Glowforge Basic vs OMTech Polar — Which Should You Buy?

Side-by-side specs, settings, and decision guide. Both have community-tested settings for 43 shared materials.

Glowforge Basic: $3,995 vs OMTech Polar: $1,499 — 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 OMTech Polar — 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 30W).

Glowforge Basic

Price
$3,995

Power
45W

Laser Type
co2

Software

Glowforge App

Buy Glowforge Basic →

OMTech Polar

Price
$1,499

Power
30W

Laser Type
co2

Buy OMTech Polar →

142 settings for Glowforge Basic80 settings for OMTech Polar

Settings Comparison

Material · Operation	Glowforge Basic	OMTech Polar
2mm Basswood Plywoodcut	25 mm/s · 35% · air assist	22 mm/s · 38% · air assist
3mm Baltic Birch Plywoodcut	20 mm/s · 100% · air assist	18 mm/s · 72% · air assist
3mm Basswood Plywoodcut	300 glowforge_units · 100%	20 mm/s · 70% · air assist
3mm Black Acryliccut	20 mm/s · 60–70% · air assist	—
3mm Clear Acryliccut	500 glowforge_units · 100%	12 mm/s · 75% · air assist
3mm MDFcut	28 mm/s · 65–75% · air assist	15 mm/s · 70% · air assist
3mm Tinted Acryliccut	18 mm/s · 60% · air assist	14 mm/s · 68% · air assist
3mm Walnut Plywoodcut	18 mm/s · 100% · air assist	14 mm/s · 78% · air assist
5mm Plywoodcut	9 mm/s · 60% · 2× passes · air assist	7 mm/s · 72% · 2× passes · air assist
6mm Baltic Birch Plywoodcut	—	8 mm/s · 88% · 2× passes
6mm Clear Acryliccut	6 mm/s · 72% · 2× passes · air assist	4 mm/s · 80% · 2× passes · air assist
6mm MDFcut	10 mm/s · 100% · air assist	12 mm/s · 80% · air assist
9mm Birch Plywoodcut	3 mm/s · 78% · 3× passes · air assist	2.5 mm/s · 85% · 4× passes · air assist
Acrylic Feltcut	55 mm/s · 28%	—
Alder 3mmcut	20 mm/s · 55%	—
Bamboo 3mmcut	20 mm/s · 55%	18 mm/s · 82%
Bamboocut	120 mm/min · 100% · air assist	300 mm/min · 90–95% · 2× passes · air assist
Basswoodcut	25 mm/s · 55–70% · air assist	15 mm/s · 70% · air assist
Cardboard (corrugated, ~3–4mm)cut	85 mm/s · 42%	—
Cardboardcut	180 mm/s · 35%	80 mm/s · 30%
Cardstock 300gsmcut	70 mm/s · 12%	—
Cardstock (80–110 lb / ~220–300 gsm)cut	110 mm/s · 18%	—
Cardstockcut	250 mm/s · 15%	80 mm/s · 15%
Cedar 3mmcut	20 mm/s · 54%	—
Cherry 3mmcut	16 mm/s · 62%	—
Chipboard 2mmcut	28 mm/s · 30%	22 mm/s · 48%
Copy Paper 80gsmcut	100 mm/s · 12%	—
Cork 3mmcut	28 mm/s · 35% · air assist	35 mm/s · 38%
Cork Sheet 3mmcut	22 mm/s · 40% · air assist	—
Corkcut	800 mm/min · 70–85% · 2× passes	20 mm/s · 60%
Corrugated Cardboardcut	35 mm/s · 45%	—
Cotton Fabriccut	45 mm/s · 20%	40 mm/s · 38%
Craft Felt 3mmcut	40 mm/s · 18%	—
Denim Fabriccut	40 mm/s · 25%	30 mm/s · 45%
EVA Foam 3mmcut	35 mm/s · 22%	—
EVA Foam 6mmcut	45 mm/s · 32%	—
Faux Leathercut	35 mm/s · 45% · air assist	28 mm/s · 52%
Foam Board 5mmcut	42 mm/s · 35%	—
Foamcut	55 mm/s · 14%	—
Genuine Leather (Veg-Tan, ~3mm)cut	28 mm/s · 45–55% · air assist	20 mm/s · 55–65% · air assist
Genuine Leathercut	8 mm/s · 60–65% · air assist	19 mm/s · 50–55% · air assist
HTV Vinylcut	90 mm/s · 12%	—
Kraft Papercut	280 mm/s · 12%	100 mm/s · 20%
Leathercut	9 mm/s · 80–85% · air assist	300 mm/min · 75–80% · 2× passes · air assist
Maplecut	12 mm/s · 65–75%	8 mm/s · 75–80% · 2× passes
Mylar Stencil 7.5milcut	68 mm/s · 18%	—
Oak 3mmcut	14 mm/s · 70%	—
Papercut	300 mm/s · 10%	100 mm/s · 12%
Pine 3mmcut	18 mm/s · 60%	—
Plywoodcut	22 mm/s · 60–70% · air assist	15 mm/s · 70% · air assist
Rubber Stamp Blankcut	11 mm/s · 60–65% · air assist	—
Rubber Stamp Materialcut	—	8 mm/s · 80%
Walnutcut	12 mm/s · 65–75%	8 mm/s · 75–80% · 2× passes
Washi Tapecut	160 mm/s · 7%	—
2mm Basswood Plywoodengrave	380 mm/s · 11%	350 mm/s · 12%
3mm Baltic Birch Plywoodengrave	300 mm/s · 25–30%	350 mm/s · 22%
3mm Basswood Plywoodengrave	1000 glowforge_units · 75%	300 mm/s · 20%
