If you’re like me, then you’ve been wondering what craft machine should I buy? The Silhouette, the Circut from Provo Craft, Quickuts, or even the Slice. There are soo many options these days with amazing projects to make with them.
Here we are breaking down public opinion so you can be armed with enough information to choose for yourself which digital cutter is the best for you!
Are you Team Cricut or Team Silhouette?
I received the sweetest e-mail from a reader who said, “I am a beginner and want to purchase either a Cricut or a Silhouette. I’m not sure which is the better option.“
Since I only have a Silhouette, I decided to ask Tip Junkie’s over on the Facebook page to see what they have to say. 120 women chimed in and here are the results:
- 44% prefer the Silhouette
- 56% prefer the Cricut
- Other likes were eCraft, big shot, and slice.
The Benefits of a Silhouette are:
Here is what Tip Junkie readers said are their favorite things about the Silhouette. These are their opinions about working with the craft machine.
- Very easy to learn to use and doesn’t take up much space.
- Shapes are cheap to download, you can use your own fonts, or draw what you want to cut on Silhouette Studio or Adobe Illustrator. I also use the print and cut option a lot.
- With the new fabric interface kit, you can now cut fabric.
- It will cut ANY true type font and there are tons online for free.
- No cartridges, great customer service, love their online store (think iTunes for files!),
The Perks of a Cricut are:
Just like above, the following are quotes from fellow Tip Junkie’s on their favorite aspects of working with this digital cutter.
- Many options to store your cartridges now that take up no space. You can get the carts for $20 now instead of $89-99. I don’t have a computer in my craft studio so Silhouette doesn’t work for me.
- Cricut cuts paper, card stock, heavier card stock, some chip-boards, vinyl, window cling material, thin magnets, wall paper, pre-pasted wall paper and boarders, poster board, some fabrics, just to name a few.
Need more information before you decide what craft machine or digital cutter will work the best for you? Then here are a few articles to help you decide:
- What is the best cutting machine for me?
- Cricut vs. Silhouette the Eternal Debate
- Cutting Samples of both machines
- Tip Junkie’s Silhouette Look Book ~ 130+ tutorials
Thank you guys SO much for giving me this information. I don’t have a Cricut so I was unaware of the lawsuit nor that Sure Cuts A Lot {SCAL} and MTC are no longer compatible.
You ladies ROCK for keeping us in the loop so we can all make an informed decision. {knuckle bumps}
Laurie {Tip Junkie}
Hey Lisa – Personally I would wait but that decision is entirely up to you. {wink}
Laurie {Tip Junkie}
Please be aware that neither Sure Cuts A Lot nor Make The Cut work with Cricut. ProvoCraft (makers of Cricut) have sued all companies making software compatible with Cricut, making it impossible to use the Cricut without purchasing Cricut Cartridges – and if you can’t find a cartridge with a cut you are looking for, you’re just SOL.
I own a Cricut and I refuse to support ProvoCraft in any way from this point forward. The moment I can afford a Silhouette, I will dump my Cricut on some other poor unfortunate soul.
Provocraft (Cricut) recently sued the creators of SCAL and MTC. As I understand it, the result is that these two software packages will no longer be compatible with Cricut.