LOKLiK iCraft vs. Cricut Maker - A time to finally jump off the Cricut bandwagon?

Making the Switch: LOKLiK iCraft vs. Cricut Maker

LOLiK iCraft Cutting Machine 2 in purple

I've been using industrial printers like the Eastman for a long time, and never made the leap into the Cricut world at home, because I'm not a fan of the pay-to-play model. I like to make my own designs, and not have to pay for the thousands of other designs, etc. I get it for a one-off custom for sure, and understand the time and money it takes and will happily pay for a design I cannot make myself. I probably spend half of my free time designing 3D printer models for others, so definitely understand the skill and time involved.

Anyway, so I've been holding out for a while waiting for one of the Cricut competitors to actually fix all the normal complaints, and ran across this one on Amazon today. It's the LOLiK iCraft Cutting Machine 2 and looking back through all the Reddit posts on the Cricut forum, I only see this one discussing it before it launched over a year ago, and nothing since then. Looks like this version launched at the end of November, and I would think someone in the community would have picked one up by now?

I know one of the big complaints holding me back was the low force of 400gf being used on others and this one really has way more cutting power at 5,200gf. They also have a free AI tool for generating new content, and the free library of 50,000 images (I just downloaded the free app and it's 54,449 as of today). Their no fees or subscriptions to unlock anything that I can tell, which is a critical point for me. It also is able to do materials up to 21ft long without needing mats, being able to use my own system fonts, and not paying for each one, etc. None of these should have ever had a cost associated with them, they created artificial limits for the sole purpose of milking the consumer.

Being quiet is also a perk, and 60db vs the 70+ I've been seeing elsewhere. I bought a large 3D printer (FLSUN S1), and the noise (specifically the pitch of the noise) made it unbearable, and at 60 I know that won't be a stress on this machine as well. Price is listed at $230 but found a promotion code (XWFY9JZQ) that gets it down to $210 shipped, which is a decent deal if it actually fixes all the Cricut shortcomings. Before pulling the trigger, I would really like to know if:

Anyone here knows what happened in the past year from the original discussion above?

More importantly, if anyone else has made the jump on this brand and can give some honest feedback? Sounds like their other products work as advertised from the other thread linked above, but nothing new on the new system yet at all.

Would really like to know if someone who has been using the Cricut and has bought one of these to really explain if the machines really are comparable. I know the marketing guys can type up whatever they want, but a real comparison by a human who is not getting paid to write an ad holds way more weight to me.

Conclusion

After comparing the LOKLiK iCraft and Cricut Maker, I have to say, the LOKLiK iCraft genuinely surprised me. It’s refreshing to see a cutting machine that addresses many of the common gripes I’ve had with Cricut. The higher cutting force, a huge library of free images, and the lack of hidden fees make a big difference, especially if you’re like me and prefer to create your own designs without being nickeled and dimed.

The ability to handle longer materials without mats and the quieter operation are definite perks. Plus, at $210 with the promo code, it’s a pretty solid deal.

I’m curious to hear from others in the community. Has anyone else tried the LOKLiK iCraft? How does it stack up against Cricut in your experience? Honest feedback is always appreciated. Thanks in advance!

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