Investing in bricks of the tiny plastic sort can be surprisingly lucrative. The top-performing LEGO theme has surged in value by an average of almost 20% a year, beating everything from the stock market to classic cars. And believe it or not, some sets have seen typical average annual growth of well over 1,000%.
Keeping in mind that continued robust growth isn't guaranteed, read on to discover the 25 LEGO themes seeing the current highest annual growth, with figures courtesy of collectors' website BrickEconomy on 23 May 2025.
Figures quoted are for new and sealed sets.
A long-running LEGO theme, Pirates launched in 1989 and wasn't retired until 2015. It's made up of 85 sets in total. Accessories have been the strongest performing of the seven subthemes, with an average annual growth of 9.90%.
The earlier Pirates sets are the most coveted. The fastest appreciating of them all is the 1696 Pirate Lookout, which has swelled in value by 6,928% since its release in 1992.
LEGO's 15 sets themed around the five Pirates of the Caribbean movies were released between 2011 and 2017.
Dead Men Tell No Tales from 2017 is the best-performing subtheme, with annual growth of 14.23%. But the fastest appreciating set is a tie-in with the first film, 4184 The Black Pearl. Launched in 2011, it has climbed in value by a staggering 940%.
One of LEGO's most spectacular themes, Architecture stems from a collaboration with Chicago-based architect Adam Reed Tucker. A genius model maker, he set up Brickstructures in 2005 to sell LEGO models of famous landmarks, starting with Windy City skyscrapers. Bowled over by his talent, LEGO brought him on board and LEGO Architecture was created in 2008, with the first set released the following year.
Skylines is among the fastest appreciating of the five subthemes, with typical annual growth of 14.04% a year. The best-performing set is the 21038 Las Vegas model, which has increased in value by a whopping 6,436% since its release in 2018.
Rock Raiders was launched in 1999 and only stuck around until 2000. Depicting space miners trapped on an alien planet, the theme comprises 12 sets.
The rarer minifigure sets have shot up in value over the years. The fastest appreciating, 3347 One Minifig Pack Rock Raiders #1 from 2000, has seen average annual growth of 1,602%. This is hugely impressive, but a fraction of what the best-performing LEGO set of all time has achieved. A limited edition of 5,000, the Mr Gold minifigure has skyrocketed in value by an average of 24,477% a year since its launch in 2013.
Launched in 2016, this theme of mini buildable figures consists of 24 subthemes and 176 sets. Go Brick Me is the top-performing subtheme, with typical yearly growth of 25.20%. But the most coveted figures are positively skyrocketing in value, particularly the San Diego Comic-Con and Target limited-edition promos.
Among the mass-market releases, 41625 Minnie Mouse is one of the most rapidly appreciating. The set has seen average annual growth of 95% since its release in 2018.
One of the oldest themes in the top 30, Minitalia ran from 1970 to 1977. Consisting of 24 sets, the theme was only available in Italy and used bricks made from a different kind of plastic that came in more muted shades than the standard types. These factors add to their collectability.
The most prized Minitalia set is the 23 Delivery Truck. Its value has grown by 804% a year on average since its release in 1971.
LEGO got together with Nintendo in 2020 to release a theme marking the 30th anniversary of the classic Super Mario video game. Wowing fans with interactive bricks and smart tech, the wildly popular theme currently consists of 15 subthemes and 169 sets.
71370 Fire Mario Power-Up Pack is the most rapidly appreciating set, having increased in value by 349% since its launch in 2020.
Aimed at the youngest LEGO fans, Quatro is so named because its bricks are four times larger than the standard LEGO bricks. The Danish toymaker released 10 Quatro sets between 2004 and 2006.
5470 My First Quatro Figure has offered the best returns, mushrooming in value by 18,996%.
Built from Technic elements, LEGO's range of Bionicle constructible action figures ran from 2001 to 2016 (except for a break between 2010 and 2014 when it was replaced by HERO Factory). During its production run, the theme inspired everything from movies to comics.
Bionicle consists of 38 subthemes and 54 sets. The best performer is 8599 Krana-Kal mask from 2003, which has increased in value by 8,458% over the years.
Running from 2008 to 2023, Indiana Jones consists of four subthemes based on the first four movies of the franchise: Raiders of the Lost Ark, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.
The four subthemes are appreciating at similar rates but the best-performing set, 7620 Indiana Jones Motorcycle Chase, has raced ahead of the others with average annual growth of 55%. The rate has moderated in recent years though.
In 2014, LEGO introduced small colourful creatures called Mixels and teamed up with The Cartoon Network to produce an animated series featuring the characters. All in all, 90 sets were released between 2014 and 2016.
The top-performer, 41500 Flain, was introduced as part of the first wave. It's leapt in value by 1,352% since its launch in 2014.
