What does each brick cost?
Type the price of a building-brick set and the number of pieces on the box. The calculator shows what each piece costs, and compares two sets if you add a second one.
- Price per piece
- $0.100
At $79.99 for 800 pieces, each piece costs $0.100 (10 pieces per dollar).
- Cents per piece¢
- 10
- Pieces per dollar
- 10
- Price you pay
- $79.99
Price per piece: $0.100. At $79.99 for 800 pieces, each piece costs $0.100 (10 pieces per dollar).
How to calculate
Works out the price per piece of a building-brick set from its price and piece count, after an optional discount, with pieces per dollar, and compares two sets to show the better value per piece.
Example with the default inputs (Set price $79.99, Pieces 800): At $79.99 for 800 pieces, each piece costs $0.100 (10 pieces per dollar).
Method: price you pay = price × (1 − discount ÷ 100); price per piece = price you pay ÷ pieces; pieces per dollar = pieces ÷ price you pay. Compare: the set with the lower price per piece is the better value.
- The piece count is the number printed on the box; minifigures and spare pieces count as pieces if the box counts them.
- Prices are what you type; there is no store data. Sales tax is not included.
- Arithmetic is exact on the typed decimals; money shows to a tenth of a cent, rounded half up.
- Price per piece says nothing about the size or rarity of the pieces.
Worked examples
Each example is checked against the calculator on every build.
- Set price $79.99, Pieces 800 gives Price per piece $0.10, Cents per piece 9.99875, Pieces per dollar 10.00125, Price you pay $79.99.Source: NIST SP 1181, Unit Pricing Guide: A Best Practice Approach to Unit Pricing (2025 edition) (best practice for unit pricing: the price per unit of measure, here per piece). https://www.nist.gov/publications/nist-sp-1181-unit-pricing-guide-best-practice-approach-unit-pricing-2025-ed, retrieved 2026-10-02
- Set price $159.99, Pieces 1,500, Discount 20% gives Price you pay $127.99, Price per piece $0.09, Cents per piece 8.5328.Source: NIST SP 1181, Unit Pricing Guide: A Best Practice Approach to Unit Pricing (2025 edition) (best practice for unit pricing: the price per unit of measure, here per piece). https://www.nist.gov/publications/nist-sp-1181-unit-pricing-guide-best-practice-approach-unit-pricing-2025-ed, retrieved 2026-10-02
- Set price $49.99, Pieces 500, Second set price $99.99, Second set pieces 1,200 gives Price per piece $0.10, Second set: price per piece $0.08, Better value per piece The second set: 16.7% less per piece..Source: NIST SP 1181, Unit Pricing Guide: A Best Practice Approach to Unit Pricing (2025 edition) (best practice for unit pricing: the price per unit of measure, here per piece). https://www.nist.gov/publications/nist-sp-1181-unit-pricing-guide-best-practice-approach-unit-pricing-2025-ed, retrieved 2026-10-02
How it works
- Price you pay = set price × (1 − discount ÷ 100). With no discount it is the set price.
- Price per piece = price you pay ÷ pieces.
- Cents per piece = price per piece × 100.
- Pieces per dollar = pieces ÷ price you pay.
Comparing two sets. Type the second set’s price (after any discount) and pieces. Its price per piece is price ÷ pieces. The set with the lower price per piece is the better value, and it is cheaper per piece by (higher − lower) ÷ higher × 100 percent. If you type only one of the two values, there is no answer.
Rules
- Prices are from $0.01 to $1,000,000; pieces are whole numbers from 1 to 10,000,000; the discount is from 0% to less than 100%.
- Arithmetic is exact on the typed decimals. Money shows to a tenth of a cent ($0.100), cents per piece and pieces per dollar to 2 decimals, and the percent cheaper to one decimal, each rounded half up from the exact value.
- Prices are what you type: there is no store or price data, and no sales tax.
Worked examples by hand
$79.99 for 800 pieces. 79.99 ÷ 800 = $0.0999875 = 9.99875¢, shown as $0.100 and 10.00¢. Pieces per dollar: 800 ÷ 79.99 = 10.00.
$159.99 for 1,500 pieces at 20% off. 159.99 × 0.80 = $127.992. 127.992 ÷ 1,500 = $0.085328 = 8.5328¢.
$49.99 for 500 pieces against $99.99 for 1,200 pieces. 49.99 ÷ 500 = $0.09998; 99.99 ÷ 1,200 = $0.083325. The second set is cheaper per piece by (0.09998 − 0.083325) ÷ 0.09998 × 100 = 16.658…%, shown as 16.7%.
Other questions people ask
How do I work out the price per piece?
Divide the price you pay by the number of pieces. A $79.99 set with 800 pieces costs 79.99 ÷ 800 = $0.0999875, about 10.0¢ a piece.
What is a good price per piece?
There is no official figure, and it changes with the theme and year. Fans often use about 10¢ a piece as a rough line between a fair and a pricey set. Compare sets you are choosing between rather than a fixed number.
Does a discount change the price per piece?
Yes, by the same percent. A $159.99 set with 1,500 pieces at 20% off costs $127.992, so each piece costs 127.992 ÷ 1,500 = $0.085328, about 8.53¢.
What are pieces per dollar?
The other way round: pieces ÷ price. At $79.99 for 800 pieces you get about 10.0 pieces for each dollar. A higher number is better value.
Is the set with the lowest price per piece always the better buy?
Not always. Sets with many tiny pieces, or with large or special parts and minifigures, are hard to compare by count alone. Price per piece is one simple measure of value.
How do I compare two sets?
Type the second set’s price and pieces. The page shows its price per piece and which set costs less per piece, and by how much: $49.99 for 500 pieces against $99.99 for 1,200 pieces makes the second set 16.7% cheaper per piece.