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Longer Ray5 vs Glowforge Aura — Which Should You Buy?

Side-by-side specs, settings, and decision guide. Both have community-tested settings for 22 shared materials.

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.

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.

Which one should you buy?

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

Longer Ray5

Power
5W
Laser Type
diode
Software
LightBurn,LaserGRBL
Buy Longer Ray5 →

Glowforge Aura

Power
6W
Laser Type
diode
Work Area
508×279mm
Buy Glowforge Aura →
47 settings for Longer Ray557 settings for Glowforge Aura

Settings Comparison

Material · OperationLonger Ray5Glowforge Aura
3mm Baltic Birch Plywoodcut800 mm/min · 95% · 3× passes · air assist800 mm/min · 95% · 3× passes · air assist
3mm Basswood Plywoodcut80 mm/min · 100% · 6× passes1800 mm/min · 100% · 3× passes
3mm Clear Acryliccut400 mm/min · 95% · 4× passes400 mm/min · 95% · 4× passes
3mm MDFcut800 mm/min · 95% · 3× passes · air assist800 mm/min · 95% · 3× passes · air assist
3mm Walnut Plywoodcut—200 mm/min · 100% · 3× passes
Balsa Woodcut250 mm/min · 80% · 2× passes—
Bamboo 3mmcut—200 mm/min · 100% · 3× passes
Bamboocut700 mm/min · 95–100% · 2× passes · air assist700 mm/min · 95–100% · 2× passes · air assist
Basswoodcut800 mm/min · 95% · 3× passes · air assist800 mm/min · 95% · 3× passes · air assist
Cardboardcut600 mm/min · 85%2500 mm/min · 60%
Cardstockcut3000 mm/min · 40%4000 mm/min · 25%
Chipboard 2mmcut—500 mm/min · 95% · 2× passes
Cork 3mmcut400 mm/min · 90% · 2× passes200 mm/min · 80% · 2× passes
Corkcut700 mm/min · 60–65% · 2× passes · air assist1500 mm/min · 85% · 2× passes
Cotton Fabriccut—700 mm/min · 90%
Dark Papercut1200 mm/min · 45%—
Denim Fabriccut—600 mm/min · 95%
Feltcut—2500 mm/min · 60%
Genuine Leathercut600 mm/min · 80–85% · 2× passes · air assist700 mm/min · 95–100% · 2× passes · air assist
Kraft Papercut1500 mm/min · 35%450 mm/min · 70%
Leathercut700 mm/min · 95–100% · 2× passes · air assist700 mm/min · 95–100% · 2× passes · air assist
Maplecut700 mm/min · 95–100% · 2× passes · air assist800 mm/min · 95–100% · 2× passes · air assist
Plywoodcut800 mm/min · 95% · 3× passes · air assist800 mm/min · 95% · 3× passes · air assist
Walnutcut700 mm/min · 95–100% · 2× passes · air assist800 mm/min · 95–100% · 2× passes · air assist
3mm Baltic Birch Plywoodengrave2500 mm/min · 40–45%2500 mm/min · 40–45%
3mm Basswood Plywoodengrave2500 mm/min · 65%2500 mm/min · 40–45%
3mm Clear Acrylic (Cast)engrave1500 mm/min—
3mm Clear Acrylicengrave2000 mm/min · 40–45%2000 mm/min · 40–45%
3mm Maple Plywoodengrave80 mm/min · 3× passes—
3mm MDFengrave2500 mm/min · 40–45%2500 mm/min · 40–45%
3mm Mirrored Acrylicengrave1400 mm/min—
3mm Walnut Plywoodengrave—1200 mm/min · 55%
Anodized Aluminumengrave1200 mm/min · 85%2000 mm/min · 80%
Balsa Woodengrave2000 mm/min · 30–35%—
Bamboo 3mmengrave—1200 mm/min · 60%
Bamboo Cutting Boardengrave—2200 mm/min · 52%
Bambooengrave2500 mm/min · 80%2500 mm/min · 80%
Basswoodengrave2500 mm/min · 40–45%2500 mm/min · 40–45%
Cardboardengrave—7500 mm/min · 20–25%
Cardstockengrave8000 mm/min · 15–20%8000 mm/min · 15–20%
Ceramic Tileengrave—400 mm/min · 100%
Chipboard 2mmengrave—2000 mm/min · 50%
Coated Stainless Steel Tumblerengrave2500 mm/min · 75%2500 mm/min · 75%
Cork 3mmengrave2000 mm/min · 50%—
Corkengrave2500 mm/min · 40%3000 mm/min · 35%
Cotton Fabricengrave—2500 mm/min · 35%
Dark Paperengrave3500 mm/min · 15–20%—
Denim Fabricengrave—1800 mm/min · 48%
Faux Leatherengrave—2000 mm/min · 35%
Genuine Leather (Veg-Tan, ~3mm)engrave2000 mm/min · 55%170 mm/min · 60%
Genuine Leatherengrave2000 mm/min · 55%1800 mm/min · 40%
Glassengrave1500 mm/min · 80%120 mm/min · 80%
Kraft Paperengrave4500 mm/min · 10–15%2000 mm/min · 35%
Leatherengrave2500 mm/min · 70%2500 mm/min · 70%
Mapleengrave2500 mm/min · 85–100% · 2× passes · air assist3000 mm/min · 90–100% · 2× passes · air assist
Plywoodengrave2500 mm/min · 40–45%2500 mm/min · 40–45%
Rubber Stamp Materialengrave—800 mm/min · 80%
Slate (coaster)engrave2000 mm/min · 90–100% · 2× passes2500 mm/min · 85–100% · 2× passes
Slateengrave1800 mm/min · 75%1500 mm/min · 80%
Walnutengrave2500 mm/min · 85–100% · 2× passes · air assist3000 mm/min · 90–100% · 2× passes · air assist
All Longer Ray5 settings →All Glowforge Aura settings →

Ready to buy the Longer Ray5?

Buy on Amazon →

Ready to buy the Glowforge Aura?

Buy on Amazon →

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is better, the Longer Ray5 or Glowforge Aura?

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

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

Both machines have community-tested settings for 22 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
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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