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Cricut Scoring Wheel vs Scoring Stylus – What Nobody is telling you!

This post contains Affiliate Links. Read my full disclosure for more info

Updated on September 11, 2020

Hi Daydreamer!

Every day is a good day to learn, and today we are going to compare the Scoring Stylus against the Scoring Wheel.

Before we dig in let’s see a quick review of what these tools are.

Both, the Scoring Stylus and the Scoring Wheel, are accessories you can use with your Cricut Machines. They allow you to make folds on different types of materials like paper, cardstock, poster-board, etc. If you enjoy making boxes, cards, or other type of projects that require you to make folds, then; these accessories will make your life extra easy and also fun.

Here’s the thing, although the Scoring Stylus can be use with any of the Explore Family Machines and the Cricut Maker; the Scoring Wheel can only be used with Cricut Maker.

Scoing Wheel and Tips 01 and 02 with the Scoring Stylus
Scoring Wheel Left – Scoring Stylus Right

Make sure to read this article, If you want to learn all of the differences between the Cricut Maker and the Cricut Explore Machine.

On this post I will be covering all of the differences between the Scoring Stylus and the Scoring Wheel. I am also going to show you some pictures of how the score lines look in different types of materials, so you can make and informed choice of which accessory you need.

This is NOT a tutorial of How the Scoring Wheel works in Cricut Design Space. If you want to learn how this tool works check out my completely guide and step by step tutorial.

Are you ready?

Let’s get started!

Page Content hide
Differences between Scoring Stylus vs Scoring Wheel
Scoring with different Materials
Colored Construction Paper & Cardstock
Craft Board & Metallic Poster – Board
Corrugated Paper & Craft Foam
Which one Should you the Scoring Stylus or the Scoring Wheel?
Pros and Cons
What do you think?

Differences between Scoring Stylus vs Scoring Wheel

Although, the Stylus and the Wheel have the same purpose – make folds – they both look very different.

The Scoring Stylus looks very similar to other Essential Tools – weeding tools, spatula, etc – that Cricut has to offer. However, the Scoring Wheel looks very similar to a blade.

Something extremely cool about the Scoring Wheel is that it has two different tips that you can use. 01 for light materials like cardstock and regular paper and 02 for thicker materials like poster-board and chipboard; 01 stands for Scoring Wheel, and 02 stands for double scoring wheel.

All Cricut Machines, except for the Cricut Explore One, have two tool holders or clamps. Clamp A is for accessories, and Clamp B is for Blades. The Scoring Stylus is always used with Clamp A and this is why you can use it with any of the Cricut Machines.

However, the Scoring Wheel can only be used on Clamp B. Here’s the caveat; though, just like the knife blade and the rotary blade the Scoring Wheel was built with Cricut’s new technology, the Adaptive Tool System.

  • Scoring Stylus inside the Cricut Maker CLAMP A
    Scoring Stylus Clamp A
  • Scoring Wheel inside the Cricut Maker CLAMP B
    Scoring Wheel Clamp B

The Adaptive Tool System controls the direction of t the new blades and scoring wheel at all times. In fact, This technology is so amazing that it can adjust the pressure of the Scoring Wheel to match the materials you are working with!

That’s why, the Scoring Wheel has 10X the strength and power than the Scoring Stylus has. Therefore, by using the Scoring Wheel you are going to get extra deep and extra sharp score lines.

Awesome Right?

Scoring with different Materials

Now that you’ve learned the differences between the Scoring Stylus and the Scoring Wheel let’s see how they both work on different materials.

For this comparison I will be using the following Materials and using both the Stylus and Scoring Wheel (01 and 02).

  • Colored Construction Paper
  • Colored Cardstock
  • Craft Board
  • Metallic Poster-board
  • Corrugated Paper
  • Craft Foam

In total we will have 2 materials for light, medium-weight, and thick materials.

Note: If you have the Scoring Wheel, Design space will always show you what tip is recommended. However, I decided to try with both tips just so are able to see how each tip would look and all of these materials.

