There are hundreds of LEGO sets out there, but any LEGO fan – even a dedicated one – will build a miniscule fraction of them. Display space is one reason. Price is another. And for the amount of money you spend, the final build had better reflect the expense and effort that went into it.
We went through all the current LEGO builds available, and we put together a “greatest hits” list. The LEGO designers set a high goal and over delivered in each of these instances.
Here are the Best LEGO Sets in 2025 – the models that look phenomenal and are equally fun to build.
TL;DR – These Are the Best LEGO Sets in 2025
The Mighty Bowser
Set: #71411Age Range: 7+Piece Count: 2807Dimensions: 12.5 inches high, 16 inches wide, 11 inches deepPrice: $269.99
We reviewed this one when it launched, and it’s one of the most fun, accessible LEGO sets we’d built all year. Everything about it is perfectly oversized and exaggerated, and its roundedness makes it a perfect combination of cute and intimidating. We also named it one of the best Nintendo LEGO sets on the market.
River Steamboat
Set: #21356Age Range: 18+Piece Count: 4090Dimensions: 15.5 inches high, 27 inches long, 5.5 inches widePrice: $329.99
One of the best LEGO sets of the past five years, this classic Mississippi steamboat is an expert set for an expert builder. Every brick – every rod and pin – has a purpose, and when you push the River Steamboat along, the paddle wheel turns along with it. We built and reviewed this set for its launch and were continually impressed by its fastidious attention to detail.
Batman: The Animated Series Gotham City
Set: #76271Age Range: 18+Piece Count: 4210Dimensions: 16 inches high, 30 inches wide and 2.5 inches deepPrice: $299.99
This is a massive, Art Deco portrait of Gotham City, as portrayed in Batman: The Animated Series. More specifically, it is a 3D relief portrait, and several of the buildings’ facades are removable and explorable. We built and reviewed this set at launch, and we felt that the final outcome was more than worthy of the effort to put it together.
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs’ Cottage
Set: #43242Age Range: 18+Piece Count: 4837Dimensions: 8 inches high, 14 inches wide, 7.5 inches deepPrice: $219.99
An accurate rendition of the Seven Dwarfs’ cottage from the 1937 animated film, this build contains all seven dwarfs, allowing you to recreate classic scenes. Plus, the inside of the cottage is fully furnished, with seven beds upstairs, seven chairs at the dining room table, and a chest of diamonds stowed in the attic. We built and photographed this set in early 2024, and can attest it’s one of the best Disney LEGO sets available.
Dungeons & Dragons: Red Dragon’s Tale
Set: #21348Age Range: 18+Piece Count: 3475Dimensions: 19 inches high, 14.5 inches wide, 12 inches deepPrice: $359.99
Appropriately sprawling for the role playing game that inspired it, this set comes with its own Dungeons & Dragons storyline, allowing you and several friends to play it while building it. All of a sudden, the little details that LEGO specializes in – the key hidden under the rock, or the scroll lying on the table – have narrative purpose and meaning. Red Dragon’s Tale is diverse in color and architecture, and it comes with a freestanding, fire-breathing dragon that’s impressive in its own right.
Titanic
Set: #10294Age Range: 18+Piece Count: 9090Dimensions: 17.5 inches high, 53 inches long, 6 inches widePrice: $679.99
Ambitious to the extreme, as we can attest having built it, this scaled-down replica of the famed, doomed RMS Titanic is nearly 4-and-a-half feet long. You build in three parts – the fore, middle, and aft of the ship. And if you examine its interior, you can see the piston steam engine that attaches to the propeller, the famed grand staircase, and the ornate lounges that made Titanic the “ship of dreams.”
PAC-MAN Arcade
Set: #10323Age Range: 18+Piece Count: 2651Dimensions: 12.5 inches high, 10 inches wide, 7 inches deepPrice: $269.99
This set is shaped like an arcade cabinet, and it comes with a tactile joystick and coin slot that glows red. But the best part about this build is its screen. Turn a crank, and a tiny Pac-Man and four ghosts run around a tiny map maze.
Optimus Prime
Set: #10302Age Range: 18+Piece Count: 1508Dimensions: 13.5 inches highPrice: $179.99
Big, colorful, and bold, this Optimus Prime set can actually transform from an Autobot into a more inconspicuous semi-truck. Both versions of the build look equally good, and the transformation process does not ‘cheat’; you bend and contort the model like an ’80s era toy, rather than taking it apart and reassembling it from scratch. It’s an impressive feature.
Vincent van Gogh – Sunflowers
Set: #31215Age Range: 18+Piece Count: 2615Dimensions: 21 inches high, 16 inches wide, 2 inches deepPrice: $199.99
The LEGO designers has been building towards a set of this size, scope, and ambition for some time. And now that they’re finally here, it’s something to behold – a homage to a Van Gogh painting that does its inspiration justice.
The designers worked alongside the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, which is evident from their meticulous attention to detail. From its errant leaves and stems to its yellow-on-yellow-on-yellow color palette, this set is a piece of pop art that will look beautiful on any wall. We reviewed this set and can attest to its three-dimensional beauty.
The Lord of the Rings: Rivendell
Set: #10316Age Range: 18+Piece Count: 6167Dimensions: 15 inches high, 28.5 inches wide, 19.5 inches deepPrice: $499.99
This massive build of the Elves’ ancestral home comes in three parts: an Elven tower that contains Bilbo’s quarters, the bridge over the River Brunein, and the House of Elrond, including the council area where Frodo presented the one true ring. Everything, owing to its delicate structure, looks light and slightly unreal.
This LEGO Lord of the Rings set contains 15 Minifigures, including everyone in the Fellowship and every major character in Rivendell: Gandalf, Legolas, Gimli, Aragorn, Boromir, Frodo, Sam, Merry, Pippin, Gloin, Arwen, Elrond, Bilbo, and two elves. Check out our LEGO Rivendell review, as well as our interview with the designer.
What Makes a LEGO Set ‘The Best’?
There are some LEGO sets that are magnificent looking, but have a tedious build process. There are other LEGO sets that have a fun, engaging build process, but are merely presentable without being exceptional.
And then there are the preferable LEGO sets, like these, which manage to be both – engaging and fun with little instructional redundancy, and an end result that looks every bit the effort and care placed into it.
If you found this list helpful, check out our other buying guides. We rounded up the Best LEGO Space Sets, the Best Adult LEGO Sets the Best LEGO Sets for Kids, and the Best LEGO Marvel Sets as well.
Kevin Wong is a contributing freelancer for IGN, specializing in LEGO. He’s also been published in Complex, Engadget, Gamespot, Kotaku, and more. Follow him on Twitter at @kevinjameswong.
