Cricut Explore 3 vs Cricut Explore Air 2 + SPEED TESTS on & off mats!

In this video, I show you how the NEW Cricut Explore 3 cutting machine compares with the Cricut Explore Air 2 cutting machine with these topics:

00:00 Meet the Cricut Explore 3
00:36 What is a Cricut Explore cutting machine?
01:36 What comes with the Cricut Explore Air 2?
01:58 What comes in the box for the Cricut Explore 3?
02:31 First projects you can make on the Explore 3
02:50 Physical differences between Explore Air 2 and Explore 3
08:40 Speed Test 1 of Explore Air 2 vs Explore 3
10:10 How much faster is the Explore 3?
10:51 What are Smart Materials?
12:11 The new Cricut Roll Holder
13:59 Speed Test 2: Vinyl on Machine Mats
16:32 Learn More about Cricut Explore 3

Cricut just announced the new Cricut Explore 3 cutting machine, and I know many people will wonder if they should upgrade from the Cricut Explore Air 2 to the new machine. So let's put them head to head and see how they compare!

First, if you're new to Cricut and trying to decide which one to get, let's start with the basics. What is a Cricut Explore? Real quickly, the Cricut Explore is a computer-guided cutting machines that can cut a wide range of materials such as vinyl, paper, and iron on in intricate designs, quickly and precisely. A Cricut Explore cutting machine makes it really easy to make tons of projects quickly AND make them look good. The Cricut Explore can also use extra tools to write, draw, score, and foil!

I have my original Cricut Explore Air 2, the first Cricut I ever bought. It's nearly4 1/2 years old and I still use it nearly every day -- extremely reliable and solid!

And I have the new Cricut Explore 3 that Cricut graciously sent me in advance to review.

The big differences are that the new Cricut Explore 3 cuts faster, longer, and without a mat. And I'm going to explain and show all of that in detail. But let's first talk about what comes with each machine.

The Cricut Explore Air 2 comes with the machine, power cable, USB cable, Premium Fine Point blade and housing, accessory adapter, a machine mat, a Cricut pen, and two small pieces of test material.

The Cricut Explore 3 comes with the machine, power cable, USB cable, Premium Fine Point blade and housing, accessory adapter, a 13" wide piece of test material, and a pack of bonus materials.

So instead of the machine mat and pen with the Explore Air 2, you get a pack of bonus materials that contains a full sheet of Smart Vinyl, Smart Iron On, Smart Paper, and Transfer Tape ... and these materials mean you can make something cool right out of the box. I made these three projects using the bonus materials that came with my Explore 3!

Now how about the obvious physical differences?

First, just a cosmetic thing -- the new Explore 3 is a solid color, unlike the old Explores which were two-toned, like you can see with my original pink and white Explore here.

But what is less obvious is how the texture of the new Explore 3 has changed. With the old machines, the top was all a shiny surface that attracted all the fingerprints and dirt, while the bottom was a more matte textured. So with the new Explore 3, they've flipped the textures so now the top section -- the one you touch a lot -- is textured and the bottom is smooth. So the Explore 3 should stay cleaner longer. If that matters to you! It's just a little thing, but sometimes it's the little things that make a difference.

#cricut #cricutexplore #cricut3

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Credits:
Introduction: PixelBytes (my child!)
Music: Cute by Bensound (licensed, royalty and copyright free)
Videography: Jennifer Marx on a Panasonic Lumix FZ-1000 DSLR 4K camera
Design: A Jennifer Maker original!

[sarah]

The side by side comparison really helps. I’m loving that Explore 3.

[lifeasqueline]

Thank you for this. I'm new to the craft world and was struggling to make a decision on which one to get. This was so helpful.

[deedeebles]

Nice to see an actual demonstration of the two machines side by side to see the speed and process.

[modmate]

Thank you for doing the additional test using Mats on both for those of us who use other vinyl than Cricut brand

[raisasosa]

I’m totally new to this field and I was debating which circuit to get for merchandise for my restaurant! Love love that explore 3 thank you so much for your help!

[ED-isee]

Thank you for going into such detail. I really only craft as a hobby and small projects for friends and family so I don’t think the upgrade would be a big deal for me. Thanks for saving me $100 !

[mynameisjcboi]

Lots of cool new features! Love the print and cut on colored paper as well as longer designs and not always having to use a mat. Thank you for showing the new machines and their features.

[ciarasmack]

Could you show us the weeded vinyl so we can see the accuracy of the cut especially on intricate cuts with the cricut explore 3?

[jignapatel]

Thank you so much for doing the comparison. Especially with the mats. I hope you will do the same with the Maker and with other materials like Chipboard or fabric. Honestly, the mat less cutting and longer cuts is cool but that alone is not enough for me to upgrade. But if they are improved in other areas like speed and pressure than I am all in to upgrade. 😀. As always your videos are very helpful. I appreciate you answering these questions. Thanks.

[MrsFrkShw]

Love how detailed you are in outlining all the differences. Made my research a lot easier

[iamfitniss]

I’m so excited for my cricut & can’t wait to learn all kinds of things from your page! Thank you so so much!!

[paulineohara]

You are such a good teacher, thank you! Your explanations and demos are superlative!

[StDebb]

Cricuts have always been amazing machines, and they keep getting better and better.

[angelarandall]

This is great. Me being visually impaired it is great if they have a play button instead of just the cricket button. I have also told them some accessibility features that would make it easier for people who are blind and visually impaired to use cricut design space. Anyway I love seeing your videos and I love my digital copy of your book.

[tesaford]

Awesome comparison. I really like your explanation of the similarities and differences and the speed test demo! Wow!

[fredfoe]

My wife and I are new to the Cricut world, we have purchased your book and are following along to hopefully turn out some amazing projects.

[artofyoshi]

Thank you for this video Jennifer. It just flowed and was enjoyable to watch. It gave me the clarity I needed as I research these machines. Really appreciate it.🙏😍✨✨

[kinsy]

I love your personality and style. Thank you so much for this!!

[dawna-ba-da-bing]

I am more interested in knowing the difference between an explore 3 and the maker. I am more likely to upgrade my explore 2 to the regular maker since I’m not very crafty anyway.

[joisaha]

I’ve been trying to do research on which machine to get because I’m a first time user. I was set on getting the Explore Air 2 due to more stuff being included when you get the bundle compared to the bundle with the Explore 3. Also there’s no mats sold with the Explore 3 😭 In the everything bundle for the Explore 3, is a ton of smart vinyl, and quite frankly, I’m not going to use all, if any, on that vinyl, I mainly want a Cricut for sticker cutting (at least at the moment)
But this video really has me sold on getting the Explore 3 mainly for the speed as I’m very impatient 😂 it bums me out that there’s so much that comes with the bundles for the Explore Air 2 compared to the Explore 3, but I’ll just buy everything I need separately (mats and tools primarily)
Thank you for all your hard work with this video, it has helped me so much!