On some of the materials – the ones that Made sense – I also scored a star on top of the design. Sometimes you would want to score other elements, not just just lines.

Right?

Let’s see the results!

Beforehand, let me apologize for the way some of these photos look. In order for me to show you the score lines I really had to decrease the exposure and brightness of some of the photos. They don’t look as pretty; However, my commitment to you is far superior than just having pretty photos. 🙂

Colored Construction Paper & Cardstock

For thin materials you can barely see any difference in the depth or smoothness of the scoring line. Honestly they seem pretty much the same. However, if you look at the stars, you will see that the lines that make up the star with the Scoring Wheel 01 are overlapped.

Comparing score line with the stylus and wheel tip 01 and 02 on Construction Paper
Stylus, Wheel 01 and Wheel 02 – Construction Paper

This is a little disappointing actually, but it’s totally understandable. You see, the scoring tip is driven by the Adaptive Tool System therefore it makes sense for some overlapping in the score lines. You will be able to see this difference in our next materials.

Comparing score line with the stylus and wheel tip 01 and 02 on Cardstock Paper
Stylus, Wheel 01 and Wheel 02 in Order –Cardstock Paper (Zoom in to see better details)

This overlapping doesn’t happen with the Scoring Stylus because there’s no driven process and every line is made in a single stroke.

Craft Board & Metallic Poster – Board

For these two medium weight materials I started to see some differences. As you can see, the score lines look somewhat smoother than the ones made by the Scoring Stylus.

  • Score Lines on Metallic Poster board using Cricut Scoring Wheel And Stylus
    Stylus, Wheel 01 and Wheel 02 in Order – Metallic Poster Board
  • Score Lines on Kraft Board using Cricut Scoring Wheel And Stylus

    Stylus, Wheel 01 and Wheel 02 in Order –Kraft Board

The Stars I made with the Scoring Wheel where also overlapped, but they do look smoother than the ones made by the Scoring Stylus.

Comparing smoothness of score lines made with the stylus and scoring wheel
Scoring Stylus Left – Scoring Wheel Right

Now let’s look at how the Metallic Poster Board behaved when I folded it. Here’s is where you can see why the wheel is so powerful.

Materials that are coated like Glitter Cardstock and or Metallic Poster board tend to crack on the folding process. When using the wheel with the 02 tip you create a two scoring lines that will make the folding process way smother.

Comparing folds of score lines made  with the stylus and wheel tip 01 and 02 on Metallic Poster board
Stylus, Wheel 01 and Wheel 02 Top to Bottom.

Notice how much the Metallic Poster Board cracked with the Stylus. It even cracked with the 01 Tip. However, look the fold with the 02 tip! It’s beautiful.

Corrugated Paper & Craft Foam

For these two relative thick materials I decided not to score the star I stuck with the horizontal score line.

Finally, with these thick materials – specially the corrugated paper – I was able to notice the difference in quality and crispiness for the score lines made with the Wheel.

This is what makes the wheel a one of a kind tool!

Comparing score line with the stylus and wheel tip 01 and 02 on Corrugated Paper
Stylus, Wheel 01 and Wheel 02 in Order – Corrugated Paper

The Scoring Stylus was very tough with the corrugated paper and Craft Foam. Believe or not, this doesn’t surprise me at all.

Comparing score line with the stylus and wheel tip 01 and 02 on Craft Foam
Stylus, Wheel 01 and Wheel 02 in Order – Craft Foam

Think about it!

The Stylus works by exercising pressure on its – pointy – tip. So, it’s expected that when you are working with thicker materials, the pressure of the stylus will be concentrated on a tiny point.

However, with the Scoring Wheel the pressure is well distributed across of the 01 and/or 02 tip. And, in my opinion, this is what makes the scored lines look crispy on thicker materials.

Comparing score line with the stylus and wheel tip 01 on Corrugated Paper
Stylus Left – Scoring Wheel Right

Which one Should you the Scoring Stylus or the Scoring Wheel?

