Laser cutting is priced from machine time and material. Machine time is the total cut length divided by the cutting speed for that material and thickness, plus a fixed time for every pierce and for the moves between cuts. Material is the share of the sheet the part uses, including the skeleton left behind. Add handling, programming and a minimum order charge, and you have the price.
Key points
- Cut length and pierce count drive machine time; material and thickness set the cutting speed.
- Thicker material cuts more slowly, pierces more slowly and costs more per square metre.
- Material is charged by the sheet area a part consumes, not just its net area.
- Programming, nesting and sheet handling are fixed per order, so small orders need a minimum charge.
- Engraving, bending and finishing are separate operations with their own time.
What goes into a laser cutting price?
A laser cutting quote has fewer lines than a machining quote, but each one depends on the material and thickness. That is why most laser shops keep a table of material and thickness with a cutting speed, a pierce time and a sheet price on each row.
| Cost line | How it is calculated | What changes it |
|---|---|---|
| Cutting time | Cut length ÷ cutting speed | Material, thickness, laser power, assist gas, part detail |
| Pierce time | Number of pierces × time per pierce | Number of holes and internal cut-outs, thickness |
| Moves and overhead | Rapid moves between cuts, head lift | Part layout, distance between features |
| Material | Sheet area used × price per area or weight | Sheet utilisation, scrap, remnant policy |
| Handling | Loading, unloading, removing parts from the skeleton, deburring | Part count, small parts, sorting |
| Programming and nesting | Checking the file, nesting, setting cut parameters | Once per order or per file |
| Secondary operations | Engraving, tapping, bending, finishing | Specified by the buyer |
Cut length: the main time driver
Cut length is the total length of every line the laser follows: the outline, every hole and every internal cut-out. It comes straight from the flat drawing, usually a DXF. Divide it by the cutting speed for the material and thickness and you have most of the cutting time.
Cutting speed varies enormously. Thin aluminium or mild steel on a modern fibre laser cuts many times faster than thick stainless steel. Assist gas matters too: mild steel cut with oxygen behaves differently from mild steel cut with nitrogen, and the edge quality differs. Every shop’s speeds depend on its own machine, so the only reliable figures are the ones you measure on your own laser.
Detail slows things down. Sharp corners force the head to decelerate, and many short segments never reach full speed. Estimators often add a corner or complexity factor for detailed parts.
Pierces: the hidden time
Before the laser can cut an internal feature, it has to burn through the sheet. That is a pierce. In thin sheet a pierce is short; in thick plate it can take much longer and may need a slower, gentler pierce routine to avoid spatter. A plate with forty small holes has forty-one pierces, and in thick material the piercing can rival the cutting time.
Pierce count is easy to get from the drawing: one for each closed contour. That is why a good laser estimate counts contours, not just total length.
Material and sheet utilisation
A laser part is cut from a standard sheet, and the parts are nested to use as much of it as possible. What is left, the skeleton, is usually scrap. The material charge should reflect the share of the sheet the part actually consumed, not just its own area.
Shops charge material in several ways: the part’s bounding rectangle plus a waste allowance, the net area divided by an expected sheet utilisation, or a straight share of the sheet. Our article on nesting and material utilisation compares them with numbers. Kerf, the width of material the beam removes, is small on a laser, but it sets the minimum gap between nested parts.
Worked example: a steel flange, 10 and 100 parts
The figures are illustrative assumptions for one shop, not market rates or measured cutting speeds. The part is a 150 × 150 mm flange in 3 mm mild steel, with a Ø60 mm centre hole and four Ø10 mm bolt holes.
