Design Space: DIY with Cricut

Review by eFreeware

Most crafting apps stop at inspiration. Design Space goes a step further: it is the software that actually drives a Cricut cutting machine, so a design sketched on a phone can end up as a shirt, a sticker or a piece of home decor. That link between screen and machine is the whole point of the app, and it is what separates it from a general-purpose drawing tool.

The app is built for people who own a compatible Cricut machine, or who are about to set one up. If that describes you, the appeal is obvious: one place to activate the cutter, choose or build a design, and send it to the machine without switching between programs. Crafters who only want to sketch ideas digitally will find the app oriented toward production rather than freeform drawing.

Setting up a machine without the manual

The first job Design Space takes on is getting hardware running. Setup and activation happen inside the app, with step-by-step guidance walking you through the process rather than leaving you to interpret a printed quick-start sheet. For a new owner unboxing a machine, that is a meaningful convenience.

Once the machine is registered, the app connects over Bluetooth or Wi-Fi, and guided steps lead you through the cut. The connection method matters less than the fact that both wireless routes are supported, so the phone or tablet does not need to be tethered to anything.

Automatic settings are the quiet workhorse here. You tell the app which material you are cutting, and it applies the settings that suit your machine and that material. That removes a layer of guesswork that would otherwise sit between a finished design and a clean cut.

Starting from the project, not the canvas

Design Space flips the usual order of design software. Instead of opening a blank canvas and building up, you tell it what you want to make and it assembles what you need: a canvas sized for that project, content that fits, tools relevant to the task and instructions for putting the result together. It is a friendlier entry point than a grid of empty tools, and it should suit anyone who knows the object they want but not the steps to get there.

That project-first approach shapes everything downstream. The canvas arrives at the right dimensions, the toolset is narrowed to what the job requires, and assembly guidance is on hand for the physical build. For a beginner, this is the difference between a blank workspace and a guided one.

The same structure works for smaller jobs too. A custom sticker or a personalized shirt follows the same path: choose the project, adjust the design, preview it, then cut.

Free content and the Cricut Access library

The free starting point is not empty. Thousands of images, fonts, projects and templates are included at no cost, which is enough to produce a range of finished pieces without spending anything beyond the app itself. For occasional makers, that free catalog may cover most of what they need.

Cricut Access is the subscription layer, and it is where the library becomes enormous. The developer puts the full collection at more than 1.8 million images, over 100,000 projects, more than 10,000 templates and upwards of 1,000 fonts. A subscription also brings monthly AI credits and savings on cricut.com orders.

That is a lot of material, and the trade-off is straightforward: the free tier is a genuine starting point, but the breadth the app advertises sits behind a paid subscription. The app itself is free to download and carries no ads, though in-app purchases are part of the package. Anyone weighing the subscription should look at the terms on Cricut's site, which the developer points to for the details.

Editing tools, from Contour to Warp

Design Space includes editing tools for shaping a design once it is on the canvas. Contour, Weld and Offset are the core three, and they cover common needs: trimming unwanted parts of an image, joining shapes into one cut path, and creating a border around a shape. These are the operations that turn a stock image into something personal.

Paying members can also use Warp, Convert to Layers and Background Remover. Background Remover is the one that will matter most to anyone working with photographs or downloaded artwork, since it isolates the subject. Convert to Layers helps when preparing multi-color designs, and Warp reshapes text or graphics for effects that a straight transform cannot produce.

Before anything is cut, the app shows a preview of the finished project. That step is easy to overlook but valuable: it lets you catch a sizing mistake or a misplaced element before material is committed. For anyone cutting expensive vinyl or cardstock, the preview is the cheapest quality check available.

What you need before you start

Design Space is not a standalone drawing app. It is built around a compatible Cricut machine, and much of its value depends on having one connected. Without a machine, the app is a design tool with a large content library; with one, it becomes the control center for the whole process.

The subscription is the other requirement worth understanding up front. The developer notes that certain software features and the full content library require a paid subscription, so the free experience is a subset rather than the complete toolkit. That is a common arrangement for hardware companion apps, but it is worth knowing before you plan a project around a specific image or tool.

The app has been on Google Play since November 2016 and has been updated as recently as October 5, 2026. It has more than 5 million installs and holds a 3.9 average from 86,873 ratings. Those numbers suggest a large, active user base, and the rating suggests a mix of experiences rather than universal satisfaction.

Cricut owners get the most from it

The clearest fit is someone who already owns a Cricut machine or is setting one up. The guided setup, the automatic material settings and the direct connection to the cutter all serve that person, and the project-first workflow shortens the distance between an idea and a finished object.

It also suits makers who value a built-in library over sourcing their own artwork. The free content covers plenty of ground, and Cricut Access expands that into a catalog large enough that most projects can start from something already there. For someone who would rather adapt an existing design than draw from scratch, that is a real advantage.

Crafters who prefer to work entirely in their own software and treat the cutter as a peripheral will find less here, since the app is designed to be the hub rather than a pass-through. And anyone unwilling to consider a subscription should weigh how far the free tier will take them before committing to a project that depends on subscriber tools.

A capable hub for Cricut crafting

Design Space does the job it was built for: it connects a Cricut machine to a phone or tablet, guides the setup, helps shape a design and sends it to be cut. The project-first structure and automatic material settings lower the barrier for newcomers, and the free content gives them something to make on day one.

The subscription is the main consideration. Cricut Access unlocks the library and the more advanced editing tools, and the free tier, while useful, is a smaller slice of what the app can do. Whether that matters depends on how often you make things and how much you rely on ready-made designs.

For Cricut owners who want a single app to handle setup, design and cutting, this is the natural choice. For casual makers, the free tier is a reasonable place to start, with the subscription as an upgrade to consider once the projects get more ambitious.