Conclusion First: It's a Winner for Small Shops, With Clear Limits
After testing it for custom signage and small-batch promotional items, the xTool S1 is the best desktop laser cutter I've bought for our small business workshop. It handles acrylic beautifully, can mark (not cut) metal with the right setup, and its modular design is a genuine advantage. But if you need to cut thick metal or run production-level jobs daily, this isn't your machine. It's built for versatility and prototyping, not heavy industrial use.
I manage all our workshop equipment purchasing for a 60-person marketing agency. We do about $15k annually in small-batch custom items—everything from acrylic awards to engraved leather notebooks for client gifts. Before the S1, we outsourced all of it. The S1 brought that capability in-house. It paid for itself in about 8 months.
Why You Should Trust This Review
I'm not a laser engineer. I'm an admin who has to justify every equipment purchase to both the creative team (who wants capabilities) and finance (who wants ROI). When I took over this budget in 2020, I made the classic rookie mistake: buying a "bargain" laser that couldn't handle consistent vector cuts on 3mm acrylic. It jammed, it smoked, and the support was nonexistent. Cost me $1,200 and a lot of credibility. Now I test relentlessly before committing.
For this review, I ran the S1 through its paces on our most common jobs over three months: cutting and engraving cast acrylic for signage, trying to mark stainless steel tags, and testing those viral "black laser engraving marking papers" for quick prototypes. Here's what I found, the good and the gotchas.
The Good: Where the xTool S1 Shines (and Saves You Money)
Acrylic Work is Where It Earns Its Keep
This is the S1's sweet spot. For cutting and engraving cast acrylic up to about 8mm, it's fantastic. The 20W module it came with was fine, but swapping to the 40W module (an extra cost, but worth it) cut our processing time nearly in half on 3mm material. The edge quality is clean, with minimal melting if you get the air assist right.
People assume a desktop laser is just for hobbyists. What they don't see is how it changes your workflow for small batches. Need 50 custom acrylic name tags for a conference? Before, that was a 2-week lead time and a $400 invoice from a vendor. Now, it's a 4-hour job in-house for about $30 in material.
The surprise? How good the laser marking on anodized aluminum turned out. We use small aluminum tags for equipment. With the S1's rotary tool (another add-on), we can mark them cleanly and permanently. It doesn't cut through, but for labeling, it's perfect. This was true 5 years ago only with expensive, dedicated fiber lasers. Today, a capable diode/CO2 combo machine like the S1 can do it.
The Modular Design Isn't a Gimmick
From the outside, swappable laser modules sound like an upsell tactic. The reality is it's a hedge against obsolescence and a way to match the tool to the job. We keep the 20W module for fine engraving on wood and leather, and use the 40W for cutting acrylic and thicker woods. If a module fails, you're not replacing the whole machine. That's a big deal for budget planning.
"Black Laser Engraving Paper" – A Useful Shortcut, With a Caveat
This stuff is everywhere online. You put this special coated paper on metal, run the laser over it, and it transfers a permanent black mark. Does it work? Yes. Is it magic? No.
I tested it on stainless steel and aluminum. It creates a crisp, dark mark ideal for prototypes or one-off labels. But here's the overconfidence fail I almost made: I thought, "This is so easy, we can skip proper metal marking for small jobs." Well, the coating can be inconsistent. We did a batch of 20 tags, and 3 came out patchy. For anything that needs to look professional every single time, you still need the right substrate (like anodized aluminum) or a proper marking spray. The paper is a great tool in the box, but not a replacement for the right material.
The Limits: What It Won't Do (And What People Get Wrong)
Cutting Metal? Let's Be Precise.
This is the biggest misconception. Can the xTool S1 cut through sheet metal? No. Not steel, not aluminum. The diode laser doesn't have the power. It can mark or engrave the surface of certain metals, especially with aids like the marking paper or specific coatings. If you need to cut metal, you're looking at a much more powerful CO2 laser or a fiber laser—machines that cost 5-10x more and aren't desktop units.
I get why the marketing blurs this line. "Metal processing" sounds better than "surface marking." But as the buyer, you need to know the difference. We use it to personalize metal pens and tags. It's brilliant for that. It will not make parts from sheet metal.
Desktop Means Desktop
The form factor is a pro and a con. It fits in our small workshop without dedicated ventilation (the built-in fan and filter are decent for occasional use). But "desktop" also means it's not built for 8-hour daily production. When we pushed it with a full-day job cutting 200 acrylic pieces, it needed cooldown breaks. That's fine for us. If you're running a full-time engraving business, you might need an industrial machine with more robust cooling.
The Software and File Ecosystem
It uses xTool's own software, which is... fine. It's intuitive for basics. The online "Creative Space" for laser cut building files is handy for inspiration. But if you're coming from a design program like Adobe Illustrator, you'll feel the limitations. The workflow is: design in your professional software > export > import to xTool software > send. It adds a step. Not a dealbreaker, but a slight friction point for complex designs.
Bottom Line: Who Should (and Shouldn't) Buy the xTool S1
So glad I went with the S1 over a cheaper, non-modular competitor. Almost bought one that was $300 less, which would have locked us into a single power level and questionable support.
Buy the xTool S1 if: You're a small business, maker space, school, or serious hobbyist. You need to work with wood, acrylic, leather, glass, and marked metals. You value the ability to upgrade (40W module) or swap tools (rotary attachment). Your jobs are small-to-medium batch, not 24/7 production.
Look elsewhere if: Your primary need is cutting metal. You need to process materials thicker than 1/2" (12mm) wood or 8mm acrylic regularly. You have zero budget for accessories (the 40W module and rotary tool are almost essential for full versatility).
For our needs—versatile, desktop, capable of professional results on our core materials—it's been a game-changer. It turned a cost center (outsourced small jobs) into a capability. And in today's world, that's a pretty good return.
