A Cricut cutting machine is a large investment, so I get why you might be asking yourself, “is a Cricut worth it?” Here are 10 questions you can ask yourself to help you decide if it’s worth the money.
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I’ll be honest, I have been thinking about buying a Cricut machine for a long time. A LONG time. I just couldn’t justify spending so much money on a crafting machine. I know, it’s a cool crafting machine, but it’s still just a crafting machine that basically just cuts things, right? So, I never bought one.
We actually have one at work, and I have used it to make vinyl wall decals there. BUT when we went on lockdown, I got the chance to take the cricut home to use it for whatever I wished. I thought that was a great chance for me to be able to see if I really wanted one of my own.
Now, I’m here to share with you the many things that popped in my head while I had this loaner Cricut machine in case you are sitting there asking yourself if buying a Cricut is worth the investment.
You’ll notice as you read through the questions some of the things I’m saying sound a bit negative. They aren’t meant that way, I’m just playing the devil’s advocate for you in hopes of helping you decide if a Cricut machine is worth it. If you stay with me until the end, you’ll see if I thought it was worth the money or not.
Are you crafty and creative?
Now, I know this is an odd question, but before I had the Cricut at home I just thought that projects would magically appear and I would make them. I don’t know why I thought that. Maybe I just saw so many beautiful creations made with a Cricut.
The truth is, you still have to create what you want to make, and many times you want to personalize it. Listen, there are lots of projects in Design Space and many project tutorials out there on the internet but they all require your personal creative flair and you still have to make them.
To be honest, It’s actually like a whole extra layer of creation. But I am used to crafting and I like playing around with digital art.
I’m not saying it’s hard, it’s really not…but using a Cricut is so much more than just sticking a medium into the machine and letting it do all the work. I guess I should have known better, but if you are under any illusions, now you know.
Are you patient enough to work with a Cricut machine?
If you have never used an electronic cutting machine, using a Cricut will truly exercise every bit of your patience.
First, you have to be patient enough to learn how to use Design Space. Design Space is the program where you make all your fabulous Cricut designs. The program is fairly simple to use, but there is a learning curve. Once you learn the features, it’s easy, but be prepared to spend some time watching YouTube videos to figure it out.
Next, you have to be patient with every mistake you make, and trust me, there will be mistakes. Maybe you will forget to set your Cricut to the correct material. Perhaps you won’t mirror your image when needed. Or you may not get your mat under the guides perfectly causing your paper to crumple up. Yes, I’ve done all these things and more.
If you plan on using vinyl in any of your projects weeding requires a whole different level of patience. Weeding is the process of removing the unwanted vinyl from the backing after the Cricut has cut your design. On smaller designs it can take a super human level of patience as you weed out each and every tiny piece of vinyl. The first time I did it I swore I would never use vinyl again…don’t worry, I got over it, but it still does try my patience every time.
Are you at least a little bit tech savvy?
The Design Space program that you use to make Cricut projects is fairly intuitive and simple to use, but there is a little bit of a learning curve.
If you aren’t comfortable with technology you might struggle at first. Not so much that you won’t eventually figure it out, but you might have to watch a few YouTube videos while you are learning. Don’t worry though, there are many MANY helpful YouTube tutorials out there.
Do you have a computer?
So you may have heard, Design Space does have an app. In theory, it’s great to be able to make things on the go, right? That being said, I can’t even imagine working on a design in the small confines of a phone. Maybe an iPad or tablet wouldn’t be so bad.
Plus, all the fonts and graphics that I have purchased elsewhere are not on my phone. My phone does not have the space to store them all, so I wouldn’t be able to use them. Sadness.
I’m not saying you shouldn’t buy a Cricut machine if you don’t have a computer. It might not matter to you, but for me I would not be able to do all the things that I want to do with a Cricut machine if I didn’t have a computer. So, it is something for you to consider.
What are you planning to make with your Cricut?
You need to have an idea of what you want to make to help you decide if it will be worth the money investment.
I got the loaner Cricut home, plugged it in and literally went…”Now what?” You guys!!! I had wanted one for AGES!! I just didn’t know what I wanted to make. I just knew I had seen many things on Pinterest made with a Cricut that I thought would be so cool to create, but once I had it home my mind went blank.
