The number and sizes of hoops you need will depend on what you like to embroider.....I bought all the hoops for my machine....about 7 of them I believe and yep they are pricey.....I never ever used the largest one, I never used the "endless embroidery" unless you count the one class I took on how to use it, I never used the "quilting hoop".....The ones I used the most were the 4X4 and the 5X7.....yep...used those a lot....and I even bought a second 4X4 hoop when I was making a ton of lace snowflakes for every ones Christmas trees so that way, I could get another hoop ready to go when the first one was done.....you actually want to use the smallest hoop you can for the project you are working on as there is less "flagging" or bounce on the embroidery as it is stabilized the most when you use the smallest hoop possible....