There are a lot of applications where you might want to cut and use vinyl on different objects and surfaces at your home. These can be great for decoration, labelling things, covering up cosmetic damages on objects, and much more. And if you also want to go crazy with vinyl, then you will need something like the best vinyl cutting machines present down below since they offer the following features:
- Cutting Mat Size: Before anything else, you need to check the cutting mat size of your vinyl cutting machine to ensure that you can fit large enough vinyl sheets inside it. Some of the common cutting mat sizes include options like 12 inch x 12 inch and 30 inch x 30 inch where a larger option is generally better for heavy-duty usage.
- Cutting Thickness: If you are buying a vinyl cutting machine made for heavy-duty usage, then you would also want it to be able to cut thick sheets of vinyl if needed. To ensure the same, you can check the cutting thickness which is given as up to 1 mm, up to 2 mm, and even up to 3 mm where a higher rating is always better.
- Patterns and Designs: Even though you can make your own patterns and designs for cutting vinyl, many vinyl cutting machines also come bundled with 500 designs, 1000 designs, 5000 designs, and even more. Such vinyl cutting machines with a large number of included patterns and designs are great for beginners.
Apart from these features, there is still quite a lot that you need to keep in mind while going with the best vinyl cutting machine. Thus, all the best vinyl cutting machines present here also have their major factors and specifications explained along with a complete “Buying Guide” to help you in picking the best vinyl cutting machine for your needs and requirements.
Best Vinyl Cutting Machines
| Vinyl Cutting Machines | Cutting Mat Size | Cutting Thickness | Warranty | Buy Now |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cricut Explore Air 2 Vinyl Cutter | 12 inch x 12 inch | Up to 2 mm | 1 year long | Check On Amazon |
| Brother ScanNCut DIY Cutting Machine | 12 inch x 12 inch | Up to 3 mm | 1 year long | Check On Amazon |
| Silhouette America, Inc Cutting Machine | 12 inch x 8 inch | Up to 2 mm | 1 year long | Check On Amazon |
| Cricut Maker, Champagne | 24 inch x 12 inch | Up to 2 mm | 1 year long | Check On Amazon |
| VEVOR Line Free Vinyl Cutter Machine | 14 inch x 11 inch | Up to 1 mm | - | Check On Amazon |
| USCutter MH 34in Vinyl Cutter | 30 inch x 30 inch | Up to 3 mm | 1 year long | Check On Amazon |
Also check –
Best Vinyl Cutting Machines Reviews
1. Cricut Explore Air 2 Vinyl Cutter
Cricut has been making vinyl cutting machines for a long time which are great for using at home thanks to their form factor and features which are perfect for home-usage.
The Cricut Explore Air 2 vinyl cutting machine is present at the 1st position in this list since this is the most affordable option given here making it perfect for buyers on a tight budget. Since this vinyl cutting machine is made for home usage, it offers a cutting mat size of 12 inch x 12 inch which makes it quite compact.
While it may not be the highest, its cutting thickness rating of up to 2 mm is much higher than most other budget options. Another great thing about this vinyl cutting machine is that you get a 1-year warranty with it since Cricut is quite popular.
Best Features:
- Rated cutting mat size of 12 inch x 12 inch
- Offers a maximum cutting thickness of up to 2 mm
- Comes with a 1-year warranty
Pros:
- Highly affordable vinyl cutting machine for budget buyers
- Quite compact and small in size for home usage
- Decent cutting thickness rating for the price
Cons:
- Not ideal for heavy-duty usage
2. Brother ScanNCut SDX125EGY Electronic DIY Cutting Machine
Brother is primarily a brand of printers and scanners which also offer a few vinyl cutting machines which are combined along with their scanner units for versatile usage.
This Brother ScanNCut SDX125EGY vinyl cutting machine is present at the 3rd position in this article because it is the most versatile option for home usage thanks to its inbuilt scanner unit. As for the vinyl cutting unit, it uses a 12 inch x 12 inch cutting mat which is perfect for having a compact vinyl cutting machine.
Being a premium and high-performance vinyl cutting machine, it also offers a cutting thickness of up to 3 mm which is quite great. Another great thing about Brother and it’s vinyl cutting machine, you also get a 1-year warranty with it.
