Verdict: for most part-time sellers the xTool S1 is the safer buy, because its cut depth and lid-open shutoff are documented and it is built for cutting wood. The Creality Falcon2 Pro 22W wins if you want an enclosed Class 1 machine in a lower price class and a slightly bigger total bed. In the xtool vs creality falcon laser question, price class is the real tie-breaker, not watts.
xTool S1 (20W)
Published coverage lists the S1 at about 10 mm of wood and 8 mm of acrylic in the 20W version, Class 1 certification and a shutoff when the lid is opened. For a seller who plans to cut boards, signs and toppers rather than only engrave, documented cut depth reduces the risk of promising products the machine cannot make. It costs more, so use the price-gap table to check whether your products justify that.
Check price on Amazon →You have a day job and a spare room, and you do not want a machine that sits unused. This is a researched comparison built from manufacturer pages, Amazon listing specs and published coverage, not a field report. We compare bed size, laser class, cut depth, software, hidden costs and how many extra sales the pricier machine needs to justify itself.
Pick the xTool S1 (20W) if you will cut 3-10 mm wood and acrylic for products and want published cut depth. Pick the Creality Falcon2 Pro 22W if you want an enclosed Class 1 machine in a lower price class and mostly engrave. The extra units needed to cover the price gap are in the table below. If you will not enclose it yourself, skip the open-frame versions of both brands.
Quick comparison
| Product | Best for | Key detail | Price class | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Top pick xTool S1 (20W) | Sellers who cut wood and acrylic products | Enclosed, Class 1, about 498 x 319 mm area, about 10 mm wood cut, lid-open shutoff | $$$ · Premium | Check price |
| Creality Falcon2 Pro 22W | Engraving-focused sellers on a tighter budget | Enclosed, Class 1 per Amazon listing, 22W from four 6W diodes, 400 x 415 mm area | $$$ · Premium | Check price |
| Creality Falcon2 Pro S 22W | Sellers who want auto-focus and a camera | Enclosed, auto-focus, camera, 600 mm/s listed speed, 10 mm basswood or acrylic one pass per listing | $$$ · Premium | Check price |
| xTool D1 Pro 20W | Sellers who want an open-frame machine with a very large optional bed | Open frame, Class 4, 20W, extension kit to 36.85 x 17 in | $$$ · Premium | Check price |
Our picks, one by one
xTool S1 (20W)Our Pick
The S1 is an enclosed diode laser sold in 20W and 40W versions. Coverage of the 20W lists a 498 x 319 mm working area (about 19.6 x 12.6 in), Class 1 safety certification and an engraving speed up to 600 mm/s for the S1 line. It stops if the lid is opened or the base is removed. Against the Falcon2 Pro, it has more documented cut depth and a longer bed, while the Falcon2 Pro has a taller bed and a lower price class.
Check price on Amazon →Creality Falcon2 Pro 22WBest Value Enclosed
Creality's Falcon2 series comparison lists a 400 x 415 mm working area for the family, which is about 15.7 x 16.3 in. The Pro is enclosed, and the Amazon listing describes Class 1 certification, air assist and a camera. Retail coverage lists 22W from four 6W diodes at 455 nm and a distributor weight near 18 kg. It undercuts the S1 on price class, but it comes with less published cut-depth data for the plain Pro.
Check price on Amazon →Creality Falcon2 Pro S 22WBest Convenience
The Pro S adds auto-focus on the Z axis, auto cut-through and a camera, per the Amazon listing. The same listing quotes a 600 mm/s speed and one-pass cuts of 10 mm basswood and acrylic, which closes the cut-depth gap with the S1 on paper. Auto-focus saves seconds per item. Across 100 items that adds up, which is where small-shop payback is won.
