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OMTech Polar+ 55W vs Glowforge Pro — 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 Pro: $7,999 — prices as of 2026, check retailer for current pricing.

Considering this machine?

See the latest price for the Glowforge Pro

Check Price →

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

Which one should you buy?

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

OMTech Polar+ 55W

Power
55W
Laser Type
co2
Glowforge Pro

Glowforge Pro

Price
$7,999
Power
45W
Laser Type
co2
Software
Glowforge App
Buy Glowforge Pro →
28 settings for OMTech Polar+ 55W118 settings for Glowforge Pro

Settings Comparison

Material · OperationOMTech Polar+ 55WGlowforge Pro
3mm Baltic Birch Plywoodcut—25 mm/s · 100% · air assist
3mm Basswood Plywoodcut—30 mm/s · 100% · air assist
3mm Black Acryliccut—15 mm/s · 60%
3mm Clear Acryliccut—20 mm/s · 100% · air assist
3mm Coloured Acryliccut—15 mm/s · 60%
3mm MDFcut—155 mm/min · 100% · air assist
3mm Walnut Plywoodcut22 mm/s · 58%22 mm/s · 100% · air assist
6mm Baltic Birch Plywoodcut17 mm/s · 75%168 glowforge_units · 100%
6mm MDFcut15 mm/s · 78%12 mm/s · 100% · air assist
Acrylic Feltcut—65 mm/s · 22%
Acryliccut—150 mm/s · 80% · air assist
Alder 3mmcut—24 mm/s · 50%
Aldercut—300 mm/min · 80–85% · 2× passes · air assist
Bamboo 3mmcut33 mm/s · 70%25 mm/s · 50%
Bamboocut—300 mm/min · 90–95% · 2× passes · air assist
Basswoodcut—170 mm/min · 100% · air assist
Cardboardcut—200 mm/s · 40%
Cardstock 300gsmcut—80 mm/s · 10%
Cardstockcut—250 mm/s · 12%
Cedar 3mmcut—24 mm/s · 48%
Cedarcut—338 mm/min · 90% · air assist
Cherry 3mmcut—20 mm/s · 58%
Cherrycut—203 mm/min · 100% · air assist
Chipboard 2mmcut35 mm/s · 46%32 mm/s · 28%
Copy Paper 80gsmcut—120 mm/s · 10%
Cork 3mmcut—34 mm/s · 28% · air assist
Cork Sheet 3mmcut—28 mm/s · 35% · air assist
Corkcut—250 mm/min · 55%
Corrugated Cardboardcut—42 mm/s · 36%
Cotton Fabriccut58 mm/s · 26%55 mm/s · 18%
Craft Felt 3mmcut—50 mm/s · 15%
Denim Fabriccut48 mm/s · 36%48 mm/s · 22%
EVA Foam 3mmcut—40 mm/s · 20%
EVA Foam 6mmcut—55 mm/s · 26%
Faux Leathercut44 mm/s · 40%42 mm/s · 38% · air assist
Foam Board 5mmcut—50 mm/s · 28%
Genuine Leather (Veg-Tan, ~3mm)cut—32 mm/s · 42–50% · air assist
Genuine Leathercut—25 mm/s · 80%
HTV Vinylcut—105 mm/s · 9%
Kraft Papercut145 mm/s · 8%300 mm/s · 15%
Leathercut—170 mm/min · 100% · air assist
Maplecut—15 mm/s · 60–70%
Mylar Stencil 7.5milcut—80 mm/s · 14%
Oak 3mmcut—18 mm/s · 65%
Oakcut—169 mm/min · 100% · 2× passes · air assist
Papercut—300 mm/s · 8%
Pine 3mmcut—22 mm/s · 55%
Pinecut—304 mm/min · 100% · air assist
Plywoodcut—200 mm/s · 75% · air assist
Rubber Stamp Blankcut—13 mm/s · 50–55% · air assist
Rubber Stamp Materialcut10 mm/s · 82%—
