Brick Insights Sets Statistics FAQ

Not comparing apples to oranges anymore

Price Per Part

Can we really compare Price Per Part (PPP) between sets?

A couple of weeks ago I received this question by Jared Hinton:

"Just a quick question on the PPP data. Most years have a average PPP of 20c+ per part. This sounds very high, especially when most sets come way under that (which are then marked as good value). Do Duplo sets get included in the years average PPP figure? Because they tend to be alot higher than LEGO sets. This is the only thing I could think of why the year average is almost double what I'd expect it to be."

This is a very good observation, and something I hadn't really thought about. I built the PPP comparison when Brick Insights first launched in 2018, almost as an afterthought. I wanted to see if a set was worth buying from a MOCing point of view, and threw it in to help guide me. It was definitely time to take another look at those calculations.

All numbers in this article are adjusted according to inflation to make them comparable over the years. This isn't something we did before this investigation, so thank you for that too, Jared! Check the FAQ to learn the details about this. All categories referenced in this article are collected from Brickset, where we get most of our set data. That's also in the FAQ.

148 set categories with average PPP and example sets

Doc Ock's Crime Spree

4 Juniors ($0.48)

Remote Control Dozer

Action Wheelers ($1.58)

Volkswagen T1 Camper Van

Advanced models ($0.09)

Scorpion Tracker

Adventurers ($0.19)

River Heist

Agents ($0.12)

Chill Speeder

Alpha Team ($0.21)

Deep Sea Treasure Hunter

Aqua Raiders ($0.10)

Crystal Crawler

Aquazone ($0.20)

Buckingham Palace

Architecture ($0.13)

Andy Warhol's Marilyn Monroe

Art ($0.04)

Five Set Bonus Pack

Assorted ($0.15)

Wreck Raider

Atlantis ($0.14)

Ilu Discovery

Avatar ($0.12)

Musical Apple

Baby ($2.47)

Special Value Blue Tub

Basic ($0.21)

The Batcycle: Harley Quinn's Hammer Truck

Batman ($0.12)

The Queen's Room

Belville ($0.37)

Skull Slicer

Bionicle ($0.25)

Wave Cops

Boats ($0.34)

DC Comics Super Heroes Build Your Own Adventure

Books ($2.67)

Boost Creative Toolbox

Boost ($0.20)

Batman

Brick Sketches ($0.11)

Harry Potter & Hedwig

BrickHeadz ($0.08)

The LEGO Story

Bricklink ($0.09)

LEGO XXL Box

Bricks and More ($0.09)

U.S. Flag

Bulk Bricks ($0.23)

Tokyo Pit Stop

Cars ($0.14)

Classic Knights Minifigure

Castle ($0.21)

Pizza Van

City ($0.18)

Creative Bricks

Classic ($0.07)

Stylin' Citrus Jewels-n-More

Clikits ($0.23)

Pirate Ship

Creator ($0.09)

NASA Apollo 11 Lunar Lander

Creator Expert ($0.09)

Lego Educational Storage Cloth

Dacta ($2.62)

Back to the Future Level Pack

Dimensions ($0.31)

Ambush Attack

Dino ($0.17)

Steel Sprinter vs. Mutant Lizard

Dino Attack ($0.14)

Mosasaurus

Dinosaurs ($0.17)

Mars Exploration Rover

Discovery ($0.12)

Disney Castle

Disney ($0.16)

Cosmic Wonder Bracelet

Dots ($0.09)

Emmet and Lucy's Visitors from the DUPLO Planet

Duplo ($0.97)

Community Minifigure Set

Education ($0.94)

The Water Dragon Adventure

Elves ($0.11)

Stealth Hunter

Exo-Force ($0.10)

Intelligent Train Deluxe Set

Explore ($2.15)

Boris Bulldog

Fabuland ($0.86)

Space Skulls

Factory ($0.11)

XL Value Bucket

Freestyle ($0.11)

Amusement Park Hot Dog Van

Friends ($0.13)

Town Master

Fusion ($0.16)

Jens

Galidor ($2.37)

Ramses Pyramid

Games ($0.14)

Wooden Minifigure

Gear ($0.24)

Firehouse Headquarters

Ghostbusters ($0.11)

Quidditch Match

Harry Potter ($0.12)

