Cricut Design Space and Access: costs and alternatives

Highlighted terms are explained briefly when you hover over or tap them.

Cricut plotters are controlled via the Design Space app. The app is free, but a lot of content and some functions are available only with the Cricut Access subscription. This article covers what you get without a subscription, what the subscription costs and how Silhouette and Brother handle it.

Design Space: what is free

Design Space is available for desktop, iOS and Android. You need a Cricut account and, according to Cricut, a fast internet connection. According to Cricut, no subscription is needed for the machine itself.

According to Cricut, the following are included free of charge:

• more than 3,000 images and more than 100 fonts
• Projects with instructions (Cricut states more than 1,000 on the product pages and more than 250 on the subscription page)
• uploading your own files: PNG, JPG, GIF and BMP as a raster image, SVG and DXF as a vector file, which is split into layers on upload
• individual images and projects as one-off purchases
• up to 5 collections for sorting

If you design your own artwork or buy ready-made SVG files, you can manage without a subscription.

What Cricut Access costs

Prices according to the Cricut shop Germany, as of 16.10.2026. Cricut states the exact terms of the discounts in the footnotes and the Access terms.

These tools are available only with a subscription: Remove background for uploaded images, Convert to layers, and Warp for text and shapes.

What you should know:

• Working out the annual subscription: 12 x €9.99 is €119.88, while the Standard annual subscription costs €99.99.
• Licensed content from third parties, for example Disney designs, is not included. Subscribers get 10 % off these.
• Cancellation: at any time. The benefits remain until the end of the paid period, after which premium content and subscription tools can no longer be used. The free content stays.
• Sharing is not allowed. The subscription is for one person.
• Trial subscription: A trial subscription for new customers is included with the machines. According to Cricut, Cricut Access renews automatically until you cancel.

Can I sell what I make with Cricut?

Yes, within limits. According to Cricut, the Cricut Angel policy allows you to sell up to 10,000 finished projects a year, such as cards or T-shirts. Selling individual untransferred cuts such as letters in bulk is not allowed, nor are items with licensed content.

What works offline and on a phone

Cricut lists a fast internet connection as a requirement on all product pages. In its terms of use, Cricut describes its machines as connected devices that need compatible software and a fast internet connection, and points out that these requirements may change. So plan on Design Space being online software.

There are restrictions on a phone or tablet:

• Knife Blade: According to Cricut, projects with the Knife Blade for the Maker do not run via iOS or Android, only on a computer.
• Print then Cut: On Android you can design and save such projects, according to Cricut, but printing and cutting work only on a Windows or Mac computer or on iOS.

Design Space not working: first steps

1. Check the internet. Cricut lists a fast internet connection as a requirement.
2. Check the system requirements. The current list is at cricut.com/systemrequirements, and according to Cricut it changes over time.
3. Bluetooth: Place the machine nearby and switch off the computer’s sleep mode for long cuts. The Joy Xtra has Bluetooth only, while Maker 5 and Explore 5 can also be connected via USB.
4. Print then Cut: Print and cut a project in the same browser and on the same computer.

If the machine cuts but not cleanly, Cutting plotter not cutting properly will help.

Alternatives: Silhouette and Brother

Cricut machines run only with Design Space, while Silhouette and Brother come with their own programs. So if you do not want cloud software, you have to change system. This is how the other manufacturers do it:

The Silhouette prices are given only in US dollars; on 16.10.2026 they were reduced in the US shop to $39.99, $59.99 and $79.99. Brother has discontinued the web version of CanvasWorkspace. The PC version now uses the same account as Artspira.

There are plug-ins for professional graphics programs: Silhouette Connect sends designs from Adobe Illustrator or CorelDRAW directly to a Silhouette. It is a one-off purchase without a subscription and, according to Silhouette, needs no internet after activation. ScanNCut Link does the same for Illustrator and the ScanNCut, for which an activation code is needed.

Designing for free with Inkscape

Inkscape is a free open-source vector program that uses SVG as its native file format. With it you can design artwork independently of the plotter manufacturer and save it as SVG. You then upload the file to Design Space, open it in Silhouette Studio (from Designer Edition) or transfer it to a ScanNCut of the DX series. Cutting, however, is always done through the manufacturer’s software.

Conclusion

A Cricut runs without a subscription as long as you use your own or purchased files. Cricut Access is worthwhile if you regularly use ready-made designs and fonts from the library or need the subscription tools. If software without an account and without a requirement to be online matters to you, that is a buying criterion you should settle before choosing the machine, see Plotter buying guide.

Sources

• Cricut: Cricut Access, prices and FAQ, Maker 5, Explore 5, Joy Xtra, Terms of use, Uploading images, Knife Blade replacement set, Print Then Cut 101, Print Then Cut tips
• Silhouette America: Silhouette Studio, Silhouette Connect
• Brother: Notice on CanvasWorkspace, About CanvasWorkspace and ScanNCut Link, CanvasWorkspace PC download, Artspira+ FAQ, Artspira in the App Store, ScanNCut DX, using the SDX1200 as an example
• Inkscape: inkscape.org