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OMTech Polar vs Glowforge Basic — Which Should You Buy?

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

OMTech Polar: $1,499 vs Glowforge Basic: $3,995 — prices as of 2026, check retailer for current pricing.

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.

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.

Which one should you buy?

Pick the Glowforge Basic if you want: more cutting power (45W vs 30W).

OMTech Polar

Price
$1,499
Power
30W
Laser Type
co2
Buy OMTech Polar →

Glowforge Basic

Price
$3,995
Power
45W
Laser Type
co2
Software
Glowforge App
Buy Glowforge Basic →
80 settings for OMTech Polar142 settings for Glowforge Basic

Settings Comparison

Material · OperationOMTech PolarGlowforge Basic
2mm Basswood Plywoodcut22 mm/s · 38% · air assist25 mm/s · 35% · air assist
3mm Baltic Birch Plywoodcut18 mm/s · 72% · air assist20 mm/s · 100% · air assist
3mm Basswood Plywoodcut20 mm/s · 70% · air assist300 glowforge_units · 100%
3mm Black Acryliccut—20 mm/s · 60–70% · air assist
3mm Clear Acryliccut12 mm/s · 75% · air assist500 glowforge_units · 100%
3mm MDFcut15 mm/s · 70% · air assist28 mm/s · 65–75% · air assist
3mm Tinted Acryliccut14 mm/s · 68% · air assist18 mm/s · 60% · air assist
3mm Walnut Plywoodcut14 mm/s · 78% · air assist18 mm/s · 100% · air assist
5mm Plywoodcut7 mm/s · 72% · 2× passes · air assist9 mm/s · 60% · 2× passes · air assist
6mm Baltic Birch Plywoodcut8 mm/s · 88% · 2× passes—
6mm Clear Acryliccut4 mm/s · 80% · 2× passes · air assist6 mm/s · 72% · 2× passes · air assist
6mm MDFcut12 mm/s · 80% · air assist10 mm/s · 100% · air assist
9mm Birch Plywoodcut2.5 mm/s · 85% · 4× passes · air assist3 mm/s · 78% · 3× passes · air assist
Acrylic Feltcut—55 mm/s · 28%
Alder 3mmcut—20 mm/s · 55%
Bamboo 3mmcut18 mm/s · 82%20 mm/s · 55%
Bamboocut300 mm/min · 90–95% · 2× passes · air assist120 mm/min · 100% · air assist
Basswoodcut15 mm/s · 70% · air assist25 mm/s · 55–70% · air assist
Cardboard (corrugated, ~3–4mm)cut—85 mm/s · 42%
Cardboardcut80 mm/s · 30%180 mm/s · 35%
Cardstock 300gsmcut—70 mm/s · 12%
Cardstock (80–110 lb / ~220–300 gsm)cut—110 mm/s · 18%
Cardstockcut80 mm/s · 15%250 mm/s · 15%
Cedar 3mmcut—20 mm/s · 54%
Cherry 3mmcut—16 mm/s · 62%
Chipboard 2mmcut22 mm/s · 48%28 mm/s · 30%
Copy Paper 80gsmcut—100 mm/s · 12%
Cork 3mmcut35 mm/s · 38%28 mm/s · 35% · air assist
Cork Sheet 3mmcut—22 mm/s · 40% · air assist
Corkcut20 mm/s · 60%800 mm/min · 70–85% · 2× passes
Corrugated Cardboardcut—35 mm/s · 45%
Cotton Fabriccut40 mm/s · 38%45 mm/s · 20%
Craft Felt 3mmcut—40 mm/s · 18%
Denim Fabriccut30 mm/s · 45%40 mm/s · 25%
EVA Foam 3mmcut—35 mm/s · 22%
EVA Foam 6mmcut—45 mm/s · 32%
Faux Leathercut28 mm/s · 52%35 mm/s · 45% · air assist
Foam Board 5mmcut—42 mm/s · 35%
Foamcut—55 mm/s · 14%
Genuine Leather (Veg-Tan, ~3mm)cut20 mm/s · 55–65% · air assist28 mm/s · 45–55% · air assist
Genuine Leathercut19 mm/s · 50–55% · air assist8 mm/s · 60–65% · air assist
HTV Vinylcut—90 mm/s · 12%
Kraft Papercut100 mm/s · 20%280 mm/s · 12%
Leathercut300 mm/min · 75–80% · 2× passes · air assist9 mm/s · 80–85% · air assist
Maplecut8 mm/s · 75–80% · 2× passes12 mm/s · 65–75%
Mylar Stencil 7.5milcut—68 mm/s · 18%
Oak 3mmcut—14 mm/s · 70%
Papercut100 mm/s · 12%300 mm/s · 10%
Pine 3mmcut—18 mm/s · 60%
Plywoodcut15 mm/s · 70% · air assist22 mm/s · 60–70% · air assist
Rubber Stamp Blankcut—11 mm/s · 60–65% · air assist
Rubber Stamp Materialcut8 mm/s · 80%—
