Quick Answer: Thunder Laser is a 2012-founded Chinese CO2 laser brand with a US sales office (opened 2017-2018) and a genuinely strong reputation — 5.0/5 on Trustpilot from 1,430+ reviews. Its Bolt series starts at $5,795 (30W, 20x12” bed) and its Nova series runs up to the Nova 63 flagship with up to 130W optional power. Every machine ships with LightBurn included, natively supported through its Ruida-class DSP controller — a real edge over pricier industrial brands with weak or zero LightBurn support. It is not sold on Amazon. The catch isn’t the software or the sticker price — it’s that Thunder’s quoted freight charge only covers port-to-port, and buyers report real additional landed-cost fees (forwarder, delivery, unloading, tariffs) that the advertised price doesn’t include.
Thunder Laser sits in an unusual spot in the CO2 laser market: priced well above the Amazon-buyable desktop brands this site usually covers, but well below Epilog or Trotec’s industrial tier, and with a software story that’s actually better than both of those pricier names. Founded in 2012 in Dongguan, China, Thunder built out a 23,000-square-meter manufacturing plant, added an R&D center in Germany, and opened a US sales and support office in 2017-2018 — the entity most US buyers deal with as Thunder Laser USA. This review covers what Thunder actually sells, why its LightBurn story is genuinely good news, and the one cost buyers consistently underestimate.
The Thunder Laser lineup at a glance
| Model | Best for | Laser source | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bolt (20" bed) | Best entry point | 30W CO2 | from ~$5,795 |
| Bolt (24"/36" bed) | Best mid-size Bolt | Up to 80W CO2 | up to ~$13,995 |
| Nova 24 | Best entry Nova | 40W std / 60W optional CO2 | from ~$8,350 |
| Nova 35 | Best mid-size production | 80W std / up to 130W optional CO2 | from ~$9,900 |
| Nova 51 / 63 | Best large-format flagship | 100W std / up to 130W optional CO2 | $13,995+ |
Thunder Laser by the numbers
- Thunder Laser USA holds a 5.0 out of 5 TrustScore from 1,430+ Trustpilot reviews — a stronger review footprint than either Epilog (2.5/5 from 15) or Trotec (4.5/5 from 117), per each brand’s own Trustpilot page, and far ahead of Full Spectrum Laser’s 2.0/5 from 60 reviews, the lowest of any brand on this site.
- Every Bolt and Nova machine ships with LightBurn included, running natively on a Ruida-class DSP controller — the same controller family LightBurn’s developers support directly, no workaround needed.
- Thunder’s DSP controller requires LightBurn’s $199 Pro tier, not the $99 Core tier built for GRBL diode lasers, per LightBurn’s own pricing (see our LightBurn guide) — the license is bundled in at purchase, but it’s worth knowing which tier you’re getting.
- Bolt pricing spans from $5,795 (30W, 20x12”) to $13,995 (80W, 36x24”) — roughly 2-3x the price of the priciest Amazon-buyable desktop CO2 this site covers, for a meaningfully larger bed and more power.
- Quoted freight covers port-to-port only. Import-forum buyers have documented separate forwarder, destination-delivery, and unloading fees plus inland trucking on top of Thunder’s own freight charge, with Chinese-origin tariffs adding roughly 28.5% in one buyer’s documented case.
1. Thunder Bolt Series — Best Entry Point
Thunder Bolt (30W-80W CO2)
- Three bed sizes (20x12", 24x16", 36x24") and power options from 30W to 80W CO2.
- Ships with LightBurn Pro included — no workaround, no separate purchase.
- 2-year warranty, with support handled through Thunder's US office.
The Bolt series is Thunder’s accessible line — $5,795 gets a real 30W CO2 machine with a 20x12” bed, and stepping up to the 36x24” bed with 80W tops out around $13,995. That’s still well above every machine in our best CO2 laser engraver guide, but for shops that have outgrown a desktop CO2 and want a bundled LightBurn Pro license with no licensing headache, it’s a real step up in both bed size and software convenience.
2. Thunder Nova Series — Best Large-Format Flagship
Thunder Nova (40W-130W CO2)
- Four bed sizes (24", 35", 51", 63") scaling from the Nova 24 up to the large-format Nova 63.
- Auto-focus and up to 1,000mm/s motion speed on the Nova 35 (per Thunder's published specs).
- Same bundled LightBurn Pro license and 2-year warranty as the Bolt line.
The Nova line is where Thunder moves into genuine production territory. The Nova 35, for example, specs out at a 900x600mm working area with up to 1,000mm/s motion speed and auto-focus — meaningfully faster and larger than anything in the Bolt series — for roughly $9,900 and up depending on wattage. At the top, the Nova 51 and 63 push bed size and power (up to 130W optional) further still, well past what any desktop machine on this site attempts.
LightBurn ships included — but check the landed cost before you order
Here’s the part of a Thunder Laser purchase that’s genuinely good news: unlike Epilog’s workaround-only Virtual Device path or Trotec’s complete lack of LightBurn support (see our Epilog laser review and Trotec laser review), every Thunder machine runs natively on a DSP controller LightBurn directly supports, and the license ships included in the purchase price. That alone makes Thunder a notably easier software experience than two pricier, more established industrial names.
The catch buyers consistently underestimate isn’t the software — it’s shipping. Thunder’s quoted freight charge covers getting the machine from the factory to a US port, not the rest of the way to your shop. Import-tracking threads on CNCZone and LightBurn’s own forum document real additional costs on top of that quote: a separate freight-forwarder fee, a destination-delivery charge, an unloading fee, and inland trucking to the final address, plus US tariffs on Chinese-origin machines that one buyer calculated at roughly 28.5% of the machine’s value. None of this is a hidden fee unique to Thunder — it’s standard for any freight-imported industrial machine — but it rarely shows up when comparing Thunder’s sticker price against a US-warehoused competitor, and it’s worth budgeting for before you order.
OMTech Polar+ (55W CO2)
- Real desktop CO2 cutting power at roughly half the Bolt series' entry price, with no freight-forwarder or customs surprise.
- Native LightBurn support, shipped and sold directly through Amazon.
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The bottom line
Thunder Laser earns its 5.0/5 Trustpilot reputation with responsive support and — genuinely rare among pricier CO2 brands — a LightBurn license bundled into every machine with full native compatibility, no workaround needed. The Bolt series ($5,795-$13,995) and Nova series ($8,350 and up) both deliver real bed size and power beyond anything sold on Amazon. But it’s a freight-imported purchase, not an Amazon checkout: no US marketplace listing, and a quoted freight price that doesn’t include the destination-delivery, unloading, and tariff costs buyers report paying on top of it. Buy Thunder if you’ve budgeted for the full landed cost and want bundled LightBurn Pro with strong support. Otherwise, start with our main laser engraver guide — you’ll find real CO2 cutting power with no freight surprise well below Thunder’s price floor.