Makerfern vs Design Space's own image upload
Design Space can upload a PNG or JPG and turn it into a cut image itself, and it's free. For a one-color silhouette that's often all you need. Here is where converting to SVG first saves time and material.
| Makerfern | Cricut Design Space upload | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | Free for SVG | Free with Design Space |
| Multi-color designs | One cut layer per color | A raster upload becomes a single cut image, or a print then cut image |
| Removing the background | Automatic, including inside letters | You select the areas to remove on the upload screens |
| Stacked layers for layered vinyl | Yes | Not from a raster upload |
| Tiny pieces removed at your cut size | Yes | No |
| Thin-spot warnings | Yes | No |
| Stencil bridges | Automatic | Manual |
"No equivalent found" means we looked through their public site and settings and didn't find the feature. Products change; if something here is out of date, tell us and we'll fix it.
When Cricut Design Space upload is the better choice
- The design is one color and you're cutting it right away. Uploading directly skips a step.
- You want print then cut from a photo. Design Space's print then cut upload keeps the full photo, while a vector converter reduces it to flat colors.
When Makerfern is the better choice
- The design has more than one color and you want each color as its own layer.
- The art has lettering, which means clicking the inside of every letter to remove it on upload.
- You want to catch weeding problems before the vinyl is cut.
Try both on the same image
Makerfern is free and needs no account, so the comparison costs nothing.
More converters, side by side on price, free limits and whether the file is ready to cut: the best free PNG to SVG converters for Cricut, compared.
Sources
- Cricut Help Center, uploading images in Design Space: https://help.cricut.com/