Vol. 2026 Updated October 2026

Every desktop CNC worth buying, measured side by side.

Spindle Index lines up the hobby CNC routers and mills on the market — same units, honest prices, and a straight take on each one from me, Will Wright.

Find my machine Browse all 27
27machines indexed
13manufacturers
$219–9kprice range
12new since 2025
01 Will's picks

If a friend asked me today.

Four machines I'd point people to first. Not the most expensive — the ones that make the most sense for how most people actually start.

Best overallOpen-frame

Carbide 3DShapeoko 5 Pro

Rails and ball screws everywhere, a huge bed, and the best support in the hobby. The one I’d keep for ten years.

$3,5508.0
Best first machineOpen-frame

Sienci LabsLongMill MK3

Linear rails, closed-loop motors and a welcoming community for $1,400. Where most people should start.

$1,4007.7
Best on a deskEnclosed

MakeraCarvera Air

Enclosed, auto-probing and beginner-friendly. A CNC you can run in a spare room.

$1,9997.0
Best for metalMill

TormachPCNC 440

Cast iron that cuts steel on household power. When aluminum stops being enough.

$8,9957.4
02 The Index

All 27 machines, one table.

Sort by anything. Filter by the kind of machine you have room for. Work area is the real cutting envelope, not the footprint.

Drive
Carbide 3DShapeoko 5 ProNew Open-frame 1237 × 623 mm BYO* Ball screw $3,550 8.0
Sienci LabsAltMill MK2New Open-frame 1265 × 635 mm BYO* Ball screw $2,790 7.9
Carbide 3DShapeoko HDM Open-frame 690 × 610 mm 1.5 kW Ball screw $5,700 7.7
Sienci LabsLongMill MK3New Open-frame 813 × 813 mm BYO* Lead screw (T12, anti-backlash) $1,400 7.7
OnefinityElite WoodworkerNew Open-frame 838 × 838 mm BYO* Ball screw (1616) $2,195 7.7
Carbide 3DShapeoko 5 Pro 2×2New Open-frame 623 × 623 mm Included Ball screw $2,980 7.6
Avid CNCBenchtop PRO 2424 Open-frame 660 × 660 mm 3 kW Ball screw $8,366 7.6
Carbide 3DNomad 4New Enclosed 254 × 203 mm 1.2 kW Ball screw $5,400 7.5
TormachPCNC 440 Mill 254 × 159 mm 560 W Ball screw $8,995 7.4
MakeraCarvera Enclosed 360 × 240 mm 200 W Ball screw $4,799 7.1
OnefinityApprenticeNew Open-frame 419 × 419 mm BYO* Ball screw (16 mm) $995 7.0
MakeraCarvera Air Enclosed 300 × 200 mm 200 W Ball screw $1,999 7.0
Langmuir SystemsMR-1 Mill 584 × 554 mm 2.5 kW — $5,195 7.0
Carbide 3DShapeoko 4 Open-frame 445 × 445 mm BYO* Belt (15 mm GT2), lead-screw Z $1,800 6.8
FoxAlienXE-Ultra CoreNew Open-frame 440 × 440 mm BYO* Ball screw (16 mm) $1,399 6.7
MillRight CNCMega V 2 Open-frame 483 × 483 mm BYO* Rack & pinion $2,599 6.7
LUNYEE3020 NovaNew Open-frame 300 × 200 mm 710 W Ball screw $599 6.6
MakeraZ1New Enclosed 200 × 200 mm 150 W Lead screw (Pro: ball screw) $1,249 6.5
SainSmart GenmitsuPROVerXL 4030 V2 Open-frame 400 × 300 mm 400 W Ball screw (1204) $1,399 6.5
SainSmart Genmitsu4040-PRO MAX Open-frame 400 × 400 mm 710 W Lead screw $949 6.3
Carbide 3DNomad 3 Enclosed 203 × 203 mm 130 W Lead screw (anti-backlash) $2,800 6.2
FoxAlienMasuter Pro Max 2×2New Open-frame 600 × 600 mm 500 W Lead screw $900 5.9
TormachxsTECH Router Enclosed 218 × 160 mm 125 W — $4,535 5.7
Penta MachinePocket NC V2-10 Mill 116 × 128 mm Included — $7,499 5.7
SainSmart Genmitsu3018-PROVer V2 Open-frame 290 × 180 mm 60 W Lead screw $219 5.4
SainSmart GenmitsuCubikoNew Enclosed 150 × 110 mm 75 W Lead screw $499 5.3
Two TreesTTC450 Pro Open-frame 460 × 460 mm 72 W Lead screw (T8) $499 5.2

* BYO: spindle or router sold separately — price shown is without it. Base prices from manufacturer stores, October 2026.

03 The landscape

Where the money actually goes.

Hover any dot for details, click through to the full page. Colour marks the kind of machine; everything else is the spec sheet, plotted.

Price vs. cutting area

Bigger beds cost more — until they don't. The machines sitting low and to the right are where the value is.

Open-frameEnclosedMill
Area = X × Y travel. Price axis is logarithmic.

Rigidity vs. ease of use

My scores, 1–10. Top-right is rare — and expensive.

Scores are my editorial ratings.

Spindle power

Rated watts of the included spindle or router.

Machines sold without a spindle are left out.

Work areas, to scale

Each outline is a machine's X × Y travel, drawn from the same corner. Pick up to four to overlay.

04 The buyer quiz

Seven questions. One machine that fits.

Tell me what you want to make, where it lives and what you'd spend. I'll match you against every machine in the index and explain why.

Start the quiz
Selfie of Will Wright and Will’s wife smiling outdoors, autumn leaves on the grass behind them
My wife and me — she has heard every one of these machines run.
05 Who's behind this

Hi, I'm Will. I make sawdust on purpose.

I started Spindle Index because buying my first CNC meant forty open tabs, three forums arguing with each other, and spec sheets that measured things differently. I wanted one place that lined everything up honestly — same units, same questions, plain answers.

Every take on this site is mine. When a company sends me a machine it's disclosed on that page, and it gets the same treatment as one I paid for: real projects, real cut quality, and the stuff that annoyed me.

— Will Wright