Best laser engraver: diode, fiber and CO2, four machines
The best laser engraver is the laser type that matches your material: diode for wood, fiber for bare metal, CO2 for acrylic. Four picks, one per buyer.
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The picks
Best laser engraver for beginners
xTool M2 10W
Class 1 enclosed, two cameras on the bed, and the exhaust fan and air assist built in.
- Working area 16.7 x 12.5 in (426 mm x 320 mm)
- Cuts basswood 8 mm and black acrylic 3 mm in one pass at 10W
- Class 1 Laser Safety (TÜV SÜD Certified)
Best laser engraver for wood
Creality Falcon2 Pro 60W
A 60W optical diode in a Class 1 enclosure, 400 x 400 mm of bed, rated to cut 22mm basswood in one pass.
- Optical Power 60W, Machine Power (MAX) 360W, switchable to 40W or 22W
- 22mm basswood in one pass, 30mm black acrylic in one pass, 0.2mm metal sheet in one pass
- Working area of 15.75 x 15.75 inches (400 x 400mm)
Best laser engraver for metal
ComMarker B4 50W
A 1064nm fiber galvo that marks and deep engraves bare metal, with a 110 mm and a 200 mm lens in the box.
- 110mm and 200mm dual lenses, with dual red dot locators
- Electric lifting through a concealed lifting motor
- Marking speed 0 to 15000mm/s, accuracy 0.01mm
Best CO2 laser engraver
OMTech K40+ 45W
A 45 W CO2 tube at 10640 nm in a lidded cabinet, with a water pump, air assist and exhaust fan.
- Processing area 300 x 200 mm (12 x 8 in)
- CO2 laser, wavelength 10640 nm, 45 W rated
- Max processing speed 300 mm/s
Pick the material first and the laser type picks itself. The best laser engraver for walnut coasters struggles on a bare stainless tumbler, and the one that marks the tumbler will not touch the coaster unless it is painted. So the four machines here are three kinds of laser, and each award is the buyer that kind fits.
There is no overall winner here, only a winner per material. Two of the four are enclosed diodes: the best laser engraver for beginners, and the best laser engraver for wood, which cuts far thicker stock and asks more of whoever runs it. The best laser engraver for metal is a fiber galvo, and the best CO2 laser engraver is a water cooled tube.
What the picks rest on
Each maker's own product pages and manuals, plus hands-on reviews from Tom's Hardware (the Falcon2 Pro and the M2), FauxHammer (the M2) and Go Laser Go (a K40+, wattage not stated). TechRadar and Hobby Laser Cutters both reviewed the B4 at 20W, and the B4 picked here is the 50W. The YouTube owner evidence is deep on the K40+, where 17 commenters own one by their own words or on camera. On the Falcon2 Pro 60W, 2 of the 135 people commenting under its own videos say they own one, and on the B4 50W most comments sit under videos about another power or the whole category, so nothing there is counted. On the M2 it was not collected.
Four laser engravers, one row each
| Spec | Creality Falcon2 Pro 60W | xTool M2 10W | ComMarker B4 50W | OMTech K40+ 45W |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Laser type | Diode, 455nm | Blue diode, 455 nm | Fiber, 1064nm | CO2 glass tube, 10640 nm |
| Work area | 400 x 400 mm | 426 x 320 mm | 110 x 110 or 200 x 200 mm | 300 x 200 mm |
| Cuts | 22mm basswood, 30mm black acrylic | 8 mm basswood, 3 mm black acrylic | Light metal cutting, no thickness stated | Up to 3 mm acrylic or basswood |
| Enclosure | Enclosed, FDA Class 1 | Enclosed, Class 1 | Open frame | Lidded cabinet, interlocked |
| Fume extraction | Built-in fan and exhaust port | Built-in exhaust fan and air assist | Not stated | Rear exhaust fan with 5 m pipe |
Basis: manufacturer documentation. Cut figures are each maker's own, one pass, on the maker's own test material. The B4's two work areas are one per field lens. A diode does not cut clear acrylic, which xTool's own material guide says outright, so both diode figures are black acrylic. Optical power is left out of the table because the three makers state it three ways: xTool gives 10W with no basis, OMTech a 45 W rated tube power beside 360 W of consumption, and Creality 60W of optical output beside 360W of machine power.
Best laser engraver for beginners: xTool M2 10W
The one to buy when nobody in the house has run a laser before. It is Class 1 with the lid closed, two cameras watch the bed, and the exhaust fan and air assist are built in, with the smoke exhaust pipe in the box. The work area is 426 x 320 mm and xTool rates the 10W head at 8 mm basswood and 3 mm black acrylic in one pass.
