Laser Cutting & Engraving Job Price Calculator

What should you charge for this laser job?

Enter the piece, the sheet stock and how your shop runs. You get a price per piece, how many pieces nest on a sheet, the laser time for cutting and engraving, what the job earns per laser hour, and the order size that meets a customer's target. Thick hardwood, slow acrylic cuts and small runs are where laser jobs quietly lose money.

Calculated in this browser tab. No account, no upload. The example is made up. A planning estimate, not a quote.

1. The piece and the order

Pieces in the order

Piece width (in)

Piece height (in)

Cut path per piece (in)

Cut passes (1 to 20)

Engraved share of the piece (%)

Gap between pieces on the sheet (in)

Customer's target price per piece ($, optional)

2. Setup, labour, laser time and the margin you want

Job setup: file prep, focus, test cut (minutes)

Load and unload per sheet (minutes)

Finishing per piece: peel, sand, pack (minutes)

Laser cost per hour ($)

Labour ($/hour)

Overhead per labour hour ($)

Masking, packaging, hardware per piece ($)

Scrap and reruns (%)

Margin wanted (% of the price)

Rush surcharge (%)

Minimum charge ($)

3. Materials to compare

One material per line: name, $ per sheet, sheet width in, sheet height in, cut speed in/min, engrave speed sq in/min. Use the speeds your own machine runs for that material and thickness. Names cannot contain commas.

Materials

Enter the job and your materials, or load the example, then click Price this job.

Result

Materials compared

Material	Per sheet	Sheets	Material	Laser	Labour + overhead	Cost	Price	Per piece

Price per piece by order size (cheapest material)

Pieces	Price	Per piece	Note

The first fitting material as its sheet price changes

Price per sheet	Material cost	Per piece	Job price

The arithmetic, and what it leaves out

Pieces per sheet is a straight grid: (sheet size plus gap) over (piece size plus gap) in each direction, tried both ways round. Sheets are rounded up to whole sheets.
Cut time is cut path times passes over cut speed. Engrave time is the engraved area over the engrave speed. Laser cost is those hours times your laser cost per hour.
Scrap means some pieces are run twice: pieces, sheets, laser time and finishing are scaled by one over (one minus scrap).
Labour is job setup plus loading per sheet plus finishing per piece, charged at your labour rate plus an overhead rate per labour hour.
Price is cost divided by one minus your margin, plus any rush surcharge, never below your minimum charge.
Not modelled: design time, sales tax, shipping, marketplace fees, machine downtime, irregular-shape nesting and your local rates. Check against your own costs.

Common questions

How do I price a laser cutting or engraving job?

Add the material for the sheets the job needs (pieces nested per sheet, rounded up), the laser time (cut path over cut speed plus engraved area over engrave speed), labour for setup, loading and finishing, supplies and scrap, then divide by one minus your margin. This tool does that and shows the price per piece.

How many pieces fit on a sheet?

The tool tries the piece both ways round on the sheet with a gap between pieces for kerf and bridges, and rounds up to whole sheets. Real nesting software can do better on irregular shapes; this is a straight grid estimate.

What should my laser machine rate be?

Cover tube or source replacement, lens and mirror wear, depreciation, power, air assist and extraction, spread over the hours the laser really runs. The tool shows what a job earns per laser hour so you can see whether your rate is being met.

Why does the price per piece fall as the order grows?

Setup is spread over more pieces and sheets fill up. The quantity table shows the price at 1 to 500 pieces and the order size that meets a customer's target price.

What does this leave out?

Design time, sales tax, shipping, packaging beyond supplies, machine downtime, marketplace fees and your local rates. It is a pricing aid, not a quote.

Is my data uploaded?

No. Everything runs in your browser tab and nothing is sent anywhere. There are no accounts. The share link keeps your numbers in the link itself, which you choose whether to send.