STORMER XL

HERO Factory ($0.26)

Paranormal Intercept Bus 3000

Hidden Side ($0.10)

Harley-Davidson 1000cc

Hobby Set ($0.08)

Nurse and Child

Homemaker ($0.21)

Elf Club House

Icons ($0.08)

NASA Apollo Saturn V

Ideas ($0.09)

Shanghai Chase

Indiana Jones ($0.12)

Super Glider

Jack Stone ($0.64)

The Great Home Escape

Juniors ($0.19)

Dilophosaurus Ambush

Jurassic World ($0.16)

Fire Fighting Launch

LEGOLAND ($1.09)

Life Of George 1

Life of George ($0.24)

LEGO Canister Red

Make and Create ($0.08)

Mickey's Fire Engine

Mickey Mouse ($0.39)

Mindstorms EV3

Mindstorms ($0.78)

The Village

Minecraft ($0.12)

Brick Calendar

Miscellaneous ($0.27)

Chilbo

Mixels ($0.09)

Giant Truck

Model Team ($0.16)

Demon Bull King

Monkie Kid ($0.10)

Ultimate Macy

Nexo Knights ($0.15)

NINJAGO City Gardens

Ninjago ($0.19)

D.Va & Reinhardt

Overwatch ($0.10)

Scarab Attack

Pharaoh's Quest ($0.21)

Soldiers Fort

Pirates ($0.20)

LEGO® Power Functions Motor Set

Power Functions ($2.57)

Mine Mech

Power Miners ($0.16)

Hub

Powered Up ($2.00)

Sally Starfish

Primo ($1.78)

Amelia Earhart Tribute

Promotional ($0.08)

Medium Quatro Bucket

Quatro ($0.76)

Le Mans Racer

Racers ($0.13)

The Loader-Dozer

Rock Raiders ($0.35)

Space Rocket

Samsonite ($0.32)

Horse Stable

Scala ($1.34)

The Mystery Machine

Scooby-Doo ($0.13)

Easter Egg Hunt

Seasonal ($0.13)

Starter Kit

Serious Play ($0.25)

Tender 4.5V Battery Red. For Trains with Battery Motor 810

Service Packs ($0.77)

Raid VPR

Space ($0.14)

McLaren P1

Speed Champions ($0.08)

Spider-Man vs. Green Goblin -- The final showdown

Spider-Man ($0.16)

Flip Shot

Sports ($0.23)

Shadowstrike S70

Spybotics ($0.43)

Rey's Speeder

Star Wars ($0.14)

The Upside Down

Stranger Things ($0.09)

Werewolf Ambush

Studios ($0.40)

Nintendo Entertainment System

Super Mario ($0.22)

Train

System ($0.09)

Porsche 911 GT3 RS

Technic ($0.12)

Escape from Mirkwood Spiders

The Hobbit ($0.12)

Melting Room

The LEGO Movie ($0.10)

Cavalry Builder Set

The Lone Ranger ($0.14)

Kwik-E-Mart

The Simpsons ($0.10)

Magic Mountain Time Lab

Time Cruisers ($0.21)

Holiday Home

Town ($0.20)

Army Men on Patrol

Toy Story ($0.17)

Metroliner

Trains ($3.11)

Infearno Interception

Ultra Agents ($0.12)

Party Time

Unikitty ($0.13)

Party Llama BeatBox

Vidiyo ($0.19)

Viking Ship challenges the Midgard Serpent

Vikings ($0.10)

Showdown Canyon

Western ($0.28)

Firefighter

World City ($0.16)

World Race Buggy

World Racers ($0.14)

Sea Accessories

Xtra ($0.28)

Promotional Set

Znap ($0.19)

Average PPP for each category

If Jared's suspicion is correct we ought to see that some categories have a much higher PPP than others, which would skew the comparison.

Since we've got the PPP for each set, it's a simple matter to calculate the PPP for each category by averaging all individual values. If we display the average category PPP in a bar chart, we can quickly see if some categories differ a lot.

Finding comparable categories

Alright, Jared's suspicion is definitely correct - some categories sway the PPP comparison. The best way to solve this is by grouping the categories into comparable chunks. We want to ensure we compare apples to apples and oranges to oranges, so to speak. Here's the breakdown I came up with. It roughly groups categories together by part types.

