Glowforge Basic vs Monport 40W CO2 — Which Should You Buy?

Side-by-side specs, settings, and decision guide. Both have community-tested settings for 30 shared materials.

Glowforge Basic: $3,995 vs Monport 40W CO2: $599 — prices as of 2026, check retailer for current pricing.

Where to buy

Buy the Glowforge Basic — 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 Monport 40W CO2 — 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 Basic if you want: more cutting power (45W vs 40W).

Glowforge Basic

Price
$3,995

Power
45W

Laser Type
co2

Software

Glowforge App

Buy Glowforge Basic →

Monport 40W CO2

Price
$599

Power
40W

Laser Type
co2

Work Area
300×200mm

Buy Monport 40W CO2 →

89 settings for Glowforge Basic65 settings for Monport 40W CO2

Settings Comparison

Material · Operation	Glowforge Basic	Monport 40W CO2
3mm Baltic Birch Plywoodcut	20 mm/s · 100% · air assist	20 mm/s · 65% · air assist
3mm Basswood Plywoodcut	25 mm/s · 100% · air assist	20 mm/s · 40% · air assist
3mm Black Acryliccut	12 mm/s · 65%	—
3mm Clear Acryliccut	15 mm/s · 100% · air assist	12 mm/s · 55% · air assist
3mm MDFcut	133 mm/min · 100%	15 mm/s · 48% · air assist
3mm Walnut Plywoodcut	18 mm/s · 100% · air assist	20 mm/s · 68%
6mm Baltic Birch Plywoodcut	—	14 mm/s · 80%
6mm MDFcut	10 mm/s · 100% · air assist	12 mm/s · 85%
Acrylic Feltcut	55 mm/s · 28%	—
Alder 3mmcut	20 mm/s · 55%	—
Bamboo 3mmcut	20 mm/s · 55%	25 mm/s · 78%
Bamboo Cutting Boardcut	—	14 mm/s · 80–85% · air assist
Bamboocut	120 mm/min · 100% · air assist	300 mm/min · 80–85% · 2× passes · air assist
Basswoodcut	145 mm/min · 100% · air assist	20 mm/s · 60% · air assist
Cardboardcut	180 mm/s · 35%	35 mm/s · 45%
Cardstock 300gsmcut	70 mm/s · 12%	—
Cardstockcut	250 mm/s · 15%	45 mm/s · 25%
Cedar 3mmcut	20 mm/s · 54%	—
Cherry 3mmcut	16 mm/s · 62%	—
Chipboard 2mmcut	28 mm/s · 30%	28 mm/s · 50%
Copy Paper 80gsmcut	100 mm/s · 12%	—
Cork 3mmcut	28 mm/s · 35% · air assist	32 mm/s · 38%
Cork Sheet 3mmcut	22 mm/s · 40% · air assist	—
Corkcut	220 mm/min · 60%	25 mm/s · 55%
Corrugated Cardboardcut	35 mm/s · 45%	—
Cotton Fabriccut	45 mm/s · 20%	50 mm/s · 32%
Craft Felt 3mmcut	40 mm/s · 18%	—
Denim Fabriccut	40 mm/s · 25%	40 mm/s · 40%
EVA Foam 3mmcut	35 mm/s · 22%	—
EVA Foam 6mmcut	45 mm/s · 32%	—
Faux Leathercut	35 mm/s · 45% · air assist	35 mm/s · 45%
Foam Board 5mmcut	42 mm/s · 35%	—
Genuine Leather (Veg-Tan, ~3mm)cut	28 mm/s · 45–55% · air assist	28 mm/s · 45–55% · air assist
Genuine Leathercut	8 mm/s · 60–65% · air assist	11 mm/s · 70–75% · air assist
HTV Vinylcut	90 mm/s · 12%	—
Kraft Papercut	280 mm/s · 12%	120 mm/s · 8%
Leathercut	9 mm/s · 80–85% · air assist	10 mm/s · 55% · air assist
Maplecut	12 mm/s · 65–75%	12 mm/s · 65–75%
Mylar Stencil 7.5milcut	68 mm/s · 18%	—
Oak 3mmcut	14 mm/s · 70%	—
Papercut	300 mm/s · 10%	—
Pine 3mmcut	18 mm/s · 60%	—
Plywoodcut	125 mm/min · 100% · 2× passes · air assist	20 mm/s · 65% · air assist
Rubber Stamp Blankcut	11 mm/s · 60–65% · air assist	—
Rubber Stamp Materialcut	—	8 mm/s · 80–85% · air assist
Walnutcut	12 mm/s · 65–75%	12 mm/s · 65–75%
3mm Baltic Birch Plywoodengrave	300 mm/s · 25–30%	300 mm/s · 15–20%
3mm Basswood Plywoodengrave	130 mm/s · 40%	300 mm/s · 30%
3mm Clear Acrylic (Cast)engrave	—	420 mm/min
3mm Clear Acrylicengrave	500 mm/min · 40%	200 mm/s · 15–20%
