How to Save at Cricut (Without Falling for Fake Discounts)
$179
Refurbished Cricut Maker — the same machine is $399 new
Checked July 15, 2026
Cricut discounts are unusually easy to get wrong, because the biggest saving on the site is not a promo code at all. Here is what actually works, with every number checked against Cricut’s own pages in July 2026.
The cheapest way to buy a Cricut machine is refurbished — and it is not close
Cricut sells certified refurbished and open-box machines itself, with the same support path as new. The gap is not a rounding error:
| Machine | Refurbished | Was |
|---|---|---|
| Cricut Joy | $79 | $179 |
| Cricut Joy Xtra | $129 | $199 |
| Explore Air 2 | $149 | $249 |
| Explore 3 | $179 | $319 |
| Maker | $179 | $399 |
| Maker 4 | $299 | $399 |
| Cricut Venture | $449 | $999 |
Compare that with Cricut’s headline sale, which is running as we write this: machines are up to $50 off (Explore 5 bundle $249 → $199, Maker 4 $399 → $349, Joy 2 bundle $139 → $109). A refurbished Maker at $179 beats every promo code you will ever paste into that cart.
Stock moves, so the table above is a snapshot, not a promise. Check the refurbished page before you buy anything at full price.
The $20 you are probably leaving on the table
Cricut gives a code for $20 off your first cutting machine when you sign up for its email list. One-time use, and it applies to a machine — not supplies. If you are about to buy your first Cricut, sign up first, then buy.
Every Cricut account gets a $10 coupon every three months — including the free one
This is the detail most guides miss. You do not need to pay for Cricut Access to get it. Any Cricut account, including the free tier, gets:
- 10% off purchases on cricut.com, machines included (capped per item — check the current terms, because Cricut’s own pages state the cap differently in two places).
- A $10 coupon every 3 months, with free shipping attached.
If you buy supplies a few times a year, that alone is worth creating an account for.
Is Cricut Access worth paying for?
Only if you use the design library, or if you buy a lot of materials.
| Plan | Monthly | Annual |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | — |
| Standard | $9.99 | $95.88 |
| Premium | $14.99 | $119.88 |
Standard gets you the image and font library plus AI credits. Premium is the one with the money angle: it adds 20% off Cricut materials and free shipping on orders over $50. There is a 30-day free trial, and it converts to a paid plan unless you cancel — set a reminder the day you start it.
The arithmetic is simple: Premium costs $119.88 a year. You need to spend around $600 a year on Cricut materials for the 20% to pay for the subscription. Below that, take the free account and its $10 quarterly coupons instead.
Free shipping starts at $50
Cricut ships free on orders of $50 or more, calculated before taxes and before discounts. That last part matters: a $55 cart with a 20% discount applied still qualifies, because the threshold is measured on the pre-discount total.
Teachers and military save 15% — students do not
This is where we part company with most coupon sites. Cricut runs verified discount programs for teachers and for military and veterans: 15% off materials and accessories, dedicated machine pricing (Joy 2 at $109, Explore 5 at $199, Maker 4 at $379, Venture at $599 on the teacher program), and free shipping on the whole order. Verification runs through GoCertify, which is a third party, not Cricut.
There is no official Cricut student discount. We looked for one and did not find it — not on Cricut’s site, and not on its ID.me listing. If you see a site advertising “77% off Cricut with a student code”, that number came from nowhere. Cricut’s own teacher and military pages exist; a student page does not.
When Cricut actually discounts
Cricut maintains permanent landing pages for Black Friday and Cyber Monday, and it runs a Mother’s Day event (the 2026 one advertised up to $50 off machines and bundles, 50% off supplies, and up to 40% off heat presses). It also promotes deals during Amazon Prime Day.
We are deliberately not printing a “Cricut discounts 70% on Black Friday” figure, because Cricut does not publish one and neither can we honestly. What we can tell you is the shape of it: machine discounts land in the tens of dollars, materials go to half price. If a page promises you a Cricut machine at 70% off, be suspicious.
Buying elsewhere
Cricut machines are also sold at Michaels, Walmart, Amazon and Target. Two things worth knowing before you assume a craft store is cheaper:
- Michaels excludes Cricut machines from its coupons, according to its own coupon policy. The 40%-off coupon in your inbox will not touch the machine.
- JOANN is gone. It closed every store permanently in 2025 after its second bankruptcy. Any guide still telling you to price-match at JOANN was written by someone who has not checked since 2024.
Returns
Cricut offers a 45-day satisfaction guarantee in the US and Canada, and machines carry a one-year limited warranty. The full shop terms live on Cricut’s legal page — read them before you open a machine box you are unsure about.
The order that saves the most
- Sign up for the email list → $20 off your first machine.
- Check refurbished and open-box first. It beats every code.
- Create a free Cricut account for the 10% off and the quarterly $10 coupon.
- Get the cart to $50 for free shipping (measured before discounts).
- If you teach or served, use the teacher/military program — it stacks better than any public code.
- Only then paste a promo code. Current ones are on our Cricut promo codes page.
Sources
All prices and terms were read directly from Cricut’s own pages on July 14, 2026 and can change without notice: Sale, Refurbished & open-box, Cricut Access, Teacher discount, Military discount, Legal & shop policies. JOANN’s closure: NPR.