Crystallization of Co-rich amorphous alloys via thermal and laser annealing has been studied using X-ray diffraction and high resolution electron microscopy techniques. It has been found that microstructural properties of the resulting alloys can differ significantly for the two thermal treatments depending on their Co content. Co78Fe2Mn2Si9B9, Co72Fe8B20 and Co50Fe28Si10B12 amorphous alloys have been studied and only Co72Fe8B20 has shown very different crystallization processes after thermal and laser annealing. The results of comparative analysis of the influence of laser and thermal annealing on optical and structural properties of the samples are discussed.