Worked example: cost per flange (illustrative rates and speeds)
| Line | Calculation | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Outline | 4 × 150 mm | 600.0 mm |
| Centre hole | π × 60 mm | 188.5 mm |
| Bolt holes | 4 × π × 10 mm | 125.7 mm |
| Cut length | 600.0 + 188.5 + 125.7 | 914.2 mm |
| Cutting time | 0.914 m ÷ 3.0 m/min (illustrative speed) | 18.3 s |
| Pierces | 6 contours × 1.0 s | 6.0 s |
| Moves between contours | Estimate | 4.0 s |
| Machine time | 18.3 + 6.0 + 4.0 = 28.3 s = 0.47 min | |
| Machine cost | 0.47 min × €2.00/min (€120/h) | €0.94 |
| Part area | 0.150 m × 0.150 m | 0.0225 m² |
| Sheet weight | 3 mm × 7.85 kg/dm³ | 23.55 kg/m² |
| Material used | 0.0225 m² × 23.55 kg/m² = 0.530 kg ÷ 75% utilisation = 0.707 kg | |
| Material cost | 0.707 kg × €1.20/kg | €0.85 |
| Handling and deburr | 0.5 min × €40/h | €0.33 |
| Per-part cost | 0.94 + 0.85 + 0.33 | €2.12 |
| Programming and nesting | 15 min × €60/h | €15.00 per order |
| Sheet loading and set-up | Flat | €10.00 per order |
| Fixed cost per order | 15.00 + 10.00 | €25.00 |
| Quantity | Calculation | Order cost | Per part |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | €25.00 + 10 × €2.12 | €46.20 | €4.62 |
| 10, with a €50 minimum order charge | max(€46.20, €50.00) | €50.00 | €5.00 |
| 100 | €25.00 + 100 × €2.12 | €237.00 | €2.37 |
Three things stand out. Machine time is under a minute, so the machine cost per part is small. The material line is about the same size, and it depends on a utilisation assumption: at 60 percent instead of 75 it rises by a quarter. And on ten parts, the fixed €25 is more than all the cutting combined, which is exactly why laser shops set a minimum order value. The laser cutting cost calculator lets you try this with your own speeds and rates.
What makes a laser part expensive
| Driver | Why it costs | What helps |
|---|---|---|
| Thick material | Slower cutting, longer pierces, heavier sheet | Use the thinnest material that does the job |
| Many small holes | More pierces, more short segments | Combine holes into slots where function allows |
| Fine detail and text | Corners and short moves slow the head | Simplify outlines; engrave text instead of cutting it |
| Poor sheet utilisation | You pay for the skeleton | Allow rotation; order in quantities that nest well |
| Tiny parts | They fall through the slats or tip up | Add micro-joints (tabs) or cut them larger |
| Stainless or aluminium with nitrogen | Gas consumption and slower speeds in thick sections | Agree whether an oxide edge is acceptable on mild steel |
| Bad drawings | Open contours, duplicate lines, splines | Clean the DXF before sending it |
Duplicate lines deserve a special mention: a drawing with the outline drawn twice gets cut twice, doubling the time on that contour and spoiling the edge. A good quoting process checks for open contours, duplicates and unconverted text before pricing.
Beyond cutting
Many laser parts go on to be bent, have inserts pressed in, or be powder coated. Each of those is a separate operation with its own set-up and time; our guide to sheet metal fabrication cost covers them. If the material is thicker than a laser handles well, or heat at the edge is a problem, the comparison of waterjet, laser and plasma helps choose the process.
Quotometry prices laser cutting and engraving today from a DXF or SVG drawing, on the material and thickness table described above, with waterjet and plasma on the same model (see laser cutting).
Questions people ask
How is laser cutting priced?
Most shops price it from machine time and material. Machine time comes from the total cut length divided by the cutting speed for that material and thickness, plus a time for each pierce and for moves between cuts. Material is the share of the sheet the part uses, including waste. Handling, programming and a minimum order charge are added on top.
Why do holes make laser cutting more expensive?
Each hole adds its perimeter to the cut length and needs its own pierce, where the laser burns through the sheet before it can start cutting. In thick material a pierce can take noticeably longer than a second, so a plate with many small holes can take longer than its outline suggests. Many small holes also slow the cutting because of the corners and short segments.
Does thicker material cost more to laser cut?
Yes, on three counts. Cutting speed falls as thickness rises, so the same cut length takes longer. Pierce time rises with thickness. And the sheet itself weighs and costs more per square metre. Doubling the thickness often more than doubles the cutting time, though the exact relationship depends on the laser, the material and the assist gas.
Why do laser cutters have a minimum order charge?
Every order needs the file checked, the parts nested, a sheet loaded and the cut parts removed and sorted, whatever its size. For a handful of small parts that handling can cost more than the cutting itself. A minimum charge makes sure small orders cover that fixed work rather than being priced at a loss.
Quotometry prices every part from your own machines and rates, on your website, in seconds.