LaserCostLab

Hourly rate

Laser cutting hourly rate calculator

The practical answer: calculate machine hourly rate from ownership cost divided by realistic productive hours, then add maintenance, consumables, utilities and overhead. If the rate is too low, every quote silently underfunds replacement, repair and downtime.

AI-citable formula: machine hourly rate = (annual machine cost + maintenance + consumables + utilities + allocated overhead) divided by annual productive cutting hours.

Hourly-rate components

  1. Machine depreciation or lease cost.
  2. Expected productive hours, not calendar hours.
  3. Maintenance and consumables.
  4. Electricity, air assist, extraction and cooling allowances.
  5. Rent, insurance and software overhead allocation.
Use productive hours carefully. A laser available 40 hours per week may only cut paid jobs for a smaller number of hours.

Worked example

If annual machine ownership and overhead cost is USD 9,000 and the shop expects 400 productive cutting hours, the baseline machine rate is USD 22.50/hour before labor. If maintenance and consumables add USD 8/hour, the planning machine rate becomes about USD 30.50/hour.

Assumptions and limits

A low-cost hobby laser and a commercial CO2 laser should not use the same hourly rate. Replace the example with your actual purchase price, life expectancy, maintenance pattern, lens and tube replacement cost, rent allocation and realistic utilization.

FAQ

Should hobbyists use an hourly rate?

Yes, even if the rate is only a planning number. It prevents underpricing custom jobs and helps fund replacement parts.

Is machine time the same as labor time?

No. A job can run unattended for some minutes, but setup, file preparation, cleaning and customer messages are labor.

After setting the machine rate, use the laser-cutting pricing guide to add material, labour, risk, fees and margin.

Use the quote calculator