The 3 Best Electronic Cutting Machines From Cricut and Silhouette of 2024 | Reviews by Wirecutter

Oct 15, 2024

By Arriana Vasquez

Arriana Vasquez is a senior updates writer covering cameras, hobbies, work from home, and powering at Wirecutter.

We’ve added the Cricut Joy as a pick for people who have limited space or like making custom cards for special occasions.

Electronic cutting machines carve images out of vinyl, cardstock, and iron-on transfers—some can even cut leather and wood. They’re powerful tools for all crafters, whether you DIY everything or you just want to make a few stickers.

We’ve recommended Cricut craft cutters since 2017 because they do a lot, the software is easy to learn, the blade is precise, and Cricut’s image library is huge. The latest Cricut machine, the Cricut Explore 3, is no exception.

This machine offers the easiest-to-learn software, smooth cutting, a large image and project library, and strong community support. It’s also the most beginner-friendly model we tested.

This cutter can slice through fabric and thicker materials without a fuss. And it has updatable software, so it should stay current for longer than some other models, including our top pick.

This small, lightweight machine is great for cutting projects under 6 inches wide, but its small size and limited tool selection make it less versatile than our other picks.

We prioritized software that’s easy to use and stocked with plenty of ready-to-cut projects.

Changing or replacing blades should be simple, so we noted whether blade swapping was hard or frustrating.

If you run into problems, you should be able to get help right when you need it—otherwise, you’re unlikely to use the machine ever again.

You need more than just the machine to get started, so we favored machines that offer a variety of accessory bundles.

This machine offers the easiest-to-learn software, smooth cutting, a large image and project library, and strong community support. It’s also the most beginner-friendly model we tested.

We found the Cricut Explore 3 to be intuitive for beginners because of its user-friendly software, which comes with a superior selection of images and ready-to-make projects, including greeting cards. If you do run into trouble, Cricut has better customer support than its competitors.

You can get the Explore 3 in great bundles too, with discounts on accessories (such as extra blades and spare cutting mats) that you’d otherwise need to buy separately. And if you ever want to upgrade to a newer machine, the Explore 3 has one of the highest established resale values.

Advertisement

This cutter can slice through fabric and thicker materials without a fuss. And it has updatable software, so it should stay current for longer than some other models, including our top pick.

The Cricut Maker 3 is just as easy for beginners to learn as the Cricut Explore 3. It’s also the quietest machine we tested, and it’s one of the few machines that can cut fabric without needing stiffeners, such as interfacing. Cricut’s design library contains thousands of images and projects, from small sewing patterns to paper crafts. And the Maker 3’s software is updatable, so the machine may stay useful for longer than competing models. It costs about $100 more than the Explore 3 at this writing, so we recommend buying the Maker 3 only if you craft many projects, want to use heavy-duty materials, or need an extra-quiet machine.

This small, lightweight machine is great for cutting projects under 6 inches wide, but its small size and limited tool selection make it less versatile than our other picks.

If you like making custom cards for special occasions, or if you’re limited on space or budget, the Cricut Joy is, well, a joy to use. Its compact size and lightweight design (just under 4 pounds) make it easy to move around and store.

But the cutting area can cut items only up to 6 inches—half the size of our other picks—and this cutter doesn’t work with the same variety of tools as the Explore 3 and Maker 3, so you’re limited in the types and sizes of your projects.

Advertisement

I’m a senior updates writer at Wirecutter covering hobbies, cameras, and work-from-home equipment. I’ve worked on guides to the best tripods and instant cameras. Before working for Wirecutter, I used Silhouette machines to create art for an Etsy store. I also regularly cut vinyl and cardstock designs to decorate my home.

For this guide:

Electronic cutting machines, also known as vinyl cutting machines or die-cutting machines, are powerful tools for hobbyists, teachers, makers who sell their work on a marketplace such as Etsy, or anyone who just wants to cut out the occasional shape. These machines open up endless projects with their ability to cut common materials, including:

As with any new craft or hobby, using an electronic cutting machine involves a learning curve, and learning how to use the software takes time. It helps if you’re comfortable with online tutorials and manuals, or if you have a friend who can teach you. It also helps to start with easy projects, such as a simple vinyl decal, to learn the basics.