Best Features:
- Rated cutting mat size of 12 inch x 12 inch
- Offers a maximum cutting thickness of up to 3 mm
- Comes with a 1-year warranty
Pros:
- High-performance vinyl cutting machine for home
- Offers a large number of patterns and designs
- Combines a scanner unit and a vinyl cutting machine
Cons:
- A bit on the expensive side
3. Silhouette America, Inc Cutting Machine
Silhouette America is another popular brand of vinyl cutting machines since you can find a lot of practical and versatile options when you are talking about home-usage.
The Silhouette America vinyl cutting machine is the smallest and most compact option given here which is perfect for home-usage. To make this possible, this vinyl cutting machine uses a cutting mat size of 12 inch x 8 inch which is much smaller than others.
Even though it is a bit average, its given cutting thickness of up to 2 mm is quite good considering the size and compactness of this vinyl cutting machine. Silhouette America also offers a 1-year warranty making it fairly reliable and ideal for long-term usage.
Best Features:
- Rated cutting mat size of 12 inch x 8 inch
- Offers a maximum cutting thickness of up to 2 mm
- Comes with a 1-year warranty
Pros:
- Compact and quite small for home usage
- Decently powerful for the given size
- Sturdy build quality and a standard warranty period
Cons:
- Doesn’t work with vinyls made for heavy-duty usage
4. Cricut Maker, Champagne
Cricut also offers slightly more premium and expensive options for those who are willing to go with a larger vinyl cutting machine but still need one which is viable for home use.
The Cricut Maker Champagne vinyl cutting machine can be a great option to easily work on larger vinyl projects right at home. For the same, Cricut has included a decently large cutting mat size of 24 inch x 12 inch.
Similar to the previous vinyl cutting machine from Cricut, it also offers a maximum cutting thickness of up to 2 mm. Another similarity that you will find with it is its included 1-year warranty for your peace of mind.
Best Features:
- Rated cutting mat size of 24 inch x 12 inch
- Offers a maximum cutting thickness of up to 2 mm
- Comes with a 1-year warranty
Pros:
- Perfect for beginners with an easy to use design
- Great build quality with a decent warranty
- Fairly large cutting mat size for home usage
Cons:
- Not the most compact option
5. VEVOR Line Free Vinyl Cutter Machine
When compared to most other vinyl cutting machines and their brands out there, Vevor is a much more affordable and an entry-level option that can be viable for many.
Vevor’s vinyl cutting machine is among the smallest and quite affordable options when you are talking about vinyl cutting machines. To make its compact size possible, it uses a cutting mat size of 14 inch x 11 inch which is one of the smallest out there.
Since this is a comparatively cheaper option, its given maximum cutting thickness of up to 1 mm is to be expected. That being said, you do not get any warranty with this vinyl cutting machine which can be a bit limited for some.
Best Features:
- Rated cutting mat size of 14 inch x 11 inch
- Offers a maximum cutting thickness of up to 1 mm
Pros:
- One of the most compact vinyl cutting machine
- Decently powerful for the given price
- Ideal for home usage in compact spaces
Cons:
- Misses out on an included warranty period
6. USCutter MH 34in Vinyl Cutter
While USCutter and its offerings are a bit on the higher end, you can surely consider it if you are looking for high-end vinyl cutters that are perfect for heavy-duty usage.
USCutter’s MH vinyl cutting machine is present at the 2nd position in this listicle as it is the most powerful option given here. For starters, you get an excellent cutting mat size of 30 inch x 30 inch with it which is much higher than most other offerings.
To ensure that you can work on most heavy-duty vinyl projects, USCutter also features an excellent cutting thickness of up to 3 mm. Since this is a high-end and premium vinyl cutting machine, you also get a 1-year warranty with it for your peace of mind.
Best Features:
- Rated cutting mat size of 30 inch x 30 inch
- Offers a maximum cutting thickness of up to 3 mm
- Comes with a 1-year warranty
Pros:
- Excellent vinyl cutting machine for heavy-duty usage
- Perfect for cutting large-sized vinyl sheets
- Sturdy build quality with a standard warranty
Cons:
- Slightly on the expensive and premium side
Buying Guide for the Best Vinyl Cutting Machines
If you are working on vinyl sheets and cutting them for making certain designs and patterns, then you would want the best precision possible. While you can do the same by hand as well, that can be quite time-consuming.
Instead, you can go with one of the best vinyl cutting machines discussed earlier in this listicle. All these best vinyl cutting machines have been discussed along with their significant aspects and features. Although, if you are interested in knowing even more, then consider checking out this detailed buying guide for the best vinyl cutting machines:
Cutting Mat Size
Starting with one of the most basic yet a highly important factor considering vinyl cutting machines, we have the cutting mat size. By checking the cutting mat size, you can get an idea about how large of a vinyl sheet you can work on with a given vinyl cutting machine.