I think the Scoring Stylus is a must have at all times. It’s so affordable, and you can create so may cools with it, that it does’t make any sense for you not to get it.

Now, the Scoring Wheel is a more expensive accessory. You can get it with just the 01 Tip, or as combo with both tips.

Compare Prices: For all of the scoring tools here

The decision of you getting the Scoring Wheel depends on what materials you are going use. As you just saw, when I used the Stylus and the Wheel on Light and Medium weight materials, the differences were very little.

Yes, it’s easier to fold when you score with the wheel, but not in a way that will leave you in disadvantage.

Scoring Wheel with Scoring Stylus and Cricut Explore Air 2 in the background
Scoring Tip 01 and Stylus in the background

If you are planning on working with thick and coated materials, like the ones I used on this post, and or chipboard I highly encourage you to get the Scoring Wheel with both tips. Cricut Materials can be quite expensive and if you re planning on doing multiple projects you want optimal results every time.

I didn’t have chipboard on hand, but I am sure if I had used the Stylus instead of the Wheel I would’ve totally scratch it. You don’t want this to happen to you.

Note: Remember that the Scoring Wheel is only compatible with the Cricut Maker, so if you have any of the explore family machines, you can only use the Scoring Stylus.

Pros and Cons

While doing these comparisons with the Wheel and the Stylus I got a couple of mixed pros and cons that I would like to share with you:

  • I love that with the Scoring Stylus you can Score and Write without extra intervention – you can set it and forget it – Since the Scoring Wheel goes on Clamp B – where all blades go – you need to change it and babysit your project till is done is scoring.
  • The Scoring Wheel will work great on any type of material. However, if you have very intricate score lines – like the stars I showed you above – the folds will overlap each other.
  • The Scoring Stylus works wonders to trace and score intricate designs. However, you are limited by the types of materials you can use. It works wonders with light and medium well materials, but not so great on thick materials.

What do you think?

Which tool is right fit for you? The Stylus or Wheel?

I can’t wait to find out, so make sure to let me know on the comments down below.

I love when I have comments ❤ I feel like I am not talking to the wall lol!

If you like this post and think someone else could benefit from it, make sure to post it on your favorite social media, by doing so, you aren’t only helping someone else to learn and find cool resources, but you are also supporting my work.

Oh!

And just so you know, I also have a FREE growing library with tons of printables and SVG files ready to be cut.

I would love for you to be able to get access to all of them. It’s 100% Free for my daydreamers (aka subscribers). Check out a live preview here or get access here.

Every day is a good day to learn, and today we are going to compare the Scoring Stylus against the Scoring Wheel. #cricut #cricutmade #cricuttutorials #cricutdesignspace #designspace #cricutmaker #cricutexploreair #cricutexploreair2 #scoringstylus #scoringwheel
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How to Write and Cut with your Cricut Maker or Explore Air 2
How to use the Cricut Scoring Wheel | Scoring Wheel Not Detected

Comments

  1. Beth Tricase says

    March 24, 2021 at 1:33 am

    Thank you for your tutorial on the scoring tools. I have a cricut air 2 and my scoring stylus keeps popping up in the middle of a project, you gave me a solution to that problem. Another problem I’m having is my fine point blade isn’t cutting all the way thru 65lb paper. I’ve changed my blade several times thinking my blade was dull but even a brand new blade isn’t going all the way through. I’ve tried changing from the default setting to more pressure and then my blade pops up like the scoring stylus tool is doing. Could my blade clamp be broken also? TIA

    Reply
    • Catalina says

      April 12, 2021 at 12:55 pm

      That sounds a little odd. I would check with Costumer service as well. It’s never happened to me.

