Bonny Creations
Bonny Creations
Sign In
← All Machines

OMTech Polar+ 55W vs Glowforge Basic — Which Should You Buy?

Side-by-side specs, settings, and decision guide. Both have community-tested settings for 14 shared materials.

OMTech Polar+ 55W vs Glowforge Basic: $3,995 — prices as of 2026, check retailer for current pricing.

Which one should you buy?

Pick the OMTech Polar+ 55W if you want: more cutting power (55W vs 45W).

Where to buy

OMTech Polar+ 55W — check current price & availability

See current price →

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

Where to buy

Glowforge Basic — check current price & availability

See price on Amazon →

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

OMTech Polar+ 55W

Power
55W
Laser Type
co2
Buy OMTech Polar+ 55W →

Glowforge Basic

Price
$3,995
Power
45W
Laser Type
co2
Software
Glowforge App
Buy Glowforge Basic →
28 settings for OMTech Polar+ 55W142 settings for Glowforge Basic

Settings Comparison

Material · OperationOMTech Polar+ 55WGlowforge Basic
2mm Basswood Plywoodcut—25 mm/s · 35% · air assist
3mm Baltic Birch Plywoodcut—20 mm/s · 100% · air assist
3mm Basswood Plywoodcut—300 glowforge_units · 100%
3mm Black Acryliccut—20 mm/s · 60–70% · air assist
3mm Clear Acryliccut—500 glowforge_units · 100%
3mm MDFcut—28 mm/s · 65–75% · air assist
3mm Tinted Acryliccut—18 mm/s · 60% · air assist
3mm Walnut Plywoodcut22 mm/s · 58%18 mm/s · 100% · air assist
5mm Plywoodcut—9 mm/s · 60% · 2× passes · air assist
6mm Baltic Birch Plywoodcut17 mm/s · 75%—
6mm Clear Acryliccut—6 mm/s · 72% · 2× passes · air assist
6mm MDFcut15 mm/s · 78%10 mm/s · 100% · air assist
9mm Birch Plywoodcut—3 mm/s · 78% · 3× passes · air assist
Acrylic Feltcut—55 mm/s · 28%
Alder 3mmcut—20 mm/s · 55%
Bamboo 3mmcut33 mm/s · 70%20 mm/s · 55%
Bamboocut—120 mm/min · 100% · air assist
Basswoodcut—25 mm/s · 55–70% · air assist
Cardboard (corrugated, ~3–4mm)cut—85 mm/s · 42%
Cardboardcut—180 mm/s · 35%
Cardstock 300gsmcut—70 mm/s · 12%
Cardstock (80–110 lb / ~220–300 gsm)cut—110 mm/s · 18%
Cardstockcut—250 mm/s · 15%
Cedar 3mmcut—20 mm/s · 54%
Cherry 3mmcut—16 mm/s · 62%
Chipboard 2mmcut35 mm/s · 46%28 mm/s · 30%
Copy Paper 80gsmcut—100 mm/s · 12%
Cork 3mmcut—28 mm/s · 35% · air assist
Cork Sheet 3mmcut—22 mm/s · 40% · air assist
Corkcut—800 mm/min · 70–85% · 2× passes
Corrugated Cardboardcut—35 mm/s · 45%
Cotton Fabriccut58 mm/s · 26%45 mm/s · 20%
Craft Felt 3mmcut—40 mm/s · 18%
Denim Fabriccut48 mm/s · 36%40 mm/s · 25%
EVA Foam 3mmcut—35 mm/s · 22%
EVA Foam 6mmcut—45 mm/s · 32%
Faux Leathercut44 mm/s · 40%35 mm/s · 45% · air assist
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
Genuine Leathercut—8 mm/s · 60–65% · air assist
HTV Vinylcut—90 mm/s · 12%
Kraft Papercut145 mm/s · 8%280 mm/s · 12%
Leathercut—9 mm/s · 80–85% · air assist
Maplecut—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—22 mm/s · 60–70% · air assist
Rubber Stamp Blankcut—11 mm/s · 60–65% · air assist
Rubber Stamp Materialcut10 mm/s · 82%—
Walnutcut—12 mm/s · 65–75%
Washi Tapecut—160 mm/s · 7%
2mm Basswood Plywoodengrave—380 mm/s · 11%
3mm Baltic Birch Plywoodengrave—300 mm/s · 25–30%
3mm Basswood Plywoodengrave—1000 glowforge_units · 75%
3mm Black Acrylicengrave—350 mm/s · 18–25%
3mm Clear Acrylic (Cast)engrave470 mm/min440 mm/min
3mm Clear Acrylicengrave—1000 glowforge_units · 40%
3mm Maple Plywoodengrave410 mm/min400 mm/min
