Brother and babylock are basically the same machine and are manufactured by Brother. I have 4 Brother machines and love every one for a different reason. I went with Brother embroidery machines because of the Disney designs. I called the distributor where I live to ask a question about some software I purchased and I asked this very question. They told me that they are the same machine but in some Babylock very high end machines the computer is a little different so some extra "kits" are not interchangeable. Babylocks are advertised more in magazines and on some quilting shows so that adds to the cost but the machines are the same. My biggest machine is an Innovis 6700D. I have a friend with the Babylock Ellisimo (I think that is the equivalent to mine) and even the built in designs are similar except I have Disney as well. I would go with whoever gives you the best deal and you feel the most comfortable dealing with.