      Reply
  2. Emilie says

    March 15, 2021 at 3:12 pm

    Hi Catalina! Thanks so much for your post! I got an Explore Air 2 a few weeks ago. I totally love it, but I am really jealous of the Maker’s scoring wheel!! I was frustrated that sometimes my score lines are not that deep for my cardstock greeting cards. THANK YOU SO MUCH for the tip of copying and pasting another score line on top of the original score line. Many thanks and I can’t wait to explore your blog! Have a great day!

    Reply
    • Catalina says

      April 7, 2021 at 6:49 pm

      You’re very welcome! Happy I was able to help.

      Reply
  3. Bridget Vincent says

    July 20, 2020 at 1:02 pm

    I am very new to Cricut Maker, I have just ordered a scoring stylus but my project is telling me to put the scoring wheel into the clamp. How do i tell the Cricut Maker that i only have the scoring stylus? Also what weight cardstock do you use for greeting cards, cut out and drawing on them.
    Many thanks

    Reply
    • Catalina says

      July 20, 2020 at 6:39 pm

      Learn how to do it in this “How to use the scoring wheel tutorial.” I mention how to edit that tool in design space.

      Reply
  4. Konstantin says

    June 21, 2020 at 9:00 pm

    Hi Catalina, happy to have found your blog. It’s honestly the best set of Cricut reviews I’ve found after reading about this machine for about half a year—the least “I am so excited” passages and the most informative texts with many details. Thanks for them!

    Now, this post of yours stirred confusion in me. I am into box making, and I am looking for a machine to upgrade from my manual work. It’s only for a hobby. The main reason I want a machine is precision, especially when I need to tune the package dimensions. So precision and accuracy are the main requirements. The machine should also be good at both cutting and scoring dense paper (400+ gsm).

    Until now, I was torn between Silhouette Cameo 4 due to its great software, which allows precise dimensioning, and Cricut Maker due it’s scoring wheels not available for Silhouette machines. But this post of yours seems to indicate that the scoring wheel actually doesn’t add much. At the same time, I’ve heard that Design Space is a pain to use when one needs to adjust dimensions in the design. It’s good for printing pre-made figures when exact dimensions don’t matter, but it’s difficult to use and adjust one’s own design.

    I would appreciate if you could comment on these two statements. FWIW, I am fine with doing the design in an external program (Inkscape).

    Cheers from the Netherlands!

    Reply
    • Catalina says

      June 24, 2020 at 5:43 pm

      If you want full precision when working on a design you can’t do a lot of editing in Design Space. Things like moving angles, and other important things when making boxes from scratch is impossible. You can, however, design them and cut them Cricut. Cricut also has hundreds of boxes templates so everything will be 100% perfect. I also have a box tutorial with some free templates for personal use only.

      I won’t lie to you. Design Space is not the program to design complex things. I would never use it for that. It’s mainly for small details.

      Reply
  5. Lauri says

    June 21, 2020 at 3:51 am

    My daughter and I are new to Cricut. I bought a Martha Stewart version and we tried making a card that asked for a blade and scoring tool. I only have the scoring wheel. Is the Martha Stewart air 2 not use a blade and a wheel to make things? I feel the research I have done is now indicating I should have bought a scoring stylus instead of a wheel.

    Reply
    • Catalina says

      June 24, 2020 at 5:38 pm

      The Explore Air 2 doesn’t support the scoring wheel 🙁 Only the stylus.

      Reply
  6. Anna says

    May 9, 2020 at 1:49 am

    Hi, I’m having a horrible time with my scoring stylus in my Cricut Maker. I put it in correctly and it will work but then in the middle of a project it pops up in the clamp and obviously stops working. Have you heard of this before, and if so, any suggestions?

    Thank you.

    Reply
    • Catalina says

      May 28, 2020 at 7:18 pm

      Yes! It happened to me too! The pen/stylus adapter is broken and you need a replacement. You can call Cricut for that little part.

