Nifeliz vs Lego: A cheap alternative brick-building experience

There are a lot of great Lego alternatives coming out of China, but one that has gained steam recently is Nifeliz.

The company sells a wide variety of sets, from cars and military vehicles to botanical sets and buildings, making it a good match for adult fans of Lego.

If you’re feeling trepidacious about buying from this alt brick company, here’s a quick comparison of Nifeliz vs Lego based on my personal experience with both brands.

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Nifeliz vs Lego: Overview

Lego is one of the most well-known and beloved toy brands in the world, but odds are you don’t know much about Nifeliz.

The company was started in 2019 with the goal of spreading the brick-building hobby to more people around the globe. Here’s what a representative from the company told me:

“We have a great admiration and respect for LEGO, but we wondered why we couldn’t make toys of similar quality available to more people.”

And indeed, that’s exactly what the company does. It sells sets that approach Lego in quality and creativity, for a much lower price. They’re also compatible with Lego pieces, so they can be used in MOCs if that’s your thing.

Also, Nifeliz only sells completely legal sets. They source them from different manufacturers in China, but they are not Lepin-style carbon copies of Lego sets, nor do they infringe on any protected copyright.

The biggest downside of Nifeliz is that it doesn’t have any sets for younger fans, while Lego makes sets for ages 1.5 and up.

Nifeliz vs Lego brick quality

When it comes to plastic quality, Lego will always be king. The company keeps everything at such a high standard of quality that in many ways it has skewed our collective perception from the start.

That said, Nifeliz sets are heads and tails above some of the cheap knockoffs that used to come out of China, and overall the quality has been sneaking closer and closer to the big L.

However, keep in mind that Nifeliz does not manufacture bricks, it purchases them from manufacturers in China. Even for original sets the company has designed, the bricks come from other companies like GoBricks, ReoBrix, Mould King, or others.

In other words, the quality of Nifeliz sets will vary depending on which set you buy. But in my experience, the quality has been more than acceptable. Building Nifeliz sets is fun and mostly unhindered by the quality of the bricks.

I’ve highlighted a few exceptions in the images above. First off, the colors in Nifeliz bricks are a bit more “basic” than Lego, which has a wider range. Also, you will likely encounter a few pieces with very minor imperfections from the mold.

In other words, the quality of Nifeliz bricks is impressive in a vacuum, but Lego is just so good that nothing can match it.

Here’s a quick summary of what to expect from Nifeliz vs Lego bricks:

• Bricks fit together well but may have sharper edges than Lego.
• Bars won’t fit into pieces as easily.
• You will find very small imperfections from the mold.
• Pigments are more basic and look a bit cheaper.
• Plates are a bit more flexible, but won’t break.
• You may find poorly molded pieces that need replacing.

Most of these points apply to all cheaper Lego alternatives, and aren’t unique to Nifeliz.

Instructions and build

I’ve been pleasantly surprised with the quality of Nifeliz instructions, which are considerably better than many cheaper brick-building brands. Heck, they’re even better than more expensive brands like Nanoblock.

For example, I had no trouble following the instructions in the colorful succelents set in the video above. Each plant had its own back with a single page of instructions.

However, since they were printed on poor quality paper, it was difficult to tell different shades of the same color apart. Most larger Nifeliz sets are printed in a glossy booklet, so this won’t always be the case.

To be fair, I have also had trouble telling colors apart in Lego instructions, but generally sets are designed to avoid this kind of mistake.

Speaking of which, one slightly annoying thing I encountered with the Nifeliz set above is that it does not warn you if there are two similar pieces. I used a longer bar than I should have at some point, and since bar pieces are by far the worst-fitting pieces in the set, I had to break out the pliers.

Overall though, the build and instructions of Nifeliz sets are great. Lego sets are undoubtedly better designed, but considering they’re twice the price, that’s a tradeoff I’m willing to make.

Themes and sets

When comparing the themes available with Nifeliz vs Lego sets, obviously Lego is going to come out on top. It has major partnerships with huge franchises like Harry Potter and Minecraft, as well as niche themes like Lego Architecture and the Lego Botanical collection.

That said, Nifeliz does have an extensive catalog that touches many of the same categories, except for those tied to copyrighted characters or settings.

The most popular theme is likely Nifeliz car sets, which are capable of giving Lego car sets a run for their money. The company also makes flower and botanical sets that are excellent companions to Lego Botanical sets.

Other popular Nifeliz themes are trains, Street View (buildings), ships, fossils, decorative items, and mecha. In total, the company has roughly 100 available sets as of writing.

It’s worth noting that while there are absolutely massive Lego sets out there, the largest Nifeliz set tops out at 3850 pieces.

The one area where Nifeliz has Lego beat is with military-themed sets. Lego has long avoided modern war sets like tanks, but Nifeliz is happy to pick up the slack.

Price and value

Price is the one area where Nifeliz handily beats Lego. All sets across all themes are much more accessible than Lego sets, which often price people out, especially when it comes to Lego sets for adults.

Here’s a quick breakdown of a few popular Nifeliz vs Lego sets when it comes to price and price per piece (PPP):

As a general rule, Nifeliz sets cost around $.045 per piece, while Lego sets are typically closer to $.085 per piece.

However, it must be noted that Nifeliz sets often use more small, Technic-style pieces than standard bricks and plates. Larger molded pieces are also less common, which may also help explain the cost savings.

Still, it’s clear that Nifeliz offers the better value. Lego pieces might be better quality, but it’s hard to argue when Lego sets are nearly twice as expensive.

Nifeliz vs Lego: Which is better?

Ultimately, when comparing Nifeliz vs Lego, which one is best often comes down to how large your budget is. If you can afford to spend hundreds of dollars on bricks, Lego will probably offer a better experience.

But if you don’t have super deep pockets, Nifeliz building sets are still a lot of fun. In the rare occurrence of a missing or faulty piece, the company’s customer service is excellent and will ship a replacement for free.

The only exception here is children. If you want to buy a building set for a child under 10, Lego is the way to go.

Other FAQs

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That’s it for this comparison of Nifeliz vs Lego! Drop any questions in the comments below and I’ll answer as soon as possible.