Batman ran between 2005 and 2008. The theme comprises 15 sets, including several featuring characters, vehicles and scenes from The Dark Knight.
7884 Batman's Buggy The Escape of Mr. Freeze has been one of the fastest to appreciate, with average yearly growth of 92%. That said, the rate has slowed in recent years and 7886 The Batcycle Harley Quinn's Hammer Truck is the best performer in terms of annual growth right now.
The OG LEGO Spider-Man theme, based on the 2002 film and 2004 sequel, consists of 11 sets, with 4851 Spider-Man and Green Goblin Origins increasing in value the fastest.
Since its launch in 2003, the set has appreciated by 2,432% and predicted annual growth remains impressive at 34.2%.
In 2006, LEGO recreated the zany underwater world of SpongeBob SquarePants in plastic brick form. The theme birthed 14 sets until it was discontinued in 2012, when LEGO competitor MEGA Brands snapped up the SpongeBob SquarePants license.
The 3825 Krusty Krab set has provided the best return. Released in 2006, it has appreciated in value by 1,574%.
A direct successor to the Bionicle theme, HERO Factory uses similar Technic-based construction elements and ran from 2010 to 2014 when Bionicle made its triumphant comeback. HERO Factory comprises nine subthemes and 27 sets.
The best-performing set is 2065 Furno 2.0, which has climbed in value by 1,877% since its release in 2011.
Nickelodeon's 2012 reboot of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles TV series and the subsequent 2014 movie inspired 21 sets before LEGO lost the license to a rival.
In terms of individual sets, 79100 Kraang Lab Escape has appreciated the fastest, growing in value by 22% on average annually following its launch in 2012. However, several other sets are currently doing better, including 79101 Shredder's Dragon Bike and 30271 Mikey's Mini-Shellraiser.
LEGO went all out with The Lord of the Rings theme, which is based on the film trilogy consisting of The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers and The Return of the King. Running from 2012 to 2013, LEGO released 15 sets and even launched a dedicated video game.
Among the sets, 30211 Uruk-Hai with Ballista has experienced the highest growth, averaging 61% a year since its release in 2012.
Precious antiques, the 39 sets that make up the Mursten range – 'mursten' is the Danish word for 'brick' – date from the earliest days of LEGO. The theme ran from 1949, the year the Nordic toymaker produced its first plastic brick, through to 1956.
The best-performing set is 700-5-2 Gift Package, which has appreciated by an astonishing 294,084% since it was released back in 1949.
The best LEGO performer drawing from the works of J.R.R. Tolkien, surpassing The Lord of the Rings, is the theme tied to The Hobbit movie trilogy. It launched in 2012 and was retired in 2014. The theme comprises 24 sets.
79015 Witch-King Battle has seen the highest growth. The set has appreciated by 814% since its release in 2014.
Both a critical and commercial hit, 2016's Overwatch is considered one of the best video games of all time. LEGO got a piece of the action in 2018 when it launched a licensed theme, and 11 Overwatch sets were released between 2018 and 2022.
The fastest appreciating of the bunch is 75973 D.Va & Reinhardt from 2019, which has grown in value by 190%.
Introduced in 2019, the BrickLink theme consists of custom sets created by fans and produced through a collaboration between LEGO and BrickLink, an online marketplace for all things plastic bricks-related.
A total of 48 sets have been released so far. The Imagine it! Build it! set from 2019 has grown in value the most, appreciating by 2,387%.
Scooby-Doo is another theme LEGO went to town with. The Danish firm partnered with Warner Bros in 2015 to create six sets based on the Hanna-Barbera franchise and even released two Scooby-Doo LEGO movies.
The current best performer is 75902 The Mystery Machine, which has increased in value by 493%.
LEGO partnered with Universal Music Group in 2021 to launch Vidiyo. Featuring an augmented reality app that kids could scan band minifigures into, the idea was to create a sort of TikTok for LEGO minifigures. Sadly, the app wasn't up to much, and the theme turned out to be a complete flop. It was quietly discontinued in 2022.
It may come as a surprise to learn that the resounding failure of the theme has actually added to the value of its sets, which are now highly sought after. The best performer is 43108-11 Vampire Bassist, which has appreciated 597% in the space of four years.
FORMA was the first and only crowdfunded LEGO theme. Bankrolled via Indiegogo in 2019, it consists of six displayable fish models. The sets are very collector-friendly and this, together with the unique crowdfunding approach that made the theme a reality, has boosted their value.
With typical annual growth of 77%, 81001 Shark Skin has been the best performer overall.
The fastest-appreciating theme of them all, Fortnite – which is based on the blockbuster online game – is made up of six sets that were released in 2023 and 2024.
The sets are still available from LEGO, though their retirement is imminent. With growth of 18% expected this year, the Fortnite range is proving to be very popular, though as we've seen, individual sets from other themes have enjoyed much bigger growth over the years.
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