Check price on Amazon →xTool D1 Pro 20WBest for Oversized Work
The D1 Pro 20W is listed on Amazon as Class 4 with 20,000 mW output. xTool's extension kit expands the area to 36.85 x 17 in, far beyond either enclosed machine. It beats both enclosed options if your product is a long sign. It loses on safety and set-up, because you add enclosure, exhaust and eyewear to the cost.
Check price on Amazon →Side-by-Side Specs and Area Math
| Spec | xTool S1 (20W) | Creality Falcon2 Pro 22W |
|---|---|---|
| Enclosed | Yes | Yes |
| Laser class | Class 1 (coverage) | Class 1 (Amazon listing) |
| Working area | 498 x 319 mm | 400 x 415 mm |
| Area | about 247 sq in | about 257 sq in |
| Published wood cut | about 10 mm | Not stated for the plain Pro |
| Lid-open shutoff | Yes (coverage) | Safety switch per listings |
Formula: area in sq in = (length mm / 25.4) x (width mm / 25.4). Both are within 4 percent of each other, so bed size should not decide this.
Break-Even and the Price-Gap Table
The pricier machine only wins if the extra capability earns the difference. Below, the example is a $1,500 machine against the cheaper option, using example products.
| Example item | Example sale price | Example material cost | Margin per item | Break-even units | Machine time at break-even |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Engraved cutting board | $35 | $8 | $27 | 56 | 5.6 hours (6 min each) |
| Acrylic cake topper | $12 | $2.5 | $9.5 | 158 | 7.9 hours (3 min each) |
| Leather patch (set of 4) | $24 | $6 | $18 | 84 | 7.0 hours (5 min each) |
Formula: break-even units = machine cost / (sale price - material cost per item), rounded up. Example inputs only: machine cost $1,500 (swap in your own total including accessories), sale prices and material costs are illustrative, not product prices, and ignore marketplace fees, shipping and your own labor. Your results depend on your market, pricing and time; many small shops earn little at first. Run your own numbers in the Machine Payback Calculator.
Now the gap. If the S1 costs you an example $300 more than the Falcon2 Pro, here is how many extra sales it needs to cover that:
| Example margin per item | Extra units to cover a $300 example gap |
|---|---|
| $5 | 60 |
| $10 | 30 |
| $20 | 15 |
Formula: extra units = price gap / margin per item. Swap in your real gap from the listings on the day you buy.
Running Costs, Software and Costly Mistakes
Both brands run on free in-house apps, and many sellers also use a paid third-party design program. Check the current license before you budget. The same ongoing costs hit both machines: sheet goods, cast acrylic and leather, air assist maintenance, lens cleaning, and a fan or filter for fumes. The S1 and Falcon2 Pro are enclosed, but an enclosure holds fumes in. It does not remove them. Plan a duct to a window or a filter.
Time per item is the hidden bill. A cutting board takes about six minutes in our example from loading to unloading, so 100 boards is about ten machine hours. Auto-focus and a camera, which the Falcon2 Pro S lists, reduce setup minutes on mixed orders.
Software costs more time than money. xTool uses its own design app and Creality uses its own, and both also work with popular third-party laser programs. The differences you will notice are small: how you set material presets, how you position a job with the camera, and how many clicks it takes to repeat an order. Run a free trial of whatever you can before you buy, and design one product from start to finish.
Also decide where files live. If a customer orders 40 engraved name tags, you want a template, a spreadsheet of names and a repeat workflow, not 40 manual jobs. Sellers who reach break-even quickly are the ones who standardize products, because setup minutes multiply across every order.
- Buying for the best product you can imagine, not the one you will sell weekly. Check your top three planned products against cut depth and bed size.
- Ignoring ventilation until the machine arrives. Exhaust ducts, window panels and filters take days to source.
- Pricing by material cost alone. Add machine time, finishing, packaging, fees and your own hour. A board that costs eight dollars in wood and sells for thirty-five may still be a poor deal if it takes an hour to finish.
- Forgetting returns and damaged items. Engraved goods are final-sale items, so a misspelled name is your loss.
