// Blog · 2026-10-04
Online CNC CAM vs desktop CAM
Desktop CAM has decades behind it. Online CNC CAM is newer, and the question we hear most is whether it is “real” CAM. Here are the differences that matter in a shop, without the marketing.
Where the work happens
Older online tools sent your drawing to a server and sent toolpaths back. MillPath does the opposite: the geometry, the toolpaths, the simulation and the checks run on your own computer, in the browser, using all its cores for the heavy 3D work. Your files do not need to leave it.
Installing and updating
A desktop CAM is installed per computer and updated by you. A browser CAM is up to date every time you open it, on any computer, including the old one next to the machine. MillPath also works offline once it has been opened.
Speed
Browsers now run code fast and in parallel. On 3D work MillPath splits roughing levels and finishing passes over the processor’s cores; 2.5D jobs are worked out in a fraction of a second. Very large 3D jobs are where installed CAM still has the edge — we publish our measurements as we improve them.
Machines and posts
What matters is the G-code your controller expects. MillPath writes for GRBL, Carbide Motion, Mach3/4, LinuxCNC, MASSO, Buildbotics, Centroid Acorn and ShopBot, plasma controllers such as QtPlasmaC and Langmuir FireControl, and GRBL and Marlin lasers — and can learn a post from a G-code file your machine already runs.
When to pick which
- Online CNC CAM if you want to start today, work from several computers, keep files local, and cover routers, plasma and lasers with one tool.
- Desktop CAM if you run 4- and 5-axis work or very large 3D moulds every day.
Questions
Is online CAM safe to run on my machine? Treat every CAM the same: run the first file in the air. MillPath checks every program against a simulated stock and reads its own G-code back before you download it.
Can I use online CAM without internet? MillPath keeps working offline once opened.
Is online CAM free? MillPath’s free plan has every operation and two exports a day. See pricing.