Walnutcut—15 mm/s · 60–70%
3mm Baltic Birch Plywoodengrave—400 mm/s · 25–30%
3mm Basswood Plywoodengrave—150 mm/s · 40%
3mm Clear Acrylic (Cast)engrave470 mm/min440 mm/min
3mm Clear Acrylicengrave—200 mm/s · 20%
3mm Maple Plywoodengrave410 mm/min400 mm/min
3mm Mirrored Acrylicengrave450 mm/min420 mm/min
3mm Walnut Plywoodengrave385 mm/s · 16%350 mm/s · 25–30%
6mm Baltic Birch Plywoodengrave—2000 mm/min · 40–45%
6mm MDFengrave—200 mm/s · 25–30%
Acrylic Feltengrave—500 mm/s · 5–8%
Acrylicengrave—500 mm/s · 20–25%
Alderengrave—371 mm/min · 52%
Anodized Aluminumengrave—500 mm/min · 100%
Bamboo 3mmengrave395 mm/s · 20%330 mm/s · 15%
Bamboo Cutting Boardengrave290 mm/s · 28%—
Bambooengrave—338 mm/min · 60%
Cardboardengrave—500 mm/s · 10–15%
Cardstock 300gsmengrave—500 mm/s · 5–8%
Cardstockengrave—400 mm/s · 6%
Cedarengrave—405 mm/min · 45%
Ceramic Tileengrave290 mm/s · 52%—
Cherry 3mmengrave—310 mm/s · 18%
Cherryengrave—371 mm/min · 55%
Chipboard 2mmengrave430 mm/s · 16%—
Copy Paper 80gsmengrave—500 mm/s · 5–8%
Cork 3mmengrave—500 mm/s · 5–10%
Cork Sheet 3mmengrave—320 mm/s · 12%
Corrugated Cardboardengrave—500 mm/s · 5–10%
Cotton Fabricengrave500 mm/s · 9%330 mm/s · 13%
Craft Felt 3mmengrave—2500 mm/min · 10–15%
Denim Fabricengrave450 mm/s · 10%350 mm/s · 14%
EVA Foam 3mmengrave—2000 mm/min · 10–15%
EVA Foam 6mmengrave—500 mm/s · 5–10%
Faux Leatherengrave500 mm/s · 11%500 mm/s · 5–10%
Foam Board 5mmengrave—500 mm/s · 5–10%
Genuine Leather (Veg-Tan, ~3mm)engrave—320 mm/s · 12–18% · air assist
Genuine Leatherengrave—800 glowforge_units · 55%
Glassengrave—380 mm/s · 8–12%
HTV Vinylengrave—500 mm/s · 5–8%
Kraft Paperengrave500 mm/s · 8%500 mm/s · 5–8%
Leatherengrave—170 mm/min · 60%
Mapleengrave—270 mm/s · 18–23%
Marble Tileengrave100 mm/s · 45%95 mm/s · 48%
Mylar Stencil 7.5milengrave—500 mm/s · 5–8%
Oak 3mmengrave—300 mm/s · 20%
Oakengrave—338 mm/min · 60%
Paperengrave—500 mm/s · 5–8%
Pine 3mmengrave—300 mm/s · 17%
Pineengrave—405 mm/min · 50%
Plywoodengrave—500 mm/s · 20–25%
Rubber Stamp Blankengrave—240 mm/s · 18%
Rubber Stamp Materialengrave195 mm/s · 29%—
Slate (coaster)engrave—380 mm/s · 13–18%
Slateengrave—1000 glowforge_units · 80%
Stainless Steelengrave260 mm/s · 53%240 mm/s · 58%
Walnutengrave—270 mm/s · 18–23%
All OMTech Polar+ 55W settings →All Glowforge Pro settings →

Frequently Asked Questions

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

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

What materials can both the OMTech Polar+ 55W and Glowforge Pro 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 Pro (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 Pro (45W). 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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