The short answer
The Brother SE2000 - one machine, one footprint, and a 5 x 7 in field.
Brother publishes a unit weight of 20.5 lb, unit dimensions of 9.49 x 17.56 x 11.81 in and a maximum embroidery area of 5 x 7 in. It sews as well as it embroiders, which is the part that matters at home: it is one machine on one surface instead of two machines on two.
It is not the lightest here and it is not the biggest field here. It is the machine that asks a house for the least while still doing both jobs.
Why this page is about size and not features
Every other page about home embroidery machines ranks on stitch counts and screen sizes. Those are real, but they are not what a house rations. A house rations surface: a piece of table that has to be clear before you can start, and that somebody else wants back.
So this page ranks on the four things that decide whether a machine survives contact with a home - and it reports, honestly, how badly those four things are published.
1. Published weight - can you put it away?
The figure that decides whether the machine lives in a cupboard between projects or lives on the table forever. Brother publishes a unit weight for six of the eight Brother machines here, from 15.06 lb (SE700) to 83.776 lb (PR680W).
2. The longest published side - what surface does it need?
The axis you have to clear. Here is the problem: Brother publishes three numbers under “Unit Dimensions” and does not label any of them. You get 9.49 x 17.56 x 11.81 for the SE2000 and no indication of which one is the width and which is the depth. So the only figure you can actually plan with is the largest of the three, because that is the one that has to fit no matter which way round it is.
3. Does it have to be two machines?
The PE800 and PE900 embroider and nothing else. If you also sew, their real footprint is their own plus whatever sewing machine sits next to them. A combination machine like the SE2000 or SE1900 does both from one footprint. That is a space argument before it is a money argument.
4. Field size - the space cost you pay in time
A 4 x 4 in field does not take less room on the table than a 5 x 7 in field on the same machine. What it takes is more of your evening, because more designs need re-hooping. What actually fits in each hoop size works that through.
Everything each maker publishes
Manufacturer-published figures only, read from each product page on 2026-09-21| Machine | Published machine size | Published weight | Carton size | Field | Published embroidery speed |
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| Brother SE700 | 7.76 x 16.50 x 12.09 in (axes unlabeled) | 15.06 lb | 17 x 21 x 16 in | 4 x 4 in | Not published |
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| Brother SE600 | Not published | Not published | 17 x 22 x 16 in | 4 x 4 in | 400 spm |
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| Brother PE800 | 17.48 x 9.48 x 11.81 in (axes unlabeled) | 17.64 lb | 20 x 22 x 20 in | 5 x 7 in | 650 spm |
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| Brother PE900 | 9.49 x 17.48 x 11.81 in (axes unlabeled) | 17.64 lb | 20 x 23 x 20 in | 5 x 7 in | Not published |
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| Brother SE1900 | 13.43 x 23.19 x 11.54 in (axes unlabeled) | 22.05 lb | 23 x 24 x 19 in | 5 x 7 in | Not published |
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| Brother SE2000 | 9.49 x 17.56 x 11.81 in (axes unlabeled) | 20.5 lb | 23 x 23 x 19 in | 5 x 7 in | Not published |
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| Brother NQ1700E | 27.37 L, 16.62 W, 11.87 H (see note) | 27 lb | 20 x 24 x 21 in | 6 x 10 in | 850 spm |
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| Brother NQ3550W | Not published | Not published | 23 x 27 x 22 in | 6 x 10 in | Not published |
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| bernette 79 | Not published | Not published | Not published | 10.2 x 6.3 in | 850 spm |
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| Brother PR680W | 20.157 x 23.110 x 23.189 in | 83.776 lb | 30 x 32 x 32 in | 12 x 8 in | 1,000 spm |
|---|
Ten machines. Seven publish a machine size, six publish a weight, and all ten publish a carton. That last point turns out to be the useful one.
Three things in that table worth saying out loud
The PE800 and the PE900 are the same box, written two ways
Brother publishes 17.48 x 9.48 x 11.81 for the PE800 and 9.49 x 17.48 x 11.81 for the PE900. Same three numbers, different order, no axis labels on either. They are the same size machine described two different ways on the same manufacturer’s website, which is the clearest possible demonstration that these strings are not being treated as a specification.
The one page that labels the axes gets the units wrong
The NQ1700E page is the only one here that tells you which number is which. It publishes 27.37’L, 16.62”W, 11.87’ H - two of the three marked with a foot symbol rather than an inch symbol. Read literally that is a machine 27 feet long. It is obviously inches, and we have listed it as inches, but a figure that ships with the wrong unit is a figure nobody checked.
Two machines publish no size at all, and one publishes nothing
Brother publishes neither dimensions nor weight for the SE600 or the NQ3550W - only the carton. And bernette publishes a detailed spec sheet for the 79, including a 10.2 x 6.3 in embroidery area and an 850 spm embroidery speed, with no dimensions, no weight and no carton size anywhere on it.