Advertisement

We combined years of using, testing, and reviewing cutting machines to come up with a list of criteria:

Before we started cutting anything, we used the programs that came with each machine to create basic designs, reviewed their collections of projects and images, and asked the manufacturers directly about certain features. Following that we also timed how long we took to set up the machine, as well as how quickly and easily we could start making a project.

We looked at online tutorials and help sections to learn some new techniques, and we noted which company’s software was most intuitive and had clearly labeled tools to help us get started.

We assessed the machines’ cutting speeds and noise levels, changed blades, used pens, and noted how well the machines cut and how accurate they were at anticipating the right cutting depth for the blade.

We made complete projects in vinyl, cardstock, and sticker paper to see how the process and quality turned out all the way through to a finished craft. When possible, we tried cutting fabric, wood, and leather.

Simple: It’s the software.

As we noted in How we picked and tested, one of the most important aspects of a craft cutter is the quality of its included software. Figuring out how to turn raw materials into a finished craft project is intimidating enough. If the software is getting in your way more than it’s helping you, your enthusiasm will quickly sour—not only are you unlikely to finish your project, but also you may never use the machine again.

Every year we look at the latest iteration of each manufacturer’s software, and Cricut’s software continues to be the most beginner-friendly—easily outclassing that of its closest competitor, Silhouette. The biggest difference, we’ve found, is that Cricut’s onboarding process does a much better job of holding your hand as you complete your first few projects.

Beyond the software, the machines’ capabilities are largely the same. Cricut and Silhouette models both cut a wide variety of materials commonly used in arts and crafts, such as adhesive or iron-on vinyl, sticker paper, and cardstock. Stronger (and more expensive) machines from each company can cut tougher materials like leather, chipboard (a thin wood), or felt.

You can access either manufacturer’s software without a subscription, but in that case you have limited access to the various tools and projects. Silhouette has different tiers of subscriptions based on how you plan to use your machine. With the Cricut subscription, you get unlimited access to its images, fonts, and ready-to-make projects at every level.

Advertisement

This machine offers the easiest-to-learn software, smooth cutting, a large image and project library, and strong community support. It’s also the most beginner-friendly model we tested.

The Cricut Explore 3 cuts cleanly and is easy to use, and its Design Space software is great at guiding beginners through their first projects. Cricut’s customer service is excellent if you need troubleshooting, and the company offers a wide array of YouTube tutorial videos.

It makes precise cuts. In our testing the Explore 3’s blade settings were extremely accurate. It made perfectly clean cuts in cardstock and vinyl, and designs we made using the pen tool were precise, as the strokes within lined up neatly throughout the entire design.

The Explore 3’s cuts were just as clean as those from the more expensive Maker 3 in every test, and the Explore 3 even finished one project—cutting an intricate doily from cardstock—three minutes faster.

The software is easy to use, even for absolute beginners. A cutting machine’s software makes or breaks the experience for beginners, and in our tests, Cricut’s software was by far the most intuitive. The company’s Design Space suite has a big on-screen workspace and well-labeled icons, which together make it easier to navigate than Silhouette Studio and Brother’s CanvasWorkspace.

You can quickly find your existing projects or start something new, or you can pick a project from the Cricut store with just a few clicks. If you’re drawing instead of cutting, the software shows all of the Cricut pen colors, so you can get a clear sense of your finished project.

The Explore 3 comes with access to about 100 free images. For about $10 per month, a Cricut Access subscription lets you use almost everything in the company’s catalog (some fonts and images cost extra), expanding your selection to more than 200,000 images. You can even use these images commercially, within the limits of the company’s Angel Policy, which is similar to a Creative Commons license but has some additional restrictions.

You can use the machine wirelessly from any device. The Design Space app is also available for smartphones and tablets (iOS, Android), and this mobile version works with all of our picks.

