Tested: Cricut's new Joy 2 machine is teeny tiny (but mighty powerful), and I love it

You might be familiar with Cricut as one of the biggest names in the digital crafting space right now, and there's a good reason for it. Some of the best Cricut machines can be used for more than simple vinyl-based projects, with the ability to make stickers, tattoos, magnets, shirts, bags, large signage (for weddings), and to customise virtually anything.

One of the limitations of Cricut machines in the past has been the hefty size of its flagship Maker series, which is where the Cricut Joy 2 comes in especially handy. The company announced two new machines earlier this year, in celebration of its 20th anniversary, one of which was the Cricut Joy 2, alongside the Cricut Explore 5.

I'll be honest, I wasn't all that excited about the Cricut Joy 2 machine at first, considering that I've tested Cricut's powerhouse machines like the Cricut Maker 4, which can handle bigger projects. But the Joy 2 has certainly surprised me, and I'd say it's by far one of the best vinyl cutting machines you can get on a budget.

After spending several weeks testing the Joy 2 – including a late-night crafting session the night before my wedding – I can confidently recommend it as an excellent tool for crafters at all levels, but especially beginners. I'll be walking you through my full experience of using the Joy 2, from unboxing to getting set up with Design Space (Cricut's unique software) and highlighting the pros and cons at each stage.

The summary: If you want a craft machine that can be taken on the go, used outside of the workbench, and easily operated with just a smartphone, then it's a great buy that you won't second-guess. However, for greater material compatibility and larger projects, Cricut's Maker and Explore machines are still the top dogs.

Take a look at our guide to the best Cricut alternatives for even more options to suit your workflow, space requirements, and budget.

Price

The Cricut Joy 2 will set you back ($99 / £99.99) for the machine on its own, but I highly advise opting for one of the bundles available instead. The options with materials and tools included will help you hit the ground cutting (get it?) at a great value price compared with buying materials individually.

I was sent the Cricut Joy 2 Essentials bundle ($139) by Cricut to test out for this review, and for an extra $40, I think it's absolutely worth it for the paper trimmer alone. You also get extra tools like a weeder, scraper, and spatula thrown in, plus a ton of cardstock and varying vinyl types for all kinds of projects.

In my opinion, this is excellent value, and I love that Cricut is leapfrogging the trend of making each new product more expensive than the last, and with less in the box. If you're a serious crafter, you'll no doubt make your money back on the Cricut Joy 2 in no time. And beginners will absolutely benefit from extra material to practice with.

Unboxing and setup

As I mentioned earlier, one of the best things about the new Cricut Joy 2 series is that it's ridiculously easy to use (pretty much plug and play).

You only need to plug it into a mains, open up Cricut Design Space, connect it to your phone, tablet, or laptop (see the best laptops for Cricut) via Bluetooth, run a quick calibration (optional), and you're done.

The Joy 2 comes with extras in the box to help new crafters get started right away, though I still think it's worth getting a bundle for maximum value for money – take a look at my video below to see everything you get in the Cricut Joy 2 Essentials bundle (dog not included).

*If you can't see the video above, please refresh the page.

The Cricut Joy 2 setup process should take you no more than 10 minutes, and even less if you already have Cricut Design Space installed and an account set up from a previous machine.

Design

I love my Cricut Maker 4, but there have been times when I've entirely reconsidered starting a project based on the thought of getting out the heavy machine, clearing up my workbench, prepping the mat and materials, etc, as it didn't seem truly worth the hassle.

The Cricut Joy 2, on the other hand, is so much simpler, smaller, lighter, and easier to use than Cricut's more advanced machines, and takes up little to no space on my craft table, so I can leave it there permanently for whenever I need it. My first impressions: this machine is teeny tiny but gorgeous, in subtle shades of blue and coral.

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With the Joy 2, there are no buttons. It connects to Design Space via Bluetooth on your device of choice, and with Cricut smart materials, there's no need for a cutting mat either. Cricut couldn't have made this machine any simpler (in the best way) to use for quick crafts.

I've used other Cricut Joy machines before, such as the standard Joy (Gen 1) and Joy Xtra series, but this model somehow feels more premium, despite sharing a lot of similarities with its siblings. I'm so glad that Cricut ditched the white casing when designing the Joy 2, yet still retained its oval-like shape.

Performance

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There's not an awful lot I can tell you about the performance of the Cricut Joy 2, other than that it has been a delight to use. It does as it's told, and with impressive accuracy too. I was surprised to discover that it can, in fact, cut full-sized stickers, printable vinyl, and tattoo sheets in the same way as the bigger Cricut machines. But how?