Now, It didn’t take me long to figure out that I wanted to make a banner for my fireplace. So I did. Remember though, I just borrowed my Cricut. If I would have paid for it and then sat there dumbfounded, I might have been upset.
Now you will be able to make many, MANY things with your Cricut so I’m not saying this to discourage you from buying one. It’s just something to think about. If you are going to get it home, create one coffee mug and then let your Cricut gather dust, you might not want to invest in it.
You also need to consider what you are going to make when figuring out your investment. Let’s say you really want to make t-shirts. Do you have an iron? A heat press? If not, then you would need to buy one or the other to make t-shirts with your Cricut. Want to make faux leather earrings? Then you need the deep cut blade.
Finally, you also need to know what you are planning to make to decide WHICH Cricut to purchase. What a shame it would be to buy a Cricut that couldn’t cut the material that you were hoping it would.
How “green” are you?
One thing that I never expected with the Cricut is the amount of waste that comes along with it.
So much waste.
You buy a roll of vinyl for about 8 bucks; over half of it will end up in the trash bin. Yes, over HALF. Plus you will need transfer tape to use your vinyl and ALL of that will end up in the bin.
Paper and cardstock can at least be easily recycled, and it doesn’t have a backing. So if you are planning on making paper crafts, there isn’t quite as much waste.
This tree hugging mom gets a little unsettled at all the waste to be honest.
Now the Cricut Design Space is programmed to automatically place your design to give you the least amount of waste. So that’s good, but there is still a lot of waste. My guess is that might really bother some people, because it does bother me.
Do I have the space for a Cricut machine?
The Cricut Maker and Cricut Air Explore are pretty hefty machines. The Air Explore 2 is actually a bit larger at 24×9.5×9.5. It does easily fit on top of a desk.
You also need to know that when it’s cutting the Cricut feeds the mat through the back of the machine which means you will need clearance on both the front and the back of your Cricut.
The Cricut needs to be plugged into an outlet AND into your computer. So keep that in mind too. You can purchase a special dongle though to make your Cricut wireless. If you do that it will only need to be plugged into an outlet.
The smaller Cricut Joy doesn’t take up nearly the same amount of space, but you are limited to what it can do. So, you’ll want to do some research before purchasing.
Where are you going to get your files from?
This was something I hadn’t thought of once before I bought the Cricut home. You need electronic files to tell your Cricut what to make. Cricut does have a huge variety of files that you can purchase. You can also subscribe to their Cricut Access for $10 a month. With Cricut Access you get access to over 100,000 images and 500 fonts. But if you aren’t constantly crafting, $10 a month seems a little expensive.
You can also download images & fonts from the internet. Many crafting bloggers have free .svg files that will work with Design Space. The problem with this is that you have to really search for them, and if you are looking for something specific you might have a hard time finding a file that converts easily into Design Space.
You could buy files. There are many websites that you can purchase fonts and .svg files to use in your Cricut machine. Of course if you are spending money weekly on files, you might be better just buying the Cricut Access.
Anyway, it’s just something to think about.
This is a file I created for my Cricut using a font and graphic that I purchased.
Which Cricut machine should I buy?
This is one of THE most important questions to ask yourself.
There are 3 different Cricut Machines currently in productions; Cricut Maker, Cricut Air Explore 2, and Cricut Joy.
Each one is different and each one may be right for you. I could actually write a whole post about the differences in the three machines, but instead I will share with you a post from the Cricut website detailing the differences at the link below.
Which Cricut Machine is Right for me?
When purchasing your Cricut you need to make sure you get the right machine for YOU! It would be a shame to get it home to find out that it can’t cut the materials that you were hoping for.
Is a Cricut worth it to YOU?
That’s really the BIG final question, right? For someone who spends hours scrapbooking, I can see how it would completely be worth every penny, just in time savings. BUT if you are the type of person who just wants to make a couple of funny t-shirts you saw on the internet, it might not be worth it.
My hope is that in the other questions you’ve already seen above you already know if it’s worth the money to you. Ultimately, you are the only one who knows.
In the end, I thought it was worth the money. So, after I returned my loaner Cricut Air Explore 2, I purchased one of my own. Since I got it a couple months ago, I’ve made t-shirts, banners, candles, towels. I’ve also got some projects on the horizon I want to make. So yes, it was worth it to me.