The mobile app is a simplified version of the desktop version, but you can still browse all the projects in the library and filter by the kind of machine you have. It then walks you step by step through the cutting process.

Cricut’s bundles are typically a good value. The company offers a variety of bundles focused on the kinds of projects you plan to make. These bundles include extras such as tools, cutting mats, paper trimmers, additional blades, different kinds of blades, and starter craft materials like vinyl and cardstock.

A bundle gives you everything you need to craft the projects you have in mind, and it minimizes the chances of your missing a specific tool to finish a project.

Cricut’s customer service is reliable, helpful, and quick to respond. During one round of tests, we ran into a few connectivity issues while testing both the Explore 3 and Maker 3. Each time we contacted Cricut customer support, we never had to wait longer than 10 minutes to get in touch with someone, and each representative was able to resolve the issue. They even went as far as to ship us replacement supplies for whatever materials we used while troubleshooting.

This cutter can slice through fabric and thicker materials without a fuss. And it has updatable software, so it should stay current for longer than some other models, including our top pick.

The Cricut Maker 3 typically costs around $100 more than the Explore 3, but it’s worth buying if you need an accurate machine that can work almost silently. The Maker 3 can also cut more types of material than the Explore 3, including specialty fabric, leather, and balsa wood.

The Maker 3 uses the same accessible Cricut Design Space desktop software and mobile app as the Explore 3, and setting it up and starting a cutting project is just as easy.

It can cut a wide variety of materials, including balsa wood and leather. It can also engrave and etch. During our testing, it cut thicker materials just as cleanly as it cut vinyl and cardstock.

One thing to note is that most of these thicker materials require cutting mats, which are not included with the machine. Such materials also leave more debris on the cutting mat, making the mat less sticky for the next project.

When we tried to cut leather after cutting balsa wood, the leather failed to stick as thoroughly to the mat during the process, causing the machine to jam and stop. After we ejected the mat, repositioned the leather, and applied a little more pressure, the Maker 3 finished the cuts without issue.

It’s quieter than the Explore 3. During tests, we noticed that the Maker 3 didn’t slam down on the cutting mat as hard as the Explore 3 did, and that the constant beeping of the Explore 3 was blessedly absent. The Maker 3 is a better choice for people who will be using their machine in a common area such as a living room.

We think the Maker 3’s quiet operation is due to a heavier dampening system, which adds resistance, causing the tool to come down onto the cutting surface more slowly than it does on the Explore 3. So although the Maker 3 might be a bit slower, its blades and other parts should last a little longer.

It’s a touch slower than the Explore 3. At its slowest, the Maker 3 took three minutes longer to finish cutting a complicated doily in cardstock; whereas the Explore 3 finished in 17 minutes, the Maker 3 did so in 20 minutes. Meanwhile, cutting simpler projects from vinyl took only a second longer, and the Maker 3 completed a mandala design using the pen tool three seconds faster.

Advertisement

This small, lightweight machine is great for cutting projects under 6 inches wide, but its small size and limited tool selection make it less versatile than our other picks.

The Cricut Joy is compact and a breeze to use, and its 6-inch cutting area is particularly suited to smaller crafting projects such as a decal for a coffee mug or a card for a special occasion. It works just as well with the Cricut mobile app as it does with the desktop software.

Compared with our other picks, the Joy can’t use the same variety of tools and materials, but it’s compatible with all of the most popular materials, including adhesive and iron-on vinyl and sticker paper.

Its cutting bed is smaller than those of our other picks. At 6 inches, the cutting bed of the Joy is half as large as what our other picks offer, so it can’t cut a standard 8.5-by-11-inch sheet of stickers, for example. But its small size makes it perfect for people who have limited workspace.

Measuring 8.4 by 5.5 by 4.3 inches, the Joy is much smaller than the 22.2-by-7.0-by-5.9 inch Explore 3. And at just under 4 pounds (7 pounds lighter than the Explore 3), it’s easy to move around and store.