Tom's Hardware gave it an Editor's Choice, and said its magnetic standoff clamps were flimsy.
The safety page xTool publishes says the enclosure holds "a Class 4 working laser", and that the exhaust must never vent straight into the room, so the pipe still goes out a window or into a qualified air purifier. Color Craft, the name on xTool's own pages, comes from a CMYK inkjet module sold separately. This ASIN is the laser alone.
Skip it if stainless steel is the main job. xTool lists it as engravable, but its own cheat sheet says "the diode is limited on stainless steel" and points to its IR module, which is another purchase. Skip it too if you already use LightBurn, because FauxHammer notes the M2 does not support it.
Best laser engraver for wood: Creality Falcon2 Pro 60W
The most machine here for cutting wood. Creality rates the 60W of optical output to cut 22mm basswood and 30mm black acrylic in one pass, across a 400 x 400 mm bed, inside an FDA Class 1 enclosure with a lid-open safety stop. The same head switches down to 40W or 22W, the lower mode for finer engraving and a narrower cut.
Tom's Hardware found that it "can cut through plywood faster than you could draw on it", and then found the enclosure's weak points: light leakage "from a hole in the enclosure as well as a faint blue glow through the side panels during full-power cutting". The slats that hold the work are "wobbly and difficult to use", and assembly took just under an hour. It has no screen and cannot connect to a network at all, so jobs go by USB or microSD.
Tom's verdict is that it "makes the most sense for experienced users", and it left the machine off its own best list.
Skip it if this is your first laser, since the M2 above is built for that, or if you want autofocus or a touchscreen. The purifier is a separate purchase.
Best laser engraver for metal: ComMarker B4 50W
A fiber galvo at 1064nm, the wavelength that marks bare metal without a coating. ComMarker rates the 50W for "marking, engraving and deep engraving, and light metal cutting tasks", and ships both a 110 mm and a 200 mm field lens, with electric lifting to set the focus height.
Both independent reviews in the cache tested the 20W B4, so they speak to the platform and not to this rung. TechRadar notes that "wood needs to be painted" first, and that a distance cage in the box lets it run handheld on a vertical surface. ComMarker's manual states the rest: "The machines use Class Ⅳ lasers", with no enclosure in the box. LightBurn is a paid license after a one month trial.
Skip it if the laser has to share a room with anyone not wearing goggles, unless you also buy the enclosure ComMarker sells separately.
Best CO2 laser engraver: OMTech K40+ 45W
The CO2 tube is the other way to cut acrylic and wood. The K40+ is the small one: a 10640 nm glass tube rated at 45 W, over a 300 x 200 mm bed, in a lidded cabinet whose interlock cuts the laser when it opens. A rear exhaust fan runs through a 5 m pipe, and a water pump comes in the box.
A tank is not, and the manual leaves you to supply one. In a cold room Go Laser Go bought a sous vide to bring its water up to what it calls the required minimum, 15 degrees celsius (60F).
The owner complaint that repeats is the first day. Of the 17 owners, 2 fault the manual or instructions. One of them writes "The manual of my K40+ is poorly written and lacks of clarity". Three more describe a first job that would not run. OMTech rates it to cut up to 3 mm (1/8 in) acrylic or basswood. The Amazon listing claims more than that. OMTech's own figure is what's printed here. On basswood the Falcon2 Pro's rating is several times deeper; on clear acrylic, which a diode cannot cut, the CO2 tube alone of the four will.
Skip it if you want to cut thick stock.
Diode, fiber or CO2
Three wavelengths, three materials. A 455 nm blue diode burns wood, leather and card well and struggles on bare stainless. A 1064nm fiber marks bare metal and cannot mark untreated wood. A 10640 nm CO2 tube cuts acrylic and wood and leaves bare metal alone. OMTech's own manual: "CO₂ laser engravers should not be used for marking, engraving, or cutting metal", and they are "best suited for working coatings applied to a metal base".
Enclosure is the second question, because it settles the room. The two diodes here are rated Class 1 with the lid shut, though Tom's saw light through an unfilled hole in the Falcon2 Pro's panel at full power. The B4 ships open frame, and the Creality, ComMarker and OMTech manuals all say never to leave the laser running unattended. Fumes are the third: three of the four have a built-in exhaust fan, and a fan only moves the smoke to wherever the hose ends, which xTool says must not be indoors. The xTool MetalFab welders sit on this shelf too, and the rest of it is on the laser engravers and cutters page.