The number everyone misreads: what wattage really controls, and why diode watts and CO2 watts are not the same thing.
Read the guideXTool S1 vs XTool P2 in 2026: Which One Is Yours
2026-09-05 · updated 2026-09-05 · ~8 min read
diode vs CO2enclosed lasers40 watt vs 55 watt classclear acrylic and glassxTool familyhome maker pick
xTool S1 vs xTool P2 is a diode and a CO2 tube wearing one badge. The S1 is a 40 watt class enclosed diode for dark stock and coated blanks. The P2 is a 55 watt class enclosed CO2 laser built for clear acrylic, glass, and long runs, so pick the material.
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Where does the money actually go?
Money is where this head to head gets honest, because the badges rhyme and the totals do not. The xTool S1 asks a mid range price point for an enclosed diode station, and the xTool P2 sits at a premium price point before you add a single accessory. The sticker gap is not wattage markup, it is a different machine underneath.
On the S1 side, the box lands complete: the shell, the lid interlock, and the air assist path ship on board, so a desk in a spare room is a real home for it. What neither box includes is a fume exit, so extraction and a hose belong in every budget, diode or CO2. No laser smells like a candle, whatever the listing photos suggest.
On the P2 side, the premium price point is only the opening bid. A CO2 tube runs hot and wants a water cooling loop, and bigger cuts push more smoke through the venting, so a chiller and a stronger fume setup join the cart before the first job fires. Call it the admission fee to the serious league.
Run the two totals and the shape is clear: the S1 route leaves money for a rotary, blanks, and a real extractor, while the P2 route spends that same money before the first cut. Same brand family, opposite ideas about where the spend lands. The P2 is not overpriced, it is just honest about what it takes.
The way I see it
One of these is a hatchback that starts every morning, and the other is a crew cab truck that asks about the load before it leaves. Both get you to the job, but only one fits a hobby garage without rearranging it. Buy the truck when you actually haul truck sized jobs.
What are you actually choosing between?
Sort the pair by the beam and the box, not the badge. The xTool S1 is the diode side: a 40 watt class blue beam in an interlocked shell with air assist on board. The xTool P2 is the CO2 side: a 55 watt class glass tube that sees material by wavelength, not by color. One badge, two very different engines.
Side A: the xTool S1 40W class
The S1 is the machine people picture when they hear enclosed diode laser: a tidy box that opens like a hatch and drops onto a desk without a build project. The bed is a compact to mid size area that clears cutting boards, signs, and a tray of blanks, and the shell does the guarding for you. It is the appliance version of the diode idea.
Its material lane is the home craft list: wood, leather, paper, and dark acrylic engrave and cut on the S1, and it marks anodized aluminum and coated metal directly, no marking spray needed. Clear acrylic mostly walks straight through a blue beam, and glass is not a trick this machine has. The S1 wins by matching the list, not by flexing on it.
Side B: the xTool P2 55W class
The P2 is the flagship and it behaves like one. CO2 light cuts clear acrylic cleanly and frosts glass, the two jobs that embarrass a diode, and it clears thicker hardwood boards in fewer passes than the S1 family can manage. Its larger bed plus auto pass through opens the front and back for long sign planks and continuous runs. Same family name, a different job list entirely.
That reach arrives with obligations: a water cooling loop, a bigger fume footprint, and bench space around the machine. The P2 does not demand a machine shop, but it will notice a cramped corner. Both machines share the Creative Space software and the brand accessory family, so moving up later means buying capability instead of relearning everything. The ecosystem is the handrail.
Think of it this way
Picture a toaster oven with a window next to a countertop convection oven with a water line. Both cook dinner, but one is an appliance you park on a desk and the other is gear you build the kitchen around. Choose the oven that matches the kitchen you actually have.
Why do the two machines behave so differently?
Wavelength decides almost everything, and it decides before wattage gets a vote. The S1 fires blue light that dark, pigmented materials absorb, which is why wood and coated metal eat it up while clear acrylic lets it pass. The P2 fires a CO2 beam that organic stock and plastics soak up in any color, which is why it slices clear sheets and frosts glass. Same brand, opposite table manners.
Wattage does not transfer the way the sticker numbers suggest. A 40 watt class diode and a 55 watt class CO2 tube spend their power differently, so the real comparison is depth and speed on your materials, not the class number. On plywood and boards the CO2 side cuts faster and deeper per pass, and on fine craft engraving the diode holds its own. Compare results per material, never the raw class.
Both machines share the enclosure and air assist story: interlocked lids, a beam boxed while you run, and a jet of air clearing the cut line. Both also share the gap in that story, because neither ships a fume solution and the CO2 side moves more smoke. The shell protects you, the extraction protects your room. Plan the air before you plan the art.
Read the index with the caveat attached and the pattern stays stable: the P2 rates near eight on clear acrylic while the S1 sits near one, and anodized metal flips the table at eight for the S1 against four for the P2. Neither number is a flaw, both are wavelengths doing their jobs.
Think of it this way
A diode beam is a picky eater that only shows up for dark food, and a CO2 beam is the guest who will eat anything on the table. Feed the diode coated metal and craft boards and it cleans its plate, then set clear acrylic in front of it and watch it starve. Know your dinner guest before you plan the menu.
How do you pick the one that fits your job list?
Write the job list before you write the check. Count the clear acrylic and glass projects, then count the coated metal and wood work, then measure the batch sizes. A slow machine is a fine companion for weekend craft sales and a painful one for paid deadlines, so the schedule deserves a vote too.
The three question test
- Does clear acrylic or glass sit in the plan? One honest yes and the S1 is out of the running, because the blue beam cannot do the transparent stuff. Do not argue with physics.