It cuts just as accurately as our other picks but has limitations. Despite its compact size, the Cricut Joy offers excellent performance for basic crafting needs. Like our other picks, it can cut Smart Materials without the use of a mat, but it excels at cutting cards for special occasions.

In addition to its size constraints, the Joy doesn’t have the same cutting force as our other picks, so it can’t cut through thicker materials such as leather or chipboard.

In our tests, cutting cards with the Joy was surprisingly fun, and it was just as easy to do on the Joy via the Design Space app as it was with Cricut’s other machines.

You need to buy a card mat separately. If you plan to use the Joy to cut cards, you need to get the card mat as an additional purchase. Unfortunately, a mat isn’t included—or even mentioned in the instructions for the card projects. (Cricut also sells a card mat that’s compatible with our other picks.)

The best thing you can do to keep your electronic cutting machine running smoothly is to close it when you’re not using it. Doing so prevents dust from settling into the cutting area.

Before you start a job, wipe any dust or paper debris away from the blade and cutting area with a clean, dry cloth—but do this only after you’ve unplugged the machine. Cricut recommends using a glass cleaner on the machine’s exterior and warns against using anything containing acetone.

Silhouette doesn’t give cleaning recommendations, but you should be able to follow the same advice with a Silhouette model.

Cricut doesn’t estimate a time limit for its blades. Silhouette estimates that a blade lasts about six months, depending on what you’re cutting, and advises that cleaning the blade will help you maximize its lifespan. Silhouette has instructions for opening the blade housing to clean it out if the blade isn’t cutting properly.

The cutting mats for all of the machines come with a plastic film to cover the adhesive side. To extend the life of your cutting mats, hold on to the film.

You can also prolong your mat’s life by using a spatula tool to scrape away any bits of material left on it after a project (Cricut has one, as does Silhouette). Once the adhesive has gone, you need to replace the mat. People have demonstrated tricks that allegedly refresh mats (video), but we’ve never tried them.

Advertisement

If you plan to use your craft cutter for a small business: The Silhouette Cameo 5 is a great option. It’s $70 cheaper than our upgrade pick at this writing, yet it cuts nearly all of the same materials. Its software, Silhouette Studio, allows for more granular control over your projects, too. The software also allows you to run two machines at the same time, though you need a subscription to the Studio Business Edition to access that feature. Although doing the same with Cricut machines is possible, the process is more involved and not supported directly within Cricut’s Design Space software.

The Silhouette onboarding process is seriously lacking, though—no papers or documents are included, and setup instructions are available only via a QR code on the box flap. And while Studio gives you more control and editing capabilities, it isn’t as polished as Design Space. That combination of poor onboarding and outdated-looking software can make the already difficult learning curve for those using a Silhouette Cameo machine for the first time even more challenging.

Silhouette’s Electrostatic Mat is a unique accessory for the Cameo 5 that works best with ultra-fine materials such as foil paper; it struggles to maintain a good grip on thicker materials such as cardstock. Priced at $100, the mat is a reasonable investment only if you work almost exclusively with delicate materials.

This is not a comprehensive list of all the electronic cutting machines we’ve tested. We have removed any models that have been discontinued or no longer meet our requirements.

The Siser Juliet boasts impressive precision and speed, cutting nearly twice as fast as our top pick in our tests. However, it falls short in cutting force and software robustness in comparison with our picks from Cricut, which limits its compatibility with a wide range of materials. The Juliet also lacks the extensive tool support available with other options. Lastly, its price tag is $130 higher than that of our top pick at this writing.

We previously recommended the Cricut Maker. Even though the company’s newest machines are faster and quieter—and can cut Cricut’s Smart Materials, which don’t require a cutting mat—this former pick remains a great choice for anyone who doesn’t need those features. It’s also a good option for anyone who wants to take advantage of the now-lower prices or still wants to use older Cricut cartridges (since the newest machines don’t accept them).

