Laser cutting with the sine waveform is seldom reported. This article is a comparative study on Nd:YAG laser cutting using the continuous (CW), square, and sine waveforms. The materials used in this study were steel and stainless steel. It has been found that the cutting capability, in descending order, is: CW> sine>square. The cutting of steel (C 0.3 wt.%) and AISI304 austenitic stainless steel may be satisfactorily described by the Steen model, irrespective of waveform. Steel is slightly easier to cut than stainless steel. Limitations of the present study are discussed and suggestions for future work are made.