Plan with the carton. It is the only number every machine has.
The shipping carton is published for every Brother machine here, and it is always bigger than the machine. How much bigger, comparing each carton’s longest side with the machine’s longest published side:
SE700: 21 in carton vs 16.50 in machine = 27% bigger.
PE800: 22 vs 17.48 = 26% bigger.
PE900: 23 vs 17.48 = 32% bigger.
SE2000: 23 vs 17.56 = 31% bigger.
SE1900: 24 vs 23.19 = 3% bigger.
So if you clear the carton’s footprint, the machine fits with room to work - everywhere except the SE1900, where the box is barely larger than the machine and you should treat 24 in as the real number.
And one that does not work: the NQ1700E publishes a machine length of 27.37 against a carton whose longest side is 24 in. A machine cannot be longer than the box it shipped in, so one of those two numbers is wrong. Give it 27 in of clear surface and you are covered either way.
Why each machine placed where it did
1. Brother SE2000 - one machine instead of two
20.5 lb, a longest published side of 17.56 in, a 5 x 7 in field, and it sews. For a house that is the whole argument: a combination machine is one thing to find room for, one thing to put away, one power socket. Its full write-up is on the SE2000 review.
The honest drawback: 20.5 lb is a two-handed lift, so “put it away” realistically means a low shelf rather than a high one. And because Brother does not label the axes, you are clearing 17.56 in without knowing whether that is the depth of your table or the width of it.
2. Brother SE700 - the smallest thing here that still does both jobs
15.06 lb is the lightest published weight of any machine on this site, and 16.50 in is the shortest longest-side of any Brother machine here. One of its three published numbers is 7.76 in, which means one dimension of this machine is genuinely narrow. It also sews.
The honest drawback: the 4 x 4 in field. That is a quarter of the area of the 5 x 7 in machines, and it is the difference between stitching a chest logo in one hooping and stitching it in three. Brother also publishes no embroidery speed for it, so you cannot compare it on that.
3. Brother PE900 - the right answer if you already own a sewing machine
17.64 lb, a 5 x 7 in field and 193 built-in designs. If your sewing machine is already set up and staying, a dedicated embroidery machine does not have to compromise on sewing, and the PE900 is the current version of that idea.
The honest drawback: it cannot sew, so in space terms this is the two-machine answer - your real footprint is the PE900 plus whatever is beside it. Compare it directly against its combination sibling on PE900 vs SE2000.
4. Brother SE1900 - the value pick, and the biggest one
22.05 lb, a 5 x 7 in field, and it sews. It is the combination machine that most often shows up discounted below its siblings, which is a real reason to buy it.
The honest drawback: 23.19 in on its longest published side - 32% longer than the SE2000’s 17.56 in, and the largest published machine footprint of any combination machine here. On a shared table that difference is the difference between fitting and not.
5. Brother NQ1700E - the one that stops being portable
27 lb, a 6 x 10 in field and a published 850 spm - the biggest field and the only published embroidery speed among the machines a home buyer would realistically shortlist. Its review covers what that field unlocks.
The honest drawback: at 27 lb and a published 27.37 in long axis, this is a machine that gets a permanent table or it does not get used. It is also embroidery only, at a price above two of the combination machines here.
The machines we left off, and why
Brother SE600 and NQ3550W. Both are real, currently-purchasable machines and both are picks elsewhere on this site. They are not picks on a page about fitting a machine into a house, because Brother publishes neither a size nor a weight for either of them. We are not going to recommend a machine for a space we cannot tell you it fits in.
bernette 79. A good combination machine with the largest embroidery area of any single-needle here at 10.2 x 6.3 in, and it is on the combination machines roundup. Same reason: bernette publishes no dimensions and no weight at all.
Brother PR680W. 83.776 lb and 23 in tall. That is four times the weight of the SE2000 and it is designed to live on a stand. It belongs on the multi-needle page, not this one.
Skip this
Skip this page entirely in two cases
If you are selling what you stitch. The constraint stops being surface and becomes thread changes per garment, which is a completely different ranking. Embroidery machines for a home business does that one.
If the machine is getting a dedicated table anyway. Once footprint stops mattering, field size decides, and the main roundup ranks every machine on this site by exactly that, from 16 square inches to 112.
Choosing in three questions
Does it have to go away after each session? If yes, weight is your ranking and the SE700 at 15.06 lb wins it. If no, skip to the next question.
Do you already own a sewing machine you are keeping? If yes, an embroidery-only machine costs you nothing extra in versatility and the PE900 is the pick. If no, buy a combination machine and save a whole footprint.
How much clear table can you actually promise it? Under 20 in on the long axis: SE700 or SE2000. Up to 24 in: SE1900 opens up. A dedicated table: the NQ1700E’s 6 x 10 in field becomes the reason to spend more.
