The 5 Best Embroidery Machines for Beginners (Start With the Hoop Size)

Five beginner-friendly embroidery machines picked from Good Housekeeping's lab test and The Spruce Crafts: the best overall, the best for beginners, an embroidery-only pick with a 5x7 hoop, one with a big 7-inch screen and a budget pick. Plus the paper test that tells you which hoop size you need.

By Amanda RobertsUpdated November 9, 2026How we pick products

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Most people shopping for a first embroidery machine compare how many designs come built in. That’s the wrong number to start with. The spec that decides what you can actually make is the hoop size, also called the embroidery area.

A 5x7 hoop gives you 35 square inches to stitch in. A 4x4 hoop gives you 16, less than half. Monograms, patches and kids’ clothes fit fine in a 4x4. A big design across the back of a jacket or the front of a tote bag doesn’t. And you can’t upgrade the hoop later, because the machine’s arm only moves so far. So pick the hoop first, then the machine.

Compare at a glance

Specs come from Brother's and Singer's product pages. Check the listing for current details before you buy.

How I chose these

I didn’t test these machines myself. I started with Good Housekeeping’s hands-on test, where a sewing expert in their Textiles Lab tried 13 sewing and embroidery machines on florals, lettering and custom designs. Then I went through The Spruce Crafts’ embroidery machine picks and checked every spec against Brother’s and Singer’s own product pages.

Two of the testers’ favorites, the Brother PE800 and PE535, have since been replaced by newer models. Where that happened, I picked the model that took its place and say so below.

1. Brother SE2000: Best overall

Best for: One machine you won’t outgrow, for both sewing and embroidery.

This was Good Housekeeping’s best overall. It sews and embroiders, and it has the bigger 5x7 hoop, 193 built-in designs, 241 sewing stitches, 13 embroidery fonts and a color touchscreen for editing designs. You can send designs over Wi-Fi or plug in a USB stick, and it trims the jump stitches between parts of a design so you’re not snipping loose threads afterward. Good Housekeeping’s tester liked how easy the controls were and how many accessories come in the box.

What bugs me: It’s about $1,500, which is a lot for a first machine. And in testing it struggled on thick fabric.

Skip it if: you only want to monogram towels and make patches. The SE700 does that for less than half the price.

2. Brother SE700: Best for beginners

Best for: A first machine that sews and embroiders, without a big budget.

This is the one that kept coming up. The Spruce Crafts named it best for beginners, and Good Housekeeping named it best value. In Good Housekeeping’s separate sewing machine test, their tester was amazed at how easy it was to set up embroidery designs. You get 135 built-in designs, 103 sewing stitches, 10 fonts, an automatic needle threader, an automatic thread cutter and wireless design transfer.

What bugs me: The 4x4 hoop. It’s plenty for names, monograms and small motifs, but bigger designs are out.

Skip it if: the paper test below tells you that you need a 5x7. Go for the SE2000.

3. Brother PE900: Embroidery only, with a 5x7 hoop

Best for: People who already own a sewing machine and want bigger designs.

The Spruce Crafts named the Brother PE800 its best overall embroidery machine, and the PE900 is the newer version. It keeps the 5x7 hoop and adds Wi-Fi design transfer, 193 built-in designs, 13 fonts, Color Sort to cut down on thread changes, and jump stitch trimming.

What bugs me: It doesn’t sew at all, and it’s still about $1,180. You’re paying a lot for a machine that does one job.

Skip it if: you don’t have a sewing machine yet. The SE2000 gives you the same hoop and designs plus sewing.

4. Singer SE9180: Biggest screen

Best for: Anyone who wants a big, clear screen to pick and move designs.

This one wasn’t in either of the tests I used. I added it because it’s the one strong option here that isn’t a Brother, and its 7-inch color touchscreen is far bigger than the 3.7-inch screens on the Brother machines. Singer lists 150 built-in embroidery designs, 250 stitches, 10 fonts and an automatic needle threader.

What bugs me: The included hoop is 170 by 100 millimeters, about 6.7 by 3.9 inches. That’s bigger than a 4x4, but it’s not a 5x7.

Skip it if: you’d rather stick with machines that were tested hands-on. The SE700 and SE2000 were.

5. Brother PE545: Budget pick

Best for: Trying machine embroidery without spending much.

Good Housekeeping’s pick for beginners was the Brother PE535, and the PE545 is the model that replaced it. It has more built-in designs than before, 135 of them, plus 10 fonts, an automatic needle threader, an automatic thread cutter and Wi-Fi, so you can send designs from your computer without a USB stick. At about $500, it’s the cheapest machine here.

What bugs me: It’s embroidery only, and the hoop is 4x4.

Skip it if: you also want to sew. The SE700 costs a little more and does both.

Do the paper test before you buy

Here’s how to know which hoop size you need, in about 30 seconds.

• Cut a 4 by 4 inch square of paper.
• Lay it on the thing you want to decorate: a towel, a tote bag, the front of a shirt.
• If the design you have in mind fits inside the square, a 4x4 machine is all you need.
• If it doesn’t, cut a 5 by 7 inch piece and try again. If that fits, shop for a 5x7 machine.

Our research

We relied on these sources:

• Good Housekeeping: best embroidery machines, tested in the GH Textiles Lab
• Good Housekeeping: best sewing machines
• The Spruce Crafts: best embroidery machines
• Brother USA: SE2000, SE700, PE900 and PE545 product pages
• Singer: SE9180 product page

We haven’t tested these ourselves. Prices are typical November 2026 prices and change often. Read more about how we pick products.

Short answers

Should a beginner get an embroidery-only machine or a combo? If you don’t own a sewing machine, get a combo like the SE700 or SE2000. If you already sew, an embroidery-only machine like the PE900 keeps your sewing machine free while a design stitches out.

Is a 4x4 hoop enough? For monograms, names, patches and small motifs, yes. For bigger designs on jacket backs, tote bags and pillow covers, get a 5x7. The paper test above tells you which.

Can I use my own designs? Yes. All five take designs you download or buy. The Brother machines here can also get them over Wi-Fi.

What else do I need to start? Embroidery thread, bobbin thread and stabilizer, which is the backing that keeps fabric from puckering while it’s stitched. The machines come with a hoop and some starter accessories, but check the box contents on the listing.