Rex says
Money math without the spreadsheet headache. Plug in your numbers and I'll show you exactly where the dollars land.
Try a scenario
Click to load — tweak from there.Inputs
Result
Suggested price per part
$9.74
Total cost per part
$7.21
Total machine minutes (cut+pierce)
3.32
Machine time cost
$3.65
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One click, a permanent link with your numbers baked in.
How to use this
- 1Enter estimated cut time (min).
- 2Enter machine rate ($/min).
- 3Enter assist gas cost ($/min).
- 4Enter material cost per part ($).
- 5Enter number of pierces.
- 6Enter time per pierce (sec).
- 7Enter markup (%).
- 8Read your suggested price per part on the right — it updates as you type.
- 9Hit Share to keep the scenario or send it to someone.
About this calculator
Laser cutting cost per part comes from three places: the machine's per-minute operating cost (depreciation, power, and resonator/optics maintenance reserve), assist gas consumption (nitrogen for stainless/aluminum is notably more expensive than oxygen for mild steel), and material. Cut time itself depends on material thickness, cut length, and pierce count — thicker material cuts much slower and gas flow rates increase with thickness too. This calculator takes an estimated cut time in minutes (from your CAM/nesting software) along with a per-minute machine rate and gas cost rate, then adds material cost per part, giving a full landed cost. Shops quoting laser work should always price cut time separately from material, since two parts with identical material cost can have wildly different cut times depending on perimeter length and pierce count, especially for parts with lots of small holes.
Worked example
Using the values the calculator loads with:
Inputs
- Estimated cut time: 3.2 min
- Machine rate: 1.1 $/min
- Assist gas cost: 0.35 $/min
- Material cost per part: 2.4 $
- Number of pierces: 6
- Time per pierce: 1.2 sec
- Markup: 35 %
Results
- Suggested price per part: $9.74
- Total cost per part: $7.21
- Total machine minutes (cut+pierce): 3.32
- Machine time cost: $3.65
What each field means
Inputs
- Estimated cut time (min)
- The estimated cut time used in the calculation, measured in min. Starts at 3.2 min so you have a working example on load.
- Machine rate ($/min)
- The machine rate used in the calculation, measured in $/min. Starts at 1.1 $/min so you have a working example on load.
- Assist gas cost ($/min)
- The assist gas cost used in the calculation, measured in $/min. Starts at 0.35 $/min so you have a working example on load.
- Material cost per part ($)
- The material cost per part used in the calculation, measured in $. Starts at 2.4 $ so you have a working example on load.
- Number of pierces
- The number of pierces used in the calculation. Starts at 6 so you have a working example on load.
- Time per pierce (sec)
- The time per pierce used in the calculation, measured in sec. Starts at 1.2 sec so you have a working example on load.
- Markup (%)
- The markup used in the calculation, measured in %. Starts at 35 % so you have a working example on load. Accepted range: 0–300 %.
Results
- Suggested price per part
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars and shown as the headline result. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- Total cost per part
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- Total machine minutes (cut+pierce)
- Returned as a decimal number. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- Machine time cost
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
FAQ
Why does nitrogen cost more than oxygen for cutting?
Nitrogen has to be supplied at much higher pressure (typically 200-300 PSI vs 10-20 PSI for oxygen) for a clean oxide-free cut on stainless and aluminum, and it's consumed in large volume, whether from a cylinder bank or an onsite nitrogen generator. Oxygen-assisted cutting on mild steel is cheaper per minute but leaves an oxide edge that may need extra finishing.
How do I estimate cut time without CAM software?
Rough rule: total cut time ≈ perimeter length ÷ cutting speed for that thickness/material (found on your laser manufacturer's speed chart), plus pierce time × pierce count. Nesting/CAM software gives an exact number and should be used whenever quoting real jobs.
Does pierce count matter that much?
Yes, especially on parts with many small holes — each pierce on thick material can take 0.5-3+ seconds, and a part with 40 holes can spend more total time piercing than cutting. Parts with heavy hole patterns should always have pierce time estimated explicitly rather than folded into a generic cut-time guess.
What machine rate should I use?
Use your fully-loaded machine hourly rate (see the machine hourly rate calculator) divided by 60 to get a per-minute figure. Fiber lasers typically run $60-150/hr fully loaded depending on wattage and age; CO2 lasers with gas resonators tend to run somewhat higher due to resonator gas and mirror maintenance.
Accuracy and limitations
- Results are estimates before tax, fees, and inflation unless an input explicitly covers them.
- Rates are treated as fixed for the whole period — variable-rate products will drift from this projection.
- This is educational maths, not financial advice. Check anything contractual with the lender or your accountant.
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Cite this calculator
Writing about this topic? Grab a citation — every link helps keep these tools free.
RevenueLab. (2026). Laser Cutting Cost Calculator. Retrieved from https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/laser-cutting-cost-per-minute
<p>Source: <a href="https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/laser-cutting-cost-per-minute" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Laser Cutting Cost Calculator — RevenueLab</a> (2026).</p>
Source: [Laser Cutting Cost Calculator — RevenueLab](https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/laser-cutting-cost-per-minute) (2026).