- Copying popular designs. Trademarked and copyrighted art can get listings removed.
Fix these five before you click buy and the break-even date moves closer.
One more habit helps: keep a simple sheet of every order with materials, minutes and fees, so after a month you know your real margin instead of a guess.
Safety: Class 1 Is Not a License to Skip Fume Control
Class 1 means the beam is safe in normal use because it is enclosed. It does not mean the smoke is safe. Burning wood, leather and acrylic releases fumes you should not breathe in a closed room. Vent outside or filter, keep a fire extinguisher nearby, and never leave a running laser alone.
- Open-frame machines: the D1 Pro and Falcon2 22W without a cover are Class 4. Use goggles rated for the wavelength and an enclosure.
- Never cut PVC or vinyl: heated PVC releases chlorine gas and hydrochloric acid that harm you and corrode the machine.
- Selling: business licenses, seller permits and sales tax can apply, and you cannot sell trademarked designs. This is not tax or legal advice.
Who Should NOT Buy Either Machine
Skip both if you have no way to vent, if you have not tested demand for engraved goods, or if your plan is to copy brand designs. Also skip them if you need clear acrylic cuts: diode lasers pass through it. For that you need a CO2 machine, which is a different budget. If you are still choosing a business, our small business laser guide covers the bigger picture, and the heat press guide covers a lower-cost route.
Which One for Which Seller
Decision rules beat staring at spec sheets. Work down this list and stop at the first match.
- You will sell cut products thicker than 5 mm, such as signs, layered wood art or cake toppers in 3 mm acrylic: xTool S1. Its 20W version lists about 10 mm in wood and about 8 mm in acrylic, so you know the limit before you quote a customer.
- You mostly engrave blanks you buy ready-made, such as slate coasters, tumblers with a rotary, leather patches and wood plaques: Falcon2 Pro 22W. Engraving does not need deep cutting power, so the lower price class can win.
- You change materials all day: Falcon2 Pro S 22W for auto-focus, if you can confirm its working area on the listing you pick.
- You sell products over 20 inches long: D1 Pro with the extension kit. Accept the enclosure and exhaust work.
- Your budget is firm and the machine will live in a bedroom: buy neither open-frame option, and consider the other guides on this site before a laser.
If two of these fit, pick the lower price class and upgrade after you have 50 real orders. Selling first tells you what you need.
How We Chose
This is research from specs, not a product test. We compared the xTool S1 against the closest Creality competitor sold on Amazon, then added the Pro S variant and the open-frame D1 Pro as context. We checked Creality's own series comparison, xTool-sourced coverage, and Amazon listing titles and bullets. Where sources disagreed, such as the S1 bed size and Pro S working area, we flagged it. Prices are approximate ranges from retail pages and trackers and move often.
Our #1 pick: xTool S1 (20W)
If you only read one line of this guide: this is the one we would buy.
Check price on Amazon →Frequently asked questions
Is xTool better than Creality Falcon?
For cutting, the S1 has more published cut-depth and shutoff data. For price class, the Falcon2 Pro is lower. Neither is better for every seller.
Is the Creality Falcon2 Pro Class 1?
The Amazon listings describe the enclosed Pro as Class 1 certified. The open Falcon2 22W without the cover is Class 4 by Creality's FDA classification, so read the exact model you buy.
Do I need ventilation with an enclosed laser?
Yes. The enclosure contains the beam, not the smoke. Vent outside with a duct or use a filter, and keep a fire extinguisher near the machine.
Can these lasers cut clear acrylic?
No, not reliably. Blue diode beams pass through clear acrylic. Use dark or opaque cast acrylic or step up to a CO2 laser.
Do I need a license to sell what I make?
Often. Many places require a business license or seller permit and sales tax collection, and zoning can apply at home. Check the SBA licensing page and your state. This is not legal advice.
Price classes are a rough guide; check the current price on Amazon. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases, at no extra cost to you.