Glowforge Aura vs Longer Ray5 — Which Should You Buy?

Side-by-side specs, settings, and decision guide. Both have community-tested settings for 25 shared materials.

Where to buy

Buy the Glowforge Aura — check current price & availability

Buy on Amazon →

Affiliate link — we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.

Where to buy

Buy the Longer Ray5 — check current price & availability

Buy on Amazon →

Affiliate link — we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.

Which one should you buy?

Pick the Glowforge Aura if you want: more cutting power (6W vs 5W).

Glowforge Aura

Power
6W

Laser Type
diode

Work Area
508×279mm

Buy Glowforge Aura →

Longer Ray5

Power
5W

Laser Type
diode

Software

LightBurn,LaserGRBL

Buy Longer Ray5 →

63 settings for Glowforge Aura47 settings for Longer Ray5

Settings Comparison

Material · Operation	Glowforge Aura	Longer Ray5
3mm Baltic Birch Plywoodcut	800 mm/min · 95% · 3× passes · air assist	800 mm/min · 95% · 3× passes · air assist
3mm Basswood Plywoodcut	1800 mm/min · 100% · 3× passes	80 mm/min · 100% · 6× passes
3mm Clear Acryliccut	400 mm/min · 95% · 4× passes	400 mm/min · 95% · 4× passes
3mm MDFcut	800 mm/min · 95% · 3× passes · air assist	800 mm/min · 95% · 3× passes · air assist
3mm Walnut Plywoodcut	200 mm/min · 100% · 3× passes	—
Balsa Woodcut	—	250 mm/min · 80% · 2× passes
Bamboo 3mmcut	200 mm/min · 100% · 3× passes	—
Bamboocut	700 mm/min · 95–100% · 2× passes · air assist	700 mm/min · 95–100% · 2× passes · air assist
Basswoodcut	800 mm/min · 95% · 3× passes · air assist	800 mm/min · 95% · 3× passes · air assist
Cardboardcut	2500 mm/min · 60%	600 mm/min · 85%
Cardstockcut	4000 mm/min · 25%	3000 mm/min · 40%
Chipboard 2mmcut	500 mm/min · 95% · 2× passes	—
Cork 3mmcut	200 mm/min · 80% · 2× passes	400 mm/min · 90% · 2× passes
Corkcut	1500 mm/min · 85% · 2× passes	700 mm/min · 60–65% · 2× passes · air assist
Cotton Fabriccut	700 mm/min · 90%	—
Dark Papercut	—	1200 mm/min · 45%
Denim Fabriccut	600 mm/min · 95%	—
Feltcut	2500 mm/min · 60%	—
Genuine Leathercut	700 mm/min · 95–100% · 2× passes · air assist	600 mm/min · 80–85% · 2× passes · air assist
Kraft Papercut	450 mm/min · 70%	1500 mm/min · 35%
Leathercut	700 mm/min · 95–100% · 2× passes · air assist	700 mm/min · 95–100% · 2× passes · air assist
Maplecut	800 mm/min · 95–100% · 2× passes · air assist	700 mm/min · 95–100% · 2× passes · air assist
Plywoodcut	800 mm/min · 95% · 3× passes · air assist	800 mm/min · 95% · 3× passes · air assist
Walnutcut	800 mm/min · 95–100% · 2× passes · air assist	700 mm/min · 95–100% · 2× passes · air assist
3mm Baltic Birch Plywoodengrave	2500 mm/min · 40–45%	2500 mm/min · 40–45%
3mm Basswood Plywoodengrave	2500 mm/min · 40–45%	2500 mm/min · 65%
3mm Clear Acrylic (Cast)engrave	1800 mm/min	1500 mm/min
3mm Clear Acrylicengrave	2000 mm/min · 40–45%	2000 mm/min · 40–45%
3mm Maple Plywoodengrave	1100 mm/min	80 mm/min · 3× passes
3mm MDFengrave	2500 mm/min · 40–45%	2500 mm/min · 40–45%
3mm Mirrored Acrylicengrave	1700 mm/min	1400 mm/min
3mm Walnut Plywoodengrave	1200 mm/min · 55%	—
Anodized Aluminumengrave	2000 mm/min · 80%	1200 mm/min · 85%
Balsa Woodengrave	—	2000 mm/min · 30–35%
Bamboo 3mmengrave	1200 mm/min · 60%	—
Bamboo Cutting Boardengrave	2200 mm/min · 52%	—
Bambooengrave	2500 mm/min · 80%	2500 mm/min · 80%
Basswoodengrave	2500 mm/min · 40–45%	2500 mm/min · 40–45%
Cardboardengrave	7500 mm/min · 20–25%	—
Cardstockengrave	8000 mm/min · 15–20%	8000 mm/min · 15–20%
Ceramic Tileengrave	400 mm/min · 100%	—
Chipboard 2mmengrave	2000 mm/min · 50%	—
Coated Stainless Steel Tumblerengrave	2500 mm/min · 75%	2500 mm/min · 75%
Cork 3mmengrave	—	2000 mm/min · 50%
Corkengrave	3000 mm/min · 35%	2500 mm/min · 40%
Cotton Fabricengrave	2500 mm/min · 35%	—
Dark Paperengrave	—	3500 mm/min · 15–20%
Denim Fabricengrave	1800 mm/min · 48%	—
Faux Leatherengrave	2000 mm/min · 35%	—
Genuine Leather (Veg-Tan, ~3mm)engrave	170 mm/min · 60%	2000 mm/min · 55%
Genuine Leatherengrave	1800 mm/min · 40%	2000 mm/min · 55%
Glassengrave	120 mm/min · 80%	1500 mm/min · 80%
Kraft Paperengrave	2000 mm/min · 35%	4500 mm/min · 10–15%
Leatherengrave	2500 mm/min · 70%	2500 mm/min · 70%
Mapleengrave	3000 mm/min · 90–100% · 2× passes · air assist	2500 mm/min · 85–100% · 2× passes · air assist
Plywoodengrave	2500 mm/min · 40–45%	2500 mm/min · 40–45%
Rubber Stamp Materialengrave	800 mm/min · 80%	—
Slate (coaster)engrave	2500 mm/min · 85–100% · 2× passes	2000 mm/min · 90–100% · 2× passes
Slateengrave	1500 mm/min · 80%	1800 mm/min · 75%
Walnutengrave	3000 mm/min · 90–100% · 2× passes · air assist	2500 mm/min · 85–100% · 2× passes · air assist

