This guide collates all the top laser brands in one place, explaining what each company does well and the areas they specialize in. We’ll also pick out one of each brand’s top models to give you an idea of what to expect.
We’ve separated this article into two sections:
Affordable Laser Manufacturers
Professional & Industrial Laser Manufacturers
Affordable Laser Manufacturers
xTool
- Year established: 2019
- Country: China
- Number of employees: Unknown
- Product range: under 5
- Awards: Red Dot Design Award (2022)
xTool is a sub-brand of Makeblock (which we cover further down), which started out back in 2011 and was founded by Jasen Wang. Following a Kickstarter project and a series of STEM products, the company pivoted to lower-cost laser engravers in 2019 and quickly become one of the biggest names in the hobbyist space.
As a relatively young laser brand, xTool has a smaller range of products than some others, and specializes in affordable desktop machines. The D1 Pro is by far its most popular product and is widely regarded as one of the finest hobbyist laser engravers – an impressive achievement for a company that only recently entered the space.
This is due to the D1 Pro’s compressed dual beam technology and the fact that – unlike most hobbyist models – you can add an infrared module.
xTool is also set to release the P2 soon, which is the brand’s first foray into CO2 laser cutters. So, xTool is certainly one to keep your eyes on over the coming years as it continues to innovate.
Atomstack
- Year established: original company in 2014, switched to lasers in 2020
- Country: China
- Number of employees: Unknown
- Product range: 8
- Awards: N/A
AtomstackAtomstack is well known in the laser engraving community for its range of budget machines, which typically retail for less than the likes of other popular hobbyist brands like xTool, Ortur, and LaserPecker.
Similar to xTool, Atomstack started out in a different area (it created China’s first SLA 3D printer in 2014), before switching to specializing in laser cutters in 2020.
Despite still being fairly new to the space, Atomstack already has eight laser cutters available to buy. Our favorite is the A5 Pro, a powerful budget option that allows you to cut 10mm plywood for under $400.
Ortur
- Year established: 2018
- Country: China
- Number of employees: Unknown
- Product range: 3
- Awards: N/A
Ortur is another company that helps establish China as one of the top dogs when it comes to the best laser cutter brands. It also has a sub-brand, Aufero, which specializes in portable laser engravers.
Similar to other Chinese brands, Ortur began by developing 3D printers before moving on to lasers. It currently retails just three products, all from its Laser Master series, which has proven very popular amongst hobbyists.
The latest model in the line is the Laser Master 3, which for under $700 provides super-fast 20,000mm/min cutting and the ability to engrave designs directly from your camera roll with the Ortur Laser Explorer app.
Laserpecker
- Year established: 2017
- Country: China
- Number of employees: Unknown
- Product range: 6
- Awards: Good Design Award (2020, 2021)
Another of the best laser engraving machine brands is LaserPecker, which stands out for its range of intuitive, compact, and highly portable laser engravers.
In fact, LaserPecker has crowdfunded over $10M with the aim of developing a line of high-quality handheld lasers. The LaserPecker 1 was released in 2019 after raising $3.4m, which was followed by the LaserPecker 2 after raising an additional $6.7m in 2021. The LaserPecker 3 followed in 2022.
The LaserPecker 2, in particular, is one of the most popular hobbyist machines, offering rapid 600mm/s engraving with an extremely precise compressed spot of 0.05mmx0.05mm. It can be used handheld as well as a desktop engraver and can be paired with a rotary attachment as well as other accessories.
LaserPecker continues to innovate, most recently releasing its LX1 & LX1 Max which are foldable laser cutters. The LX1 provides a 400x420mm working area in a more portable way than any other similar size machine, thanks to its modular, foldable frame.
Professional & Industrial Laser Manufacturers
Now let’s take a look at the top laser cutter brands for professional machines used in medium-to-large businesses and industrial settings.
Raycus – Raycus fiber laser
- Year established: 2007
- Country: China
- Number of employees: 1,000+
- Product range: 50+
- Awards: Hubei Science & Technology Outstanding Contribution Award (Yan Dapeng, chief engineer, 2021)
Raycus is one of the leading fiber laser manufacturers. Raycus have been innovative within this sector since 2007 and has established many world firsts, including the first 10W and 25W pulse fiber lasers, and the first 100W and 1,000W continuous fiber lasers.
