Count the parts between
the software and the drives.
MASSO vs Mach3 and Mach4 — what each build costs to buy, and what it takes to keep running.
Mach3 and Mach4 are control software. Before a machine moves, that software needs a computer, an operating system, a motion controller and a breakout board.
A MASSO is the control system — screen, motion control and I/O in one unit, with no computer in the chain, and nothing underneath it to keep updated.
Mach3 / Mach4 What a PC-based build takes
- 8parts to buy and match to each other
- 7connections to make and keep good
- 3pieces of software to keep in step: Windows, Mach, and the motion board plugin
Every part has its own supplier. Every connection is a place a machine can stop. Drawn with a separate motion controller and breakout board, which is how an Ethernet SmoothStepper build is wired. Some boards, such as the PMDX-424, put both on one card — that build is seven parts, not eight.
MASSO What a MASSO build takes
- 2parts to buy
- 2connections to make
- 0operating systems or drivers to keep in step
The same three jobs happen inside one enclosure. The controller executes only job files and does not run arbitrary code.
What each one costs to buy
Taken from the manufacturers’ own stores, not resellers. Mach prices are for software only — none of them moves a machine on its own. MASSO prices are for a complete control system.
| Mach3 / Mach4 Software licence | USD |
|---|---|
| Mach3 | US$175 |
| Mach4 Hobby | US$200 |
| Mach4 Industrial | US$1,400 |
mach-labs.com, checked 9 September 2026
| MASSO Complete controller | G3 | G3 Touch |
|---|---|---|
| Core | US$750 | US$1,090 |
| Advanced | US$950 | US$1,490 |
| Professional | US$1,550 | US$2,090 |
masso.com.au, checked 9 September 2026 — see the full controller range
Put your own numbers in
We have not filled in what a PC or an hour of stopped machine costs you, because those numbers are yours, not ours. Enter them and the arithmetic happens. If it comes out in Mach’s favour, it will say so.
Your situation
Starting point, all checked 9 September 2026: US$641 fanless industrial PC (OnLogic CL260, entry configuration), US$199 Windows 11 Pro (Microsoft Store), US$238 PMDX-424 motion controller with breakout board on one card (pmdx.com). Change it to your own figures.
Control system only, over 5 years across 1 machine. Drives, motors, the frame and the spindle are left out of both sides, because you need them either way. Licences are counted per machine. All figures USD.
Where you notice the difference
Price is the argument people arrive with. These are the things that decide whether they are still happy in year three.
Replacing a Mach3 or Mach4 control
Most people who find this page are not building from nothing. They have a machine that works and a control system that has started costing them time. A retrofit keeps the machine and changes what drives it.
Your drives usually stay
MASSO is machine and drive agnostic. It works with standard step and direction drives, and with closed-loop steppers and servos with feedback. The mechanics, the frame and the spindle are untouched.
The PC and its boards come out
The computer, the monitor, the motion controller and the breakout board all leave the cabinet. One unit takes their place, which is the point of the diagrams above.
The documentation is open
The documentation is public and ungated, so you can read exactly what is involved before you buy anything. The MASSO CNC System pages set out what a full conversion includes. If something is unclear, you can talk to a technician rather than a forum.
When a Mach build is the right answer
Three situations where nothing on this page should move you.
It already works
If your Mach system runs, you know it well, and it has not caused you trouble in years, there is no argument here for changing it. Plenty of Mach machines run reliably.
You have years invested in it
Screensets and macros built up over time are real work. If you want to modify the control software itself, that is something a MASSO does not offer.
Downtime costs you little
If an afternoon of downtime costs you nothing but the afternoon, the ownership argument carries much less weight. It is aimed at people whose machine has to be running on Monday.
Tell us about your machine
Tell us what you have or what you are building and what you need it to do, and we will tell you which tier fits and what a retrofit involves. If a MASSO is the wrong fit, we will say so.
Ask about your machine
A few questions. A technician reads it, not a bot.
