What a plasma cut actually costs
Plasma is fast and cheap to run, but the cost is not just labor. The electrode and nozzle wear with every pierce and every minute of arc-on time, and that consumable wear is often the line that surprises people. This calculator splits the job into labor, consumables, and gas plus power, so you can quote with confidence and see which lever moves the number.
How it adds up
Arc-on time is the cut length divided by speed, plus the pierces. Labor and machine cost is the rate times that time. Consumable cost is the number of pierces divided by consumable life, times the price of a set — because plasma consumables are spent mostly at the pierce. Gas and power are billed per hour of cutting.
Why consumable life matters
Piercing thick plate at high amperage burns electrodes faster, so consumable life drops and cost per part climbs. Nesting parts to share leads and reduce pierces is the single best way to stretch a set of consumables.
Related tools
For the underlying time, use the cutting time calculator. To compare against other processes, see the laser cutting calculator and waterjet cost calculator.
Worked example
Sixty inches at 120 IPM with four pierces, $75/hr labor, a $45 consumable set good for 200 pierces, and $8/hr gas and power: arc-on is about 0.6 min, labor about $0.75, consumables about $0.90, gas and power about $0.08 — roughly $1.73 for the cut.
FAQ
Should consumable life be in pierces or hours?
Pierces is the better proxy for plasma, since starts do most of the damage. If your data is in arc-hours, convert it to an equivalent pierce count for the parts you run.
Does this include the metal?
No — this is the cutting cost only. Add material from a weight calculator to get the full part cost.