I've never even installed Cut3D. I've used the DeskProto demo a few years ago, and it's really good. But it's hard to beat the simplicity of MeshCAM. But it's not without it's faults. I'd like some things added or changed. A lot of my requests usually find there way into the program, but sometimes they take a while to get in there.
I'm very fortunate in that I'm a beta tester for Aspire.
And I was one of the very first MeshCAM users, and had a lot of input in the early development of it, and the author won't take my money.
As for CAD, my day job is using AutoCAD.
If not for the above, I wouldn't be able to afford anything either, as my wife has been a full time student for the last few years.