Maybe you won your office pool. Maybe there was a bank error in your favor. Maybe you got a refund on your tax return. What are you going to do with that money?
You could put it all in your savings account. Or, you could purchase a next-level, multi-thousand piece LEGO set, build it, and display it in your home. It's important to have priorities. And all kidding aside, it's also important to have fun, even as an adult.
LEGO was never cheap, per se. But particularly on the high end, it's never been more expensive. The company explains this by way of its quality pledge: that its bricks are tested rigorously against gravity, pressure, and anything else an adult or small child might subject them to—even human saliva. Combine this quality control with the 3rd party licensing agreements for LEGO's collaborative partnerships, and the costs quickly add up.
The cheapest LEGO set available is about $10. The most expensive LEGO set available is more than 80 times that amount. Here, for your morbid fascination and possible purchase, are the 15 most expensive LEGO sets currently for sale, as of April 2024. Hopefully, we won't have to establish an even higher ceiling in the months and years ahead. But we probably will.
15. Gringotts Wizarding Bank – Collectors' Edition
- Set: #76417
- Age Range: 18+
- Piece Count: 4803
- Dimensions: 14.5 in. (36 cm) high, 12.5 in. (32 cm) wide, 10 in. (25 cm) deep
- Price: $429.99
A perfect centerpiece for the larger Harry Potter Diagon Alley set, this model of Gringotts' includes both the austere above-ground floors, where the goblins greet their customers and handle transactions, and the underground vaults, where the oldest wizarding families hoard their knuts, sickles, galleons, and occasional Horcrux. True to the books and films, the vault transportation runs on a minecart track. There's even a Ukrainian Ironbelly Dragon, which you can pose on the building's roof.
14. Ferrari Daytona SP3
- Set: #42143
- Age Range: 18+
- Piece Count: 3,778
- Dimensions: 5.5 in. (14 cm) high, 23 in. (59 cm) long, 9.5 in. (25 cm) wide
- Price: $449.99
This set is 1:8 scale to the actual car that inspired it, and its butterfly doors flip up to allow passengers inside. The LEGO Ferrari also includes working steering and a facsimile of the car's V12 engine.
See our list of the best LEGO car sets for more like this.
13. Lamborghini Sián FKP 37
- Set: #42115
- Age Range: 18+
- Piece Count: 3,696
- Dimensions: 5 in. (13cm) high, 23 in. (60cm) long, 9 in. (25cm) wide
- Price: $449.99
Another 1:8 scale model car, the LEGO Lamborghini has scissor doors, swooping curves, front and rear suspension, a V12 engine with moving pistons, and a unique, lime-green coloring that catches the eye.
12. Diagon Alley
- Set: #75978
- Age Range: 16+
- Piece Count: 5,544
- Dimensions: 11 in. (29cm) high, 40 in. (102cm) wide, 5 in. (13cm) deep
- Price: $449.99
If you like LEGO's Expert line of modular buildings, how about four distinct magical buildings, packaged together in a single set? Inspired by the Harry Potter books and movies, Diagon Alley is a details-rich tribute to the magical Wizarding World and the enchanted shops in London.
See our list of the best Harry Potter LEGO sets for more like this.
11. Hogwarts Castle
- Set: #71043
- Age Range: 16+
- Piece Count: 5,544
- Dimensions: 22 in. (58 cm) high, 27 in. (69 cm) wide, 16 in. (43 cm) deep
- Price: $469.99
One of the most enduring sets in the LEGO collection, the Hogwarts Castle has been around for years, and its retirement keeps getting postponed due to high demand; the current, tentative plan is to retire it by the end of 2024. The set is microscaled, but it contains four full-sized Minifigures of the Hogwarts Founders.
10. Avengers Tower
- Set: #76269
- Age Range: 18+
- Piece Count: 5201
- Dimensions: 35.5 in. (90 cm) high, 13 in. (34 cm) wide, 10 in. (25 cm) deep
- Price: $499.99
We built this set at the time of its launch, and we were impressed by its magnitude: six floors (not including the roof), of beautiful scenery and movie Easter Eggs, and 271 blue-tinted windows which form the building's signature facade. The LEGO Avengers Tower also comes with 31 Minifigures encompassing everyone that ought to be in a set of this scope in size—everyone from Iron Man to Hulk to Pepper Potts to Erik Selvig.
See our list of the best LEGO Marvel sets for more like this.
9. Hogwarts Express – Collectors' Edition
- Set: #76405
- Age Range: 18+
- Piece Count: 5,129
- Dimensions: 10.5 in. (26 cm) high, 46.5 in. (118 cm) long, 8 in. (20 cm) wide
- Price: $499.99
LEGO has designed and released multiple versions of the Hogwarts Express, but never this big (1:32 scale), and never with this much detail. The Hogwarts Express comes with 22 Minifigures across four different ages of Harry, so you can stage scenes from Books 1, 3, 6 , and 7. Most crucially, this set contains epilogue Minifigures of adult Harry, adult Ginny, and their kids Lily Luna and Albus Severus.
See our list of the best LEGO harry potter sets.
8. The Lord of the Rings: Rivendell
- Set: #10316
- Age Range: 18+
- Piece Count: 6,167
- Dimensions: 15 in. (39 cm) high, 28.5 in. (72 cm) wide, 19.5 in. (50 cm) deep
- Price: $499.99
This is one of LEGO's most impressive and visually stunning—an example of what the company's designers are capable of when they abandon all pretense of a "playable" experience and focus almost exclusively on aesthetics and visual presentation. Rivendell comes with a complete Fellowship of the Ring, with Minifigures of every member from Merry to Gandalf to Legolas. Check out our feature in which we build LEGO Rivendell, as well as our interview with the LEGO Rivendell lead designer.
