Since Silhouette is the only machine I don’t own, I thought I’d give a rundown of some others. Full disclosure, I am a quilt shop owner with a Brother machine dealership. I have the Sizzix Cutter, Accuquilt Studio, Brother SDX225 Scan N Cut and Cricut. I have invested much(!) in the way of dies on everything but the Brother Scan N Cut. That being said, I use each for different purposes.
Manual- The Accuquilt Studio is an excellent industrial machine for creating multiple cuts with up to 8 layers of fabric. An example would be cutting 2.5″ strips of fabric. I can cut 200 strips with just 5 passes thru the machine. The dies are expensive but worthwhile if you know you are going to cut a lot of the same shape. Expenses are dies, acrylic sheets and trays (infrequent).
Electronic- The Cricut Is my least favorite, but I use the cartridges I purchased to cut lettering in different fonts. It will cut cardstock, fabric with some finagling, foil… basically thin materials. It feels to be the most fragile of the cutters. Expenses are dies, mats and blades.
Manual- I use the Sizzix for fabric applique pieces or cardstock shapes for the dies I have. I can do multiple layers of cuts like with the Accuquilt. Expenses are dies and plastic bases to cut against.
Electronic- My favorite machine is the Brother Scan N Cut! I can scan anything to cut! My own handwriting, a coloring book picture, an applique pattern, silhouettes, etc. The online software, Canvas, is free where you can edit and manipulate images. It comes with numerous built-in designs and can cut everything from paper to fabric to balsa wood! The ongoing costs are for the consumables like mats, blades and pens. Brother Scan N Cut has the ability to cut 6′ of vinyl, emboss paper, create stamps and put rhinestone decor on anything… bling! It will also transfer images wirelessly to a high-end Brother machine to stitch out in embroidery! Also, Brother is the only manufacturer licensed to carry Disney designs… which are loaded on certain models. You can get mass market models online, but the dealer models have more designs and tools included.
I hope this helps someone:)