The major difference between a mid-arm machine and a long arm machine is the throat space, which is the space from the needle to the body of the quilting machine. A mid-arm machine offers a maximum of 17 inches of throat space. On the other hand, the throat space of a long arm machine goes up to 24 inches. Other than that, a long arm machine is an industrial-grade machine. So, it also offers more stitches per minute than a mid-arm machine.