For folks who bought the Glowforge Pro: There are a lot of cool benefits to the Pro model, but we’d love to know: For you, what was it about the Pro model that caused you to order it? If there are multiple things that were motivating, it’d be great to break them out by how important they are to you.
For folks who didn’t buy the Pro: which of the Pro benefits is most interesting to you?
Initially I bought it because of the pass through slot.
Since learning the slot is rather short, I have remained because of the cooling. Since I also learned that the duty cycle on the basic may be rather short outdoors in the summer months around here.
I will still get about the same amount of use from the pass through as before. I had never had solid plans on what would go through anyway.
cooling, passthrough slot, stronger beam, and too many occurrences of buyers remorse for not taking the step up to the better model when I had the chance. Couple that with the initial discount pricing and the referral bonus and im coming out of it paying about the same for a pro as the basic costs now.
Passthrough was key item, the limited height definite bummer; had planned to mark a bunch of the boards for the sauna that’s in the works…how cool what that have been to have custom engravings on the sauna wall cladding . otherwise the upgraded optics and cooling. Will likely use Passthrough for fabric. But limited height was a major disappointment.
The higher power, better cooling and “improved” optics were what interested me, in that order.
Would have sprung for it if my disposable income allowed. 
Edit: Yeah, the limited Z was a definite negative. All the other innovations made up for that.
The higher power, the cooling but not really a concern here, the better optics and the passthrough (Will not be used much but I do have a couple plans that will use it.
Like others, the pass through was initially a big plus but the limited height definitely rules out many of the ideas I had for it. I’ll still find some uses for it. The higher duty cycle and higher power were important factors and the improved optics was a extra benefit.
EDIT: I wanted to have the option of using the filter especially on sub-zero temperature days but I am likely to usually run the vent hoes either out the window or directly out the side of the shop through a penetration with a blast gate.
Passthru (didn’t realize it was so height limited, so now it doesn’t matter to me), improved engineering (optics, cooling, power), included air filter. (And as @takitus says, never regret buying too good a model of anything.)
With what I know now I’d go with the basic and pipe it to the outside.
I did not go with the Pro and I am going to try to explain why
In order of priority for me
1.Cooling
a.Pro
i.Longer duty cycle
ii.My condo runs hot due to the plumbing being in series and if the heat is on for one unit it’s on for all of them. Heat is triggered if it is <68f outside. This is something due to elderly and the laws in MA. I run my AC’s year round
b.Con
i.We don’t really know what the run time for the basic will be. Lots of variables based on how long and how much power you are pushing
ii.I have experience with TEC’s from water cooling computers. They are inexpensive, so I can’t justify the uptick price
2.Pass through
a.Pro
i.run long material, this means larger parts or not having to reduce all stock down to 12x20
b.Con
i.We don’t know if this actually exists (other then intentions), we have not seen it work
ii.Limited z due to slot thickness
iii.On principle this is essentially a software license and not really a hardware change (yes the pro has a slot cut in it but I can do that in 10 min with a dremal)
3.Optics
a.Pro
i.In conjunction with the extra 5w this is supposed to make cuts 20% faster
b.Con
i.We don’t actually know what this is
ii.40w->45w is a 12.5% increase, I know power and cut is not linear but for ease of math that’s 7.5% that the optics give us?
iii.No clue what it really is so can’t assign a value
iv.At the end of the show, this doesn’t let me cut any different material or thicker that the basic doesn’t let me do
v.It’s only a speed upgrade
4.5w
a.Pro
i.In conjunction with optics this is supposed to make cuts 20% faster
b.Con
i.Same power supply so that’s not additional cost
ii.From a 40w->45w tube I imagine its only slightly incrementally more expensive
iii.Doesn’t let me cut anything different material or thicker that the basic doesn’t let me do
iv.Its only a speed upgradeI ordered the Basic, but my intention is to upgrade to Pro (just hanging onto my $1800 a little longer is all). For pretty much the same reasons as @takitus. And one additional reason: I think future software upgrades are likely to add killer new features to the Pro that might not be available to the Basic. Don’t have any idea what these might be but I don’t want to be in a position of wishing I’d sprung for the Pro. Am I suffering from FOMO?
Similar to most folks here, in this order:
I’m a basic, just couldn’t justify the Pro to myself without a really solid business plan to make that much more money off it. The big thing I wanted was the passthrough; the improved cooling and power are nice, but a few hundred bucks nice.
After learning more (potential restrictions on Class IV machines) I am OK with being pennypinching, because although the passthrough makes a lot of really cool uses possibly, it also makes certain styles of use much more difficult.
Passthrough (and subsequently disappointed with height limitation but not a deal breaker) was number one for me.
The cooling and higher power were very important though. Hopefully, resulting in lower duty cycles and improved longevity of the machine compared to same machine time as the basic.
Pass through capability, (like others disappointed with the thickness limitation, would really have expected 3/4") but, there are work arounds.
Cooling, as my place can get pretty hot during summer months.
Improved optics and power supply.
I ordered mine without the filter as I will vent outdoors, no near neighbors & no worries about smell with dairy farms nearby. 
I would have ordered pro for pass through first then better duty cycle. Not knowing what I was getting into, I figured the basic would keep me occupied for a while without pining for moar powah. I usually buy the high end in my tech purchases maxing out the add on but the basic would meet my initial and long term plans.
Pass-through was top of the list…the actual z restriction is…less than good but, we’ll see there. Extra power was just 2nd to this.
Not quite the same as most. The pass through slot was the thing that had me looking at the pro but it didn’t make me upgrade. I originally ordered the basic without air filter. But two things made me change. Firstly, and it’s been so long now my memory might be wrong, the pro came with the filter so it meant the pro was less to upgrade. The second was a conversation with a friend where he said, “If you’re spending all that money, why not spend the extra to get the better model”. As I’m in the UK, and shipping is a real issue, it made sense to go big from the start.
I don’t think I’d heard about limited height on the pass through. I doubt it will make a difference for me as I was thinking of using it to make leather playmats for TCGs however could someone link to that announcement or let me know what the height has been limited to? I imagine I am not the only person that missed it.
I’ve ordered the basic model, but there is a single reason I’ve considered the pro, and that’s the passthrough.
And the only reason I’m still going with the basic is the price.
The 1/4" limitation is now listed in the specs:
It’s also mentioned in many posts including this one:
For me it was the pass through slot and the fact that it is bundled with the air filter. I want to do lots of odd shaped stuff so it will really help!
Edit after seeing some of the other posts:
The cooling is also on my list for sure