The best embroidery machine for most beginners is the Brother SE700. It's Amazon's top-selling embroidery machine, it's easy to learn, and it sews as well as embroiders. Its 4x4 hoop is right for monograms, patches and gifts. If you want bigger designs on shirts and bags, choose the 5x7 Brother PE900 instead.
Quick picks
| Best overall for beginners | Brother SE700 | Amazon |
|---|---|---|
| Best 5x7 embroidery-only machine | Brother PE900 | Amazon |
| Best budget pick | Brother PE545 | Amazon |
| Best 5x7 combo | Brother SE2000 | Amazon |
| Biggest hoop for the money | Poolin EOC06 | Amazon |
How we picked
We started with every home embroidery machine in Amazon's US results for beginner searches on October 3, 2026, and narrowed the list with evidence you can check:
- Category rank and sales. Amazon's Embroidery Machines best-seller list that day had the Brother SE700 at #1, the PE545 at #2 and the PE900 at #3. The SE700 showed 1,000+ purchases in the past month.
- Hoop size and ease of use over gimmicks: maximum embroidery area, screen size, design transfer and support.
- Verified specs only, taken from each manufacturer's Amazon listing.
- Honest ratings. We left out machines with too few ratings to judge, or with low averages.
This is a spec review: we compared listings and owner feedback; we didn't stitch on these machines. How we research.
How machine embroidery works (and where beginners struggle)
A home embroidery machine stitches a digital design file. You don't guide the fabric: the hoop moves on an arm while the needle stitches. Every project follows the same five steps:
Puckering, shifting and gaps in designs almost always come from step 2: fabric hooped too loosely or stretched, or the wrong stabilizer. That's good news: it means an affordable machine can produce excellent results. Our stabilizer guide covers what to use on each fabric.
The 5 best embroidery machines for beginners
Brother SE700
The SE700 was #1 in Amazon's Embroidery Machines category on October 3, 2026, and it's the machine we'd hand most beginners. It's a full computerized sewing machine (103 stitches with ten one-step buttonhole styles) with a detachable embroidery arm and a 4x4 field.
The beginner-friendly details add up: 135 built-in designs and 10 fonts so you can personalize gifts on day one, a 3.7-inch touchscreen for positioning designs, an automatic needle threader, a drop-in bobbin, and wireless transfer from your computer or the Artspira phone app.
- Typesewing + embroidery
- Embroidery area4" x 4"
- Built-in designs135
- Fonts10
- Sewing stitches103
- Screen3.7" touchscreen
- TransferWi-Fi + USB
Why it stands out
- One machine for sewing and embroidery
- Wi-Fi transfer and Artspira app
- Amazon's best-selling embroidery machine, so help is easy to find
Think twice if
- You want designs larger than 4x4 in one hooping
- You already own a sewing machine you like
Open the SE700 listing to see photos of the embroidery arm attached and the 4x4 hoop in place
Brother PE900
If you already sew, or you know you want bigger designs, the PE900 is the beginner machine with the most room to grow. Its 5x7 field handles sweatshirt fronts, tote bags and quilt blocks. Jump stitch trimming cuts the loose threads between parts of a design for you, and advanced color sort reduces thread changes on combined designs: both save the tedious cleanup that frustrates new embroiderers.
- Typeembroidery only
- Embroidery area5" x 7"
- Built-in designs193 (+50 via Artspira)
- Fonts13
- Screen3.7" touchscreen
- Needle to arm7.4"
- Extrascolor sort, jump stitch trimming
Why it stands out
- 5x7 field: more than twice the area of 4x4
- Largest built-in library on this list from Brother
- Automatic jump stitch trimming
Think twice if
- You want to sew seams too: it's embroidery-only
- Your projects are mostly small monograms
Brother PE545
The PE545 is the lowest-cost current Brother embroidery machine and #2 in Amazon's Embroidery Machines category. It shares the SE700's 4x4 field, design library, screen and Wi-Fi, minus the sewing functions. The screen includes built-in tutorial videos, and the box includes needles, prewound bobbins, scissors and a seam ripper.
- Typeembroidery only
- Embroidery area4" x 4"
- Built-in designs135
- Fonts10
- Screen3.7" touchscreen
- TransferWi-Fi + USB
Why it stands out
- Cheapest way into Brother's current embroidery line
- Same Wi-Fi and Artspira features as the pricier models
- Good fit next to a sewing machine you already own
Think twice if
- 4x4 limits you to smaller designs
Brother SE2000
The SE2000 combines the PE900's 5x7 embroidery features with a 241-stitch sewing machine. If you don't own a sewing machine and you want 5x7, it's the one-machine answer. It costs more than the SE700, but it's the combo you're least likely to outgrow. Our SE2000 review covers it in detail.
