Lovevery puts a lot into its Block Set: building blocks, shape sorting, threading, and a storage box that turns into a pull car. The only problem? It comes in at a whopping $95. Here’s how our favorite brand stacks up against three cheaper sets, and which one we’d buy.
Our take
Buy Lovevery for the complete activity set. For blocks alone, our picks are Hape from 12 months, IKEA from 18 months, and Melissa & Doug from two years.
The quick comparison
Lovevery The Block Set
Hape Maple Blocks
IKEA UNDERHÅLLA
Melissa & Doug 100-Piece Wood Blocks
US prices checked October 21, 2026, before tax and shipping. The Melissa & Doug price is Target’s offer. Prices and availability can change. Age guidance is from the manufacturer or linked product listing.
Lovevery: what does the $95 actually buy?
Lovevery’s Block Set includes 70 pieces, a wooden storage box, a cotton bag and an activity guide. The box has a shape-sorting lid, its divider becomes a ramp, and wheels turn it into a pull car. There are threading pieces and wooden play people, too.
Lovevery’s strongest feature is how the pieces work together. The storage box becomes a shape sorter and a pull car, giving it a role beyond holding the blocks.
It also makes “70 pieces versus 100 blocks” a misleading comparison. Some of Lovevery’s pieces perform different jobs; a larger pile of conventional blocks doesn’t reproduce them.
Our take: We’d pay $95 for Lovevery when buying those activities together. If we’re shopping for building blocks, we’d buy Hape and save almost $70.
Hape Maple Blocks: our first block-set pick from 12 months
Hape Maple Blocks costs $26.99 and includes 50 wooden blocks in five colors, plus a cloth storage bag. Its age guidance starts at 12 months, matching Lovevery’s starting age.
This is the useful distinction for someone shopping for a one-year-old: the cheaper recommendation doesn’t require waiting until 18 months or two years.
You give up Lovevery’s additional activities and convertible wooden box. The simpler storage has its own advantage, though. A cloth bag can tuck into a basket or cupboard without finding a permanent home for another wooden container.
Our take: Buy Hape for a first set of building blocks at 12 months and save almost $70 compared with Lovevery. Spend the difference on the original only when its additional activities are part of what you want.
IKEA UNDERHÅLLA: our budget pick from 18 months
IKEA’s UNDERHÅLLA set costs $14.99 for 40 solid-birch blocks. IKEA specifies 18 months and older.
At that age, this is our lower-cost choice over Hape. The $12 difference buys a larger block collection and a storage bag with Hape; it doesn’t buy Lovevery-style sorting, threading or pull-car activities.
We’d start with IKEA’s smaller collection rather than pay more just to increase the piece count. More pieces become worth buying when your child’s constructions call for them, not because the bigger number looks better on the packaging.
Our take: Buy IKEA for an 18-month-old’s first building set. For a two-year-old, the Melissa & Doug offer below is the better purchase at the prices listed here.
Melissa & Doug: the best plain-block value from two years
Target lists the Melissa & Doug 100-Piece Wood Blocks Set at $13.99, with an age recommendation of two years and up. It includes four colors and nine shapes. The manufacturer confirms that its cardboard box has a carrying handle for storage.
At this price, it beats IKEA for a two-year-old: you pay $1 less and get a much larger collection. Extra blocks leave room for several structures to stay standing at once instead of dismantling one to start another.
The cardboard box does not replace Lovevery’s wooden sorting and pull-car setup. Neither do the additional blocks. This is the stronger construction purchase, rather than a cheaper version of every activity in the original.
Our take: Buy Melissa & Doug for a two-year-old when building is the goal. At Target’s listed price, we’d choose it over both IKEA and Hape.
Which would we buy?
For blocks alone, choose by age:
- 12–17 months: Hape Maple Blocks.
- 18–23 months: IKEA UNDERHÅLLA.
- Two years and up: Melissa & Doug at the listed Target price.
Buy Lovevery when you want the whole activity set. Its premium buys a coordinated collection with several uses. If those extras aren’t on your shopping list, keep the money.
Comparing other toys too? Our Lovevery alternatives guide covers ten popular products and the differences that change our recommendations.