Gas Cost Calculator

Gas cost calculator for metal cutting

Estimate your gas consumption and hourly running cost based on your cutting setup.

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How this calculator works

Calculate the true cost of assist gas in your laser, plasma, or oxy-fuel cutting operations to make sure you’re making money on every job.

1

Select your gas type and cutting parameters

2

Enter cylinder or pack pricing and volume

3

We calculate gas cost per cubic meter and estimated hourly gas consumption

4

You’ll see an estimated hourly gas cost for your cutting setup

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1

Your cutting setup

Choose your assist gas, then enter the nozzle diameter and gas pressure you typically cut with. Together they determine how much gas flows through your nozzle every hour the machine is cutting.

2

Your gas pricing

Enter how much gas you get per bottle or pack and what you pay for it. We’ll work out your true cost per cubic metre — the number your hourly gas cost is built on.

Your estimated gas cost

Based on your setup, here’s what your assist gas is really costing you every hour the machine cuts.

Gas price
$2.16 / m³
What you actually pay per cubic metre, based on your bottle or pack pricing.
Gas consumption
22.0 m³/hr
Estimated gas flow through your nozzle at the diameter and pressure you entered.
Estimated gas cost per cutting hour
$47.47 / hr
Excludes cylinder rental. Assumes the values entered above and continuous cutting — your effective cost scales with actual beam-on time.

Gas is only one line of your hourly rate

Knowing your gas cost per hour is a great start — but a profitable quote also has to cover power, maintenance, labour, and machine depreciation. Tempus Tools’ ToolBox builds all of it into every laser cutting quote automatically, so every part you price reflects your true running costs — in seconds, not spreadsheets.

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FAQs

What is this gas cost calculator used for?

This gas cost calculator helps laser cutting shops estimate gas usage and hourly gas costs, and can be adapted for other cutting processes.

How does a laser cutting gas consumption calculator work?

The calculator uses inputs like gas type, cylinder or pack volume, pressure, and nozzle size to estimate gas usage per hour. This provides a practical view of gas consumption during laser cutting operations.

Can this gas cost calculator be used for other cutting processes?

Yes. While commonly used as a laser cutting gas consumption calculator, it can also be applied to plasma, profile cutting, and other gas-assisted cutting processes.

Is this gas usage calculator accurate for quoting?

The gas usage calculator provides reliable estimates based on industry-standard inputs. While results are directional, they are accurate enough to support consistent quoting and cost calculations.

Is gas cost enough to price jobs accurately?

Gas cost is an important input, but it’s only one part of the overall cost structure. Accurate pricing also depends on machine costs, efficiency, labor, and overheads. For a complete picture, combine this calculator with the Laser Cutting Hourly Rate Calculator.

Ready to apply real cost calculations to your quoting process?

Use Tempus Tools to turn precise cost insights into faster, more consistent, and more profitable quotes.

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