You uploaded your own image into Design Space, added some text. You are excited to bring your design to life, but you see a “Checkout” Button instead of Continue! After you’ve spent a small fortune on the machine, accessories, and materials the absolute last thing you want to do is fork over more money.
If Cricut is asking you to pay for your own design, you inserted a paid element, most likely a Cricut Font. Some Cricut Fonts are Free, but the majority are paid or require a Cricut Access subscription.
Why is Cricut Asking Me to Pay to Cut?
When you go to make the project, you will see a “checkout” button instead of a continue button. Don’t Panic! Select the checkout button so that you can see what elements of your design in Cricut is asking you to pay for.
Once you select the checkout button, a purchase confirmation page will appear. On this page, Cricut will list the paid element. In the image below, the paid element was a Cricut Font.
How to Continue without Paying for Your Design?
Do you have a Cricut Subscription? If so, make sure you are logged into your Cricut Account. Many of the paid Cricut Fonts are included in a Cricut Access Subscription.
If you don’t have a Cricut Access subscription, you will have to replace the paid elements in your project.
Cricut allows you to insert paid elements into your design in Cricut Design Space, to see how they work in your project. In a previous article, I explained how to determine what is included in Design Space for free.
Should I Pay for Cricut Fonts and Images?
Purchasing fonts or images to create a project can get pricey and a Cricut Access Subscription may be more cost-efficient than purchasing fonts and images a la carte. There are a few things to consider when deciding to purchase items a la Carte vs. subscribing to Cricut Access.
There are about 15 fonts included completely Free in Cricut Design Space. Subscribing to Cricut Access, unlocks over 500 fonts for the price of the Cricut Access Subscription . The only downside is that you don’t own the fonts, so if you cancel your subscription you will have to pay to use the Cricut Access fonts.
Once you have purchased fonts or images a la carte, you can use them in any design in the future, without having to pay for it again. If you love a font or image and you plan to use it frequently, it is probably worth it to pay for the font or image.
There are some fonts and images that are only available with a Cricut Access Subscription. The only way to use them is to purchase a Cricut Access Subscription.
If this is a project you likely won’t make again, A Cricut Access subscription may totally be worth it. The Cricut Access Subscription offers access to hundreds of fonts and thousands of images. As mentioned above you won’t own the font after your subscription has expired, but I find myself using new fonts and images for different projects.
Check the current price of a Cricut Access subscription. If your paid elements exceed the price of a monthly subscription and you likely won’t use the paid elements again the subscription is probably worth the price. Also once you sign up for the Cricut Access Subscription you have access to discounts on Cricut materials, Accessories and Machines.
After you cancel your cricut subscription, you will have to pay to use these fonts.
Before you take that approach you want to verify 2 things:
1.) The paid fonts and images that you would like to use are included with the Cricut Access subscription.
2.) You will not need to make this project once your Cricut Access Subscription is canceled.
How to Avoid Adding Paid Images and Graphics to your project?
Cricut Design Space allows you to filter to images based on ownership. At the time of publishing there are over 2,000 images that can be used for free in your projects. Be sure to filter to free for ownership to avoid designing with paid elements.
