Apples and oranges...what are you looking for in a window?

Window material, aesthetics, energy performance, cost, what is most important?

I have been practicing architecture in Northern Michigan for 25 years and I have never heard of Simonton windows. Maybe I should get out more.

What Oberon said. Typically 400’s get compared to wood and Simonton to vinyl.

We put in some Simonton replacement windows. (Replacing the replacement windows the previous owner put in - grrr). They are a solid window. Significantly better than the American Craftsman that we had originally ordered. My windows are vinyl.

We need more info and I have never heard of Simonton either. They seem to have a good review and a+ rating with the BBB

Decent window, not the best, better than many. Bit bulky frame wise, only vinyl available. As oberon476 said, more info is needed as you are not comparing anything similar other than the both serve the same purpose.

Simonton is a pretty big name in the vinyl businesses. known for having solid lower and mid range products.

So we are looking at all white windows. A cottage look. So wood look aesthetically is not a factor. It's going to be painted at the factory of we go with Andersen. We are desiring windows that will have good insulation properties, good appearance and good longevity. From what we hear most windows meet minimum insulation standards.

The worst windows can meet the standards. I‘d consider a higher end vinyl product.

What is a higher end vinyl product?

Where are you located? Some of the better vinyl windows can be somewhat regional.

Sunrise, Okna, Polaris, Soft-Lite to name a few.

Simonton is a pretty big name offering really, really good prices for builders. We used to be able to get like 40 proBuild windows for 5k, brickmold's were very nice also higher priced. Some people like wood (not me), but saying this Andersen 400 is not in the same category as Simonton 600 series. If you are getting like 50% off one can give Simonton consideration, not if the prices are similar.

We are in Northern Michigan (answer to oberon476's question).

Simonton is a very popular high-end vinyl replacement window and they are some of the nicest I've seen but I've never used them.

I have used Andersen 400 over the last 30 years and their product and service is great.

At the same price point I would use Anderson every time but I would expect vinyl windows of any kind to be half the price.

The Andersen 400 is a series rather than a specific window model so its important to use the model names: the Tilt-Wash or the Woodwright. Both have the same wood frame with a PVC cladding but the Woodwight sash has a Fibrex (wood fiber & PVC composite) cladding and the Tilt-Wash has a wood sash with a PPG Flexacron epoxy paint finish. PPG says: "Flexacron is a high-performance, low-bake solvent-based wood coating system that combines excellent color fidelity and gloss retention with exceptional chalk and chemical resistance." Its a tough material but I was able to scratch to the wood with my thumbnail. In the past it had a flush glazing stop that forced the exterior mullions to be thin and unattractive but the glazing stop has been raised to allow the same mullions as on the Woodwright but that creates an odd pop-out look to the sash stops.

Simongton was an early producer of vinyl windows and has been repeatedly ranked #1 by Builder magazine and J D Powers. It was bought by Ply Gem in 2014.

I don't have much experience with vinyl windows; My biggest objection is the shallow position of the sash relative to the exterior face of the wall resulting in a weak shadow line. Also the thin glass stops make it impossible to add convincing mullions.

Here again Simonton makes quite a few different window models.

400 Woodwright

400 Tilt-Wash

Simonton ProFinish Brickmould 600

And your original post did say northern Michigan....

Of the four companies that Todd suggested, Softlite is headquartered in Michigan, Okna in PA, and the other two in Ohio, so all are definitely options where you live.

The first issues to address should be the climate and the architectural design of the house, then compare the models that support and improve the design of the house.

Starting with brand names is the wrong end of an effective design process.