Walnutcut8 mm/s · 75–80% · 2× passes12 mm/s · 65–75%
Washi Tapecut—160 mm/s · 7%
2mm Basswood Plywoodengrave350 mm/s · 12%380 mm/s · 11%
3mm Baltic Birch Plywoodengrave350 mm/s · 22%300 mm/s · 25–30%
3mm Basswood Plywoodengrave300 mm/s · 20%1000 glowforge_units · 75%
3mm Black Acrylicengrave—350 mm/s · 18–25%
3mm Clear Acrylic (Cast)engrave380 mm/min440 mm/min
3mm Clear Acrylicengrave350 mm/s · 15%1000 glowforge_units · 40%
3mm Maple Plywoodengrave350 mm/min400 mm/min
3mm MDFengrave250 mm/s · 15–20%450 mm/s · 20–28%
3mm Mirrored Acrylicengrave350 mm/min420 mm/min
3mm Tinted Acrylicengrave120 mm/s · 22%140 mm/s · 20%
3mm Walnut Plywoodengrave200 mm/s · 20–25%250 mm/s · 25–30%
5mm Plywoodengrave120 mm/s · 24%140 mm/s · 20%
6mm Clear Acrylicengrave80 mm/s · 28%120 mm/s · 22%
6mm MDFengrave200 mm/s · 20–25%150 mm/s · 25–30%
9mm Birch Plywoodengrave100 mm/s · 25%100 mm/s · 24%
Acrylic Feltengrave—500 mm/s · 5–10%
Anodized Aluminumengrave150 mm/min · 85%300 mm/s · 40%
Bamboo 3mmengrave350 mm/s · 22%290 mm/s · 18%
Bamboo Cutting Boardengrave200 mm/s · 28%—
Bambooengrave250 mm/min · 60%350 mm/s · 30%
Basswoodengrave250 mm/s · 15–20%400 mm/s · 22–30%
Cardboardengrave500 mm/s · 5–10%500 mm/s · 5–10%
Cardstock 300gsmengrave—500 mm/s · 5–8%
Cardstockengrave500 mm/s · 5–8%400 mm/s · 8%
Ceramic Tileengrave200 mm/s · 55%180 mm/s · 65%
Cherry 3mmengrave—270 mm/s · 22%
Chipboard 2mmengrave380 mm/s · 18%400 mm/s · 15–20%
Coated / Powder Coated Steelengrave—300 mm/min · 48%
Coated Stainless Steel Tumblerengrave230 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%
Corkengrave300 mm/s · 15–20%4000 mm/min · 35–45%
Corrugated Cardboardengrave—500 mm/s · 10–15%
Cotton Fabricengrave500 mm/s · 10%280 mm/s · 16%
Denim Fabricengrave400 mm/s · 12%300 mm/s · 18%
EVA Foam 6mmengrave—500 mm/s · 5–10%
Faux Leatherengrave400 mm/s · 12%500 mm/s · 10–15%
Foam Board 5mmengrave—500 mm/s · 5–10%
Genuine Leather (Veg-Tan, ~3mm)engrave250 mm/s · 18–25% · air assist300 mm/s · 14–20% · air assist
Genuine Leatherengrave350 mm/s · 18%150 mm/s · 22%
Glassengrave300 mm/s · 12–18%220 mm/s · 22%
HTV Vinylengrave—500 mm/s · 5–8%
Kraft Paperengrave500 mm/s · 5–8%500 mm/s · 5–8%
Leatherengrave200 mm/min · 50%170 mm/s · 30% · air assist
Mapleengrave200 mm/s · 25–30%250 mm/s · 20–25%
Marble Tileengrave60 mm/s · 55%210 mm/s · 35%
Mylar Stencil 7.5milengrave—500 mm/s · 5–8%
Oak 3mmengrave—260 mm/s · 22%
Paperengrave500 mm/s · 5–8%500 mm/s · 5–8%
Photopolymer Stamp Blankengrave100 mm/s · 48%120 mm/s · 45%
Pine 3mmengrave—270 mm/s · 20%
Plywoodengrave250 mm/s · 15–20%450 mm/s · 22–30%
Powder Coated Steelengrave250 mm/min · 55%300 mm/min · 48%
Rubber Stamp Blankengrave—200 mm/s · 22%
Rubber Stamp Materialengrave150 mm/s · 28%—
Slate (coaster)engrave300 mm/s · 20–28%150 mm/s · 27–32%
Slateengrave300 mm/s · 60%130 mm/s · 80%
Spray Painted Metalengrave280 mm/min · 50%350 mm/min · 45%
Stainless Steelengrave180 mm/s · 62%200 mm/s · 65%
Walnutengrave200 mm/s · 25–30%250 mm/s · 20–25%
Stainless Steelmark—170 mm/s · 75%
All OMTech Polar settings →All Glowforge Basic settings →

Ready to buy the OMTech Polar?

Buy on Amazon →

Ready to buy the Glowforge Basic?

Buy on Amazon →

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is better, the OMTech Polar or Glowforge Basic?

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

What materials can both the OMTech Polar and Glowforge Basic 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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