7. The Razor Crest
- Set: #75331
- Age Range: 18+
- Piece Count: 6,187
- Dimensions: 9 in. (24 cm) high, 28 in. (72 cm) long and 19.5 in. (50 cm) wide
- Price: $599.99
The Mandalorian TV show is one of the only things that the Star Wars fandom universally loves. And correspondingly, the Razor Crest—Mando's signature ship—has become instantly recognizable. It has none of the prequel trilogy's sleek design; the Razor Crest seems almost stubbornly anti-flight. This Ultimate Collector Series set captures the Razor Crest's unwieldy shape, and it includes a carbonite freezing chamber, an escape pod, and removable engine blocks that show off the ship's guts.
See our list of the best Star Wars LEGO sets for more like this.
6. Eiffel Tower
- Set: #10307
- Age Range: 18+
- Piece Count: 10,001
- Dimensions: 58.5 in. (149 cm) high, 22.5 in. (57 cm) wide, 22.5 in. (57 cm) deep
- Price: $629.99
At 10,001 pieces, the Eiffel Tower is the biggest set that LEGO has ever released, with the Colosseum now coming in second with 9036 pieces. It is a repetitive build, of course—its use of arches, support beams, and cross-beams mirrors that of the actual building. But like The Colosseum, you're buying and building this for the end result—a beautiful model of a real-life attraction that's nearly five feet tall.
See our list of the best LEGO Architecture sets for more like this.
5. Venator-Class Republic Attack Cruiser
- Set: #75367
- Age Range: 18+
- Piece Count: 5374
- Dimensions: 12.5 in. (32 cm) high, 43 in. (109 cm) long, 21 in. (54 cm) wide
- Price: $649.99
LEGO typically has one massive Star Wars vessel available for purchase; the company retires the old one around the time it debuts the new one. This year, it's a model of the Venator-Class Republic Attack Cruiser. Built by the Galactic Republic in the late stages of the Clone Wars, the Venator-Class Republic Attack Cruiser was designed for intense combat scenarios. This model is over three-and-a-half feet long, and it's more than a cool exterior; it also has a hangar that stores a Republic Gunship.
4. LEGO Titanic
- Set: #10294
- Age Range: 18+
- Piece Count: 9090
- Dimensions: 53 in. (135 cm) long, 17.5 in. (44 cm) high, 6 in. (16 cm) wide
- Price: $679.99
We built the LEGO Titanic when it came out, and the designers treated it with the seriousness and reverence it deserved. There were no Minifigures—just the Titanic itself—with all its riggings—on a stand that's designed to look like classical wood. Separating the "unsinkable" ship into three segments gives you a good look at its cross-section; you can see the dining room, the crew quarters, and the boiler room. And you can also see the piston engines, which pump up and down when you turn the boat's propellers.
3. Liebherr Crawler Crane LR 13000
- Set: #42146
- Age Range: 18+
- Piece Count: 2883
- Dimensions: 39 in. (100 cm) high, 43 in. (110 cm) long, 11 in. (28 cm) wide
- Price: $699.99
LEGO recently retired its massive bulldozer set, but replaced it with a similarly priced, massive crane. The Liebherr Crawler Crane LR 13000 drives on treads and stands over three feet high. It has numerous motorized functions, and you use an app to steer it, rotate it, and lift up to two pounds of material at a time.
See our list of the best LEGO Technic sets for more like this.
2. AT-AT Walker
- Set: #75313
- Age Range: 18+
- Piece Count: 6,785
- Dimensions: 24.5 in. (62 cm) high, 27 in. (69 cm) long, 9.5 in. (24 cm) wide
- Price: $849.99
It's always more common to see sprawling LEGO sets—models with massive lengths and widths that cover a large surface area. It's much less common to see tall LEGO sets, and I would imagine that it's harder to design a set vertically than horizontally. When building something tall, one must ensure that the structure can support its own weight and maintain its balance, in addition to looking good.
The LEGO AT-AT Walker manages all three of these things—especially impressive, since the original movie prop was unwieldy to begin with. It stands approximately two feet tall, and it comes with nine LEGO Minifigures. The chassis, however, has room for a 40-man Stormtrooper platoon, should you so choose.
1. Millennium Falcon
- Set: #75192
- Age Range: 16+
- Piece Count: 7,541
- Dimensions: 8” (21cm) high, 33” (84cm) long, 23” (60cm) wide
- Price: $849.99
It's difficult to imagine that a LEGO set would ever cost more than this Ultimate Collector Series edition of the Millennium Falcon. But then again, this set is something special, and its longevity speaks for itself. This particular model launched in 2017—nearly six years ago, which makes it way past the age when LEGO retires its old sets to make space on the shelves for new ones.
It shows how far ahead of its time this set was at the time of its release. It shows how popular it continues to be; this is the definitive Star Wars ship. And it carries an impressive implication: that no LEGO designer has bothered to design a new one, on this scale, because the current model is so good. If you can only buy one massive set this year, this legendary "hunk of junk" is an excellent choice.
LEGO FAQs
Are LEGO Sets More for Adults or Kids?
Although many modern LEGO sets are still targeted toward kids, there has been an increased trend of LEGO sets exclusively made for adults. A lot of the more expensive sets are marked as 18+ due to their difficulty and overall number of pieces.
When Is the Best Time to Buy LEGO Sets?
LEGO sets can be really expensive, but there are a few times of year when you can find sales that make the prices a lot more reasonable. The overall best time to buy LEGO sets is during event sale days like Black Friday and Amazon Prime Day. You can also usually find some great discounts on Star Wars day for Star Wars sets specifically.
Kevin Wong is a commerce freelance writer for IGN.