3mm Black Acrylicengrave	350 mm/s · 18–25%	—
3mm Clear Acrylic (Cast)engrave	440 mm/min	380 mm/min
3mm Clear Acrylicengrave	1000 glowforge_units · 40%	350 mm/s · 15%
3mm Maple Plywoodengrave	400 mm/min	350 mm/min
3mm MDFengrave	450 mm/s · 20–28%	250 mm/s · 15–20%
3mm Mirrored Acrylicengrave	420 mm/min	350 mm/min
3mm Tinted Acrylicengrave	140 mm/s · 20%	120 mm/s · 22%
3mm Walnut Plywoodengrave	250 mm/s · 25–30%	200 mm/s · 20–25%
5mm Plywoodengrave	140 mm/s · 20%	120 mm/s · 24%
6mm Clear Acrylicengrave	120 mm/s · 22%	80 mm/s · 28%
6mm MDFengrave	150 mm/s · 25–30%	200 mm/s · 20–25%
9mm Birch Plywoodengrave	100 mm/s · 24%	100 mm/s · 25%
Acrylic Feltengrave	500 mm/s · 5–10%	—
Anodized Aluminumengrave	300 mm/s · 40%	150 mm/min · 85%
Bamboo 3mmengrave	290 mm/s · 18%	350 mm/s · 22%
Bamboo Cutting Boardengrave	—	200 mm/s · 28%
Bambooengrave	350 mm/s · 30%	250 mm/min · 60%
Basswoodengrave	400 mm/s · 22–30%	250 mm/s · 15–20%
Cardboardengrave	500 mm/s · 5–10%	500 mm/s · 5–10%
Cardstock 300gsmengrave	500 mm/s · 5–8%	—
Cardstockengrave	400 mm/s · 8%	500 mm/s · 5–8%
Ceramic Tileengrave	180 mm/s · 65%	200 mm/s · 55%
Cherry 3mmengrave	270 mm/s · 22%	—
Chipboard 2mmengrave	400 mm/s · 15–20%	380 mm/s · 18%
Coated / Powder Coated Steelengrave	300 mm/min · 48%	—
Coated Stainless Steel Tumblerengrave	—	230 mm/min · 55%
Copy Paper 80gsmengrave	500 mm/s · 5–8%	—
Cork 3mmengrave	400 mm/s · 5–10%	—
Cork Sheet 3mmengrave	280 mm/s · 14%	—
Corkengrave	4000 mm/min · 35–45%	300 mm/s · 15–20%
Corrugated Cardboardengrave	500 mm/s · 10–15%	—
Cotton Fabricengrave	280 mm/s · 16%	500 mm/s · 10%
Denim Fabricengrave	300 mm/s · 18%	400 mm/s · 12%
EVA Foam 6mmengrave	500 mm/s · 5–10%	—
Faux Leatherengrave	500 mm/s · 10–15%	400 mm/s · 12%
Foam Board 5mmengrave	500 mm/s · 5–10%	—
Genuine Leather (Veg-Tan, ~3mm)engrave	300 mm/s · 14–20% · air assist	250 mm/s · 18–25% · air assist
Genuine Leatherengrave	150 mm/s · 22%	350 mm/s · 18%
Glassengrave	220 mm/s · 22%	300 mm/s · 12–18%
HTV Vinylengrave	500 mm/s · 5–8%	—
Kraft Paperengrave	500 mm/s · 5–8%	500 mm/s · 5–8%
Leatherengrave	170 mm/s · 30% · air assist	200 mm/min · 50%
Mapleengrave	250 mm/s · 20–25%	200 mm/s · 25–30%
Marble Tileengrave	210 mm/s · 35%	60 mm/s · 55%
Mylar Stencil 7.5milengrave	500 mm/s · 5–8%	—
Oak 3mmengrave	260 mm/s · 22%	—
Paperengrave	500 mm/s · 5–8%	500 mm/s · 5–8%
Photopolymer Stamp Blankengrave	120 mm/s · 45%	100 mm/s · 48%
Pine 3mmengrave	270 mm/s · 20%	—
Plywoodengrave	450 mm/s · 22–30%	250 mm/s · 15–20%
Powder Coated Steelengrave	300 mm/min · 48%	250 mm/min · 55%
Rubber Stamp Blankengrave	200 mm/s · 22%	—
Rubber Stamp Materialengrave	—	150 mm/s · 28%
Slate (coaster)engrave	150 mm/s · 27–32%	300 mm/s · 20–28%
Slateengrave	130 mm/s · 80%	300 mm/s · 60%
Spray Painted Metalengrave	350 mm/min · 45%	280 mm/min · 50%
Stainless Steelengrave	200 mm/s · 65%	180 mm/s · 62%
Walnutengrave	250 mm/s · 20–25%	200 mm/s · 25–30%
Stainless Steelmark	170 mm/s · 75%	—

All Glowforge Basic settings →All OMTech Polar settings →

Ready to buy the Glowforge Basic?

Buy on Amazon →

Ready to buy the OMTech Polar?

Buy on Amazon →

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is better, the Glowforge Basic or OMTech Polar?

It depends on your use case. Glowforge Basic is 45W co2. OMTech Polar is 30W co2. See the decision guide and side-by-side specs above.

What materials can both the Glowforge Basic and OMTech Polar cut or engrave?

Both machines have community-tested settings for 43 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 OMTech Polar (30W)?

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 OMTech Polar (30W). 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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