Best laser cutter for a small business in 2026
We run a laser & print workshop, and the question we get most from people starting out is not "which laser is best" but "which laser will earn its money back". This guide answers that: what each machine class can realistically bill per hour, and the machines we'd buy at each budget.
Start from revenue, not specs
A laser earns by the hour. Typical small-shop rates are €40–90/h of machine time (see how laser jobs are priced). A 10 W diode cutting 3 mm plywood at ~4 mm/s bills the same hour as a 60 W CO2 doing 20 mm/s — but the CO2 gets through five times as many parts, so customers accept its price while the diode's price-per-part looks absurd. That is the whole business argument for CO2 once you sell cutting rather than engraving.
Our picks by budget
| Budget | Pick | Type | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| ~€500 | OMTech K40 | 40 W CO2 | Cheapest real CO2. Cuts 3–5 mm acrylic/ply. Needs upgrades (air assist, bed) — fine for a tinkerer, not a production shop. |
| ~€900 | xTool D1 Pro 20 W | Diode | Best open-frame diode for engraving + thin cuts. Huge community, LightBurn friendly. |
| ~€1,500 | Creality Falcon2 40 W | Diode | Fastest diode cutting for the money (10 mm ply in passes). Open frame — buy the enclosure. |
| ~€2,000 | xTool S1 40 W | Enclosed diode | Safe, quiet, office-friendly. Best "first real machine" for engraving businesses. |
| ~€2,500 | OMTech Polar 50 W | Desktop CO2 | Glowforge form factor, twice the power per euro. Cuts 10 mm acrylic. Our value pick for cutting. |
| ~€4,000 | xTool P2S 55 W | Desktop CO2 | Polished software, camera, passthrough. Where CO2 becomes genuinely easy. |
| ~€5–7,000 | Glowforge Plus / Pro | 45 W CO2 | Easiest workflow, premium price, cloud-dependent. Sells on convenience, not speed. |
| €8,000+ | OMTech 80–100 W / Thunder Nova / Gweike | Workshop CO2 | Real production: 20 mm/s on 3 mm ply, large beds, rotary, chiller. What we'd buy for a shop. |
OMTech Polar 50 W: OMTech store ↗ Check price on Amazon ↗
xTool S1 40 W: xTool store ↗ Check price on Amazon ↗
xTool P2S 55 W CO2: xTool store ↗ Check price on Amazon ↗
Creality Falcon2 40 W: Creality store ↗ Check price on Amazon ↗
What the classes actually do per hour
From our speed tables (3 mm birch plywood, 1 pass): 10 W diode ≈ 4 mm/s, 20 W ≈ 6 mm/s, 40 W diode ≈ 8–10 mm/s, 40 W CO2 ≈ 12 mm/s, 60 W CO2 ≈ 20 mm/s, 100 W CO2 ≈ 24 mm/s. A typical 100 × 60 mm part has ~320 mm of cut: that's 80 s on a 10 W diode vs 16 s on a 60 W CO2. At €60/h the machine-time price is €1.33 vs €0.27. See the per-machine table for plywood →
Hidden costs people forget
- Extraction — a CO2 needs a real fan ducted outside or a €300–1,000 filter; enclosed diodes need it too for acrylic/MDF.
- Chiller for CO2 tubes above ~50 W (€150–400), and tubes are consumables (1,500–3,000 h).
- Software — LightBurn (~€60–120) is worth it for anything non-xTool/Glowforge.
- Air assist, honeycomb bed, rotary — budget €150–400 on top of any open-frame diode.
FAQ
Is a diode laser enough to start a business?
For engraving and thin-material cutting (≤ 3–4 mm plywood, leather, card), yes — a 20–40 W diode like the xTool S1 or D1 Pro 20 W runs many one-person shops. For cutting acrylic or anything thicker at volume, a CO2 laser pays back faster because it cuts 3–5× quicker.
What is the best value CO2 laser for a small shop?
In our experience the OMTech Polar 50 W (~€2,500) is the value pick for desktop CO2, and a 60–80 W OMTech or Gweike workshop machine (~€3,000–5,000) if you have the space. Glowforge and xTool P2S cost more but are easier to run.
How fast does a laser cutter pay for itself?
A machine billing 4–6 hours/week at €50–60/h of machine time grosses €800–1,400/month. A €2,500 machine pays back in 2–4 months of part-time use; a €6,000 machine in 5–8 months — material and your time extra.
Disclosure: some links are affiliate links — if you buy through them we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Prices are approximate list prices at the time of writing; always check the current offer.