Today, the company manufactures well over 50 different models, mainly supplied to businesses and generally within industrial settings. These include single- and multi-module continuous lasers, quasi-continuous wave lasers, adjustable beam lasers, pulsed fiber lasers, and 3D fiber lasers.
One of Raycus’ most popular models is the RFL-C1000, an incredibly powerful 1000W fiber laser for precision metal cutting, welding, and carving. This isn’t even its most powerful, though, with some of its machines boasting as much as 8000W of laser power.
Glowforge
- Year established: 2018
- Country: USA
- Number of employees: 101-250
- Product range: 3
- Awards: N/A
The first US brand on our list, Glowforge is a Seattle-based company that’s been around since 2014 and has found its niche in products it refers to as ‘3D laser printers’.
Glowforge’s products are regular CO2 laser engravers at heart, but they do look like printers as they come in a sleek enclosure. Its laser machines have earned a reputation for being some of the most user-friendly on the market.
The three on offer are the Basic, Plus, and Pro. They’re all the same size, but the Plus offers improved speed on the Basic, while the Pro offers even more speed, a more powerful 45W CO2 laser, and an unlimited cutting length thanks to the Pro Passthrough slot.
OMTech Laser
- Year established: 2018
- Country: USA
- Number of employees: 11-50
- Product range: 30+
- Awards: N/A
Another US-based company, OMTech Laser is based in Anaheim, California founded in 2020 by a team that already had more than 10 years of experience in the laser cutting industry.
OMTech offers one of the largest and most diverse ranges of machines out of all the top laser cutter brands. It’s perhaps best known for its over 15 different CO2 laser cutters, which range from small desktop models to large format laser engravers like the AF4063.
Its most popular hobbyist model is perhaps the OMTech K40, which provides a powerful 40W CO2 laser in a compact footprint with intuitive features like red dot guidance and an LCD digital control screen,
OMTech also offers four fiber laser cutters and ten fiber laser markets that are designed for professional and industrial settings.
Epilog Laser
- Year established: 2008
- Country: USA
- Number of employees: 101-250
- Product range: 10+
- Awards: N/A
From Golden in Colorado, Epilog Laser is one of the longest-standing of all laser brands, having been formed all the way back in 1998. The company has several offices across the world, including two in the UK, one in Dublin, and one in the Netherlands.
Despite being around for so long, Epilog isn’t one of the best-known brands among the general community, as its machines are more aimed at industrial laser cutting. They don’t even display prices – you need to request pricing or a brochure from the website.
If we were to pick one Epilog model, though it would be the Zing 16. This CO2 laser provides a 12”x12” working area which is capable of cutting 4.5” of material in a single pass, so it’s a really powerful bit of kit (and this is one of Epilog’s cheapest models, as the working area isn’t very large).
Full Spectrum Laser
- Year established: 2008
- Country: USA
- Number of employees: 50+
- Product range: 15+
- Awards: N/A
Full Spectrum Laser, often abbreviated to FSL, is one of the older laser cutting brands that has been around since 2008, and hails out of Las Vegas.
It has five machine series and over 15 models in total. These span desktop machines to industrial laser systems that can cost close to $200,000. FSL provides both CO2 and fiber laser cutters.
Although its typically used more by businesses rather than hobbyists, it does offer some affordable options.
Our favorite is the Muse Core, a 40/45W CO2 that retails for $2,999.99 and boasts an Intel RealSense 3D camera and FSL’s browser-based RetinaEngrave v3.0 software. FSL claims that this is the world’s most advanced browser-based laser control software.
FLUX
- Year established: 2014
- Country: Taiwan/US
- Number of employees: 11-50
- Product range: 6
- Awards: Red Dot Design, iF Gold, CES Innovation (all 2016)
FLUX was originally founded by a team of young engineers in Taiwan in 2014 and raised $1.6m through a Kickstarter campaign for the FLUX Delta, an all-in-one 3D printer, scanner, and laser engraver.
In 2018, the company pivoted to focus more directly on laser engravers and now boasts six product ranges. It’s best known today for the Beamo, which is the world’s smallest CO2 laser cutter.
