Which Cricut Machine Should I Buy?
Should I buy a Joy, an Air or a Maker?
I’ve been asked this question a lot. My answer is always, what do you want to make and what is your budget? Once I know the answer, I can help that person. But actually, I thought that rather than repeating myself over and over again, why not put the differences in a blog post.
To find out, either watch the video…
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Or read below (for an updated version that includes the Air 3 & Maker 3).
Cricut Options
As it stands the five machines available to buy on the Cricut website are the Cricut Joy, the Explore Air 2, Explore Air 3, the Maker and Maker 3.
I’m not including any older versions, as I have no clue what came before I bought my Explore Air, (I hadn’t even heard of Cricut until then).
So I’ll just do an overview and the pros and cons of each machine and then I guess who should buy which one…
Cricut Joy
Pros
The Joy is super cute and little, so if you have limited space then the Joy is perfect. It would be really easy to pick up and take places, so if you want to add things to your items at craft fayres or want a machine that is portable, then this is definitely a good choice for that.
You can use rolls of vinyl or iron-on vinyl that are 5.5 inches wide by up to 20 feet long, and you don’t need a mat, so you can do lots of little things at a time, and really quickly. You can also cut other materials like card and paper and it has a slot for a pen too, so you can use that to write on your creations.
If you want to make lots of smaller projects like labels, cards, small wall decals, iron ons for baby onesies then the Joy really is good for that, and it’s a good starting point if you only have a small budget.
Cons
However, it seems as if at the moment with the Joy, (as of Jan 2021), you are limited to using Cricut vinyl. This can be a lot more expensive and not as good quality as vinyl you buy from vinyl suppliers or craft stores online. As it stands, most craft companies don’t seem to be stocking rolls that are 5.5 inches wide, so until they catch up you may be paying more for your materials. You could cut up your own rolls, however, that is time consuming and more likely to produce wasted ends. You also can’t do print and cut with it so if you want to make your own stickers then this isn’t the machine for you either.
Conclusion
I personally wouldn’t buy this machine if I thought I might want to start selling items eventually. For example, if you wanted to make cards, it doesn’t have the option for scoring them. And even though you can use up to 5.5 inches wide vinyl, the widest you can actually make anything is 4.4 inches high, so as soon as your customers start asking for custom orders you will be stuck.
However, for personal crafts and kitting out your house and kids’ clothes and things like that, it really is a great machine. Or if you already make your own items to sell without a machine and all you want to do is personalise them with some names or make your own packaging stickers, for example, then the Joy is also a good choice.
Cricut Explorer Air 2
Pros
This is what I have and I LOVE it! It has been absolutely perfect for everything I wanted to use it for, but I only mostly cut vinyl, iron on vinyl and card.
The Explorer Air 2 also cuts lots of other materials up to 2mm thick, such as cork and bonded fabric. You can also use different tools like a deep cut blade and a scorer for the card.
This would be a great option if you want to do projects with bonded fabric or make card crafts. It also has a pen feature that you can use to write and draw on items, and, it also has a fast mode so you can cut things quicker.
The Explorer Air 2 isn’t huge, at about 20 inches wide, or that heavy.
Cons
It’s not that easy to carry around with you, and if you do want to transport it you need a carry case, so this is a better machine for just keeping in your office or craft room. It likely needs its own little station or area as you have to leave space behind it for the mat to move backwards and forwards and you do always need to use a mat no matter what you are cutting.
Conclusion
Although I use it for business, I think it is known more as the hobby machine in comparison to the Maker as the maker is like the ‘pro level’ machine.
Cricut Maker
Pros
This one is obviously going to be the biggest investment, but for good reason.
It can cut over 300 materials and you can also engrave, do foil transfers and emboss with it if you get the alternative blades. You can also get a rotary blade for cutting through fabric that has no backing if you want to cut out specific patterns. I think it also cuts out certain metals so you can use it for jewellery making.
The force at which it can cut is huge and I think the possibilities would be endless with what you could try and make with it. Here is a link to the list on the Cricut website which compares the materials you can cut with the Explore vs. the Maker.
The Maker is the only ‘commercial grade performance’ machine out of the three so if you want to level up your business then it might be worth thinking about, no matter what kind of thing you make.
Cons
The downside to it is the expense and that you have to buy all of the extra blades in order to have so much choice.
Both the Explore and the Maker can cut up to a maximum of 11.5x23.5 inches so either one you choose will be limited within that size.
My Recommendations
If you want to buy a machine to make smaller labels, homemade cards and iron-on decals for your kids and you don’t have a lot of space and a smaller budget, or if you already have a business and literally just need a machine to make additional labels or branded items the Joy will be perfect for you.
If you have a bit of space to house your machine and you’re just starting out and think you might want to try selling items, but you only really want to make things that require vinyl decals, iron-on decals, card projects, that sort of thing, then the Cricut Explore would work really well for you.
If you’re just starting out and have the resources to pay for it, and don’t want to be limited on what you can make, then I would say the Cricut Explore is a better first choice than the Joy as it gives you much more room to grow with what you make.
If you’re already hugely into crafting, love to make things from all sorts of materials, you work with fabric and/or want to cut thin wood and leather and things that are a bit thicker than 2mm then the Maker is what you will need.
No matter which one you’re considering buying, keep an eye on different places for deals. Cricut tends to always have deals around certain holidays and there are a lot of craft companies like GM Crafts in the UK and… in the US who do good bundles as well. Amazon sometimes has good deals too.
Just be wary not to be taken in by something that looks good because it has a tonne of vinyl for instance, but actually, the vinyl you’re getting isn’t great quality - hopefully, the reviews should tell.
And do not be taken in by deals that seem too good to be true either. I’ve seen quite a few websites masquerading as Cricut sellers and selling machines super cheap, but then when you check their website address it’s a weird name, or they spell Cricut wrong for example. Just try and make sure it’s a reputable site, and regardless, always pay with a credit card or via PayPal to a business address, never friends or family, so that you’re protected if anything happens. And same goes if you’re buying one second-hand.
At some point, I will try and do a comparison video on which Silhouette machine you should get as they have several models - the Cameo 1-4, the Pro, the Plus, the Portrait and the Curio I believe. I will also do an updated Silhouette vs Cricut video as well now that I’ve been using both for a bit longer.
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