How Much Does a Flamethrower Cost?

Under $700 is handheld territory. The Pulsefire Compact ($279.99) is the cheapest new flamethrower sold today: 2.2 lb, plastic body, gasoline only, roughly 18 seconds of fire from a 13 oz tank, with a 15 ft range. Above it sit the XM42-L ($595), the current successor to the discontinued XM42 Lite; the Pulsefire UBF ($599.99), an underbarrel unit that mounts to a picatinny rail; the Pulsefire LRT ($689.99), a 25 ft aluminum-and-stainless handheld that runs gasoline or up to a 50% diesel mix; and Throwflame's all-electric ARC ($699), which uses plasma arc ignition and reaches 30 ft.

From $700 to $2,000 you are buying more capability or a different form factor. The ARC Pro ($899) shares the ARC's 6 lb all-electric design, and both take an optional 3.5 gal backpack for $249 on top of the 0.4 gal onboard tank. Throwflame's X15 ($1,699–$1,850) is the classic backpack unit: 50 ft range, 3.3 gal capacity, and over 60 seconds of continuous fire. The TF-19 WASP ($1,599) is the niche entry — a flamethrower attachment for a drone, with the drone itself not included.

Past $2,000 is maximum-output territory. The XL18 ($3,450) is the longest-range flamethrower in this guide, with a published 110 ft+ maximum on a napalm mix and 80–90 ft on straight diesel. The Thermonator ($9,420) puts a flamethrower on a robot dog and is priced accordingly. Throwflame sells direct with a lifetime warranty and free UPS Ground shipping, which matters more at these prices than at the entry level.

The most-searched used flamethrower is the Boring Company Not-A-Flamethrower. It sold for $500 at launch, 20,000 were made, and production ended in 2018. Units now resell for roughly $1,000 to $3,000. That price reflects scarcity and novelty, not output — you are paying two to six times the original sticker for a discontinued product, so it makes sense as a collectible, less so as a working tool.

At the far end of the collector market, WWII-era units like the M2-2 are collector pieces, and operational examples typically trade for $20,000–$50,000 on the secondhand market. For anyone who actually plans to run fuel through the thing, buying new is the sane path — current manufacturers sell direct, and Throwflame backs its units with a lifetime warranty, which no used or surplus purchase will match.

Fuel is the cheap part. These machines run on ordinary gasoline or diesel from the pump, so filling a 3.3 gal backpack runs roughly $10–15 at 2026 prices — roughly the cost of a gas-station fill-up. Handhelds with tanks under half a gallon cost far less per fill.

CO2 is the recurring cost people forget. The X15 and XL18 use CO2 as propellant, so plan on refills between sessions; a spare 20 oz CO2 tank is $24. All-electric models like the ARC skip CO2 entirely and recharge instead, with about 30 minutes of runtime per battery charge.

If you buy an XL18 for the range, budget for gelling agents. Throwflame's napalm-mix gelling agents start at $179, and that mix is the difference between 80–90 ft on straight diesel and the 110 ft+ published maximum.

The $279.99 Pulsefire Compact is a fine tool for what it is: lighting bonfires and burn piles without much weight or ceremony. Be clear-eyed about the limits, though — 15 ft of range, about 18 seconds of fire per 13 oz tank, gasoline only, and a plastic body. It is also out of stock until roughly August 2026, so it is not even an option for the moment.

Buyers who care about range or burn duration outgrow the Compact quickly. The practical starting point is the $599–$699 band: the Pulsefire LRT gets you an aluminum-and-stainless build with 25 ft of range and 27 seconds per tank, and the ARC gets you 30 ft with plasma arc ignition — in stock, sold direct.

If throwing fire a long way is the whole point, skip the intermediate purchases. The X15 at $1,699 doubles handheld-class range to 50 ft with over a minute of continuous fire, and the XL18 at $3,450 — currently in stock — is the only unit here with a published 110 ft+ reach. Buying once at the tier you actually want costs less than buying twice.