Best Silhouette Machines To Buy In 2023

The Silhouette range of machines may be just what you’re looking for, whether you’re beginning a new business, searching for a new passion, or looking to add a heavy-duty tool to your creative armory.

The Silhouette Cameo 4, Silhouette Portrait 3, and Silhouette Curio are the three Silhouette machines currently available. Each of these three machines offers distinct features with their own pros and cons.

An electronic die-cutting machine can cut a broad range of materials, making professional-looking DIY arts and crafts a breeze. For example, cutting pictures and text out of card stock, vinyl, foam, and other materials is simple with the Silhouette-die cutters.

Silhouette Machine Models

Using a Silhouette cutting machine, you may sketch, engrave, etch, and even stipple diverse materials. You can pick a machine that meets your skill and demands, whether you’re a professor or a novice craftsman.

All silhouette machines for cutting or creating, on the other hand, have one thing in common: they increase productivity and save time. They also contain high-end programming and features that make them simple to use.

Silhouette Cameo 4

If you need a die-cutting machine for large projects, the Silhouette Cameo 4 is up to the task. It has an integrated roll feeder, allowing you to load a whole roll of vinyl or heat transfer material and complete tasks faster without having to stop and reload.

Furthermore, the Cameo 4 can cut projects 12 inches wide and up to 10 feet long, whereas other Silhouette machines can only make projects 2 feet long. Finally, the Silhouette Cameo 4 has an adaptive tool system that lets you use tools from earlier Silhouette machine models.

The Cameo 4 is compatible with several blades and tools such as the AutoBlade, standard blade, premium blade, deep-cut blade, 2mm Kraft Blade, and Silhouette sketch pens.

Although numerous tools may be loaded into the machine, the carriage can only utilize one at a time. This indicates that the machine can sketch and then cut, but not both simultaneously. Even so, this machine outperforms earlier Silhouettes models in terms of manufacturing speed.

You might also be interested in reading our other article, in which we compare the Cameo 4 with the Cricut Maker.

Silhouette Cameo 4 Pros

• The Cameo 4 brings fast results for large projects and is three times faster than Cameo 3
• It has up to 5kg downward force
• It can cut fabric without a stabilizer backing
• It has an automatic tool-type detection for cut settings
• It has a single tap auto blade
• It comes with a built-in vinyl trimmer and cross-cutter
• The Cameo 4 has long cutting lengths
• You can load multiple tools at once
• It has a dual-motor system for maximum performance

Silhouette Cameo 4 Cons

• It is often found not to be very user-friendly
• There are rare occasions of Bluetooth connectivity issues
• It can’t cut through leather
• In some cases, there are issues with achieving 12-inch cuts evenly
• The manuals are only available online
• In some cases, you are required to run processes at least twice for it to cut properly
• You could find issues with cutting certain unusual materials

Silhouette Portrait 3

The Silhouette’s Portrait 3 is smaller and less expensive than the Cameo 4. However, it shares similar features, making it a better entry point into creating and cutting machines for people new to the world of die-cutting machinery. In addition, it can cut and draw, which gives it extra versatility.

The Silhouette Portrait 3 is a good value at around $200. The portrait can cut 8-inches wide and up to 60 feet in length.

Even though it is sometimes considered to be a lesser version of the Cameo 4, it nevertheless has a lot of functions. Automatic tool identification, Bluetooth connectivity, matless cutting, and print and cut functionality are all included.

You’ll also get the same software that comes with the Cameo 4; Silhouette Studio is an excellent place to start if you’re not acquainted with Adobe’s more advanced products.

The Silhouette Portrait 3 Pros

• There are two alternatives for matless cutting.
• Automatic tool detection
• The AutoBlade (automatically calibrates the blade for you)
• Bluetooth connection for cutting wirelessly
• It is suitable for Print & Cut applications
• For thicker materials, the cutting clearance is 2mm
• It is compatible with the Silhouette Studio software and, ultimately, the Silhouette Go mobile app
• Compatible with PixScan

The Silhouette Portrait Cons

• It does not have a dual carriage
• Separate purchases may be necessary
• It is a noisy machine
• The software is often found to be slightly complicated to use with the machine
• It is often found to have Bluetooth connectivity issues
• Because it is a smaller machine, finding the correct size vinyl size is not always easy

The Silhouette Curio

The Silhouette Curio is not just visually distinct among Silhouette machines; it also possesses specific capabilities that are entirely unique to the machine. Calling the Curio a cutting machine is an exaggeration. You can basically call this crafty machine an embossing machine because that’s what it’s best at.

The Curio’s most enticing feature is the variety of creative functions it can do. It can cut, emboss, stipple, etch, score, and draw with a cutting force of 210 grams. And, because it has a dual carriage head that can carry two tools at once, it can execute all sorts of combinations of these.

The Silhouette Curio Pros

• It is excellent for diverse crafters who like experimenting with new features and materials
• It has a deep cut capacity and cuts deeper than Cameo 4 and Portrait 3
• It has a speedy dual carriage
• The Curio can imprint any design with its embossing and debossing capabilities
• Because of its exceptional clearance, the Curio can work on materials that no other Silhouette can.
• It has four distinct functions: stippling, etching, debossing, and embossing.

