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Cheap embroidery machines are non-existent or not reliable. What we are looking for is, the most affordable or less expensive.
The lowest price we found in our research for a machine that we are willing to recommend is around USD 460. Remember that these prices are from the time this article was written and they may go up or down.
Some of the things that can make a machine more or less pricy can be:
- Whether the machine can also sew as well as embroider.
- The size of the embroidery area of the machine.
- Features such as included fonts and designs.
- Max speed (Stitches per minute).
There are three brands that we know well, that we trust, and that we are willing to recommend. These brands are Brother, Singer, and Janome. Brother is, by far, the one that we know best, and we are very happy to recommend their embroidery machines.
We will show our list of recommendations, starting from the lowest price we found and working our way up. We will mention de basic features of each machine, some pros and cons, and how they are currently graded by actual buyers.
We want to help you find the machine that is best suited for you and your projects. It won´t always be the most affordable one, but a purchase like this one has to be very well evaluated and, many times, a higher initial investment turns out to be way more rewarding than shooting for the lowest costs.
Hope this list helps. :)
1- Brother PE545 - Around $460
Features: 4x4in embroidery area, wireless or USB transfer of designs, 135 integrated designs + 10 fonts, compatible with the Artspira app.
Pros: This is the cheapest option but still has great features that can suit many proyects and it is great to start with. If you like the Artspira app you can use it with this machine but you can also use other software because of the USB port on this machine.
Cons: It is only an embroidery machine, it does not have a sewing feature. The hoop size is 4x4in which is good for many projects but can feel limited sometimes.
Reviews: 4.3 out of 5 stars from 99 reviews.
2- Brother Skitch - Around $500
Features: 4x4in embroidery area, wireless transfer of designs, compatible with Artspira app, compact design, works with a magnetic hoop.
Pros: It is the most aesthetic embroidery machine out there, it looks good and it has a very compact design. It has a free arm base, which makes it easier to embroider sleeves or other complicated areas. It is also environmentally friendly, or so they say.
Cons: It ONLY works with the Artspira app which can be great but it has limited features unless you pay for a monthly subscription that is currently $13/month. The machine is probably the slowest one out there with a maximum speed of 400 spm.
Reviews: 2.8 out of 5 stars from 71 reviews. (Most bad reviews are form people who did not like the Artspira app and the fact that it is the only way to use this machine)
3- Brother LB5500 (Around $550)
Features: This is an embroidery + sewing machine. 4x4in embroidery area, wireless transfer of designs, compatible with the Artspira app.
Pros: This is the best price for an embroidery + sewing machine. Great for starters in embroidery and sewing.
Cons: It is a simple model, even though it can sew and embroider, it will feel limited as you take on more complicated projects.
Reviews: 3.8 out of 5 stars from 8 reviews.
4- Singer SE9180 (Around $900)
Features: 5x7in embroidery area, wireless or USB transfer of designs, 193 integrated designs + 13 fonts.
Pros: Biggest embroidery area for under $1000. It has a lid that covers the thread that is being used (particles of thread always float away while embroidering and this is not good for your health plus things get dirty. The lid reduces the amount of flying particles so this is a great feature.).
Cons: It is only an embroidery machine, no sewing. It is significantly bigger than the machines we mentioned previously, so you will need a larger work area.
Reviews: 3.5 out of 5 stars from 27 reviews.
5- Singer Legacy SE300 (Around $1100)
Features: 10 1/4 x 6 in embroidery area, USB transfer of designs, 200 integrated designs + 6 alphabet options.
Pros: This machine is very similar to the Singer SE9180, the advantages here are the huge embroidery area and the sewing machine feature.
Cons: You need a big work area for this machine and users have reported that the screen in this machine is black and white, which is a disadvantage when changing thread colors.
Reviews: 3.5 out of 5 stars from 134 reviews.
6- Brother PE900 (Around $1250)
Features: 5x7in embroidery area, wireless transfer of designs, compatible with Artspira app. Jump stitch trim and color sort.
Pros: This is a user-friendly machine with a large embroidery area. It is great for beginners and will not limit growth to more advanced projects. It has a rare feature called jump stitch trim that will help you save a ton of time cutting jump stitches by automatically cutting them for you.
Cons: It doesn´t have a sewing feature, only embroidery.
Reviews: 4.3 out of 5 stars from 114 reviews.
7- Janome Memory Craft 400E (Around $1400)
Features: 7.9x7.9in embroidery area, USB transfer of designs, 160 integrated designs + 6 fonts.
Pros: Big embroidery area and the realiability of a Janome machine.
Cons: It is expensive and does not have a sewing feature.
Reviews: 4.2 out of 5 stars from 73 reviews.
8- Janome Memory Craft 500E (Around $2000)
Features: 7.9x11in embroidery area, USB transfer of designs, 160 integrated designs, editing functions on screen.
Pros: Big embroidery area and the reliability of a Janome machine.
Cons: Aside from the bigger embroidery area, this machine is very similar to the Janome Memory Craft 400E but the price is significantly higher.
Reviews: 4.1 out of 5 stars from 76 reviews.
9- Brother Inno-vis NQ1700E (Around $2100)
Features: 6x10in embroidery area, wireless transfer of designs, compatible with Artspira app and IBroidery.
Pros: Big embroidery area and faster embroidery speeds than most machines in this list. It also has the biggest screen of all the Brother machines in the list. Users mentioned that the quality of the projects made in this machine is superior to similar machines from similar brands.
Cons: It doesn´t have a sewing feature, only embroidery. It is the most expensive machine in this list and it does look expensive, but in terms of features, it doesn´t offer much more than other machines in this list. It is compatible with IBroidery which gives you acces to over 5000 designs, but you have to pay for those.
Reviews: 4.5 out of 5 stars from 128 reviews.