Best Laptops For Cricut Machines (2022): Which One Should You Buy?

Cricut machines can work with almost any laptop since its system requirements are not that demanding. However, you don’t want to get just any laptop, you’ll want something that will give you the best value for your money. That said, here are our top picks for the best laptops in several categories.

If you’re in a hurry and you just want to get one now, our top choice for the best overall laptop is the Lenovo Legion 5, while our best price to performance laptop pick is the Acer Aspire 5. In the budget category, you can’t go wrong with the ASUS VivoBook 15 and if you prefer to work with a 2-in-1 convertible laptop, the Lenovo Flex 5 won’t disappoint.

Best Laptops For Cricut Machines Comparison Chart

ASUS VivoBook 15 – Best Budget Laptop

The most affordable option that still offers very good performance.

Chromebooks are usually the first choice when shopping for budget laptops since they are very cheap. However, since Cricut machines and Design Space won’t work with ChromeOS without taking extra steps, your best choice is to go with a Windows based laptop in this category.

That said, our top pick for the best budget laptop for Cricut machines is the ASUS VivoBook 15. It sports a 10th gen Intel i3-1005G1 dual core processor, 8GB RAM, 128GB SSD and a 15.6-inch Full HD display. As far as technical specs go, this laptop will work with Cricut machines and its software without problem.

In terms of connectivity, the ASUS VivoBook 15 surprisingly has a lot, even though it is a budget laptop. It has four USB ports in total, an HDMI out, card reader and a 3.5mm audio out. Missing is an RJ45 port but it comes with WiFi5 and Bluetooth 4.1.

The biggest drawback to this laptop is that the 128GB SSD can run out of space fast. Of course, you can always upgrade to a higher capacity SSD and it won’t cost a lot since their prices are now starting to drop. If you don’t want to spend too much on a laptop for your arts and crafts hobby, the ASUS VivoBook 15 is a great choice.

Acer Aspire 5 – Best Value Laptop

The Acer Aspire 5 offers the best price to performance.

The Acer Aspire 5 is our choice for the best value laptop for Cricut machines since it offers the best combination of price, features and components to run the Cricut software. With a powerful AMD Ryzen 5 3500U 4-core CPU and 8GB DDR4 RAM, you’ll be able to have a smooth experience with Cricut’s Design Space without slowdowns.

It also comes with a 256GB SSD, Vega 8 Graphics and a 15.6-inch IPS display for great looking images. When it comes to connectivity, it is a bit lacking, since it only has three USB ports in total, an HDMI out, a 3.5mm audio out and an RJ45 port for wired internet. However, since this laptop is still in the affordable category, the number of ports it has is still acceptable. By the way, it also comes with WiFi 5 and Bluetooth 4.0

As far as performance goes, the Acer Aspire 5 is definitely an improvement over the ASUS VivoBook 15, which is our pick for the best budget laptop. The AMD Ryzen 5 3500U is a significant upgrade over the Intel i3 processor and it also has a higher capacity SSD and better integrated graphics.

Lenovo Legion 5 – Best Overall Laptop

If you want the best performance, the Lenovo Legion 5 is the best laptop for Cricut machine.

While the Lenovo Legion 5 is marketed as a gaming laptop, there are no rules that prohibit you from using it for other purposes, such as for Cricut machines. Since it is a gaming laptop, it comes with powerful components that will give you the best performance while using the Cricut Design Space and Cricut machines.

Fitted with a Ryzen 7 4800H 8-core CPU and 16GB of DDR4 RAM, running the Cricut software will be a breeze on this laptop. With this configuration, the Lenovo Legion 5 also has some future-proofing and it will still be powerful for many years.

It features a 15.6-inch Full HD IPS display that also has a refresh rate of 144 Hz. With a 144 Hz refresh rate, everything that happens on the screen will be smoother. In addition, the IPS panel gives you vibrant and good looking images, which will definitely help in your design projects.

As far as connections go, it comes with WiFi 6 connectivity and Bluetooth 5.0. Furthermore, it has a good number of available ports that includes five USB ports in total, one HDMI and more. Another great thing about this laptop is that it has excellent battery life. Even though it has powerful components, the battery can last up to 8 hours, which is very good.

Lenovo Flex 5 – Best 2-in-1 Convertible Laptop

The best 2-in-1 laptop for Cricut machines.

Convertible or 2-in-1 laptops are perfect if you want to have a powerful laptop that can function as a tablet. The Lenovo Flex 5 has some impressive hardware under the hood while still being affordable. It comes with a Ryzen 5 4500U 6-core CPU and 16GB DDR4 RAM, both of which are a bit overkill for the Cricut Design Space.

The 14-inch display is a bit small but it gives you a more detailed and crisp image since it has a high PPI. With its stylus pen and touch screen, you can work with more precision when working on your designs.

When it comes to connectivity, it has Bluetooth 4.2 and WiFi 5 (802.11 ac). Also, it has all the necessary ports such as three USB ports, an HDMI out, a 4-in-1 card reader and an audio jack for your headphones/mic.

The Lenovo Flex 5 2-in-1 laptop has a battery life of up to 10 hours so you’ll be able to use it for longer periods without having to plug it in to an outlet. Overall, this is a solid choice if your preference is a convertible or 2-in-1 laptop.

Summary

There a lot of great laptop choices for your Cricut machine that won’t break the bank.

If your budget is limited, the ASUS VivoBook 15 is a laptop with very good specs that will work with Cricut Design Space without issues. Its dual-core Intel CPU is more than enough to have a smooth experience with Design Space. However, there are better options around if you can up your budget a bit, like the Acer Aspire 5. With its 4-core Ryzen CPU, it will give you better performance all around. At its price, it is hard to beat.

For users that want a more powerful device, a gaming laptop such as the Lenovo Legion 5 will give you the best performance. With its 8-core, 16-thread Ryzen CPU and 16GB RAM, you can run the Cricut Design Space and other apps simultaneously without experiencing slowdowns. As for users that want a 2-in-1 laptop, the Lenovo Flex 5 is our top choice since it is affordable while still having great specs. You won’t be disappointed with its performance when used with Cricut machines.

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