Funny you should ask, I took a machine quilting class with Cindy Needham and used her Juki machine for the first two days. During the class I bought a used Brother machine and used it for the last two days. I was sitting next to a woman who had just purchased a used Juki so we were helping each other. Both machines worked well, and looked almost exactly alike. Threaded the same, bobbin the same. We thought maybe they were made by the same manufacturer. Frankly I didn't see much difference between the two. The foot pedal on the Juki does have the thread cutter and a separate plug for it. I haven't had too many tension problems with my Brother. I've used Mettler polyester and cotton, Superior So Fine, King Tut, and something sparkly from Superior, and YSL. I did have a bit of trouble with aurifil but I didn't spend a lot of time fooling around with it. I bought my machine from the wife of a sewing machine repair guy so it was in top notch shape and he and his wife were there to help me the first few days so that probably helped. You can't go wrong with either. If you think you need the thread cutter on the foot I would go with the Juki. I'm fine with the thread cutter on the machine. Good luck. I've had my machine for a year or so now. Made several bed quilts and wallhangings. I love it. It goes like a bat out of hell though. I've had to really work on foot control. Juki does too, if I remember correctly.