Now, armed with this data, we can compare a set with other sets that are similar. You can see the grouping below, along with the average PPP of all times. But stick around - we can also see how prices have changed over the years!

Baby (Average PPP: $1.45)

Larger blocks for toddlers.

Remote Control Dozer

Action Wheelers ($1.58)

Emmet and Lucy's Visitors from the DUPLO Planet

Duplo ($0.97)

Intelligent Train Deluxe Set

Explore ($2.15)

Sally Starfish

Primo ($1.78)

Medium Quatro Bucket

Quatro ($0.76)

Junior (Average PPP: $0.65)

Sets with larger parts, usually aimed at a younger audience to introduce them to the other themes.

Doc Ock's Crime Spree

4 Juniors ($0.48)

The Queen's Room

Belville ($0.37)

Boris Bulldog

Fabuland ($0.86)

Super Glider

Jack Stone ($0.64)

The Great Home Escape

Juniors ($0.19)

Horse Stable

Scala ($1.34)

System (Average PPP: $0.17)

The sets we most often think of when we think of LEGO. Studs and tubes.

Volkswagen T1 Camper Van

Advanced models ($0.09)

Scorpion Tracker

Adventurers ($0.19)

River Heist

Agents ($0.12)

Chill Speeder

Alpha Team ($0.21)

Deep Sea Treasure Hunter

Aqua Raiders ($0.10)

Crystal Crawler

Aquazone ($0.20)

Buckingham Palace

Architecture ($0.13)

Andy Warhol's Marilyn Monroe

Art ($0.04)

Five Set Bonus Pack

Assorted ($0.15)

Wreck Raider

Atlantis ($0.14)

Ilu Discovery

Avatar ($0.12)

Special Value Blue Tub

Basic ($0.21)

The Batcycle: Harley Quinn's Hammer Truck

Batman ($0.12)

Wave Cops

Boats ($0.34)

Batman

Brick Sketches ($0.11)

Harry Potter & Hedwig

BrickHeadz ($0.08)

The LEGO Story

Bricklink ($0.09)

LEGO XXL Box

Bricks and More ($0.09)

U.S. Flag

Bulk Bricks ($0.23)

Tokyo Pit Stop

Cars ($0.14)

Classic Knights Minifigure

Castle ($0.21)

Pizza Van

City ($0.18)

Creative Bricks

Classic ($0.07)

Pirate Ship

Creator ($0.09)

NASA Apollo 11 Lunar Lander

Creator Expert ($0.09)

Ambush Attack

Dino ($0.17)

Steel Sprinter vs. Mutant Lizard

Dino Attack ($0.14)

Mosasaurus

Dinosaurs ($0.17)

Mars Exploration Rover

Discovery ($0.12)

Disney Castle

Disney ($0.16)

The Water Dragon Adventure

Elves ($0.11)

Stealth Hunter

Exo-Force ($0.10)

Space Skulls

Factory ($0.11)

XL Value Bucket

Freestyle ($0.11)

Amusement Park Hot Dog Van

Friends ($0.13)

Town Master

Fusion ($0.16)

Firehouse Headquarters

Ghostbusters ($0.11)

Quidditch Match

Harry Potter ($0.12)

Paranormal Intercept Bus 3000

Hidden Side ($0.10)

Harley-Davidson 1000cc

Hobby Set ($0.08)

Nurse and Child

Homemaker ($0.21)

Elf Club House

Icons ($0.08)

NASA Apollo Saturn V

Ideas ($0.09)

Shanghai Chase

Indiana Jones ($0.12)

Dilophosaurus Ambush

Jurassic World ($0.16)

Fire Fighting Launch

LEGOLAND ($1.09)

Life Of George 1

Life of George ($0.24)

LEGO Canister Red

Make and Create ($0.08)

Mickey's Fire Engine

Mickey Mouse ($0.39)

The Village

Minecraft ($0.12)

Chilbo

Mixels ($0.09)

Giant Truck

Model Team ($0.16)

Demon Bull King

Monkie Kid ($0.10)

Ultimate Macy

Nexo Knights ($0.15)

NINJAGO City Gardens

Ninjago ($0.19)

D.Va & Reinhardt

Overwatch ($0.10)

Scarab Attack

Pharaoh's Quest ($0.21)

Soldiers Fort

Pirates ($0.20)

