Well, I got mine mainly for labels and quilting my quilts myself, the prices can vary depending on what you want to use it for. I got the dreamweaver for the foot and not the actual embroidery features, however the price difference in the embroidery model alone was reasonable for me to get it. I was already researching embroidery machines. Also you have to think about the extras that are not included like thread, stabilizer, software for editing and so on. Designs are very expensive. After purchasing 2 I decided to just shell out the money on the software and I could just use my books and scan the quilting designs I already have in and that would save me money in the long run of buying tons of designs and having to edit them to the correct size anyway. It should cut down on my costs of LA quilting as well, at least until my machine is paid off and I can spring for a LA, I should have my house by then so I will have the room. The feature that is neat about the dreamweaver's embroidery is that you can use the pen to accurately place your design if it is hooped crooked. I also want to do towels and baby gifts so it should come in handy. I did have to spring for a small hoop because it didn't come with mine but I found one reasonable on ebay. I would say I have spent about 150 on extras and 600 for the software/scanner on top of my hefty machine price, but its a machine I can grow into and I know I will use