3mm MDFengrave—450 mm/s · 20–28%
3mm Mirrored Acrylicengrave450 mm/min420 mm/min
3mm Tinted Acrylicengrave—140 mm/s · 20%
3mm Walnut Plywoodengrave385 mm/s · 16%250 mm/s · 25–30%
5mm Plywoodengrave—140 mm/s · 20%
6mm Clear Acrylicengrave—120 mm/s · 22%
6mm MDFengrave—150 mm/s · 25–30%
9mm Birch Plywoodengrave—100 mm/s · 24%
Acrylic Feltengrave—500 mm/s · 5–10%
Anodized Aluminumengrave—300 mm/s · 40%
Bamboo 3mmengrave395 mm/s · 20%290 mm/s · 18%
Bamboo Cutting Boardengrave290 mm/s · 28%—
Bambooengrave—350 mm/s · 30%
Basswoodengrave—400 mm/s · 22–30%
Cardboardengrave—500 mm/s · 5–10%
Cardstock 300gsmengrave—500 mm/s · 5–8%
Cardstockengrave—400 mm/s · 8%
Ceramic Tileengrave290 mm/s · 52%180 mm/s · 65%
Cherry 3mmengrave—270 mm/s · 22%
Chipboard 2mmengrave430 mm/s · 16%400 mm/s · 15–20%
Coated / Powder Coated Steelengrave—300 mm/min · 48%
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%
Corrugated Cardboardengrave—500 mm/s · 10–15%
Cotton Fabricengrave500 mm/s · 9%280 mm/s · 16%
Denim Fabricengrave450 mm/s · 10%300 mm/s · 18%
EVA Foam 6mmengrave—500 mm/s · 5–10%
Faux Leatherengrave500 mm/s · 11%500 mm/s · 10–15%
Foam Board 5mmengrave—500 mm/s · 5–10%
Genuine Leather (Veg-Tan, ~3mm)engrave—300 mm/s · 14–20% · air assist
Genuine Leatherengrave—150 mm/s · 22%
Glassengrave—220 mm/s · 22%
HTV Vinylengrave—500 mm/s · 5–8%
Kraft Paperengrave500 mm/s · 8%500 mm/s · 5–8%
Leatherengrave—170 mm/s · 30% · air assist
Mapleengrave—250 mm/s · 20–25%
Marble Tileengrave100 mm/s · 45%210 mm/s · 35%
Mylar Stencil 7.5milengrave—500 mm/s · 5–8%
Oak 3mmengrave—260 mm/s · 22%
Paperengrave—500 mm/s · 5–8%
Photopolymer Stamp Blankengrave—120 mm/s · 45%
Pine 3mmengrave—270 mm/s · 20%
Plywoodengrave—450 mm/s · 22–30%
Powder Coated Steelengrave—300 mm/min · 48%
Rubber Stamp Blankengrave—200 mm/s · 22%
Rubber Stamp Materialengrave195 mm/s · 29%—
Slate (coaster)engrave—150 mm/s · 27–32%
Slateengrave—130 mm/s · 80%
Spray Painted Metalengrave—350 mm/min · 45%
Stainless Steelengrave260 mm/s · 53%200 mm/s · 65%
Walnutengrave—250 mm/s · 20–25%
Stainless Steelmark—170 mm/s · 75%
All OMTech Polar+ 55W settings →All Glowforge Basic settings →

Shopping for a OMTech Polar+ 55W? Check the current price.

See current price →

Shopping for a Glowforge Basic? Check the current price.

See price on Amazon →

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is better, the OMTech Polar+ 55W or Glowforge Basic?

It depends on your use case. OMTech Polar+ 55W is 55W co2. Glowforge Basic is 45W co2. See the decision guide and side-by-side specs above.

What materials can both the OMTech Polar+ 55W and Glowforge Basic cut or engrave?

Both machines have community-tested settings for 14 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 OMTech Polar+ 55W (55W) much faster than the Glowforge Basic (45W)?

Higher wattage typically means faster cutting and the ability to cut thicker material in fewer passes. The OMTech Polar+ 55W (55W) cuts thicker material in single passes and engraves at higher speeds than the Glowforge Basic (45W). For raster engraving the difference is smaller because surface engraving is limited by mechanical scan speed.

Popular Comparisons

xtool s1 vs glowforge proxtool s1 vs xtool p2omtech 40w co2 vs glowforge basicsculpfun s30 pro vs xtool s1commarker b4 vs jpt mopa 30w fiberxtool f1 vs commarker b4

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

Leave a review →