Cutting without a disc
A plasma cutter turns an afternoon of cutting discs into ten minutes of work, and brings a dependency most buyers underestimate: clean, dry compressed air. We compare clean-cut thickness against the optimistic severance figure, pilot arc behavior on painted steel, and how fast each machine eats tips.
50 A · adjustable pre- and post-flow · €173
The cheapest plasma cutter here, and one that lets you set the air timings that decide how long a tip lasts.
Best for: Occasional cutting of thin sheet, where the alternative is an afternoon with a grinder
≈ $185
65 A · non-contact pilot arc · €220
A pilot arc at €220 — which is what lets you cut rust, paint and expanded mesh instead of only clean plate.
Best for: Scrapping, dismantling and bodywork — material that is never clean
≈ $230
70 A · PT-80 torch, 5 m (16 ft) · 25 mm (0.98 in) · €522
Sold as a working set — a 5 m (16 ft) torch, earth lead, shield and hammer — with a seven-year warranty behind it.
Best for: A workshop that wants one box, standard consumables and somewhere to send it if it fails
15–45 A · 15 mm (0.59 in) steel / 8 mm (0.31 in) stainless / 5 mm (0.20 in) aluminum · €330
The first machine here that publishes its cut thickness for three materials instead of one — which is the whole specification.
Best for: A workshop cutting steel plate and section up to about 10 mm (0.39 in), cleanly
60 A · 20 mm (0.79 in) steel / 10 mm (0.39 in) stainless · mesh mode · €500
A dedicated mesh mode, which is the difference between cutting grating and swearing at it.
Best for: Anyone cutting grating, expanded mesh, perforated sheet or old fencing
85 A at 60% duty cycle · pilot ignition · €462
The only plasma cutter on this page that publishes a duty cycle with its current — 85 A at 60%.
Best for: Longer cutting sessions where thermal cut-out has been the previous machine’s habit
40 A · air filter unit included · 25 mm (0.98 in) severance · €520
The only machine here that ships with the air treatment unit — the part everyone else leaves you to discover.
Best for: A first plasma cutter, bought by someone who does not yet know that air quality is the whole game
120 V · built-in compressor · 27 lb · inverter · pre-set pressure
A plasma cutter with its own compressor inside — no bottle, no hose, no water trap — and a listing that publishes neither a cut thickness nor an amperage.
Best for: Cutting thin steel anywhere there is a socket, with nothing else to carry
≈ $1085
20–100 A · 400 V three phase · 45 mm (1.77 in) severance · €949
Three-phase, 45 mm (1.77 in), and the machine on this page most likely to be stopped by your electrical supply rather than by its own limits.
Best for: A workshop with a three-phase supply and plate that defeats everything else
80 A · 25 mm (0.98 in) steel / 15 mm (0.59 in) stainless / 8 mm (0.31 in) aluminum · €750
Adjustable pre- and post-flow together with thicknesses for three materials — the fullest specification on this page.
Best for: Regular cutting in 10 to 18 mm (0.39 to 0.71 in) steel, where the cheaper machines are working at their limit
125 A · 34 mm (1.34 in) · CNC torch and interface · €699
A machine bought to be bolted to a table, not held in a hand — and the cheapest route to a CNC plasma bed here.
Best for: A CNC table build, or a shop cutting plate thicker than any hand machine here manages
The advertised cutting thickness decides what the machine actually goes through. Beyond it, it no longer cuts, it gouges.
The available current governs both thickness and travel speed, and therefore how clean the resulting edge is.
Moisture and oil in compressed air kill consumables and dirty the cut. A separator filter upstream costs little and extends nozzle life more than any setting.
Markedly less than the advertised maximum if you want a clean edge. The maximum corresponds to a slow, ragged severance cut.
Dry, filtered and at sufficient flow. Moisture in the air is the leading cause of consumable destruction and irregular cuts.
Fast enough for the sparks to exit below the workpiece, not above. Sparks coming back up signal too fast a travel or insufficient current.
It depends above all on air quality and starting technique. Starting far from the work shortens their life considerably.
Yes: unlike oxy-fuel, plasma cuts every conductive metal. It is one of its great advantages.
A slatted or water table catches the spatter and stops you cutting your own bench. It is strongly recommended.
Far less than a torch, because the heated zone is narrow. On thin sheet a slight buckle remains possible.
A helmet with a suitable shade, gloves, covering clothing and ventilation. Plasma throws molten metal downwards, which makes foot protection necessary.
The advertised thickness is a severance cut, not a clean one: count on markedly less. Dry, filtered air decides consumable life more than anything else, and the sparks must exit below the work, never above.
There is no table here, and the reason is in the listings. The figure published most often across these 11 products is current, given by 8 of them — short of the four in five a column needs to compare rather than to display gaps. Each product page says what its own maker published.
Specifications: manufacturer sheets for welding and metalworking machines and the matching Amazon product pages. Prices and availability: Keepa.
Most recent revision in this category: October 7, 2026.
Prices quoted in these summaries are dated readings. The live price is shown next to each product.
