Both Singer Futura XL 400 and Brother PE770 look similar in specs and price. But a closer look reveals that the choice is much easier than you think.

When you look from outside, the features of Singer Futura XL 400 and Brother PE770 look similar. You have to dig in deep to understand the differences. Even the prices of these two machines are similar. As of now the price difference between these two machines is very small, I don’t know how long the price will stay like this.Since they are closely priced, what we need to look for is, which embroidery machine will provide more value for the money spent?

Singer Futura XL 400 vs Brother PE770 Feature Comparison

In this section, we are highlighting the areas where there is a major difference. All other common features are listed in a table below.

Basic Functioning : The first notable difference between XL 400 and PE770 is in their functioning. PE770 is an embroidery only machine, whereas XL 400 is a sewing and embroidery machine. Which means you can do normal sewing along with embroidery on XL 400. This clearly adds more versatility as you don’t need to buy a conventional sewing machine for normal sewing. Singer XL 400 is a clear winner in this section.

XL 400 has 30 built-in sewing stitches which includes 6 Basic, 5 Stretch, 17 Decorative and 2 one-step Buttonhole stitches. It also has other cool features like programmable needle up/down button, drop feed, electronic twin needle control, drop-in bobbin etc.

Embroidery Designs : You can say that PE770 has its nose slightly in front in this section. PE770 has 136 built-in embroidery designs when compared to 125 of XL 400. It is not a huge difference, but still it is a difference. Both machines have options to import designs from your laptop, so that kind of evens out.

Embroidery Hoops : Singer XL 400 wins hands down here. The maximum embroidery area on PE770 is 5″x7″. XL 400 on the other hand has, 10″x6″ embroidery hoop. Even better is the multi-hoop capability of Singer. You can do larger designs of up to 18.5″ x 11″. You get two hoops of sizes 10″x6″ and 4″x4″ with Singer machine, whereas PE770 comes with only 5″x7″ hoop. So as far as the embroidery area and hoop size is concerned, XL 400 has a clear advantage over Brother PE770.

Lettering Fonts : PE770 has 6 embroidery lettering fonts whereas XL 400 has only 5. You know who wins here, even if the margin is very less.

LCD Screen : This factor influences the buying decision 50% of the time (the other  50% is the embroidery area). Singer has decided to remove the LCD screen from XL 400 instead you have to use your PC/laptop as the main controller. Which means, you will have to connect the machine with your laptop to work on it. Sewing stitch selection, stitch length and width adjustments and some other basic buttons are provided on the machine itself, everything else (embroidery functions) is operated from your laptop with the help of a software which is included in the box. The issue is that, the software works with Windows PCs only, so if you are a Mac user, you need to install Windows using Bootcamp software.

Brother PE770 on the other hand, has an LCD touch screen and has independent operation (or existence lol). You don’t need to connect it to your computer to operate. You can even view help tutorials on the LCD screen itself. You can import unlimited embroidery designs using USB or through embroidery card (bought separately).

Customization : XL 400 is a better machine for editing and customization than PE770. Probably, the advantage of using a laptop/PC kicks in here. However, you need to pay a price for extra customization, $220 to be exact. That is the current price of Singer Auto Punch Software, if you buy it separately. For advanced editing and customization auto punch and hyper font is a must. The included software is capable of doing basic stuffs and built-in designs only.

Ease of Use : PE770 is ahead of XL 400 in ease of use by some distance. Attention to minute details like easy to understand user manual, clear instructions, quick start embroidery guide, built-in tutorials in LCD screen etc adds a lot to the the ease of use. These things may not count when you purchase a machine, but it does make a difference when you start using it.

Machine Weight : XL 400 is 4 pounds lighter than PE770. General rule is, lesser the weight lesser the metal parts. So you must expect PE770 to have more metal parts, it could also be because of some other reason. You can’t be 100% sure.

The above said are the major differences between Singer Futura XL 400 and Brother PE770, now let us have a look the features as a whole.

Singer Futura XL 400 vs Brother PE770 Performance Comparison

When you compare the performance of both machines, you will find that PE770 is slightly better. The ease of use and trouble free stitching makes it a performance oriented product. I am not saying that XL 400 is bad in performance, but when you compare these two machines side by side, PE770 definitely has a edge. The user feedback also suggests the same.

Verdict

I think, still there is some confusion in the air. So let me break it down for you

Buy PE770 for

• Ease of use
• Performance
• Built-in designs
• Affordability (no pricey additional softwares needed)

Buy XL 400 for

• Customization (comes with a price)
• Larger embroidery area

I have tried my level best to clear the confusion. I hope it is good enough for you to make a decision.