GentleMax Pro vs Splendor X: Which Device to Buy, Compared on Price, Specs and Running Cost

Buy GentleMax Pro if you want a laser you can actually find on the used market today, with 10 asking prices from 7 sellers as of November 2026, and you are ready to budget for cryogen canisters.

Buy Splendor X if you treat large body areas and want square spots up to 27 mm, and you can wait for a unit to come up for sale with its Zimmer Cryo chiller included.

This verdict is our editorial opinion, built on the price and spec facts below.

GentleMax Pro and Splendor X both pair a 755 nm alexandrite with a 1064 nm Nd:YAG, but they differ on spot shape, cooling and how easy they are to find used.

Spot sizes and fluence come from each laser's FDA 510(k) summary (K133283 for GentleMax Pro, K241407 for Splendor X).

GentleMax Pro Plus, the later generation, has its own 510(k) and lists fluence up to 400 J/cm² (755 nm) and 520 J/cm² (1064 nm) at its smallest spots.

A used GentleMax Pro is listed at $29,900 to $79,995 across 10 asking prices from 7 US sellers, read on November 11, 2026.

The low end is a 2012 unit at $29,900, and two 2023 GentleMax Pro Plus units are listed at $59,000 and $59,995.

One 2019 GentleMax Pro described by the dealer as new-in-box and never fired is listed at $69,950, and we leave it out of the used range.

No used Splendor X had a current asking price as of November 11, 2026, so we show no range for it.

The most recent priced Splendor X listings are all sold out or out of stock: a 2018 unit at $42,000, a 2019 unit at $48,000, a 2019 unit with a Cryo 6 chiller at $50,000 and a 2025 unit with a Zimmer Cryo chiller at $51,975.

Live Splendor X listings and its full sheet are on the Splendor X price history and spec page.

Candela publishes no price list for its certified pre-owned systems.

GentleMax Pro cools with Candela's Dynamic Cooling Device, which sprays cryogen through a nozzle in the handpiece, so cryogen canisters are a running consumable.

Splendor X listings name a Zimmer Cryo chiller as the cooling unit, and some used units are listed without one.

Ask a GentleMax Pro seller for recent cryogen invoices to size the canister cost for your patient volume.

Ask a Splendor X seller for lamp shots since replacement and total device shots, as one dealer listed a 2019 unit at under 17,000 shots per lamp since replacement and under 2.2 million device shots.

Check the GentleMax delivery system too: in one FDA adverse-event report, a GentleMax console was within spec but its 6–18 mm delivery system failed a transmission test and could not be repaired.

Splendor X covers more skin per pulse at its largest setting, with a 27 mm square spot against an 18 mm round spot on the GentleMax Pro.

The GentleLase Pro 510(k) summary (K140732) lists the GentleMax at up to 10 Hz, and our sources do not give a repetition rate for Splendor X.

Both list small spots for detail work: 1.5 and 3 mm on GentleMax Pro, and 2 and 3 mm on Splendor X.

Yes for a GentleMax Pro bought from a third party: Candela charges a recertification fee in that case but does not publish the amount.

Candela charges no recertification fee when you buy a certified pre-owned system directly from Candela.

Lumenis publishes no transfer, relicensing or recertification fee for used systems, and its service is done only by Lumenis-certified engineers.

Candela and Lumenis sit alongside other makers in our guide to Candela and Lumenis recertification terms beside other brands.

Get the fee in writing from Candela or Lumenis before you pay a seller.

Both lasers are FDA-cleared through the 510(k) process, not FDA-approved.

Splendor X's 1064 nm Nd:YAG is cleared for hair removal and permanent hair reduction on Fitzpatrick skin types I–VI, including tanned skin.

The Splendor X clearances (K241407 and K243445) cover Alex, Alex2, Nd:YAG and Alex+Nd:YAG configurations, so confirm which one a used unit is.

GentleMax Pro is cleared under K133283; read the indication list in that 510(k) summary before you market a treatment.

Our opinion, based on the facts above:

• GentleMax Pro: clinics that want to buy now, since it has 10 priced used listings and Splendor X has none in stock.
• GentleMax Pro: clinics that already stock cryogen for another Candela DCD laser, such as a Vbeam.
• GentleMax Pro: buyers who want a newer unit, as GentleMax Pro Plus units from 2023 are listed too.

• Splendor X: clinics doing mostly backs, legs and other large areas, where a 27 mm square spot helps.
• Splendor X: clinics with many darker or tanned patients, given its Nd:YAG clearance for skin types I–VI.
• Splendor X: buyers who would rather run a chiller than buy cryogen canisters.

If neither fits your budget, used Lumenis LightSheer diode lasers were listed at $8,000 to $32,000 on DOTmed in November 2026.

Diode and other options are listed under used hair removal lasers beyond the GentleMax Pro and Splendor X.

See current used GentleMax Pro listings, specs and Candela fee terms.