BERNINA B 500: dedicated embroidery machine with a free arm

The BERNINA B 500 is a dedicated embroidery machine for people who already own a sewing machine and value smooth operation, precise placement and a large free arm. It embroiders up to 400 × 150 mm but does not sew utility stitches.

BERNINA B 500 review: the essentials

A clear colour touchscreen, controlled thread tension and the BERNINA Hook with jumbo bobbin make everyday work predictable. Designs can be positioned, grouped, mirrored, rotated and edited on the machine. A separate embroidery station also lets you sew on another machine at the same time. Correct stabiliser, hooping, needle and digitising still determine the result.

Key specifications

Stitch quality and daily operation

The B 500’s strength is repeatable work: a large workspace, clear design view, automatic tension and a high-capacity bobbin. The multifunction knobs support fine positioning. A clean sew-out is never guaranteed by hardware alone; density, underlay, thread, fabric and speed must work together.

Use the free arm and area realistically

The free arm helps with sleeves, trouser legs and bags, provided the item can move without tension. The 400 × 150 mm field is long but relatively narrow. Measure your common designs. An optional Midi Hoop offers a useful 265 × 165 mm frame format but does not change the model’s permitted maximum width.

Main strengths

• dedicated embroidery while another machine can sew
• free arm for many tubular items
• precise placement and on-screen editing
• jumbo bobbin for longer runs
• broad BERNINA hoop and accessory system

Limits to know before buying

• no sewing function and one needle only
• 150-mm maximum embroidery width
• no built-in WiFi
• large, colour-heavy batches need frequent attention
• accessories and digitising software can add cost

BERNINA V9 can prepare designs and use a separate WiFi Device; USB works independently. Compare software in our embroidery software guide.

Who is the B 500 for?

It suits ambitious beginners and experienced embroiderers who deliberately want a dedicated machine, own a separate sewing machine and produce one-offs or small batches. It can support a small business when design sizes and throughput fit, but it does not replace a multi-needle production machine.

Choose accessories and software by project

Buy hoops for real projects, not just maximum size. Digitising software is only needed for creating or deeply editing designs; correctly formatted EXP files transfer by USB. Current product, hoop and software options appear below.

Conclusion on the BERNINA B 500

The B 500 is a solid, precise dedicated embroidery platform with a free arm and long field. Its specialisation is the core decision: choose another model for combined sewing and embroidery or much wider designs; choose the B 500 when separate workstations and high-quality one-offs matter.

If you want sewing, embroidery and quilting in one premium combination machine, our BERNINA B 790 ULTRA comparison shows the alternative direction.