LEGO vs Mega Bloks Review: What's The Difference?

Let's get one thing out of the way before we start today's post, shall we? Here at Lightailing we're a LEGO lighting business that loves LEGO. There, we said it. Still, we're also passionate about the world of plastic bricks more generally, so today we wanted to look closer at the differences between LEGO and Mega Bloks.

And in our LEGOs vs Mega Bloks post, we wanted to answer some burning questions, such as is LEGO better than Mega Bloks, and blow for blow, which would come out on top when you take a leading Mega Bloks series and LEGO series and set them against each other (namely Mega Bloks Halo vs LEGO)? Well, if you want to find out too, stick around! 

People also read: LEGO MOC Building Tips And Tricks For Beginners

What's Mega Bloks?

If you're new to the plastic brick world, then you might not have even heard of Mega Bloks. LEGO has been dominating in the brick world for a while now, right? But LEGO isn't your only option.

Mega Bloks even market themselves as the 'proud no.2 in construction' and that's a pretty fair assessment of who they are and what they do. 30 years ago they started out with focussing on a part of the brick world that LEGO hadn't quite mastered yet - bricks for toddlers.

Sure, LEGO had marketed their products to this age range before, but really, it was uncharted territory, and Mega Bloks pounced. And it's fair to say they dominated, and probably still dominate to this day, this particular age group when it comes to fun construction toys.

Since then, they've expanded, and we think it's fair to say they've suffered a little from their early success - with many people not realizing they have 4 ranges today, which cover all age groups. You just need to look at their Mega Bloks Halo range to know they're not just focussing on toddlers anymore.

Taking you from toddlerhood to adulthood, Mega Bloks' sets can all join together to literally tell the story of your brick building life. But how do these other ranges stack up against LEGO? Well, to find out, we'll compare their Mega Bloks Halo range with LEGO below!

Mega Bloks Halo vs LEGO: Pros and Cons

To finally answer the question 'is LEGO better than Mega Bloks', we had to put them on a level playing field. So, Mega Bloks Halo it was. But how exactly do they stack up against each other?

The Pros Of Both

There is no denying that both brands have high-quality products. That's why they're the number 1 and number 2 in the brick building world - you don't get there by accident. But it's fair to say LEGO will always have an edge on build quality because they've been doing it for so long. The accuracy of LEGO bricks is superior and the build always feels like it's of a much higher quality.

But don't write Mega Bloks off just yet. Their builds are always fun and colorful, and they even have some awesome unique bricks like 'camo bricks' and 'metallic bricks' which are always interesting in a build and add a certain wow factor that LEGO can sometimes miss.

Even more exciting from both companies is that the brands they align themselves with are some of the biggest and most exciting in the world, so there's always something awesome to build.

For example, Mega Bloks releases Star Trek, Call of Duty, Halo, Hello Kitty, and Spongebob sets. LEGO has sets for Star Wars, Harry Potter, The Simpsons, Lord of the Rings, and Angry Bird to name a few.

The point is, both companies are big in construction, and are bringing in some heavy-hitting brands to create sets around. That can only be a good thing.

Another thing Mega Bloks is great at specifically is their figures. They're figures have articulated joints so can pose in much more interesting ways. They are built in molds, however, so LEGO does benefit from having interchangeable figures where Mega Bloks do not.

To finish, there's also no denying that LEGO's sets are far more customizable and interchangeable, allowing you to recreate many different things from just one set if only you use your imagination. Mega Bloks are a little more specialized.

The Cons Of Both

There are some problems with both too. First off, there's no denying that LEGO is a much more expensive company to buy from. If you're looking for cheaper alternatives, then Mega Bloks is your best option. But as we said earlier, this will come at a cost because the quality is undoubtedly worse. By a mile? No. But it's certainly noticeable.

Tips: 7 Best Ways to Get Cheap Lego Sets 

Another issue the two companies have is that they both use a studs and tubes approach. This is the best method for construction, of course, but it has led to some legal disputes between the two companies over the years.

LEGO has lost the patent on their method of brick building now, meaning others can follow suit, but that means others in the future can compete with these two companies without fear of legal repercussions.

That's both a bad thing and a good thing really though, because competition often drives a company to do more and be better.

LEGO vs Mega Bloks: The Verdict

Overall, there's very little in it when it comes to these two heavyweights of the construction toy world, but LEGO has a longer history, has far more experience, and brings in bigger brand names (although not always, as seen by the Mega Bloks Halo line, amongst others). Really, the main drawback is Mega Bloks' quality. If they had the same accuracy and build quality, as well as interchangeable bricks, as LEGO, then they'd not have to settle for number 2.

As it stands though, for us, and many others, Mega Bloks is the bridesmaid to LEGO's bride, and we don't see that changing any time soon...

Make LEGO Better With Lights

And after being (relatively) impartial throughout today's post, we thought we'd finish by A) gushing some more about LEGO and why it is, and will hopefully remain, the best construction toy on the market today. But also to B) tell you a fun way of making LEGO even better.

That's right, with LEGO lighting, of course! All you need to do to take your LEGO sets from an A to an A++ is use a Lightailing light kit to make it look better than ever. It changes the whole look of the set and makes it truly display ready. And if you've taken advantage of LEGO's ability to customize and created something entirely unique of your own, you can create a DIY light kit from our accessories page to make your creation even more impressive. Pretty neat, right?

So, yes, in our opinion LEGO is the best, but we're grateful for Mega Bloks too - they bring competition, work with different, exciting brands, and the LEGOs vs Mega Bloks rivalry can only continue bringing the best out of each company. And, of course, when you want to give LEGO an even bigger edge - consider one of our lighting kits. Trust us, you won't regret it!