.U.
• Jurisdiction. EU (Spain)
• Where the data sits. Customer sites and company systems
• Source code. Closed source
• Replaces. Mastercam for sheet-metal cutting, other nesting suites

Lantek stretches sheet-metal programming into production management. LANTEK SHEET METAL SOLUTIONS, S.L.U. in Miñano, Álava, offers CAD/CAM for cutting machines, tubes and profiles and bending, with nesting aimed at better sheet utilisation, and then adds an MES for shop-floor control, inventory, data capture and analytics, plus an ERP side for quotes, CRM and customer analytics. The goal described on its site is a paperless route from quote to shipping.

The company states that it manages more than 4,500 machine models and has 40 years in the metal industry; both figures are its own. The site names v45 as the latest version at the time of checking and is published in many languages, including Spanish, German, French, Italian, Polish, Japanese, Korean and Chinese. Lantek covers sheet metal and tubes only, prices are not public, and contracts outside Spain may run through a local subsidiary that should be confirmed before purchase.

Standout feature. Lantek follows a sheet-metal order from quote through programming to shop-floor tracking inside one product family.

#8 Estlcam

Höpfingen, Germany €49 licence including one year of updates; €19 update code; free version with delays Demo on request

Best for: Hobbyists, makers and small workshops with 3-axis mills and routers

• Operating company. Christian Knüll (sole proprietor)
• Jurisdiction. EU (Germany)
• Where the data sits. Desktop application
• Source code. Closed source
• Replaces. Mastercam (basic 2.5D work), Fusion CAM

Estlcam is a single-developer program for 2D, 2.5D and STL-based 3D milling, written and sold by Christian Knüll in Höpfingen, Germany. It makes toolpaths from DXF and SVG files, handles V-carving, engraving, chamfering, thread milling and trochoidal milling, machines pictures and QR codes, and controls the machine over USB. The vendor also publishes open-source Estlcam hardware designs.

The licence is the notable part. A regular licence costs €49 and includes updates released within a year of first activation, older versions stay usable forever, an update code at €19 buys another year, and one licence works on three computers. The free version is described as fully functional apart from growing delays when opening and saving files. The pages checked show no 4-axis, 5-axis or turning, the software runs on Windows only, and registration needs an internet connection.

Standout feature. Estlcam combines CAM and machine control in a program whose licence terms fit in one sentence: €49, one year of updates, no subscription.

#9 FreeCAD

Anderlecht, Belgium Free; the association accepts donations Demo on request

Best for: Makers and engineers who want modelling and basic CAM in one free program

• Operating company. The FreeCAD project association
• Jurisdiction. EU (Belgium)
• Where the data sits. Runs on your own computer
• Source code. Open source
• Replaces. Mastercam (basic toolpaths), Fusion CAM

FreeCAD is a parametric 3D modeller with a CAM and CNC workbench, so a part can be designed and its toolpaths generated without exporting between programs. The source code is licensed LGPL-2.1-or-later and the program runs on your own computer. Python scripting and an addon manager let users extend it, and sketching, drafting, FEM and BIM workbenches sit alongside the CAM one.

The project is run by the FreeCAD project association, with its address in Anderlecht, Belgium, and is funded by donations and sponsorship rather than by licence sales. That means no vendor can change terms for one shop, and also that there is no commercial support contract, only community help. The CAM workbench is one among many, and the pages we could read did not describe its strategies, simulation or post-processor coverage, so multi-axis work could not be confirmed.

Standout feature. FreeCAD is the only open-source program in this category, with source code you can audit and no licence fee.

#10 CIMCO

Copenhagen, Denmark Via resellers; 30-day free trial. See website for editions. Demo on request

Best for: Shops that already have a CAM system and want to edit, verify and send NC programs

• Operating company. CIMCO A/S
• Jurisdiction. EU (Denmark)
• Where the data sits. Desktop and server software
• Source code. Closed source
• Replaces. NC verification add-ons for CAM systems

CIMCO is the odd one out because it does not replace a CAM system, it works beside one. CIMCO A/S in Copenhagen sells CIMCO Edit, which comes in Core and Ultra editions from 1 September 2026, with code suggestions, syntax checks, file compare, cycles and macros, tool management and 3, 4 and 5-axis backplotting. A new Edit AI feature lets AI agents write and change NC programs inside the editor, and active-selection simulation was added in 2026.

CNC-Calc is an add-on that imports DXF files and generates facing, roughing, contour, constant-cut and drilling operations for ISO, Fanuc and Heidenhain controls, meant for shops new to CAD/CAM. The vendor lists direct transfers from Mastercam, Autodesk Fusion, SolidCAM and GibbsCAM, plus DNC-Max over RS-232 and FTP and MDC-Max for machine data. Everything can be tried free for 30 days, editions are sold through resellers, and a separate US entity serves North America.

Standout feature. CIMCO is the one tool here built around editing, verifying and sending NC programs rather than creating toolpaths.