      Reply
    • Claire Collins says

      June 9, 2020 at 10:13 pm

      That’s happening to me too. So annoying

      Reply
  7. Dani says

    April 11, 2020 at 4:33 am

    I have a question unrelated to this article. Somewhat newbie on cricut. I have been trying to have the cricut draw a character just for my kids to color. When I have it set to draw the photo looks fine. But when it actually draws out it looks like a lot of the lines are drawn twice- l think what the machine sees is a thick line so in between the two lines should theoretically be filled in by hand by myself. Like it is drawing the outline of the thick line wby making two small side by side lines. Is there a way to get it to just draw one line?
    Hopefully I explained that ok.

    Reply
    • Catalina says

      April 23, 2020 at 4:55 pm

      Hi Dani. This is correct. It’s because of the type of shape. Single lines are vector lines. Regular pictures are not lines but shapes therefore they look double. Cricut had images that are designed for “drawing” on a single stroke. You can filter them in the “images” tab on the right panel.
      I hope this helps.

      Reply
  8. Deborah says

    April 6, 2020 at 7:43 pm

    Thank you Catalina for helping me differentiate between using the scoring wheel vs stylus. I was going to try the stylus on my glitter card stock but see that I really need to us my 02 scoring wheel.

    Reply
    • Catalina says

      April 23, 2020 at 4:17 pm

      You’re very welcome 🙂

      Reply
  9. Jing says

    April 6, 2020 at 3:43 am

    Thanks for taking the time to explain the differences. I am a new owner of the Maker, but have been using the Explorer Air 2 for over a year now. I have been wondering what accessories I should keep, including the scoring stylus. Now I know that I want to keep my scoring stylus and put the scoring wheels combo on my wish list. 🙂

    Reply
    • Catalina says

      April 23, 2020 at 4:17 pm

      Happy to hear I was able to help 🙂

      Reply
  10. Debbie says

    January 14, 2020 at 1:26 am

    Thank you for the information on this, I had no idea what to do with the stylus when it asked for it while trying to make a card today. I tried for 2 hours to try to make a card with no luck. It wouldn’t cut or score.

    Reply
    • Catalina says

      January 16, 2020 at 6:04 pm

      I am glad I was able to help!

      Reply
  11. Melea Goins says

    November 28, 2019 at 4:02 am

    Thank you for your post explaining the differences in these tools. I’m a brand new Cricut Maker owner and am struggling to understand what tools are necessary and how to use them.

    Reply
    • Catalina says

      November 30, 2019 at 3:21 pm

      You are very welcome! I am glad I can help.

      Reply
  12. Sarah says

    May 31, 2019 at 4:53 pm

    I have the maker but not the scoring wheel. How do I use the stylus for projects? I tried a free card but it wouldn’t work because I didn’t have the wheel.

    Reply
    • Catalina says

      May 31, 2019 at 5:14 pm

      Hi Sarah, when you are on the cutting process, when you are prompted to install your tools, there’s a link that says Edit Tools click there and select the Scoring Stylus. On my Scoring Wheel tutorial there’s a screenshot that shows you how to do it.

      Reply
  13. Debby says

    March 25, 2019 at 3:52 am

    My scoring stylus barely leaves a line. What am I doing wrong? I have to go over them again with a ruler.

    Reply
    • Catalina says

      March 25, 2019 at 4:01 am

      Hi Debby. What materials are you using? If you have a Stylus something that works for me, is to copy and paste another scoring line of top of that one. (Don’t forget to attach)

      Reply
      • Debby Moore says

        July 10, 2019 at 10:53 pm

        I’m using cardstock. I don’t know how to copy and paste on design space. Sorry this is late, I just saw it.

        Reply
        • Catalina says

          July 16, 2019 at 1:36 am

          Hi Debby! Check out my Cricut Design Space tutorial where I explain you to detail how to use every little icon in Design Space (it will show you how to duplicate as well)

          Reply

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Hi There! My name is Catalina.

I am a wife, mom of a very active boy, and follower of Jesus. I am here on a mission, where YOU are the most important part!

I am here to bring you and your family, friends, and everyone you know together through the immense power of creativity.

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