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xTool S1 40W vs Glowforge Pro — Which Should You Buy?

Side-by-side specs, settings, and decision guide. Both have community-tested settings for 17 shared materials.

xTool S1 40W vs Glowforge Pro: $7,999 — prices as of 2026, check retailer for current pricing.

Which one should you buy?

Pick the xTool S1 40W if you want: a more affordable price point; native LightBurn support (industry-standard).

Pick the Glowforge Pro if you want: more cutting power (45W vs 40W); CO₂ — cuts clear acrylic and engraves glass; diode lasers can't.

Where to buy

xTool S1 40W — check current price & availability

See price on Amazon →

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

Where to buy

Glowforge Pro — check current price & availability

See price on Amazon →

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

xTool S1 40W

Power
40W
Laser Type
diode
Work Area
498×319mm
Software
xTool Creative SpaceLightBurn
Buy xTool S1 40W →
Glowforge Pro

Glowforge Pro

Price
$7,999
Power
45W
Laser Type
co2
Software
Glowforge App
Buy Glowforge Pro →
36 settings for xTool S1 40W158 settings for Glowforge Pro

Settings Comparison

Material · OperationxTool S1 40WGlowforge Pro
2mm Basswood Plywoodcut1200 mm/min · 100% · air assist25 mm/s · 35% · air assist
3mm Baltic Birch Plywoodcut900 mm/min · 100% · air assist25 mm/s · 100% · air assist
3mm Basswood Plywoodcut900 mm/min · 100% · air assist30 mm/s · 100% · air assist
3mm Black Acryliccut600 mm/min · 100% · 2× passes · air assist25 mm/s · 60–70% · air assist
3mm Clear Acryliccut600 mm/min · 100% · 2× passes · air assist20 mm/s · 100% · air assist
3mm Coloured Acryliccut—15 mm/s · 60%
3mm MDFcut600 mm/min · 100% · air assist35 mm/s · 65–75% · air assist
3mm Mirrored Acryliccut600 mm/min · 100% · 2× passes · air assist—
3mm Tinted Acryliccut—18 mm/s · 60% · air assist
3mm Walnut Plywoodcut—22 mm/s · 100% · air assist
5mm Plywoodcut—12 mm/s · 55% · 2× passes · air assist
6mm Baltic Birch Plywoodcut240 mm/min · 100% · 2× passes · air assist168 glowforge_units · 100%
6mm Basswood Plywoodcut300 mm/min · 100% · 2× passes · air assist—
6mm Clear Acryliccut—6 mm/s · 72% · 2× passes · air assist
6mm MDFcut300 mm/min · 100% · 2× passes · air assist12 mm/s · 100% · air assist
9mm Birch Plywoodcut—4.5 mm/s · 72% · 3× passes · 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 3mmcut—25 mm/s · 50%
Bamboocut—300 mm/min · 90–95% · 2× passes · air assist
Basswoodcut—30 mm/s · 55–70% · air assist
Cardboard (corrugated, ~3–4mm)cut—85 mm/s · 42%
Cardboardcut—200 mm/s · 40%
Cardstock 160gsmcut3000 mm/min · 50%—
Cardstock 300gsmcut2000 mm/min · 60%80 mm/s · 10%
Cardstock (80–110 lb / ~220–300 gsm)cut—110 mm/s · 18%
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 2mmcut—32 mm/s · 28%
Copy Paper 80gsmcut—120 mm/s · 10%
Cork 3mmcut1200 mm/min · 80% · air assist34 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 Fabriccut—55 mm/s · 18%
Craft Felt 3mmcut—50 mm/s · 15%
Denim Fabriccut—48 mm/s · 22%
EVA Foam 3mmcut—40 mm/s · 20%
EVA Foam 6mmcut—55 mm/s · 26%
Faux Leathercut900 mm/min · 90% · air assist42 mm/s · 38% · air assist
Foam Board 5mmcut—50 mm/s · 28%
Foamcut—55 mm/s · 14%
Genuine Leather (Veg-Tan, ~3mm)cut—32 mm/s · 42–50% · air assist
Genuine Leathercut900 mm/min · 100% · air assist25 mm/s · 80%
HTV Vinylcut—105 mm/s · 9%
Kraft Papercut—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 3mmcut750 mm/min · 100% · air assist22 mm/s · 55%
Pinecut—304 mm/min · 100% · air assist
Plywoodcut—28 mm/s · 60–70% · air assist
Rubber Stamp Blankcut—13 mm/s · 50–55% · air assist
Walnutcut—15 mm/s · 60–70%
Washi Tapecut—160 mm/s · 7%
2mm Basswood Plywoodengrave7000 mm/min · 55%380 mm/s · 11%
3mm Baltic Birch Plywoodengrave6000 mm/min · 60%400 mm/s · 25–30%
3mm Basswood Plywoodengrave6000 mm/min · 65%150 mm/s · 40%
3mm Black Acrylicengrave8000 mm/min · 40%350 mm/s · 18–25%
3mm Clear Acrylic (Cast)engrave—440 mm/min
3mm Clear Acrylicengrave9000 mm/min · 30%200 mm/s · 20%
3mm Maple Plywoodengrave—400 mm/min
3mm MDFengrave5000 mm/min · 70%450 mm/s · 20–28%
3mm Mirrored Acrylicengrave8000 mm/min · 35%420 mm/min
3mm Tinted Acrylicengrave—140 mm/s · 20%
3mm Walnut Plywoodengrave—350 mm/s · 25–30%
5mm Plywoodengrave—160 mm/s · 18%
6mm Baltic Birch Plywoodengrave—2000 mm/min · 40–45%
6mm Basswood Plywoodengrave5000 mm/min · 70%—
6mm Clear Acrylicengrave—120 mm/s · 22%
6mm MDFengrave—200 mm/s · 25–30%
9mm Birch Plywoodengrave—120 mm/s · 22%
Acrylic Feltengrave—500 mm/s · 5–8%
Acrylicengrave—500 mm/s · 20–25%
Alderengrave—371 mm/min · 52%
Anodized Aluminumengrave3000 mm/min · 70%250 mm/s · 40%
Bamboo 3mmengrave—330 mm/s · 15%
Bambooengrave—300 mm/s · 30%
Basswoodengrave—450 mm/s · 20–28%
Black Anodized Aluminum Dog Tagengrave3000 mm/min · 70%—
Black Anodized Aluminumengrave3500 mm/min · 65%—
Cardboardengrave—500 mm/s · 10–15%
Cardstock 160gsmengrave9000 mm/min · 25%—
Cardstock 300gsmengrave—500 mm/s · 5–8%
Cardstockengrave—400 mm/s · 6%
Cedarengrave—405 mm/min · 45%
Ceramic Tileengrave—160 mm/s · 65%
Cherry 3mmengrave—310 mm/s · 18%
Cherryengrave—371 mm/min · 55%
Coated / Powder Coated Steelengrave—300 mm/min · 48%
Copy Paper 80gsmengrave—500 mm/s · 5–8%
Cork 3mmengrave7000 mm/min · 45%500 mm/s · 5–10%
Cork Sheet 3mmengrave—320 mm/s · 12%
Corrugated Cardboardengrave—500 mm/s · 5–10%
Cotton Fabricengrave—330 mm/s · 13%
Craft Felt 3mmengrave—2500 mm/min · 10–15%
Denim Fabricengrave—350 mm/s · 14%
EVA Foam 3mmengrave—2000 mm/min · 10–15%
EVA Foam 6mmengrave—500 mm/s · 5–10%
Faux Leatherengrave5000 mm/min · 50%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 Leatherengrave4000 mm/min · 55%800 glowforge_units · 55%
Glassengrave—300 mm/s · 18%
HTV Vinylengrave—500 mm/s · 5–8%
Kraft Paperengrave—500 mm/s · 5–8%
Leatherengrave—170 mm/min · 60%
Mapleengrave—270 mm/s · 18–23%
Marble Tileengrave—250 mm/s · 30%
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%
Photopolymer Stamp Blankengrave—120 mm/s · 45%
Pine 3mmengrave5000 mm/min · 65%300 mm/s · 17%
Pineengrave—405 mm/min · 50%
Plywoodengrave—450 mm/s · 22–30%
Powder Coated Steelengrave—300 mm/min · 48%
Rubber Stamp Blankengrave—240 mm/s · 18%
Slate (coaster)engrave3000 mm/min · 80%200 mm/s · 23–28%
Slateengrave3000 mm/min · 80%1000 glowforge_units · 80%
Spray Painted Metalengrave—350 mm/min · 45%
Stainless Steelengrave—240 mm/s · 58%
Walnutengrave—270 mm/s · 18–23%
3mm Basswood Plywoodscore3000 mm/min · 50%—
Genuine Leatherscore2500 mm/min · 40%—
Stainless Steelmark—120 mm/s · 70%
All xTool S1 40W settings →All Glowforge Pro settings →