All Glowforge Aura settings →All Longer Ray5 settings →

Ready to buy the Glowforge Aura?

Buy on Amazon →

Ready to buy the Longer Ray5?

Buy on Amazon →

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is better, the Glowforge Aura or Longer Ray5?

It depends on your use case. Glowforge Aura is 6W diode with 508×279mm bed. Longer Ray5 is 5W diode. See the decision guide and side-by-side specs above.

What materials can both the Glowforge Aura and Longer Ray5 cut or engrave?

Both machines have community-tested settings for 25 shared materials. The settings table above lists every material with side-by-side speed, power, passes, and air assist values for direct comparison.

Is the Glowforge Aura (6W) much faster than the Longer Ray5 (5W)?

Higher wattage typically means faster cutting and the ability to cut thicker material in fewer passes. The Glowforge Aura (6W) cuts thicker material in single passes and engraves at higher speeds than the Longer Ray5 (5W). For raster engraving the difference is smaller because surface engraving is limited by mechanical scan speed.

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Settings are community-contributed and may not reflect your exact machine configuration or material batch. Always test on scrap first. Some links are affiliate links — we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.

What Makers Say

★★★★★5.0· 6 reviews

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★★★★★

"Used it with a Glowforge — engraved beautifully with no changes. I will be purchasing more digital downloads from this shop."

— Anna

★★★★★

"I was struggling with lining up my NFC business cards. I was able to not only line them up much better but also do multiple cards at once — making that job so much easier."

— Camp

★★★★★

"Excellent quality and design. Cut clean and neat!"

— LYNN

★★★★★

"Great jigs. Appreciate the time saved not having to build this from scratch!"

— Bruce

★★★★★

"Excellent quality. Item as described. Expectations exceeded."

— Michael

★★★★★

"This template made my slate coasters so much easier. 4×4 coasters from Michaels drop in easily and are easy to remove. Def worth it."

— chris

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