3mm Maple Plywoodengrave	—	390 mm/min
3mm MDFengrave	2000 mm/min · 40–45%	250 mm/s · 10–15%
3mm Mirrored Acrylicengrave	—	400 mm/min
3mm Walnut Plywoodengrave	250 mm/s · 25–30%	380 mm/s · 18%
6mm MDFengrave	150 mm/s · 25–30%	—
Acrylic Feltengrave	500 mm/s · 5–10%	—
Anodized Aluminumengrave	500 mm/min · 100%	200 mm/s · 20% · air assist
Bamboo 3mmengrave	290 mm/s · 18%	380 mm/s · 22%
Bamboo Cutting Boardengrave	—	250 mm/s · 35%
Bambooengrave	—	300 mm/min · 55%
Basswoodengrave	—	300 mm/s · 15–20%
Cardboardengrave	500 mm/s · 5–10%	500 mm/s · 10–15%
Cardstock 300gsmengrave	500 mm/s · 5–8%	—
Cardstockengrave	400 mm/s · 8%	500 mm/s · 5–10%
Ceramic Tileengrave	—	250 mm/s · 55%
Cherry 3mmengrave	270 mm/s · 22%	—
Chipboard 2mmengrave	400 mm/s · 15–20%	400 mm/s · 18%
Coated Stainless Steel Tumblerengrave	—	280 mm/min · 50%
Copy Paper 80gsmengrave	500 mm/s · 5–8%	—
Cork 3mmengrave	400 mm/s · 5–10%	—
Cork Sheet 3mmengrave	280 mm/s · 14%	—
Corkengrave	—	400 mm/s · 15–20%
Corrugated Cardboardengrave	500 mm/s · 10–15%	—
Cotton Fabricengrave	280 mm/s · 16%	500 mm/s · 9%
Denim Fabricengrave	300 mm/s · 18%	420 mm/s · 12%
EVA Foam 6mmengrave	500 mm/s · 5–10%	—
Faux Leatherengrave	500 mm/s · 10–15%	500 mm/s · 12%
Foam Board 5mmengrave	500 mm/s · 5–10%	—
Genuine Leather (Veg-Tan, ~3mm)engrave	300 mm/s · 14–20% · air assist	300 mm/s · 14–20% · air assist
Genuine Leatherengrave	150 mm/s · 22%	200 mm/s · 25%
Glassengrave	350 mm/s · 10–14%	350 mm/s · 10–14%
HTV Vinylengrave	500 mm/s · 5–8%	—
Kraft Paperengrave	500 mm/s · 5–8%	500 mm/s · 8%
Leatherengrave	170 mm/s · 30% · air assist	150 mm/s · 15–20%
Mapleengrave	250 mm/s · 20–25%	250 mm/s · 20–25%
Marble Tileengrave	80 mm/s · 55%	75 mm/s · 50%
Mylar Stencil 7.5milengrave	500 mm/s · 5–8%	—
Oak 3mmengrave	260 mm/s · 22%	—
Paperengrave	500 mm/s · 5–8%	—
Pine 3mmengrave	270 mm/s · 20%	—
Plywoodengrave	—	300 mm/s · 15–20%
Rubber Stamp Blankengrave	200 mm/s · 22%	—
Rubber Stamp Materialengrave	—	150 mm/s · 50%
Slate (coaster)engrave	350 mm/s · 15–22%	350 mm/s · 15–22%
Slateengrave	130 mm/s · 80%	250 mm/s · 65%
Stainless Steelengrave	200 mm/s · 65%	220 mm/s · 58%
Walnutengrave	250 mm/s · 20–25%	250 mm/s · 20–25%

All Glowforge Basic settings →All Monport 40W CO2 settings →

Ready to buy the Glowforge Basic?

Buy on Amazon →

Ready to buy the Monport 40W CO2?

Buy on Amazon →

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is better, the Glowforge Basic or Monport 40W CO2?

It depends on your use case. Glowforge Basic is 45W co2. Monport 40W CO2 is 40W co2 with 300×200mm bed. See the decision guide and side-by-side specs above.

What materials can both the Glowforge Basic and Monport 40W CO2 cut or engrave?

Both machines have community-tested settings for 30 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 Basic (45W) much faster than the Monport 40W CO2 (40W)?

Higher wattage typically means faster cutting and the ability to cut thicker material in fewer passes. The Glowforge Basic (45W) cuts thicker material in single passes and engraves at higher speeds than the Monport 40W CO2 (40W). 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

View all on Etsy →

★★★★★

"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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