Our Picks Best overall laser cutter xTool P2 View details $4,299 at xTool View details Best in-office laser cutter Glowforge Aura View details $1,199 at Amazon View details Best laser cutter for metal and stone xTool F1 Ultra View details $3,900 at xTool View details Best portable laser etcher xTool F1 View details $1,599 at xTool View details Best small-scale CO2 laser cutter Flux Beamo View details $1,995 at Amazon View details Best laser engraver for schools WeCreat Vision View details $1,300 at Amazon View details Best diode laser cutter xTool S1 View details $2,300 at xTool View details Best walled garden laser cutter Glowforge Pro View details $5,999 at Amazon View details 3D PRINTER DEALS OF THE WEEK Creality K1C 3D Printer (2024 Model): $559 (save $40) Flashforge Adventurer 5M 3D Printer With Fully Auto Leveling: $279 (save $200) Anycubic Kobra 2 Plus 3D Printer With Auto-Leveling: $350 (save $101) Qidi Max 3 High-Speed 3D Printer With Fully Auto Leveling: $799 (save $100) Elegoo Neptune 4 Plus 3D Printer: $350 (save $70) Deals are selected by the CNET Group commerce team, and may be unrelated to this article. Russell Holly/CNETLately, it seems like more and more people have been delving into their creative sides, and new products are arriving to scratch that creative itch every day. Machines like 3D printers, vinyl cutters and laser cutters are now available at prices to fit just about any pocketbook, and they allow people to bring their creations to life in new and interesting ways. If you have the right materials and machines, you can even turn a profit on stores like Etsy, TikTok and Shopify. I've used laser cutters for years to create anything from small dog tags to leather patches for caps. Each laser engraver I use has various pros and cons, so along with my CNET colleague Russell Holly, I've developed testing criteria to assess the best laser cutters.What's the best laser cutter?The xTool P2 is our top pick for the best laser cutter. It isn't the cheapest laser cutter around, but with a host of amazing accessories, fantastic software, and a cutting size and speed that are hard to ignore, it takes the crown from the Glowforge Pro, but just barely. It's huge, so make sure you have room in your workshop to house it. If you are looking for a smaller craft laser, then the Glowforge Aura is great for small projects.You may notice that there are no open laser engravers on this list. After testing several I find them too dangerous for the average user. They could be good for commercial spaces, but having an open laser in a garage is too dangerous to recommend. An enclosed laser beam is far less likely to catch the material on fire.Best laser cutters of 2025 Photo Gallery 1/1 $4,299 at xTool Pros Huge cutting surface Powerful laser Lots of great accessories Excellent software Cons Priced for businesses Massive footprint Laser type CO2Power (wats) 55Max cutting area 498 x 319mmPrice $$$$ Exhaust/enclosure Enclosed with active exhaust $4,299 at xTool The xTool P2 is the complete package for fast, powerful laser cutting at home or in a small workshop. With a full suite of accessories that let you cut 3-meter-long materials and round tumblers and glasses, the P2 can cut or etch any material you could hope for, including glass and transparent acrylic. The software is excellent and can help you design your creations to better fit your cutting needs. The camera works well to help you align your materials, but be careful when working near the edge of the camera limits, because the fisheye distorts a little. This bundle comes with some materials to get you started and a fire safety system to give you peace of mind.Read our xTool P2 review. The Glowforge Aura is the company's first consumer laser cutter aimed at the entry-level market. It's smaller than the other models, with a less powerful laser, but it works amazingly well on smaller projects. We've made beautiful carvings, etchings and other laser-cut projects on the aura, and all of them have been excellent.Read more: Hands-on with the Glowforge Aura $3,900 at xTool Like the original F1, the F1 Ultra has brought me no end of fun while I've been testing it. There is something special about carving a 3D depth map into a coin, a slate coaster or even a rock from your garden that is hard to match with a standard laser. The F1 Ultra is a mixed laser with a blue diode for standard cutting and engraving and a fiber laser for 3D carving. The F1 Ultra is slightly bigger than the F1 and has the same accessories -- like the rotary system and fluted work surface -- as the F1 too. The best accessory is the conveyor belt, which can be used with the built-in software smarts to engrave batches of the same pattern, so if you need to make 100 more keychains at a convention, you can quickly and easily.