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It really depends on and which movements you compare.
There used to be a big gap in quality control between ETA and Mioyta, but even then it wasn't a problem if the movement was "serviced" by somebody who knew what they are talking about. I'm talking bits of swarf inside...
In my view, the low grades of ETA and Miyota are pretty much equal now days. I've never noticed a difference between a well installed Mioyta and a base ETA on my timegrapher. I hear that QC has increased a lot with Mioyta recently also.
As long as the price is right, if it keeps good time and is reliable, that's good enough for me.
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At the bottom end, if you look at something like the Seiko 7S26, it contains plastic parts, some parts are very flimsy, and I've noticed obvious signs of wear on movements which are not especially old such as on balance jewels. Contrast that with the cheapest ETAs which I've worked on, and their parts are always hard-wearing without any corners cut. The same principal design which they use today for the 2824 was more or less perfected in the 1970's and hasn't changed much since. In fairness though, these ETAs are more expensive, but it's a testament to their quality that they regularly run for decades without servicing.
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Stonehedge
rodabod
@Thrustvector
Apart from the rotor noise, is there much difference? I'm not a movement connoisseur, but I thought both the Mitoya and the ETA were time-tested workhorses that were much of a muchness.