Best Embroidery Machines (2026): Picks by Hoop Size

Every embroidery conversation eventually lands on hoop size, and 5 x 7 inches is where the Brother PE800 has held the line for years. A 4 x 4 machine embroiders logos and small motifs. A 5 x 7 machine embroiders a jacket back panel, a full-size patch, a tote bag front, or a piece you would frame, in one hooping, without splitting the design and hoping the halves meet. That is the difference between a machine you outgrow in six months and one you keep.

The PE800 is embroidery-only, which is a feature for artists. There is no sewing mechanism to compromise the frame, the bed is flat and clear, and the whole machine is built around one job. The listing states 138 built-in designs and 11 font styles, a 3.2 inch color touchscreen, and a USB port for bringing in your own files. That last part is the workflow: draw, digitize (Brother's software or any of a dozen third-party programs), save to a stick, plug it in, hoop, stitch.

What it will not do is sew a seam. If you need one machine for both, look at the SE700 or the Bernette B79. For an artist who wants to make patches, merch, and stitched artwork, and who has a sewing machine already or no interest in one, this is the pick.

The PE900 is what the PE800 becomes when you take away the USB stick. Brother kept the 5 x 7 inch embroidery field, kept the embroidery-only design, and added wireless LAN so a design saved on your laptop appears on the machine without you carrying it there. The listing describes it simply as a wireless embroidery machine with WLAN, and Brother's other bundle listings state the 5 x 7 inch field.

Whether that is worth about eighty dollars over the PE800, at the prices we verified, depends entirely on how you work. If you digitize a design, stitch a sample, tweak it, and stitch again, wireless transfer turns a five-step loop into a two-step one. If you stitch the same handful of designs for a merch line and load them once, the PE800 is the same machine at a lower price.

For an artist selling patches and embroidered goods online, the PE900 is the version we would buy new today, because the wireless workflow ages better. For anyone on a budget, the PE800 gives up nothing that shows in the finished stitching.

If you own no sewing machine at all, the SE700 is the sensible first purchase, because it is two machines for the price of a mid-range one. The listing describes it as a sewing and embroidery machine with wireless LAN and eight included presser feet, and Brother's bundle listings state the 4 x 4 inch embroidery hoop. You get a computerized sewing machine for garments, bags, and quilting, and you get an embroidery unit that attaches when you want to add a monogram, a logo, or a small design.

The 4 x 4 field is the honest constraint. It handles a chest logo, a hat-sized patch, a name on a towel, or a small motif on a tote, and those are the majority of embroidery jobs most people actually do. What it cannot do in one hooping is a 5 x 7 patch or a jacket back, and there is no larger hoop for this body. If those projects are the reason you are buying, go straight to the PE800 or PE900 and keep your existing sewing machine.

This is also the machine we send people to when they are choosing between a heavier sewing machine and an embroidery machine and cannot justify both. It is genuinely both, at a price that leaves room for thread, stabilizer, and a hand-embroidery kit for the evenings.

The PE545 is the answer to a specific question: I already sew, I want to try machine embroidery, what is the least I can spend on a real machine? The listing describes a wireless embroidery machine with a 4 x 4 hoop and an LCD screen, from Brother, at a verified $430. That is a dedicated embroidery unit, not a combo, so it sits beside your sewing machine and never needs an arm attached or removed.

The field is 4 x 4 inches, same as the SE700. Monograms, names, small logos, hat fronts, and modest motifs on bags and towels all fit. A 5 x 7 patch does not, and no accessory changes that. So the question to answer before buying is whether your projects will stay small. Many do: personalized gifts, kids' clothes, small merch runs, and stitched details on larger sewn pieces are all 4 x 4 work.

As a first machine for a teenager, a classroom, or a maker who is curious rather than committed, it is a sensible purchase that will not be wasted even if a bigger machine follows: a 4 x 4 unit stays useful for the small jobs while the 5 x 7 handles the rest.

The Skitch is Brother's bet that a new generation of makers would rather design on a phone than on a machine, and for a first embroidery machine that bet pays off. The listing describes a single-needle embroidery machine with Bluetooth. There is no design screen on the machine itself; you build or choose a design in Brother's app, send it over, hoop your fabric, and press go.

That workflow is either the whole appeal or the deal breaker. For someone who already edits photos, makes stickers, and orders prints from a phone, it is the most natural embroidery machine on this page. For someone who wants to stand at the machine and adjust a design on a built-in screen, it is a frustration. Know which person you are buying for.

As a gift, or as a low-risk experiment for an artist who wants to add stitched patches to a print line without committing four figures, it is a good buy at $304. When the projects grow, the PE800 is the natural next step and the Skitch stays useful for the small jobs.

Brother owns the entry and mid tiers of embroidery on Amazon by volume, and Janome is the brand people move to when they want a machine that feels like it will still be running in fifteen years. The Memory Craft 100e is Janome's embroidery-only machine at a price that competes with the Brother PE800. The listing states a 5.5 x 5.5 inch embroidery field and 274 built-in designs.

That field size is the thing to think about. It is a square, so a round medallion, a monogram crest, or a square patch uses the whole area, which the 5 x 7 rectangle wastes on those shapes. A long rectangular patch or a name across a jacket back, on the other hand, fits the PE800's 7 inch dimension and not this one. Match the field to the shapes you actually make.

For a working artist who will stitch several days a week, that durability argument is real. For a maker who stitches occasionally, the Brother PE800 gives a bigger field for similar money. Both are good machines; they are good in different ways.

At some point 5 x 7 stops being enough, and the Bernette B70 is where the next tier begins. The listing states a 6 x 10 inch embroidery machine bundled with 160 embroidery threads and a premium accessory package. That field size means a full-width jacket back, a 10 inch patch, or a large quilt block stitches in one hooping instead of two, and anyone who has tried to align a split design knows what that is worth.

Bernette is Bernina's more affordable line, designed in Switzerland and built to a price point without abandoning the parent brand's approach to mechanics. Owner feedback across the Bernette embroidery machines points to steady stitch quality on the big fields and solid hoops that hold fabric flat, which matters more the larger the design gets.

The trade-off against Brother is ecosystem. Brother has more built-in designs, more third-party design files formatted for its machines, and more owners on forums. Bernette has the bigger field at this price. If your work is big, the field wins.

The B79 is the machine for the textile artist who has stopped asking whether embroidery belongs in the practice and started asking how to do more of it. The listing describes a computerized sewing and embroidery machine from Bernette, and it is the combo counterpart to the B70 above: a full-featured sewing machine for garments, bags, and quilts, with an embroidery module that brings the large field along.

The case for one premium combo over two machines is space and workflow. A quilter who pieces a top, then embroiders blocks, then finishes it, does all of that on one bench and one touchscreen. The case against is the same one that applies to every combo: the module comes on and off, and a service visit takes both crafts out of the studio at once.

For most artists reading this page, the PE800 plus the sewing machine you already own is the smarter spend. For a working studio that sells sewn and embroidered goods, the B79 is the machine you buy once and stop thinking about. If you sew more than you embroider, our sewing machine guide covers the dedicated options at every price.