The article presents requirements concerning quality after cutting in accordance with the requirements of PN-EN 1090-1+A1:2012P and PN-EN ISO 9013:2008 standards as well as the results of surface tests after cutting with a laser beam, plasma, oxygen and water stream. The test results reveal the significant influence of the cutting technology on surface quality. The research related quality tests involved the measurements of perpendicularity, hardness, profile height and metallographic examination. The lowest hardness was achieved by water cutting, whereas the highest was obtained by plasma cutting under the water surface. The lowest porosity was achieved by means of plasma cutting over the water surface, whereas the highest by laser beam cutting. The lowest perpendicularity tolerance was obtained by plasma cutting under the water surface (1.6 m/min), whilst the highest was achieved by laser beam cutting and HD plasma.