Laser Cutting Cost Calculator
Estimate the cost of a laser cutting job: material, machine time, setup and waste, plus a selling price with your markup.
Inputs
Result
Estimated total cost
147.00
2.94 per part
- Material cost
- 80.00
- Waste
- 12.0015% of material
- Machine time
- 20 min24 s per part
- Machine cost
- 30.00
- Setup cost
- 25.00
- Cost per part
- 2.94
- Selling price
- 191.103.82 per part
- Estimated profit
- 44.10
- Sheets used (approx.)
- 0.77
- Weight per part
- 1.41 kg
Results are estimates and should be verified for critical engineering or manufacturing applications.
How it works
A laser cutting quote is mostly three things: the material the parts consume, the time the machine spends cutting, and a fixed setup cost. This calculator estimates each one separately so you can see where the cost comes from and adjust what matters.
- Material — the sheet cost is spread over its area, then charged for the area of each part. The waste percentage adds the skeleton and offcuts you can't reuse.
- Machine time — total cutting length divided by the cutting speed, charged at your hourly machine rate.
- Setup — a fixed cost per job for programming, loading and handling.
- Selling price — total cost plus your markup.
Cutting speed depends heavily on the machine, laser power, gas and material thickness. Use the speed from your machine's cutting tables for the best estimate. Pierce time and rapid moves are not included, so parts with many small holes will take longer than estimated.
Formula
- Material = Sheet cost ÷ Sheet area × Part area × Quantity
- Waste = Material × Waste %
- Machine time = Cutting length × Quantity ÷ Cutting speed
- Machine cost = Machine time (h) × Hourly rate
- Total cost = Material + Waste + Machine cost + Setup
- Selling price = Total cost × (1 + Markup %)
Example
50 brackets of 300 × 200 mm in 3 mm mild steel
- 1Sheet 3,000 × 1,500 mm at 120 → 26.67 per m². Parts: 0.06 m² × 50 = 3 m² → material 80.00
- 2Waste 15% → 12.00
- 3Cutting 1,200 mm per part × 50 = 60 m at 3,000 mm/min → 20 min → machine cost at 90/h = 30.00
- 4Setup 25.00 → total cost 147.00, or 2.94 per part
- 5Markup 30% → selling price 191.10, profit 44.10
Estimated total cost 147.00; selling price 191.10 (3.82 per part).
Frequently asked questions
How is laser cutting usually priced?
Most shops price by machine time (cutting length and pierces at a given speed) plus material and a setup or minimum charge. This calculator follows that structure.
What cutting speed should I use?
Use your machine's cutting tables for the material and thickness. Speeds range from tens of meters per minute on thin sheet with a high-power fiber laser to under 1 m/min on thick plate.
How do I measure the cutting length of a part?
Add the outer perimeter and the perimeter of every internal hole or cut-out. Most CAD and nesting software reports this value directly.
What waste percentage is typical?
Between 10% and 30% depending on part shape and nesting efficiency. Rectangular parts nest tightly; irregular shapes leave more skeleton.
Does the result include pierce time?
No. For parts with many holes, add a little to the cutting length or the setup cost to account for pierces.