•Development of an inline measurement system for efficiency in laser metal deposition.•Real-time measurements of deposited mass and layer height in different conditions.•Monitoring powder catchment efficiency with coaxial optical triangulation.•Model for efficiency as a function of standoff distance and process parameters.•Identification of the driving parameters for the self-stabilization mechanism. In laser metal deposition (LMD) the height of the deposited track can vary within and between layers, causing significant deviations during the process evolution. Previous works have shown that in certain conditions a self-stabilizing mechanism occurs, maintaining a regular height growth and a constant standoff distance between the part and the deposition nozzle. Here we analyze the link between the powder catchment efficiency and the deposition height stability. To this purpose, a monitoring system was developed to study the deposition in different process conditions, using inline measurements of the specimen weight in combination with the layer height information obatined with coaxial optical triangulation. An analytical model was used to estimate the deposition efficiency in real-time from the height monitoring and the process parameters, which was verified by the direct mass measurements. The results show that the track height stabilization is associated to a reduction of the powder catchment efficiency, which is governed by the melt pool relative position with respect to the powder cone and the laser beam. For a given set of parameters, the standoff distance can be estimated to achieve the highest powder catchment efficiency and a regular height through the build direction.