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So you don’t know if you want a Cricut or Silhouette. And you want to make sure you’re buying the best cutting machine. Or at least one that will do what you want.
Most websites do a comparison of the
Both provide precision cuts and will save a lot of time on your paper crafts or other crafts.
For those of you who hate reading, here is an infographic comparing the Silhouette Cameo 4 and the
Price
Price is a huge factor. When you purchase one of these machines. You’ll probably be spending the most money you’ve ever spent on a crafting product. But it will be worth it. I promise.
You will appreciate the ease of cutting intricate designs at the press of a button.
Silhouette Cameo 4 cost about $300
Cricut Maker cost about $400
Winner- Silhouette Cameo 4
Getting a Silhouette will change your crafting experience. You will be able to make things that look amazing in half the time.
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Cutting Force
Before the Silhouette Cameo 4 came out,
But now the tables have turned. The new Cameo 4 has a cutting force of 5000 grams. 1000 grams more than the
If you only plan to cut vinyl and paper, the cutting force doesn’t matter too much. But if you plan on moving onto balsa wood, leather, and other thicker, harder to cut materials, you’re going to need more cutting force.
Winner- Silhouette Cameo 4
Blades Available
If you are looking for a machine that has more blade options, you’ll want to get a
The amount of blads is probably the main difference between them.
The
- Fine Point blade
- Deep Point blade
- Bonded Fabric blade
- Rotary blade
- Knife blade
- Quick Swap Perforation blade
- Quick Swap Wavy blade
- Quick Swap Debossing tip
- Quick Swap Engraving tip
- Quick Swap Scoring Wheel tips
Find out about the different blades here.
The Silhouette Cameo 4 currently has 3 blades-
1. One tap Autoblade– This is your main blade. It’ll automatically choose how much of the blade is showing. No need to manually adjust the blade.
2 Rotary blade– Used for cutting fabric and crepe paper.
3. Kraft Blade– Used for cutting thicker materials like leather, craft foam, and balsa wood
Silhouettes don’t have as many blade options as
Make sure you always have extra blades on hand. They do get dull and will need to be replaced.
Winner-
What size materials can they cut?
When you first
Some of those things require a larger cutting area.
A Silhouette Cameo 4 has the ability to do matless cutting. (A mat is a sticky sheet of plastic that you place the material you’re cutting on) You can cut paper and vinyl without a cutting mat with a Silhouette.
When you are cutting without a mat, you can cut things that are 12 inches x 10 feet. When cutting with a mat, you can cut up to 12″ x 24″.
You can also upgrade to a 15″ cutting width with the Silhouette Cameo Plus or 20″ cutting width with the Silhouette Cameo Pro.
A
Winner- Silhouette Cameo 4
Getting a Silhouette will change your crafting experience. You will be able to make things that look amazing in half the time.
Software
Another thing to consider before you purchase your die-cutting machine is the software that comes with your
Silhouette software (called Silhouette Studio) is a program that you download onto your computer. You don’t have to have WiFi to use it.
Silhouette Studio Software is great software. From what I’ve read, some
You will be able to design lots of files with the software. This can save you money because you won’t need to
If you are looking to do a lot of your own designs or customize other people’s designs, go with a Silhouette.
The only downside of the software is that you’ll need to upgrade your software to Designer Edition to be able to import SVG files. Most of the files you get online will be SVG files.
You can
There are even more upgrades you can purchase if you want the software to do more and I currently have business edition so I can export as SVG files.
There are no upgrades to the free software
If you are not very tech-savvy and you just want to use designs other people have created,
Cricut software in the past needed an internet connection but it is now a program you install on your computer so it will not have the issues of being web-based.
You can also upload SVG into the
Another plus for
I honestly prefer to use Adobe Illustrator for my design software and use Silhouette Connect. It saves me time because I don’t have to export SVG files to Silhouette Studio to cut but I get the power of Illustrator.
Winner- Draw
It really depends on what you want and need. If you would like to make your own designs, go with Silhouette. If you want to use your phone or tablet and only need to do basic things and want to use your mobile devices, go with
Getting a Silhouette will change your crafting experience. You will be able to make things that look amazing in half the time.
