Cricut Maker 5 vs Maker 4: Should You Upgrade to the Newest Cricut?

The Maker 5 is a smaller, deeper-cutting Maker rather than a faster one. Cricut announced it on September 3, 2026 and put it on sale September 4 at Cricut.com and Michaels, with wider retail after a two-week exclusive. Cricut's own launch release leads with two numbers: cut and engrave compatible materials up to 3 mm thick, which Cricut calls a 25% increase in clearance over the previous generation's 2.4 mm limit, and a body about 30% more compact than before while keeping the 12 in cutting width.

The 3 mm jump is the practical upgrade. Heavy chipboard, thick tooling leather, foam core and craft basswood sit right around the old limit, and engraving thicker metal blanks was off the table. If those are your materials, this is the reason to buy. If you mostly cut vinyl, iron-on and cardstock, 2.4 mm was never the bottleneck.

The workflow changed too. Per Jennifer Maker's hands-on review, the Maker 5 drops the Go button (projects start on their own) and the separate power button, moves to a single clamp with a snap-in Universal Pen holder, and replaces the old Scoring Stylus with a new Scoring Tool that sits in the main clamp. That same review lists the top cutting speed at 14.1 in per second, the same as the Maker 4. Some Australian launch coverage quoted Cricut claiming speeds over 30% faster than the Maker 4; Cricut's US release does not make that claim, so we do not count speed as a reason to upgrade.

The Maker 4's argument is the second clamp. With a pen or Scoring Stylus in Clamp A and a blade in Clamp B, a card that is drawn, scored and cut runs without stopping. On the Maker 5, per Jennifer Maker's review, drawing means removing the pen before cutting and scoring means a tool swap. If you make greeting cards, invitations and boxes all week, that is a real time cost, and it is the one case where we would choose the older machine at the same price.

For everything else, the Maker 5 matches or beats it. Both cut 12 in wide, both use the adaptive tool system with the Knife Blade, Rotary Blade, Engraving Tip and the rest, both cut Smart Materials without a mat, and both do Print Then Cut. Our best Cricut machines guide ranks every current model.

Most people searching for the newest Cricut want the newest Explore, not the newest Maker. The Maker line earns its price on thick and dense materials: leather, basswood, chipboard, fabric with the Rotary Blade, and engraving. If none of those are on your list, the Explore 5 does the everyday work for less. Our Cricut vs Silhouette Cameo 5 comparison puts it against Silhouette's equivalent.

Same story as the Maker 4: a good machine priced like it is still new. When retailers clear stock it can drop well below the Explore 5, and at that point it is a smart buy for vinyl and cardstock. At today's price, take the Explore 5.

If you are cross-shopping brands, the Cameo 5 is the machine to compare. For sticker and decal businesses it is often the better tool, and it is cheaper than a Maker 5 bundle. For fabric, leather tooling and engraving, the Maker still wins. See our Cricut vs Silhouette Cameo 5 head-to-head, and our Brother ScanNCut vs Cricut Maker 3 page if you cut fabric for quilting.