Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to investigate Halbach array effects in surface mounted permanent magnet machine (SMPM) in terms of both self-sensing and torque capabilities. A comparison between a conventional SMPM, which has radially magnetized rotor, and a Halbach machine has been carried out. Design/methodology/approach - The geometric parameters of the two machines have been optimized using genetic algorithm (GA) with looking Pareto. The performance of the machines' geometry has been calculated by finite element analysis (FEA) software, and two parametric machine models have been realized in Matlab coupled with the FEA and GA toolboxes. Outer volume of the machine, thus copper loss per volume has been kept constant. The Pareto front approach, which simultaneously considers looks two aims, has been used to provide the trade-off between the torque and sensorless performances. Findings - The two machines' results have been compared separately for each loading condition. According to the results, the superiority of the Halbach machine has been shown in terms of sensorless capability compromising torque performance. Additionally, this paper shows that the self-sensing properties of a SMPM machine should be considered at the design stage of the machine. Originality/value - A Halbach machine design optimization has been presented using Pareto optimal set which provides a trade-off comparison between two aims without using weightings. These are sensorless performance and torque capability. There is no such a work about sensorless capability of the Halbach type SMPM in the literature.