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Best cutting machines for stickers
Sticker making on a home cutter means print then cut: you print the design with registration marks on an inkjet printer, and the machine's sensor reads the marks and cuts around the artwork. Between machines, the main differences are how much of the page you can use, how picky the sensor is about paper, and how well the software handles a full sheet.
Sorted by CraftGearGuide editorial score, highest first.
The picks
Best overall for sticker sheets
Cricut Explore 5
Uses the full Explore-series print area, up to 9.94 x 7.44 in on Letter and larger on Tabloid or A3.
- 11.7 in wide matless
- 12 ft max length
- 6 compatible tools
- Bluetooth + USB
Check price on AmazonLinks to a bundle with extra materials. Specs here are for the machine.Read the Cricut Explore 5 reviewBest compact sticker maker
Cricut Joy Xtra
Same 9.94 x 7.44 in print area as the Explore on a Letter page, in a much smaller machine.
- 8.5 in wide matless
- 4 ft max length
- Print then cut on Letter/A4
- Bluetooth only
Check price on AmazonLinks to a bundle with extra materials. Specs here are for the machine.Read the Cricut Joy Xtra reviewIf you also need thick materials
Cricut Maker 5
Same print area as the Explore 5, plus cutting and engraving up to 3 mm.
- 12 in wide matless
- Up to 3 mm thick
- 13 compatible tools
- Bluetooth + USB
Check price on AmazonLinks to a bundle with extra materials. Specs here are for the machine.Read the Cricut Maker 5 reviewBest Silhouette for stickers
Silhouette CAMEO 5 Alpha
Four-point registration marks and desktop software with no subscription. Silhouette doesn't publish a print area.
- 12 in wide
- 16 ft max length
- 2 tool mounts
- USB + Bluetooth
For small sticker runs
Cricut Joy 2
Print then cut works, but at most 3.19 in wide on a Letter page, split across two mats.
- 4.5 in wide matless
- 4 ft max length
- Print then cut (narrow)
- 2.7 lb
Check price on AmazonLinks to a bundle with extra materials. Specs here are for the machine.Read the Cricut Joy 2 review
Usable print area on a Letter page
Cricut publishes exact print-then-cut limits. On US Letter paper, the Explore series, Maker series and Joy Xtra all allow a printed image up to 9.94 x 7.44 in. The Joy 2 allows 9.94 x 3.19 in. Silhouette doesn't publish an equivalent figure for the CAMEO 5 Alpha, so we don't guess one.
Worked example: 2-inch round stickers per Letter sheet
Cricut gives the Letter-page limit as 9.94 in tall by 7.44 in wide. Each 2 in sticker plus a 0.1 in gap needs 2.1 in. Across: 7.44 / 2.1 = 3.5, so 3 stickers. Down: 9.94 / 2.1 = 4.7, so 4 stickers. That makes 12 per sheet. The Joy 2 is limited to 3.19 in wide, so it fits 1 across and 4 down: 4 stickers per mat. Cricut says Design Space splits a Joy 2 print job across two mats.
Calculated estimate. Assumes 2.0 in circles with 0.1 in spacing and no bleed. Real layouts depend on Design Space's own spacing and your printer's margins.
Tips that matter more than the machine
- Cricut says to print on white or light, simply patterned materials. Dark, glossy and holographic sheets can confuse the sensor.
- Cricut recommends inkjet printers. Laser printers aren't for heat-sensitive materials.
- Cricut's Print Then Cut needs an internet connection, even in Design Space's offline mode.
More detail, including Tabloid and A3 sizes, is in our print-then-cut size guide.