- Is the shop a desk, a spare room, or a real workshop? The P2 wants room for a cooling loop and heavier fume gear, while the S1 fits a sturdy desk in a spare room. Measure the bench, not the brochure.
- Is the output gifts and craft sales or paid batches? Premium speed only pays its rent when your calendar is the bottleneck, so hobby volume does not need the flagship. Speed you cannot use is just a faster idle.
If the answers lean diode, the S1 carries the load and leaves money for a rotary and blanks. If they lean CO2, the P2 earns its premium on acrylic signage, glass runs, and thicker boards. Nobody buys the wrong machine on purpose, they buy it on hope and skip the job list.
That friction index is the part of the review most buyers skip and most owners remember. The S1 rates one on setup while the P2 rates four, and on cooling the gap widens to one against five. Capability you cannot house is just an expensive paperweight.
The way I see it
Shop for the machine your busiest week describes, not the one the demo day flatters. A demo cuts one perfect piece of acrylic while your real list is forty imperfect ones across three materials. Match the tool to the messy Tuesday, not the showroom.
Is either machine actually worth it for you?
Both machines are good at what they are, and both will frustrate you on the wrong list. Worth is a room and a routine question, not a quality question. Judge each one by the jobs it clears, not the one demo piece it nails.
Buy It If
- Buy the S1 if your list leans to marking: wood signs, leather goods, anodized tumblers, and coated metal, where the diode is the natural fit.
- Buy the S1 if your bench is a desk and your budget is a hobby budget, because it fits a spare room instead of a machine shop.
- Buy the S1 if you want the brand ecosystem without the cooling homework, because there is no chiller loop to babysit.
Skip It If
- Skip the S1 if clear acrylic or glass tumblers are the reason you are shopping, because the blue beam will disappoint you weekly.
- Skip the S1 if you sell in paid batches, because its cutting pace shows up on your calendar every week.
- Skip the S1 if next year already includes thick boards and long planks, because the P2 clears that list today.
Buy It If
- Buy the P2 if your list leads with clear acrylic, glassware frosting, or thick hardwood boards, because that is CO2 territory and it owns it.
- Buy the P2 if your output is paid batches, because the tube clears work the diode would stretch across a whole evening.
- Buy the P2 if you can give it a real corner: bench space, a water cooling loop, and serious fume handling from day one.
Skip It If
- Skip the P2 if most of your work is small marks on coated metal, because the diode side does that better and cheaper.
- Skip the P2 if you have not yet burned through a rotary and a stack of blanks, because the extra reach will sit idle.
- Skip the P2 if your workshop is a corner of a bedroom, because it brings a chiller and a bigger footprint along.
Which side wins when you line them up?
Put the pair on the same bench and the contest is less about winners and more about which machine clears which job. The S1 takes the craft and marking rows; the P2 takes the material and throughput rows. Your verdict is whichever column your job list fills first.
| Option or Product | Key spec 1 | Key spec 2 | Best For | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| xTool S1 40W | Enclosed 40 watt class diode with interlocked shell and air assist on board | Compact to mid size bed, no water loop, desk friendly footprint | Home makers marking and light cutting in wood, leather, and coated metal | The sensible daily driver that leaves your bench and budget intact, as long as clear acrylic stays off the list. |
| xTool P2 55W | Enclosed 55 watt class CO2 tube, water cooled, with auto pass through | Larger bed that opens front and back for long work, chiller to plan for | Clear acrylic, glass runs, thick boards, and paid production batches | The flagship that earns its premium on transparent and time sensitive jobs, and only then. |
Behind the table sits what both share: the same Creative Space software, the same brand accessory family, and the same need for a fume plan. That shared base is why moving up later means buying capability, not relearning software. The hard choice is the first machine, the second one is easy.
So which one is yours?
For the reader this page is written for, the home maker with a mixed craft list in wood, leather, and coated metal, the winner is the xTool S1 40W class. It marks the coated metal the CO2 side cannot touch directly, cuts the craft boards, fits the bench you have, and leaves the price difference for a rotary and a proper extractor. The P2 is the better machine, and the S1 is the better purchase for most of you.
Now the case where the other machine is the right call. If your list leads with clear acrylic, glass runs, thick boards, or paid production batches, the xTool P2 stops being a splurge and becomes the machine that pays for itself. Then the S1 is not the loser, you are simply a different reader.
The Bottom Line
Bottom line: buy the xTool S1 40W class for the home maker job list that marks more than it cuts, and buy the xTool P2 55W class when clear acrylic, glass, thick boards, or paid batches lead the plan. Pick by the material and the bench, never by the badge, and both of these machines will treat you right.
Keep reading
An xTool S1 review with real talk: 40 watt enclosed diode specs, the cutting lane, hidden bench costs, and the BeamScore verdict.
Read the guideAn xTool P2 review for 2026 that reads the enclosed 55 watt CO2 class as a time purchase: the real bench costs, the setup order, and who beats the P2.
Read the guideEnclosed appliance or open frame speed machine: how the xTool S1 and the Creality Falcon2 Pro compare on money, safety setup, and bed size.
Read the guideGlowforge Pro vs Glowforge Aura in 2026: same brand, same guided app, two completely different beams. This head to head matches the 45 watt class CO2 flagship against the compact 6 watt diode on money, materials, room, and growth, then names the machine for your desk.
Read the guideThe xTool P2 vs Glowforge Pro head to head: 55 watt class open software against 45 watt class cloud guided CO2, sorted by the job list you actually run.
Read the guideSources: manufacturer listings and standard public guidance at time of writing. Prices and availability subject to change. Individual results vary.