QuotedPartCost guides · Updated 2026-10-30
Laser, waterjet or plasma: which is cheapest for my part?
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For steel up to an inch thick, the fiber laser is the cheapest of the two our engine prices, by a wide margin. An 8 × 6 in A36 plate with four bolt holes and a window costs $29.50 each lasered and $50.08 each on the waterjet at 1/2 in and 10 pieces, because the laser cuts it in 2.5 minutes and the waterjet takes 11.2. The waterjet wins when the laser can't do the job: plate over an inch (the same part in 2 in A36 is $188.46 each), no heat-affected zone allowed, or materials a laser won't cut cleanly. Plasma is usually the cheapest way to cut thick carbon steel when edge quality and hole size don't matter, but our engine doesn't price it, so this page doesn't put a number on it.
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The part and the two machines
The part is an 8 × 6 in plate with four 9/16 in bolt holes and a 2 × 2 in window with 1/4 in corner radii: about 43 inches of cut and five pierces. It's a mounting plate or base plate a fab shop sees every week. The edge is left as cut and the parts are deburred on the bench. Nothing is machined afterward.
The laser is priced at $175 an hour with a 15 minute setup, the waterjet at $125 an hour with garnet included and a 20 minute setup. The waterjet's hour is cheaper, but it cuts steel far more slowly, and the gap widens with thickness: its speed falls roughly with thickness to the 1.15 power, plus longer pierces in thick plate.
| Thickness | Laser min | Waterjet min | Laser at 1 | Waterjet at 1 | Laser at 10 | Waterjet at 10 | Laser at 100 | Waterjet at 100 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3/16 in | 1.2 | 4.7 | $73.06 | $78.53 | $16.51 | $24.41 | $10.86 | $19.01 |
| 3/8 in | 2.0 | 8.5 | $80.93 | $93.67 | $24.38 | $39.55 | $18.72 | $34.14 |
| 1/2 in | 2.5 | 11.2 | $86.05 | $104.20 | $29.50 | $50.08 | $23.84 | $44.67 |
| 1 in | 4.4 | 22.7 | $106.16 | $148.25 | $49.61 | $94.13 | $43.95 | $88.73 |
| 2 in | not on a typical fiber laser | 48.0 | $242.57 | $188.46 | $183.04 |
What the table says
At 3/16 in the two are close at one piece ($73.06 vs $78.53), because setup is most of a one-off price on either machine. At 100 pieces the waterjet is 75% more. At 1 in it is 102% more, and the waterjet runs 23 minutes a part against the laser's 4.
Material is the same in both columns: $9.92 of 1/2 in A36 per part. The laser's kerf is narrower, so it nests a little tighter, which this estimate doesn't credit.
Stainless and aluminum at 1/2 in
The laser keeps its lead in stainless and aluminum in our pricing engine too. One caution on aluminum: our catalog treats 6061 plate as cutting slightly faster than A36 on the laser, which holds for thin sheet. At 1/2 in, many lasers cut aluminum slower than that and leave more dross on the bottom edge, so check the laser price against your own cut chart before you send the quote.
Stainless cut with nitrogen on the laser comes off with a clean, oxide-free edge that can be welded or passivated as is. The waterjet edge is clean too, and has no heat tint at all, which matters on some food and medical work.
| Material | Laser at 10 | Waterjet at 10 | Laser at 100 | Waterjet at 100 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 304 stainless | $61.84 | $88.00 | $56.19 | $82.59 |
| 6061 aluminum | $33.94 | $53.12 | $28.30 | $47.71 |
When to pick each process
Use the price table for steel under an inch, then check these before you commit:
- Laser: sheet and plate to about 1 in in steel, small holes down to about the plate thickness, tight nesting, fast. Leaves a thin heat-affected zone and, with oxygen, an oxide layer that paint and powder don't like.
- Waterjet: anything over an inch, tool steel and hardened plate, titanium, copper, thick aluminum, plastics, rubber, glass and stone. No heat-affected zone, so no hardened edge to drill or tap through. Slow, with a slight taper unless the head compensates.
- Plasma: thick carbon steel where a beveled, rougher edge and holes bigger than the plate thickness are fine. Structural plate, burn-outs, ag and trailer parts. Ask your plasma supplier or a plasma shop for rates; we don't have a sourced number to give you.
- Holes that will be tapped or reamed: laser or waterjet, then drill to size. Plasma holes are tapered and usually get drilled out.
Engine assumptions
- • Part: fictional 8 × 6 in plate, four Ø9/16 in holes, one 2 × 2 in window, about 43 in of cut and 5 pierces; edges as cut, bench deburr.
- • Laser speed: 137.8 in/min in mild steel up to 14 ga, divided by thickness above that; 0.03 min a pierce; 0.3 min to load.
- • Waterjet speed: 2.2 in/min through 1 in mild steel, scaling with thickness to the 1.15 power, capped at 60 in/min; pierce time grows with thickness; 1 min to load.
- • Steel A36 plate: $1.10/lb for a small lot; removal rate 1 × 6061-T6.
- • Stainless 304 plate: $3.60/lb for a small lot; removal rate 0.75 × 6061-T6.
- • Aluminum 6061 plate: $4.50/lb for a small lot; removal rate 1.1 × 6061-T6.
- • Fiber laser: $175/h, 15 min standard setup (US catalog default, editable).
- • Abrasive waterjet: $125/h, 20 min standard setup (US catalog default, editable).
- • Deburr / bench: $55/h (US catalog default, editable).
- • Markup: 30% on cost; $65 minimum line charge. No freight, tax, certs or expedite.
| Thickness | Laser min | Waterjet min | Laser at 1 | Waterjet at 1 | Laser at 10 | Waterjet at 10 | Laser at 100 | Waterjet at 100 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3/16 in | 1.2 | 4.7 | $73.06 | $78.53 | $16.51 | $24.41 | $10.86 | $19.01 |
| 3/8 in | 2.0 | 8.5 | $80.93 | $93.67 | $24.38 | $39.55 | $18.72 | $34.14 |
| 1/2 in | 2.5 | 11.2 | $86.05 | $104.20 | $29.50 | $50.08 | $23.84 | $44.67 |
| 1 in | 4.4 | 22.7 | $106.16 | $148.25 | $49.61 | $94.13 | $43.95 | $88.73 |
| 2 in | not on a typical fiber laser | 48.0 | $242.57 | $188.46 | $183.04 |
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 minutes and prices are computed by QuotedPart's pricing engine from the stated part and US catalog defaults. Our pricing engine does not price plasma cutting.
Questions
Is waterjet cutting more expensive than laser?
For steel under an inch, yes, usually by half again or more per part. On this 1/2 in A36 plate at 100 pieces it is $44.67 each vs $23.84. Waterjet is the cheaper choice only when the laser can't make the part.
Why not quote waterjet for everything to avoid heat?
Because the customer pays for the slower cut. Ask whether the heat-affected zone actually matters. For a bracket that gets welded anyway, it doesn't.
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