With the best cutting mats, you have a secure and durable surface to make cuts on all kinds of materials. Photographers who work with physical prints will have need of a good crafting mat to cut and crop their prints, and they're also hugely useful for scrapbooking and collaging.
Which to choose? Ideally you're looking for a self-healing cutting mat – one that won't just protect your surface, but is constructed from layered PVC that can 'self-heal' minor nicks and cuts. Essentially, the highly pressurised material is capable of expanding, smoothing over nicks and cuts to return the surface to a mostly new-like state. It's not perfect, and will benefit from sanding every so often, but a good cutting mat should last for several years of use.
A good cutting mat will also come with grid lines, angles, and measurements to help you make precise cuts. They're available in a range of sizes, meaning you can save money (and space) if you only need a small surface. I've tested a few mats from the biggest names on the market right now – Dahle, OLFA, Alvin and Fiskars – so read on for my recommendations of the best cutting mats to buy right now.
Our top picks
Best overall
Our number one pick: constructed from five layers, this self-healing cutting mat is impressively resilient, available in a broad range of sizes, and has both metric and imperial scales.
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Best rotating
The 360° rotating design of this cutting mat can really speed up the workflow of your cutting projects, allowing you to bring the material to you rather than having to move around it.
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Cheapest
If you're looking for something extra affordable, the Alvin cutting mat is one of the cheapest we've reviewed. It's available in small sizes – handy for those who have limited working room.
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Most precise
The division of each square inch on this cutting mat with a 3x3 grid of dots allows you to get ultra-precise with your cuts, without compromising legibility. The non-slip surface also has a good level of bite.
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The best cutting mat
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The best cutting mat overall
The Dahle Vantage Cutting Mat is the best we've tested, earning the full five stars in our review. Its self-healing surface is constructed from 5-ply PVC, and provides all the resilience against nicks and scratches that you'd hope for. I've used it to crop printed photographs and card using an X-acto knife and rolling cutter, and haven't yet managed to damage it.
The mat is available in a range of sizes and colors – including an interesting translucent version. One thing I particularly like is that it offers both metric and imperial grids on the same surface – so many cutting mats make you choose between one or the other. There are also 45° and 60° angle lines for diagonal cuts. It's not the cheapest mat on our list, but it's reasonably priced for what you get, and I can recommend it without hesitation.
See our full Dahle Vantage self-healing cutting mat review
The best rotating cutting mat
A rotating cutting mat can be hugely useful if space is limited in your working area. Cutting materials need to be fixed to mat in order to ensure straight lines, so if you need to make multiple cuts, this means either moving yourself around the material (which requires a lot of room), reorienting the entire mat (which requires a very large working surface) or removing and re-affixing the material (which is time-consuming).
The rotating design of the OLFA Rotating Cutting Mat provides a very elegant solution to this problem. If you're confident with your cutting, it can be a very fast way to work – cut, rotate, cut, rotate, done. It also means you can work in much more cramped spaces, which is handy if you live in a small apartment or work in a small studio, where space is at a premium.
Bear in mind that unlike other OLFA mats, the rotating mat's one-sided design means you have to choose between centimetres or inches for the scale grid – you don't get both.
See our Olfa Rotating Cutting Mat review review
The best cheap cutting mat
If you're looking for a cutting mat on a budget, the Alvin HM Self-Healing Cutting Mat is one of the most affordable we've seen. Its 3-ply surface isn't as thick as the 5-ply surface you get from the likes of the Dahle Vantage, but it still held up well under our testing. Also, if you only need a small cutting surface, you can save some cash by picking up one of the Alvin's smallest options. This can also be handy for storage purposes – since cutting mats really need to be stored flat, it can be tricky to figure out where to put the big ones when you're not using them. The Alvin mat has another handy feature in this regard: a simple hole for hanging it on a hook.
Once again, it only offers imperial or metric measurements – not both – and it's also worth noting that while the mat is double-sided with blue and grey versions, the blue side on our review unit had very faint lines.
Read our Alvin HM Self-Healing Cutting Mat review
The best cutting mat for precision
If you need an extra level of precision in your cutting, the Fiskars Self-Healing Cutting Mat is definitely worth consideration. Not only does it have a standard grid with inches or centimetres, but the squares are further divided up with individual 3x3 dotted grids, enabling an extra level of granular precision.
The cutting surface itself is also excellent – in our testing, I found it to have a pleasing level of 'bite', offering just enough resistance to prevent the knife from slipping. Like the Alvin mat, it also has an eyelet at one edge for vertical hanging, and the version we tested offers 30°, 45° and 60° angular lines, which is handy (many mats only offer 45° and 60°).
Like the Alvin, it is a little thinner than prestige rivals like the Dahle Vantage, which could compromise its durability in the long term.
Read our Fiskars Self-Healing Cutting Mat review
FAQs
What is a self-healing cutting mat?
A self-healing cutting mat is a type of cutting mat that is made from a special material that closes up the cuts made by a rotary cutter or other sharp tool. This means that the mat stays smooth and usable for longer, even after being cut many times.
What is a rotary cutting mat?
A rotary cutting mat is a specific type of mat used for cutting fabrics. It's designed to be used in tandem with a rotary cutter: a circular blade tool used in crafts such as quilting, sewing, scrapbooking, and paper crafting.
What size cutting mat should I buy?
Ideally, your cutting matt needs to be larger than the piece of card or paper that you want to cut. Many cutting matts are sold using standard European paper sizes - with A4 being similar to the size of American Letter. The table below gives some standard dimensions of cutting matts you will find on sale:
Name | Millimetres | Inches |
|---|---|---|
A1 | 594 x 841 mm | 23.4 x 33.1 in |
A2 | 420 x 594 mm | 16.5 x 23.4 in |
A3 | 297 x 420 mm | 11.7 x 16.5 in |
A4 | 210 x 297 mm | 8.3 x 11.7 in |
A5 | 148 x 210 mm | 5.8 x 8.3 in |
How to choose the best cutting mat
To choose the right cutting mat for your needs, there are a number of factors to take into account. Firstly, think about what size mat will accommodate your project dimensions without overcrowding your workspace. Secondly, think about material: self-healing mat constructed from durable PVC is usually best in terms of longevity and resilience against cuts. Thirdly, consider thickness; a thicker mat provides better protection for your work surface and cutting tools. Fourthly, pay attention to the grid lines and angle markings, and think about whether these will serve your needs. Finally, factor in cost: there's little point for most people in paying over the odds, as most cutting mats serve pretty much the same purpose.
How we test the best cutting mats
When we test cutting mats, we essentially put ourselves into the minds of the average user, and carry out the kind of standard tasks a cutting matter is used for – with a photography focus. This means using the mats to cut and crop printed photos, as well as testing them with other common crafting materials such as card and fabric. We also assess the material's quality and thickness, scrutinize the grid lines and angle markings, and pay attention to wear and tear over time.
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