Mine Mech

Power Miners ($0.16)

Amelia Earhart Tribute

Promotional ($0.08)

Le Mans Racer

Racers ($0.13)

The Loader-Dozer

Rock Raiders ($0.35)

Space Rocket

Samsonite ($0.32)

The Mystery Machine

Scooby-Doo ($0.13)

Easter Egg Hunt

Seasonal ($0.13)

Starter Kit

Serious Play ($0.25)

Tender 4.5V Battery Red. For Trains with Battery Motor 810

Service Packs ($0.77)

Raid VPR

Space ($0.14)

McLaren P1

Speed Champions ($0.08)

Spider-Man vs. Green Goblin -- The final showdown

Spider-Man ($0.16)

Flip Shot

Sports ($0.23)

Rey's Speeder

Star Wars ($0.14)

The Upside Down

Stranger Things ($0.09)

Werewolf Ambush

Studios ($0.40)

Nintendo Entertainment System

Super Mario ($0.22)

Train

System ($0.09)

Escape from Mirkwood Spiders

The Hobbit ($0.12)

Melting Room

The LEGO Movie ($0.10)

Cavalry Builder Set

The Lone Ranger ($0.14)

Kwik-E-Mart

The Simpsons ($0.10)

Magic Mountain Time Lab

Time Cruisers ($0.21)

Holiday Home

Town ($0.20)

Army Men on Patrol

Toy Story ($0.17)

Infearno Interception

Ultra Agents ($0.12)

Party Time

Unikitty ($0.13)

Party Llama BeatBox

Vidiyo ($0.19)

Viking Ship challenges the Midgard Serpent

Vikings ($0.10)

Showdown Canyon

Western ($0.28)

Firefighter

World City ($0.16)

World Race Buggy

World Racers ($0.14)

Sea Accessories

Xtra ($0.28)

Technic (Average PPP: $0.25)

Not studs and tubes, but pins and beams.

Shadowstrike S70

Spybotics ($0.43)

Porsche 911 GT3 RS

Technic ($0.12)

Promotional Set

Znap ($0.19)

Constraction (Average PPP: $0.96)

Action figure parts, basically. Definitely not system and barely technic.

Skull Slicer

Bionicle ($0.25)

Jens

Galidor ($2.37)

STORMER XL

HERO Factory ($0.26)

Robotics & Electronics (Average PPP: $1.73)

Sets with electronics.

Boost Creative Toolbox

Boost ($0.20)

Mindstorms EV3

Mindstorms ($0.78)

LEGO® Power Functions Motor Set

Power Functions ($2.57)

Hub

Powered Up ($2.00)

Metroliner

Trains ($3.11)

Other (Average PPP: $0.95)

Categories that are hard to group with the others. Not really bricks, most of the times.

Musical Apple

Baby ($2.47)

DC Comics Super Heroes Build Your Own Adventure

Books ($2.67)

Stylin' Citrus Jewels-n-More

Clikits ($0.23)

Lego Educational Storage Cloth

Dacta ($2.62)

Back to the Future Level Pack

Dimensions ($0.31)

Cosmic Wonder Bracelet

Dots ($0.09)

Community Minifigure Set

Education ($0.94)

Ramses Pyramid

Games ($0.14)

Wooden Minifigure

Gear ($0.24)

Brick Calendar

Miscellaneous ($0.27)

And now, the ultimate question: what has happened to LEGO prices over the years?

With this grouping done we can do a quick calculation to figure out what the true Price Per Part has been over the years. Many people quote that a set should be priced at around $0.10 per part to be worthwhile. Is this the average?

Looking at the data, System and Technic sets have been pretty stable around $0.11 - $0.13 per part the last couple of years. Other categories are higher. We might need to revise that guideline a bit!

Play around with the chart below to have a closer look. You can toggle a category by clicking on it in the legend.

Fun stuff! How do I use it?

Whew, that was a rabbit hole, to say the least. With all of this done, the following things have now been improved on Brick Insights:

I have to say, doing this deep dive was super fascinating. I hope it'll prove useful to you. As always, let me know if you have any suggestions for improvements.

Hold on! I want to dig deeper into the data!

Happy to oblige - here's a bonus page with details. It contains charts displaying PPP and PPM for each category and comparable category over the years. Have fun!