Some of the common cutting mat sizes that you will find out there include options like 12 inch x 12 inch, 24 inch x 12 inch, 30 inch x 30 inch, and even 34 inch x 30 inch. Out of all these options, the 34 inch x 30 inch cutting mat size is the better option for heavy-duty usage.
Although, the smaller 12 inch x 12 inch cutting mat size results in a much smaller cutting machine which can be ideal for compact spaces and basic cutting jobs.
Cutting Thickness
There can be many cases where you may have to work on larger vinyl projects which may consist of thicker vinyl sheets. Hence, checking the supported cutting thickness of your vinyl cutting machine is highly important. This cutting thickness is directly given in mm and tells you about how thick of a vinyl sheet you can work on. While entry-level vinyl cutting machines may only work with up to 1 mm thick vinyl sheets, higher-end options can cut up to 2 mm or even up to 3 mm thick vinyl sheets if needed.
Patterns and Designs
As you would know, you can use any design or pattern of your choice for using your vinyl cutting machine. But if you are new to such vinyl cutting machines, finding or creating complex designs might not be feasible. Thus, to help beginners, many vinyl cutting machines come with inbuilt patterns and designs. While entry-level options may only offer up to 500 patterns or 1000 patterns, high-end models can even come with up to 5000 inbuilt patterns and designs that you can use for cutting vinyl with ease.
Controls and Adjustments
For using a given vinyl cutting machine, you will have to use its controls for the same. Therefore, it is quite important to ensure that you are getting a vinyl cutting machine that offers versatile controls and adjustment options. Apart from its included software for using the cutting machine, you should also check the physical controls and adjustments. Any vinyl cutting machine which offers an inbuilt display along with multiple buttons and controls is going to be easy to use for precise and accurate cutting.
Warranty
After you have chosen the right vinyl cutting machine for your needs and requirements, you would expect yours to last for as long as possible. One easy way to ensure that you are going with a reliable and durable enough vinyl cutting machine is to simply check its included warranty. Fortunately, almost all vinyl cutting machines come with a 1-year warranty which should be plenty for most when you are talking about reliability and longevity.
FAQs about the Best Vinyl Cutting Machines
Ans: If you are interested in creating custom vinyl designs, then you can do so and export them as popular image formats like PNG. These PNG files can then be used with the companion control software offered by your vinyl cutting machine.
Ans: While it is not possible with most vinyl cutting machines, some of them also offer a heat press for printing designs on shirts which can be quite great for custom designing and decorations on your clothing items.
Ans: You can easily use most of the common vinyl sheets that you can find out there with any given vinyl cutting machine. Just make sure that the thickness of your vinyl is supported by your vinyl cutting machine.
Conclusion:
As you can understand by its name, a vinyl cutting machine allows you to cut and work on vinyl for making any designs or decorations that you may want. But since these machines are quite handy, picking the right one can be a bit confusing.
Thus, to help you out in going with the right one, some of the best vinyl cutting machines have been given above in this article. Furthermore, we have also given their significant factors and details along with an extensive buying guide regarding the best vinyl cutting machines earlier in this listicle. Keeping all of these factors and information in mind, we present our favorite and ideal picks for the best vinyl cutting machines:
- Those of you who want a vinyl cutting machine made for heavy-duty usage, then you can go with the USCutter MH vinyl cutting machine. You get an excellent cutting mat of 30 inch x 30 inch with it which is paired along with a superb cutting thickness of up to 3 mm for working on all kinds of projects. USCutter also offers a 1-year warranty which is always great to have.
- The Brother ScanNCut SDX125EGY vinyl cutting machine can be a high-end option for home usage. Thanks to its cutting mat size of 12 inch x 12 inch, it is quite compact in size despite offering a pretty good cutting thickness of up to 3 mm. Since Brother is a popular brand of scanner and other related products, you also get a 1-year warranty with it.
- In comparison to most other vinyl cutting machines out there, the Cricut Explore Air 2 is much more affordable and perfect for buyers on a tight budget. Even with its entry-level price tag, you get a decent cutting mat size of 12 inch x 12 inch along with a cutting thickness of up to 2 mm. Cricut is also fairly reputable due to which it also offers a 1-year warranty.