This machine provides a 30W CO2 laser in a preassembled 24×17.5” case and costs just $2,195, making it hugely popular amongst hobbyists as a smaller, cheaper alternative than other CO2 laser cutters.
Trotec
- Year established: 1997
- Country: Austria
- Number of employees: 750+
- Product range: 30+
- Awards: N/A
Trotec is one of the world’s biggest laser engraver brands, based in Austria but with 17 offices and more than 750 employees across the globe.
It currently sells over 15 models from five different series of laser machines. These include high-performance CO2 and fiber lasers, large format cutters in the SP series, and automated laser marking machines.
There’s also the R Series, which is Trotec’s most affordable machine. This provides a hefty 1300 x 900 mm working area and comes with a 60-120W CO2 laser depending on your preferences. You need to request a quote if you’re interested in buying a Trotec laser.
As well as selling laser cutters and engravers, Trotec also offers laser consulting services to anyone looking to start or expand a laser business, looking for custom machine solutions, or training and workflow consulting.
Makeblock
- Year established: 2011
- Country: China
- Number of employees: 250-500
- Product range: 1 laser, multiple other products
- Awards: iF Design Award, CES Innovation (2018), Red Dot Design, International Design Excellence Awards Gold, Good Design Award (2017)
Makeblock is a bit different from the other brands we’ve covered so far in that it’s primarily focused on STEM educational products for children and educators. It produces a variety of different kits and toys, including robot-building and coding kits. Its products are used in over 80 countries and more than 200,000 schools around the world.
In terms of lasers, Makeblock is notable for the Laserbox. This is a laser cutter that’s specifically designed for educational purposes; instead of power and speed, it prioritizes safety, ease of use, and fun.
For example, it uses a camera with AI technology that can automatically recognize and engrave hand-drawn designs, making it a great choice for the classroom
Triumph Laser
- Year established: 2003
- Country: China
- Number of employees: 11-50
- Product range: 30+
- Awards: N/A
Triumph Laser is all about providing industrial-grade laser cutters to businesses. It’s one of the best fiber laser brands, offering more than 15 different industrial fiber lasers designed for various applications, such as metal sheet cutting, gold cutting, and high-precision metal engraving.
On top of that, it provides handheld, desktop, and portable fiber lasers, as well as CO2 and UV laser cutters. Triumph Laser is also one of the few brands that provide specialist laser welding machines, and it even provides robot assistance for laser work.
The Triumph TR-F6060 is a good example that gives you an idea of the quality provided by this brand. This is a compact, economical, and practical fiber laser engraver that offers up to 3000W power, 40m/min cutting speed on ferrous metals, and 0.02mm positioning accuracy, so it’s a really impressive bit of kit.
Triumph also provides its own specialized CAD/CAM software that is optimized to help you get the most out of its machines.
Boss laser
- Year established: 2012
- Country: USA
- Number of employees: 11-50
- Product range: 15+
- Awards: N/A
Last but not least on our list is Boss Laser, a Florida-based company that’s one of the manufacturers of industrial laser cutting and marking machines. Boss is notable for working with some of the world’s largest companies, including Google, NASA, Nike, and Amazon.
Whereas companies like Raycus and Triump specialize in industrial fiber lasers, Boss mainly provides large and super powerful CO2 lasers, although it does have a couple of fiber options also.
It also offers some “entry-level” lasers, although these are still more orientated towards businesses rather than hobbyists. All Boss Lasers offer fantastic quality, though, such as the LS-1420; a 50/70W CO2 laser that uses a hybrid servo drive for 4x faster cutting than stepper motors, equating to a rapid 1,200mm/s cutting speed.
Boss Laser is one of the few laser brands with a Trustpilot page and has an almost faultless score of 4.9 from over 2,000 reviews, showing that it provides top-notch customer service.
FAQs
What laser cutters are made in the USA?
Glowforge, OMTech Laser, Full Spectrum Laser, and Boss Laser are all popular laser cutter brands that manufacture their machines in the US.
Is Glowforge made in China?
No. Glowforge is based in Seattle, and its laser machines are all manufactured in the US.
