*Disclaimer* All information is a mixture of my own experience and research. Please take whatever information gives you value to formulate your decision.

After much blood, sweat, and tears I ended up loving the Silhouette Portrait 3.

Now how did I come to this conclusion you may ask; well here is my story. 

I initially purchased the Cricut Explore Air 2 second-handed due to the fact that so many sticker shop owners used it. Right off the bat, the Circuit did not work with me; it cut off the mark multiple times. I thought that this was due to the fact that I bought it second-hand and possibly because of my specific computer/situation. After enduring the frustration that I felt for almost half a year, I decided to purchase a new one in case it was a circumstantial experience. 

Unfortunately, I experienced the same problems that I ran into with my first Cricut:

Inconsistent Cuts

I am pretty sure a lot of Cricut users can empathize with me when I say that I feared every time I tried to cut something with the Cricut because I knew there was a 50/50 shot of whether or not it will cut properly. I'm sure that there are Cricut users that have an amazing experience and results, but I have done everything from calibrating 100 times, to contacting support, updating firmware, and more. My patience runs very thin, so I could not take much longer.

After a grueling year with the Cricut, I decided to let fate take my hands and bought a Silhouette Portrait 3. I had my own struggles initially when I worked with the Silhouette; at the end of the day, I was able receive AMAZING results from the Portrait 3 and have stuck with it since. If you have been experiencing "cracked" prints from the Portrait 3, please let me know in the comments below if you are interested in how I solved this issue! 

Here is my comparison between the 4 different cutting machines.

To bring more background information, I equate the Cricut Maker and Silhouette Cameo 4 as a MacBook Pro and the Cricut Explore Air 2 and Silhouette Portrait 3 as a MacBook Air. 

 Comparison Between Cricut Maker/Silhouette Cameo 4 & Cricut Explore Air 2/Silhouette Portrait 3

Today we are going to focus on the Cricut Explore Air 2 vs Silhouette Portrait 3 because they are both products that satisfy the majority of tasks needed to run a sticker shop.

To sum it up....

I would personally recommend the Silhouette machines whether you would like the Cameo 4 or Portrait 3. They cut evenly, are trustworthy, better software capabilities, and more! 

I would recommend Cricut machines if you really value the aesthetic of your studio/workspace. (Again, this is based on my personal experience; there are Cricut users that are completely satisfied with their results, I am just an unlucky Cricut users). Additionally, I would recommend the Cricut if you would like a quieter machine. When I say that the Silhouette Portrait 3 sounds like a LOUD broken robot, I mean it! However, the Silhouette does bring great results.

I would recommend the Cricut Maker and Silhouette Cameo 4 if you are a crafty person that deals with an array of materials from fabric, sticker paper, vinyl, acrylic, wood, and more! 

I would recommend the Cricut Explore Air 2 and Silhouette Portrait 3 if you are just starting out as it is the cheaper alternative and you are not dealing with any difficult materials. These machines will definitely get the job done. 

Hopefully this post was helpful! Please let me know in the comments what else you guys would like to read about!