- Typesewing + embroidery
- Embroidery area5" x 7"
- Built-in designs190+ (+50 via Artspira)
- Fonts13
- Sewing stitches241
- Screen3.7" touchscreen
- Extrascolor sort, jump stitch trimming
Why it stands out
- 5x7 field plus a full-featured sewing machine
- Jump stitch trimming and color sort
- Wi-Fi + USB transfer
Think twice if
- You already own a good sewing machine, since the PE900 costs less
- You want to sew and embroider at the same time
Poolin EOC06
If you want large designs on a beginner budget, the EOC06 offers far more stitching area than Brother's home models: up to 11 x 7.9 inches, with four hoops included. Poolin lists a 7-inch touchscreen, an automatic needle threader, automatic thread trimming when each color finishes, and USB or wireless design transfer. It ships with thread, prewound bobbins and stabilizer.
It has fewer Amazon ratings than the Brother picks (about 390) and uses DST/DSB design files rather than Brother's PES, so check that your design source offers those formats.
- Typeembroidery only
- Max embroidery area11" x 7.9"
- Hoops included4 (two 5.5x5.5, one 7.9x7.9, one 7.9x11)
- Built-in designs200
- Fonts8
- Screen7" touchscreen
- FormatsDST, DSB
Why it stands out
- Largest embroidery area on this list
- Four hoops and starter supplies included
- Large 7-inch screen
Think twice if
- You want the bigger owner community and PES format of the Brother machines
- You only need small designs
Side-by-side comparison
| Machine | Sews too? | Max area | Built-in designs | Wi-Fi | Amazon category rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brother SE700 | Yes | 4" x 4" | 135 | Yes | #1 |
| Brother PE900 | No | 5" x 7" | 193 | Yes | #3 |
| Brother PE545 | No | 4" x 4" | 135 | Yes | #2 |
| Brother SE2000 | Yes | 5" x 7" | 190+ | Yes | #5 |
| Poolin EOC06 | No | 11" x 7.9" | 200 | Yes | #31 |
Ranks are Amazon's Embroidery Machines best-seller ranks on October 3, 2026, and change daily.
How to choose
1. Pick the hoop size from your projects
| You mostly want to make | Minimum hoop |
|---|---|
| Monograms, towels, baby bibs, patches | 4" x 4" |
| Shirt and sweatshirt fronts, tote bags | 5" x 7" |
| Jacket backs, large quilt blocks, big lettering | 6" x 10" or larger |
Our hoop sizes guide shows what fits in each size, drawn to scale.
2. Combo or embroidery-only?
No sewing machine yet? A combo (SE700 or SE2000) is the better buy. Already have one you like? An embroidery-only machine (PE545 or PE900) costs less for the same embroidery features, and you can sew on one machine while the other embroiders. More in embroidery machine vs sewing machine.
3. Check the design format
Brother machines use PES files, which most design shops sell. Other brands may use DST or their own formats. It's not a deal-breaker, but check before you buy a design library.
What about the Brother Skitch?
The Brother Skitch is a compact 4x4 embroidery-only machine that works through the Artspira app. It ranked #4 in Embroidery Machines, but its average rating was 3.0 stars on October 3, 2026, much lower than the machines above, so we'd steer beginners to the PE545 at a similar size.
Three beginner mistakes to avoid
- Buying on built-in design count. 135 versus 193 designs matters far less than 4x4 versus 5x7. Most people end up using designs they download or buy.
- Using the wrong stabilizer. T-shirts and sweatshirts need cut-away stabilizer; tear-away on a knit is the most common cause of puckered, distorted designs.
- Resizing designs too far. A design digitized for 5x7 doesn't shrink cleanly to 4x4, because the stitch count stays the same and the stitches pile up. Buy designs made for your hoop size where you can.
Supplies to buy with your machine
- New brothread 40-color polyester embroidery thread kit: the best-selling machine embroidery thread kit in our searches, with 12,000+ ratings.
- Tear-away stabilizer, 100 precut 8x8 sheets for towels and woven cottons.
- Cut-away stabilizer, 100 precut 8x8 sheets for T-shirts, knits and sweatshirts.
- Schmetz embroidery needles, size 75/11: embroidery needles have a larger eye that protects the thread at speed.
- Prewound size A bobbins (SA156) for Brother machines.
The bottom line
For most beginners, the Brother SE700 is the best first embroidery machine: easy to learn, a sewing machine too, and the best seller in its category. If you want 5x7 designs, buy the Brother PE900 (or the SE2000 if you also need a sewing machine). Comparing models? See SE600 vs SE700 and our PE line comparison.
Specs and features come from each manufacturer's Amazon listing, checked October 3, 2026. Prices change often, so the buttons above show the current price on Amazon. How we research · Affiliate disclosure