Is a laser cutting business profitable? Real numbers from a workshop
Yes — if you price by machine time and pick a niche. Most small laser businesses fail on pricing, not on demand. Here are the numbers we actually use.
What an hour of laser is worth
Shops bill machine time at €40–90/h plus material, setup and margin. At €60/h a 60 W CO2 cutting 3 mm plywood (20 mm/s) produces about 70 m of cut per hour — that's 200+ small parts, or 20–30 boxes. Engraving bills similarly per hour but fewer pieces. The formula: cut length ÷ speed × passes = time; time × rate + setup + material.
Typical product margins
| Product | Machine time | Material | Sells for | Gross margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Engraved tumbler (customer-supplied or €8 blank) | 4–6 min | €0–8 | €20–35 | 70–80% |
| 3 mm ply name sign 300 mm | 6–10 min | €1.50 | €25–40 | 85%+ |
| Acrylic LED sign 200 mm | 8–12 min | €4 | €45–80 | 85%+ |
| Batch of 100 ply tags | 25 min | €6 | €90–150 | 80%+ |
| Custom box 150 mm | 5 min | €2 | €15–25 | 75% |
Gross margin is not profit: subtract design time, finishing, packaging, platform fees (Etsy ~10%), and your hours.
Startup cost by tier
| Tier | Machine | All-in incl. extras | Realistic monthly revenue (part-time) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Side hustle | 20–40 W diode (xTool D1 Pro / S1) | €1,000–2,500 | €300–1,500 |
| Small shop | 50–60 W CO2 (OMTech Polar / 60 W, xTool P2S) | €3,500–6,000 | €1,500–5,000 |
| Production | 80–130 W CO2 + rotary + filter | €6,000–15,000 | €5,000–15,000 |
Side-hustle pick: xTool S1 40 W: xTool store ↗ Check price on Amazon ↗
Small-shop pick: OMTech 60 W: OMTech store ↗ Check price on Amazon ↗
Easy CO2: xTool P2S: xTool store ↗ Check price on Amazon ↗
Break-even
A €4,000 CO2 setup billing 5 hours/week of machine time at €60/h grosses ~€1,300/month — break-even in 3–4 months before your labour. The constraint is rarely the machine; it's finding 5 billable hours a week. Niche (pet tags, wedding, corporate awards, B2B parts) beats "I engrave anything".
What kills small laser shops
- Pricing by "what feels fair" instead of machine time + setup + minimum order.
- Buying a diode for a cutting business and hitting a throughput wall.
- Competing on Etsy on price with no niche.
- No extraction/safety → fumes, fires, or a landlord problem.
Use the cost calculator with your own hourly rate to quote every job properly — or drop your file in the main calculator.
FAQ
How much can you make with a laser cutter?
Part-time side hustles typically €300–1,500/month; a small shop billing 15–20 machine-hours a week €1,500–5,000/month; production shops more. It scales with billable hours and niche, not with machine size.
What hourly rate should I charge for laser cutting?
€40–90 per hour of machine time is the common range for small shops, plus material, a setup fee (€5–15) and a minimum order (€15–25). See our pricing guide for the full formula.
What's the cheapest laser to start a business with?
A 20 W diode (~€900 all-in) can start an engraving business. For cutting acrylic or any volume, the OMTech Polar 50 W or a 60 W workshop CO2 (~€3,000–3,500 all-in) is the realistic entry point.
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.