The Cricut Joy Xtra is the middle sibling between the Joy (our budget pick) and the Explore 3 (our top pick). It’s a little larger than the Joy and usually costs $50 more, but it has all the same limitations and isn’t as portable. It’s $100 cheaper than the Explore 3, but it cuts fewer than half of the kinds of materials that model can handle, and it has a cutting area about half the size. Ultimately, if portability and low cost are your priorities, the Joy is a better option. If not, the Explore 3 is the way to go.

The Silhouette Cameo 4 is bigger, louder, and less precise than the Cricut machines we recommend. Silhouette also has the Cameo Plus and Cameo Pro, which offer larger cutting areas for big projects. These are all options to consider if you’re more of a power user. If you’re an occasional hobbyist or completely new to these machines, though, any of the Cricut models will be more fun and less frustrating to use.

The Silhouette Portrait 4 costs $50 less than our top pick, the Cricut Explore 3, at this writing, but its cutting area is only 8.5 inches wide, as opposed to our pick’s 12 inches. The Portrait 4 is also $50 more expensive than the Cricut Joy, which has a 6-inch cutting area. We think most people are likely to prefer one of the Cricut options rather than this odd middle-ground machine.

The Brother ScanNCut DX SDX125E is a disappointment for beginners. It’s marketed to sewists and quilters because it can cut fabric and add seam allowances, but we found the machine’s interface and the company’s design software clunkier and harder to learn than those of the Cricut and Silhouette machines we tested.

If you’re a sewist who is used to Brother machines and its software, or if you find it helpful to have a cutter-and-scanner combo (we didn’t), you might be comfortable adding the ScanNCut to your array of craft tools. It’s also the only cutting machine we’ve tried that works with Linux. We don’t think it’s worth the investment for most people.

In our tests of the Silhouette Portrait 3, none of the automatic settings we tried managed to successfully cut our test materials, and the machine was so noisy that we thought it had been damaged in shipping. During one test, the cutting mat became misaligned and popped out the back of the machine, but the blade kept going and tried to cut into the machine itself.

This article was edited by Ben Keough and Erica Ogg.

Advertisement

You can access Cricut’s Design Space software without a subscription, but the number of projects and designs are limited, and features such as the Background Removal Tool aren’t available. With the Cricut Access subscription, you gain access to advanced tools and the entire library of designs and projects. If you don’t have Access, you can purchase most projects by paying a one-time fee. But if you plan to use your machine often, signing up is likely to be more cost-effective.

If you craft often or tend to make similar patterns over and over, an electronic cutting machine is worth the investment since it can cut repeated patterns with extreme precision. We’ve found Cricut machines to be the easiest and most effective to use, and as a result we recommend buying them over machines from other brands.

If you want to be able to make stickers or any other designs that involve cutting around a picture, you do need a printer in order to print the design you plan to cut out. If you’re interested only in cutting vinyl, you may not need one.

You do need a computer if you plan to buy a Cricut or Silhouette machine, since you have to prepare designs in desktop software before sending them to the cutting machine to be cut or drawn. The Brother ScanNCut DX SDX85 comes with free designs preloaded, so it’s possible to use that model without having access to a computer or the internet. If you want to add designs, however, you need both.

Arriana Vasquez

Arriana Vasquez is a senior updates writer for powering, home office, cameras, and hobbies at Wirecutter. When she's not taking photos, she's reading or running D&D games. She is the producer and dungeon master of After Work Adventurers, a live-play D&D campaign on YouTube.

by Ambreia Meadows-Fernandez

Craft subscription boxes are a fun, educational way to keep kids entertained. We tested 15 options with a total of 23 kids to find the best.

by Kase Wickman

Looking for a fun project to keep your hands busy while binging the latest season of your favorite TV show? Try these cute, easy craft kits.

by Elissa Sanci

An electronic cutting machine can expand your crafting repertoire, from personalized greeting cards to custom T-shirts.

by Ellen Lee

We’ve found that these projects and activities can (with a little luck!) keep kids engaged, with minimal parental assistance.

Advertisement