Machine review
Brother SE700 review
A good machine with one ceiling that decides everything about who should own it. We are going to spend most of this page on that ceiling.
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The short answer
Buy the SE700 only if monograms and left-chest logos are genuinely all you want.
Brother publishes a 4 x 4 in maximum embroidery area, a 6.4 x 4.0 in work area, 135 built-in designs and over 103 sewing stitches. All of that is fine. The 4 x 4 in is 16 square inches, it is fixed in hardware, and it is the reason this machine gets replaced.
What the SE700 is
A combination machine: it sews and it embroiders. As a sewing machine it is a complete domestic unit with over 103 built-in stitches and a 6.4 x 4.0 in work area to the right of the needle - the same width Brother publishes for the SE600, so nothing is compromised on the sewing side.
As an embroidery machine it has a 3.2 x 1.8 in LCD, 135 built-in designs, and a 4 x 4 in field. Brother does not publish a maximum embroidery speed for it, which means nobody can tell you how fast it stitches - us included.
What 4 x 4 inches actually covers
Sixteen square inches. Concretely, that is:
- A monogram on a towel, a shirt cuff or a napkin - comfortably
- A standard left-chest logo - most fit, some do not
- A name on a bib, a bag pocket or a hat band - yes
- A design across the front of a tote bag - no
- Anything on the back of a jacket - no
- A quilt label of any generosity - marginal
This is a hardware limit, not a hoop you can upgrade. The carriage travels 4 inches in each axis and no accessory changes that.
What you give up against the next tier
The SE700 field is 4 x 4 = 16 sq in.
The SE2000 field is 5 x 7 = 35 sq in.
35 / 16 = 2.19. The SE2000 gives you 119% more design area, which is the largest single step anywhere in the category - bigger than the step from 5 x 7 in to 6 x 10 in (+71%) and bigger than 6 x 10 in to 12 x 8 in (+60%).
It also publishes both speed figures (650 spm embroidery, 850 spm sewing), a 3.7 in color touchscreen, wireless transfer and 241 sewing stitches, none of which the SE700 has.
What upgrades from, and what it upgrades to
It upgrades from: nothing, or a basic mechanical sewing machine. This is a first embroidery machine.
It upgrades to: the SE2000 in the same family, or the PE800 if you decide you would rather keep your sewing machine separate. Both are 5 x 7 in.
The thing worth naming is that this is a fast upgrade path. If you embroider regularly, you will reach the ceiling in months, not years, and the combined cost of an SE700 plus its replacement is more than the replacement alone.
Who it is not for
Anyone who has already looked at a design and thought “that would look good across the back”. Anyone planning to sell finished pieces. Anyone who already owns a sewing machine they like - in that case an embroidery-only machine gives you a bigger field for the same money.
It is for the person whose honest answer to “what will you make?” is monograms and small logos, and who would rather not pay for field they will never use. That person exists and this is a well-made machine for them.
SE700 or SE600?
They are effectively the same machine. Same 4 x 4 in field, same work area to within a tenth of an inch, same 103 sewing stitches. The SE700 has 135 built-in designs against the SE600’s 80. Buy whichever is cheaper on the day - the full comparison is on the SE600 vs SE700 page.
The picks
The SE700, and the machine most SE700 owners buy next
Brother
Brother SE700
Entry combo tier
The cheapest honest way into machine embroidery, and the machine most people outgrow first. A 4 x 4 in hoop is 16 square inches of design area: it will monogram, it will do a left-chest logo, and it will not do the back of a jacket.
Skip it if: You already know you want designs bigger than a coaster. The 4 x 4 in ceiling is fixed in hardware and no accessory hoop lifts it.
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Brother
Brother SE2000
Upper combo tier
The combo machine to buy if you are upgrading rather than starting: 5 x 7 in of field, 241 sewing stitches, a 3.7 in color screen, wireless design transfer, and published speed figures, which most of Brother's range does not have.
Skip it if: You are going to want 6 x 10 in within a year. Buy the field you will need, not the field you need today.
#ad We hold no verified live price for this machine, so we show none. How this site is funded.
How this was ranked
Machines we claim to have tested: none. Everyone in this category says they tested twenty. We have not tested any, and we say so. What we did instead: built the candidate set from what Amazon actually stocks, read the published specification off each manufacturer’s own page, normalized every measurement into the same units and the same order, did the arithmetic on what each step up buys, and left every figure the maker does not publish visibly blank rather than filling it in. Every number on this page links to where it was published, so you can check the work in about five minutes.
- Sponsored placements
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- Specs linked to a maker page
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Questions people actually ask
Frequently asked
What is the maximum embroidery size on a Brother SE700?
4 x 4 in, per Brother’s product page. That is 16 square inches and it is a hardware limit set by carriage travel - no accessory hoop makes it bigger.
Does the Brother SE700 sew as well as embroider?
Yes. Brother publishes over 103 built-in sewing stitches and a 6.4 x 4.0 in work area to the right of the needle, which is the same width as the SE600. It is a complete domestic sewing machine with an embroidery unit.
How fast is the Brother SE700?
Brother does not publish a maximum embroidery speed for this model. We leave that figure blank rather than estimating it. For reference, Brother does publish 650 spm for the SE2000 and PE900.
Should I buy the SE700 or the SE2000?
The SE2000 unless you only want monograms. It gives 119% more design area (35 sq in against 16), publishes both speed figures, and adds wireless transfer and a 3.7 in color touchscreen.
Can you use a bigger hoop on the Brother SE700?
No. The 4 x 4 in field is how far the carriage travels. A larger hoop cannot be stitched to its edges even if it mounts, so the limit stands regardless of what hoop you buy.
Sources
Every specification on this page was read from one of these pages on 1 September 2026.