The Silhouette Curio Cons

• It has a smaller cutting capacity in terms of size
• You may need to purchase separate accessories
• The software has a steeper learning curve with the Curio
• It is more expensive
• It does not come with Bluetooth capabilities
• It does not have Autoblade functions
• Mats and a more extensive base are not included.
• The stippling and etching tools are not included.

Silhouette Portrait Vs. Curio Vs. Cameo

The distinctions between Portrait, Cameo, and Curio are more pronounced. Unlike the CAMEO and Portrait, which are either/or options, the Curio, which was launched in August 2015, should be regarded as an accessory or add-on item. It excels in cutting, etching, embossing, and stippling heavier materials in a much smaller space.

1. Cutting Area And Clearance

The Silhouette Curio has a greater clearance, cutting 5x thicker materials, but the cutting surface is more diminutive. The Silhouette Curio has a maximum cut size area of 8.5×12 inches, and it comes with 8.5×6 cutting and embossing mats.

There is a lower clearance (1mm) on the Silhouette Cameo, but it can cut 12×12 on the standard cutting mat or 12″ by 10 feet without the mat or with the Silhouette Roll Feeder. The Silhouette Portrait can cut up to 8.5″ across by 10′ long.

2. Cutting Tools

The dual housing of the Silhouette Curio can contain two cutting or embossing tools at once, whereas the Silhouette Cameo and Portrait can only store one tool at a time.

3. Cutting Mats

The Silhouette Curio includes a variety of mats and platforms. Platforms must be built based on the thickness of the material being cut or embossed. After that, the mats are snapped onto a huge tray-like base that is inserted into the Silhouette Curio.

The Silhouette Cameo and Portrait both employ an adhesive cutting mat, so no platforms or bases are required. Although the Silhouette Curio embossing mat lacks grid lines, the Curio cutting mat, Cameo, and Portrait mats do.

4. Cutting Blades

Silhouette Curio blades and tips will also fit in Silhouette Cameo and Portrait blade housing. Additionally, all blades are available for purchase separately from the machines.

Also, unlike the Cameo and Portrait, the Silhouette Curio has a built-in blade ratchet on the platform rather than the machine’s base. The Silhouette Curio has four slots for holding cutting blades and tips.

5. Material Compatibility

Silhouette Cameo and Portrait can cut vinyl, HTV, cardstock, foil papers, magnet material, rhinestone template, stencil material, contact paper, and more.

Silhouette Curio can cut the same materials as Silhouette Cameo but at a much smaller size overall. Refer to the ‘Cutting Areas’ section above for more information. Meanwhile, the Curio is designed to emboss, stipple, and cut metal sheets, paper, and foil in addition to deep cutting.

6. Cutting Force

Of all the Silhouette Machines, the Cameo 4 has by far the highest cutting force.

This means that you can use the Cameo 4 to cut way more materials than other models.

The Silhouette Portrait 3 and Curio a lot less cutting force. So you won’t be able to cut harder materials such as balsa wood with these devices.

But you really don’t need a lot of cutting force to cut card stock, vinyl, paper and similar materials. So if you are planning to use these types of materials, you won’t need the extra power that the Cameo 4 provides.

7. Silhouette Software

The Silhouette Curio expands the editing and design capabilities and possibilities available in Silhouette Studio. However, unlike the Silhouette Cameo and Portraits, the Curio’s USB must be connected to the computer where Silhouette Studio is being used to use the embossing and stippling tools.

Because the carriage can handle two tools at the moment for a single pass, the Silhouette Curio cut settings windows contain two tool panels, one red and one blue.

The Silhouette Curio embossing auto-mirror option does not preview where the mirrored pattern will be put in the program. Furthermore, Curio mirrors the whole page instead of the mirror features in Cameo and Portrait, which mirror straight to the right or left.

That said, Cameo 4 and Portrait 3 work in the same way when utilizing the software. The only difference is adjusting the size before cuts.

Which Silhouette Should You Buy?

The Silhouette Cameo 4 is the best model to buy for most people, since it is more flexible than the Curio and Portrait 3. So can attempt almost any DIY project with this machine.

While not as sophisticated as the Cameo 4 and substantially smaller, the Portrait 3 is reasonably priced and is a good alternative for beginners or crafters on a small budget. It’s an easy recommendation as a first step into the world of crafts and cutting machines. Because it’s smaller, it’ll be simpler to move around/take to places if you need or want to.

Curio is the most specialist Silhouette machine since it allows you to utilize multiple types of material and has more effect possibilities (like embossing or etching). In addition, Curio can handle heavier mediums such as wood, metal, and chipboard due to its higher clearance level. So the Curio can be a good addition to a Cameo or Portrait, but it’s not a good model to start with.

Conclusion

Hopefully this article helped you to make up your mind on which Silhouette machine would be the best to buy.

However, if you are interested in buying a cutting machine, you might also want to check out the machines from other brands.

If this is the case, you might want to read our article comparing Silhouette and Cricut, or our Cricut Maker 3 review.