Brother ST371HD Vs Singer 4423 Comparison In Detail

During old days, heavy duty sewing machines used to cost a lot of money. There were nothing like affordable heavy duty sewing machines. When I was a beginner, I always wanted a heavy duty sewing machine that was affordable and had good stitch quality combined with good features. Such affordable machines were not available in the past, but now they are. 

Thanks to Singer's 44 heavy duty series, affordable heavy duty machines are now a new market segment on its own. 4423 is one of the popular models in that series. Affordability, good features, powerful motor and stitch quality were the main selling points of Singer 4423. Now Brother has introduced ST371HD into the same segment. Probably one model that was missing from Brother's product catalogue was an affordable heavy duty model. Now with the arrival of ST371HD, the catalogue seems complete. This makes the comparison even more interesting.

Brother ST371HD Vs Singer 4423 - Major Feature Differences

Brother ST371HD and Singer 4423 have a lot in common. Both come with beginner friendly features like automatic needle threader, top drop-in bobbin, 1-step buttonhole, free arm, drop feed etc. They have more things in common than not. This makes the comparison even more confusing. So I will break it down for you.

Stitch Selection

Both are mechanical heavy duty sewing machines. But unlike other mechanical sewing machines in the market, ST371HD's stitch selection dial is on the side of the machine rather than in front. The selected stitch is displayed on a counter like thing in front of the machine, which moves as you turn the stitch selector dial. This type of stitch selection is very different from other mechanical sewing machines in the market nowadays. Singer 4423 on the other hand comes with the conventional stitch selection dial located in front of the machine. I can't say one method of stitch selection is better than the other. I found both methods easy to use.

Built-in Stitches

This might be the second difference that you will notice. Brother ST371HD comes with 37 built-in stitches that include a 1-step buttonhole. Singer 4423 on the other hand comes with 23 built-in stitches including a 1-step buttonhole. So in terms of stitch variety, the Brother machine has a 14 stitch advantage.

Motor

Singer 4423's motor is one of its strong points. This machine can sew really fast, thanks to the motor that can deliver 1,100 stitches/min. You will love the speed at which 4423 can sew. You can finish your projects much faster. Brother ST371HD on the other hand can only sew at a maximum speed of  800 stitches/min. So here, the Singer machine has a speed advantage.

Stitch Width 

The maximum stitch width available on Brother ST371HD is 7mm, whereas on Singer 4423 it is only 6mm. 

Presser Foot Pressure

The presser foot pressure is adjustable on Singer 4423, but it is not adjustable on Brother ST371HD. While the preset pressure on ST371HD does a very good job, an option to fine tune the pressure for even better results would have been ideal.

Editor comment

One thing I can say is that, both are quality machines. They have very good features combined with excellent stitch quality. Both Brother ST371HD and Singer 4423 live up to their heavy duty tag. The stitch quality over multiple layers of denim is very good on both machines. In terms of features, both have their own strong and weak points. So it is very difficult to make a recommendation without knowing your needs. You only know what will work the best for you.