Shopping for a xTool S1 40W? Check the current price.

See price on Amazon →

Shopping for a Glowforge Pro? Check the current price.

See price on Amazon →

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is better, the xTool S1 40W or Glowforge Pro?

It depends on your use case. xTool S1 40W is 40W diode with 498×319mm bed. Glowforge Pro is 45W co2. See the decision guide and side-by-side specs above.

What materials can both the xTool S1 40W and Glowforge Pro cut or engrave?

Both machines have community-tested settings for 17 shared materials. The settings table above lists every material with side-by-side speed, power, passes, and air assist values for direct comparison.

Can the xTool S1 40W cut clear acrylic like the Glowforge Pro?

No. CO₂ lasers like the Glowforge Pro cut clear acrylic cleanly because the CO₂ wavelength is absorbed by transparent materials. Diode lasers like the xTool S1 40W struggle with clear acrylic — only painted or tinted acrylic works reliably.

Is the xTool S1 40W or Glowforge Pro compatible with LightBurn?

The xTool S1 40W works natively with LightBurn. The Glowforge Pro uses Glowforge App. LightBurn compatibility may be possible via a community device profile but is not officially supported.

Is the Glowforge Pro (45W) much faster than the xTool S1 40W (40W)?

Higher wattage typically means faster cutting and the ability to cut thicker material in fewer passes. The Glowforge Pro (45W) cuts thicker material in single passes and engraves at higher speeds than the xTool S1 40W (40W). 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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