The best Chromebooks for Cricut ensure you can stay creative, and in most cases, will save you a little money. You can now use your Chromebook to design projects, work on uploading designs from websites and to help edit your final masterpiece.
As we explained in our piece on the best tablets for Cricut, the size, wireless portability and touchscreen interfaces are just some of the reasons that a device smaller than a standard PC is perfect for crafters who like to work on the go or in a space where crafting takes a priority over computing; or you simply don’t fancy lugging around lots of additional bulk and wires.
There are lots of different Cricut machines available, including the Maker 3, Joy and Explore 3; read my guide to the best Cricut machines to see what each does. Some Chromebooks work best with particular machines, just like they do with tablets. For example, the smaller Cricut Joy and a Chromebook are perfect bedfellows.
However, there are some extra things to consider if you’re looking to pair up a Chromebook and Cricut that you may not have to think about with a laptop, tablet or PC. Fundamentally, a Chromebook will need to be compatible with the Google Play Store (which most are). Cricut has a full criteria list on it's website (opens in new tab).
If you’re set on a Chromebook, then you’ll enjoy my guide to the best Chromebooks for Cricut users, where I've weighed up different factors that make a Chromebook ideal for use alongside a Cricut. I’ve looked at Chromebooks that come with styluses, the quality of the display, compatibility with Cricut add-ons, and the battery life.
The best Chromebooks for Cricut available now
This Google Pixelbook Go is the brand's flagship Chromebook and while it may be pricier than others on my list, it does come with several brilliant features. With a great battery life (12 hours), a stellar performance from its Intel chips (up to an overpowered i7) and crystal clear UHD display, you'll be hard pressed to find a higher quality Chromebook that feels like a laptop.
Quite a high end Chromebook, the Google Pixelbook Go is perfectly compatible with Bluetooth and the Google Play Store, so using Cricut on this device shouldn’t be a problem for keen crafters. The LCD touch screen makes things really easy when it comes to designing, and the battery life means that those travelling about can keep their designs going on-the-go.
It's a little pricey to the point you may question why buy this over a Windows laptop or, say, an Apple iPad Air 5th gen. It also can't be used in a tablet mode, so despite the touchscreen you are still using it as a traditional laptop.
The Acer Chromebook Spin 514 is one of the newer Chromebooks on the market and as such has plenty of high-spec features that make this ideal for use with Cricut. Inside you get the chirpy quad-core AMD Ryzen 3 or 5 chips developed for Chromebooks, which deliver 2.1GHz for the higher end chip. This means multitasking is easy for this Chromebook.
There's also enough storage and RAM to save your designs natively and handle most tasks, with 128GB of flash storage and 8GB of RAM, exceeding the minimum you need for using a Chromebook with Cricut.
The star here is the 14-inch screen and 2-in-1 design of the Acer Chromebook Spin 514, which means you can flip it out to use as a tablet. It can be a little heavy but used in a table, and with an accurate and vibrant touchscreen, it's ideal for Cricut Design Space. The square 3:2 aspect ratio as opposed to 16:9 suites designing too.
The ASUS Chromebook Flip CX5 is another 2-in-1 Chromebook that can flip from laptop to tablet format, but this one makes my list because it's the best large-screen Chromebook around. With a clear and glossy 15.6-inch display that supports touch and stylus, this is an impressive Chromebook that is perfect for Cricut Design Space.
The screen is backed by a choice of either an Intel Core i5 or i3 chip and up to 256GB of fast SSD storage. In fact, the ASUS Chromebook Flip CX5 performs excellently and manages to offer Windows-like specs in a Chromebook shell. This will handle multitasking with ease but it's that screen which continues to impress – it could be a little brighter, however, as it only has 250 nits of brightness.
One of the most costly Chromebooks on my list, the IdeaPad Flex 5i Chromebook Gen 6 is a premium Chromebook that balances a speedy 11th gen Intel Core i5 processor with large 13.3-inch Full HD touchscreen display and a healthy 12GB SSD of storage. The shiny abyss blue aluminium casing, backlit keyboard and narrow bezel is a nice finish while remaining hard-wearing and solid to the touch.
This one really can do it all and offering the choice to fold it into a tablet for extra versatility is good too, and the IdeaPad Flex 5i Chromebook Gen 6 comes with a stylus for extra control. The downside for all this power and finish is this Chromebook has a battery life closer to a Windows laptop – it still comes in around 10 hours.
The HP Chromebook x2 11 is an excellent little tablet Chromebook that comes with an attachable keyboard, stand and stylus. While its screen may not be 4K it is QHD and features a decent 400 nits of brightness and 100% sRGB. Being 11-inches is also a little small for many Cricut projects, but it's ideal for Cricut Joy's focus on card and sticker designs.
In fact, I had some issues getting Design Space to run smoothly on the HP Chromebook x2 11, despite it technically supporting the Android app. However it runs the Cricut Joy app perfectly. If you're looking to take your designs to a friend's house for some cards, making the HP Chromebook x2 11 is perfect.
The addition of 128GB of storage and the use of a stylus and keyboard helps too. In my HP Chromebook x2 11 review I found this to be an incredibly smooth and effortlessly enjoyable Chromebook to use, and its 11 hour battery life is ideal for a day of crafting.
For a relatively decent price, those in the market for a Chromebook can get their hands on this Lenovo 14e Chromebook Generation 2, that comes with a superb keyboard – which many Chromebooks are lacking.
Designed for those who work in a fast-changing environment, this Chromebook is tough and portable, and great for those who want to pick up their work and get going. With battery life that lasts all day, you won’t have to worry about this Chromebook shutting down mid-design.
Users have complained of the Chromebooks speakers not being the best quality, but they’re nothing less than what you would expect from a device not designed for music, and for this price. If you’re looking for a budget friendly Chromebook for Cricut use, then this Lenovo model offers many of the same features as the Google Pixelbook Go, but for a fraction of the price.
The best Chromebooks for Cricut: frequent questions
Do Chromebooks work with Cricut?
Yes but it's a little complex. Chromebooks use Chrome OS, a product of Google, and therefore aren't technically compatible with Cricut. But, some Chromebooks have a way around this. If your Chromebook is compatible with the Google Play Store, and has Bluetooth, then you can download the Android version of Cricut Design Space on the Google Play Store, and use your Bluetooth to connect. Most Chromebooks released in 2022 meet this criteria.
Which Cricut machine is best for Chromebook?
The smaller Cricut Joy is a perfect companion craft machine for Chromebook. It's small size makes it a nice and portable machine that fits in with how most people use their Chromebooks. Also, Cricut has a Joy Design Space app that works perfectly with all Chromebooks.
What do I need to consider when buying a Chromebook for Cricut?
There are a number of key things to think about when looking for the best Chromebooks for Cricut, I've highlighted the main factors below:
1. Processor
Chromebooks don't have a good reputation for processor power, they're browser-based computers that rely on the Cloud, generally. However newer Chromebooks now feature Intel i5 and i7 processors, as well as AMD Ryzen. Be sure to check for one of these.
2. RAM
These days most Chromebooks come with 4GB of RAM as a standard and this is the minimum you'll need. Many Chromebooks released in 2021 and 2022 will feature 8GB of RAM.
3. Storage
You'll need at least 32GB of storage to save your designs, though keep in mind on a Chromebook you can save everything to Google Drive cloud storage. Many Chromebooks now offer 128GB SSD storage, which good to look for.
Read more:
The best Chromebooks for Cricut in 2022 - Creative Bloq
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