QuotedPartAnswers · Updated 2026-10-30
How is laser cutting cost calculated for a quote?
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A laser part's price is mostly time on an expensive machine, and that time is the length of every cut edge divided by the cutting speed for that material and thickness, plus a fraction of a minute for every pierce. Add the material for the part's share of the sheet, the setup, deburr and your markup, and hold a minimum charge for tiny jobs. A 12 × 8 in base plate in 1/4 in A36 steel has 70.8 inches of cut and 12 pierces; at a $175/h fiber laser that's 2.3 minutes a part, and the plate prices at $85.45 for one, $28.90 each at 10 and $23.24 at 100.
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The formula, term by term
Cut time per part = cut length ÷ cutting speed + pierces × pierce time + load and unload. Our pricing engine's starting values for a fiber laser in mild steel: 137.8 in/min up to 14 gauge, slowing in proportion to thickness above that; 0.03 minutes a pierce; 0.3 minutes to load and unload. Stainless and aluminum cut slower than mild steel at the same thickness. These are starting values: your machine's cut charts and timed jobs are better, and the arithmetic stays the same.
For the example plate (a fictional 1/4 in A36 steel base plate, 12 × 8 in, with six Ø.50 and four Ø.75 holes and one 4 × 2 in cutout with R.25 corners, laser cut, no bends), the cut length is the outside perimeter (40 in) plus every hole's circumference and the cutout's edge: 70.8 in. Pierces are one per closed contour: ten holes, the cutout and the outside profile, 12 in all. At 1/4 in the cutting speed is about 43.4 in/min.
| Term | Input | Minutes per part |
|---|---|---|
| Cutting | 70.8 in at 43.4 in/min | 1.63 |
| Pierces | 12 × 0.03 min | 0.36 |
| Load and unload | 0.3 min | 0.30 |
| Total on the laser | 2.30 |
Material: the part's share of the sheet
A laser part is cut from a nested sheet, so price the material by the part's blank plus its share of the skeleton and drop, not by the finished part's weight. Our pricing engine takes the part's flat size plus about 5 mm each way and assumes 80% of the sheet ends up in parts. For the plate that's about 4.02 kg (8.9 lb) of A36 at $1.10/lb: $9.77 a part. A 304 stainless plate at $3.60/lb is a different job: material becomes the largest line.
If you nest the customer's parts with other jobs, the utilization on any one order can be better than 80%; if the parts are large and awkward, it is worse. Quote the realistic number for the part, not your best nest of the year.
Price at each quantity
Setup on the laser (load the nest, set parameters, first part) is 15 minutes in the starting catalog, which at $175/h plus the bench's deburr setup is $48.33 per lot. That's why one plate is $85.45 and ten are $28.90 each. Past a few dozen, the price is cut time, material and deburr; nothing else falls.
| Quantity | Material | Setup | Laser and deburr | Price each | Lot price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $9.77 | $48.33 | $7.63 | $85.45 | $85.45 |
| 10 | $97.66 | $48.33 | $76.31 | $28.90 | $289.00 |
| 100 | $976.61 | $48.33 | $763.06 | $23.24 | $2,324.00 |
What thickness and material do to the price
The same profile in thicker plate cuts slower and weighs more; in stainless it also costs about three times as much per pound. Here is the same 12 × 8 in plate, same holes, at ten pieces:
| Thickness | Laser min/part, A36 | A36 each | 304 stainless each |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.135 in | 1.50 | $20.02 | $37.14 |
| 0.25 in | 2.30 | $28.90 | $60.37 |
| 0.375 in | 3.10 | $38.29 | $85.68 |
| 0.5 in | 3.90 | $47.66 | $110.99 |
Minimum charges and tiny parts
A minimum line charge keeps a two-minute job from being quoted at two minutes. The starting minimum in our catalog is $65 a line. A 4 × 4 in 1/4 in gusset with two holes prices at $68.81 for one, above the minimum because the laser setup alone is most of it; at ten it is $12.27 each and at 50, $7.24. If you run a lot of small blanks, a setup that's shorter than 15 minutes (a standard nest, material already on the table) is worth timing and putting in your rates.
What to do next
Take your own laser's cut chart for the three thicknesses you cut most and replace the speeds here. Time a pierce in each. Then check a recent quote: measure the part's cut length in the DXF, count closed contours, and see whether the price you sent covers the minutes. QuotedPart reads cut length and pierces from a STEP or DXF and prices them on your own laser's rates; add bends, and it puts the press brake on the same quote.
Assumptions behind the example
- • Part: a fictional 1/4 in A36 steel base plate, 12 × 8 in, with six Ø.50 and four Ø.75 holes and one 4 × 2 in cutout with R.25 corners, laser cut, no bends.
- • Material: blank plus about 5 mm each way, 80% sheet utilization.
- • Laser: 137.8 in/min in mild steel to 14 ga, slower in proportion above; 0.03 min a pierce; 0.3 min load and unload.
- • Rates and setup minutes: QuotedPart's US starting catalog (3-axis VMC $95/h, CAM programming $95/h, deburr $55/h, inspection $75/h). Every shop replaces these with its own.
- • Markup: the catalog default of 30% on cost, with a $65 minimum per line.
- • The part is fictional and stated on the page. The numbers are what the engine computes from these inputs, not a market average or a supplier quote.
| Quantity | Price each |
|---|---|
| 1 | $85.45 |
| 10 | $28.90 |
| 100 | $23.24 |
Sources and limits
Claims are dated where they can change. Product calculations are examples from the stated inputs, not a promise about a customer's quote. Competitor wording is attributed to the source shown.
- Cut length, pierces, minutes and prices are computed by QuotedPart's pricing engine from the stated fictional plate, the US starting catalog (fiber laser $175/h, 15 min setup; A36 plate $1.10/lb) and a 30% markup. Cutting speeds are starting values, not a specific machine's chart.
Questions
Do laser shops charge by the inch or by the hour?
Under the hood it's always time: inches of cut are converted to minutes at the speed for that material and thickness. A per-inch price for one material and thickness is the same calculation done once in advance.
Why does every hole add cost even if it's small?
Every closed contour needs a pierce, and every pierce takes time, which grows with thickness. Many small holes in thick plate can take longer than the outside profile.
Should I charge for programming and nesting?
Yes, as part of setup or as its own line on new parts. In this example it's inside the laser's 15-minute setup. A complex part or a big nest of mixed parts takes longer, and a repeat with a saved nest takes less.
Price one of your own parts
Drop a PDF drawing or a STEP file. QuotedPart reads the print, measures the model and prices it in seconds, on default shop rates you can change.
Your STEP file or PDF drawingDrop a PDF drawing, a STEP file or both
Free. No account, no email. Priced at our default US rates until you set yours.
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