The Joy 2 is a lot smaller in width than the Maker and Explore series, with a cutting size of only 4.2 inches (10.6 cm), which is smaller than a standard A4 sheet of paper like the ones used to make Cricut stickers and tattoos.

The trick with the Joy 2, that isn't common knowledge, is you need to design your sticker/tattoo/vinyl sheets to fit across 2 Joy mats, and then once you hit 'send to printer', Design Space will compile it onto one page with a cut line in the centre to trim the page in half.

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I think Cricut should definitely explain this process a bit better, or make a tutorial for Joy 2 owners to find easily, as figuring out how to do this left me scratching my head. I'm glad that it works, and that this feature is accessible to Joy 2 owners, but having used the same feature on the Cricut Maker 4, it does seem to waste a lot more material than the usual print then cut process on larger machines (for more on this, see my guide on how to make stickers with Cricut).

One other small hiccup I ran into when testing the Joy 2 was the fact that it would often become unresponsive if left idle for longer than 10 minutes, and my laptop wouldn't be able to connect to it or detect it.

This was easily solved by unplugging the machine and reconnecting it (the trusty turn it off and on again method), but whenever I had a mat already fed into the Joy 2, this meant it wouldn't release its grip, and the mat would consequently become stuck until the machine was responsive again.

In general, the cutting machine performed perfectly 97% of the time and handled everything I threw at it with very precise cuts and reasonable speeds. I also took the Cricut Joy 2 on a road trip to Brighton for my hen do, and it not only survived the train journey but was super useful for customising my bridal hair accessories, party gift bags, and extra last-minute personalisations for my wedding, too!

Cricut Design Space

I've mentioned Cricut Design Space a fair few times, and if you're not familiar, it's the necessary software used to control and operate all Cricut machines. It's 100% free and comes as a downloadable program for laptops or an app for phones and tablets. I would argue that it's much more intuitive to use on a laptop rather than a phone, but it shares all of the same tools and features, so it's down to personal preference really.

Cricut has made some excellent improvements to Design Space in recent weeks, adding templates for popular projects, tutorials that can walk you through the entire process of designing from start to finish, and AI tools like Create AI that let users generate unique design elements and patterns using prompts.

It's worth mentioning that you can subscribe monthly to Cricut Access at a cost of approximately $7.99 / £7.49 per month, if you want to use specific designs, images and tools that are subscriber-only. I would say it's definitely worth it if you design regularly, and it comes with 10% off Cricut's store as well as a £10 off coupon to spend every 3 months at Cricut's shop (includes free shipping).

You also get the ability to use subscriber-only Design Space features like Automatic Background Remover and Sticker maker, which is very handy and saves a lot of time fiddling around with image offsets.

Sample Creations

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The verdict: Should you buy it?

I've been pleasantly surprised by the Cricut Joy 2, and honestly, I should never have doubted it. Sure, this machine is teeny tiny and looks adorable, but it actually offers very impressive performance and compatibility for the low price.

For perspective, the Cricut Maker 4 series (the flagship vinyl cutter from Cricut) typically costs $399.99 / £399.99, whereas the Joy 2 is only $99 / £99, a quarter of the cost for the same general use when it comes to working with vinyl.

The Joy 2 isn't capable of engraving metal, embossing materials, or using rotary blades, but there are plenty of things that it can do extremely well, making it worth the purchase for quick crafts and learning the ropes.

Simply put, the Cricut Joy 2 machine is highly compact and travel-friendly for beginners, but would also suit creative pros wanting a portable Cricut option. Cardstock, drawing, and basic vinyl are where this cutting machine shines, but I recommend experimenting as much as possible with different materials and projects to get accustomed and discover what it's capable of.

Not sure which Cricut machine to buy? We're working on a comparison of the Joy 2 Vs the Joy (original) and Joy Xtra to help you decide, so keep your eyes peeled for this.

Buy it if

• You want a portable cutting machine for your side hustle, business, or home crafting projects
• You're new to Cricut machines and want an easy entry point to the craft
• You don't have a very large workspace and only use basic materials

Don't buy it if

• You need the extra material compatibility: The Joy 2 won't be able to handle large cuts or materials such as wood or metal engraving
• You plan on making large signage – the Joy 2 is not wide enough for this
• You don't plan on leaving the house with it, you might be better off with a more stationary machine with advanced power