Speed of Cutting
Cut speed is how fast the machine can cut something out. The Silhouette Cameo 4 can cut 3 times faster than the previous version. So now, cut times will be about the same whether you get a
Winner- Draw
Available files to cut
Both Silhouette and
The cost for a Silhouette Design Store subscription ranges from $4.99 for $10 of credits, to $29.99 a month for $250 in credits. You then use these credits to
If you don’t want to pay a monthly subscription, you are able to
Cricut offers a design library too. But you are only able to
You can
- over 400 fonts,
- Unlimited use of 100,000 cut-ready images.
- 10% savings on all product purchases on
cricut .com, including machines, accessories, materials, and more – including sale items!1 - 10% savings on premium licensed fonts, images, and ready‑to‑make projects from brands like Disney, Sanrio, Simplicity, and Anna Griffin2
- Priority Member Care Line (50% less wait time)
Winner- Draw
It really depends on your needs. If you plan on buying a subscription,
Cost of mats and blades
Blades and mats are a necessity of owning a Silhouette or
Silhouette mats cost $9.50 a mat to $12 a mat depending on how many you
Cricut mats cost about $6.60 a mat.
Silhouette Cameo 4 auto blades cost $12.99 each.
Cricut Blades cost about $7
I
Winner-
Dual Carriage
An important feature both machines have a duel carriage. This means that you can have two different tools loaded in at once. So you can cut and draw without having to change out your tool. It speeds up your project because you don’t have to change out your tool in the middle of a cut increasing your cutting speed.
Bluetooth
Both machines can be used with Bluetooth if you are using a computer far from your cutting machine.
But I know if you are using your Silhouette for drawing, it is best to use a wired connection.
Bluetooth can only send so much data at a time and the cut will stop for a couple of seconds while the Silhouette processes. This will leave the pen down on the paper leaving a larger dot of ink than if it had kept drawing.
Wired connections do not have short pauses during the cutting process.
Colors Available
You’re a crafter so you probably love color. Color isn’t the biggest factor when buying your
Cricut currently has 6 different colors for the
Silhouette only has 3 for the Cameo 4: white, black, and pink.
Winner-
Sewing Library
Cricut also comes with a sewing library full of sewing projects you can cut out with your
Winner-
Vinyl Roll Feeder
Silhouette Cameo 4 comes with a built-in vinyl roll feeder. This lets you cut large rolls of vinyl with ease. So if you plan on cutting large vinyl decals, a Silhouette would be better for you.
I love using the vinyl roll feeder when cutting vinyl. It makes the cutting process much faster because I don’t have to cut the vinyl down to size. It is also great for cutting very long cutouts like a growth chart.
Winner- Silhouette
Getting a Silhouette will change your crafting experience. You will be able to make things that look amazing in half the time.
Cross Cutter
The Silhouette also has a cross cutter built in to use with the vinyl roll feeder. When the machine is done cutting, you can tell it to feed out the back.
You can then use the cutting tool to slide across the vinyl to cut it like one of these paper trimmers.
This provides a perfectly straight cut on the edge of the vinyl making it easier to cut later.
Winner- Silhouette
Noise Level
Both of these machines make quite a bit of noise.
You should definitely take noise level into consideration if you work late at night.
Your husband will not be happy if he is trying to sleep in the next room over.
Both the Cameo 3 and the Explorer are noticeably quieter than the Maker and Cameo 4.
Winner- Silhouette
Should you get a Silhouette or Cricut ?
Finial score-
Winner- Tie even though the numbers don’t say so.
Both Cricuts and Silhouettes are a great crafting investment. They will take your crafting to a level you never knew you could reach.
But which is better? It really depends on your needs and wants. If you’ll be using lots of designs created by other people, and you need to cut lots of different materials,
Silhouette is better for those who would want to do more of their own file creation. The software has a lot to offer but it does have a small learning curve. Silhouettes also have a larger cut area than a
They are both great machines though! Whichever you choose, it’ll be a good choice.
Getting a Silhouette will change your crafting experience. You will be able to make things that look amazing in half the time.
Best Bundles
Silhouette Cameo 4
This bundle even comes with all the different blades available
Cricut Maker
Save this Silhouette vs Cricut review for later
