January 16, 2020: While I haven’t had a chance to publish a revised article for 2020, I re-calculated the 600 most common LEGO parts. (The top 50 parts featured on this page did not change very much.)

Which LEGO parts are the most common?

This seems like it would be an easy question, but The LEGO Group is a privately held company that doesn’t share detailed information about which pieces they manufacture or how many copies of each set are sold. In order to answer this question, we need to work with the limitations of the data that we do have.

Thanks to websites like Brickset, BrickLink, and Rebrickable, we do have lists containing every known LEGO parts, every known LEGO set, and inventories containing a list of elements and quantities for each of those sets. We will use data imported from Rebrickable to estimate part production using inventories from sets released in recent years.

Why does it matter?

There are a couple reasons that I wanted to know which LEGO parts are most common. The first is pretty obvious—I wanted to make sure my collection of printable LEGO Brick Labels includes labels for all of the most common parts.

The second reason is that this information helps me offer better advice in the LEGO Storage Guide. As you move from a medium to large collection, you might want to sort the most common pieces by part instead of broad categories. Likewise, as your collection grows from a large to a very large collection, these are the first parts you might choose to sort by element (both part and color).

The third reason requires a little more explanation… Last year’s most visited article Hard-to-Find LEGO Colors (and what to do about it) analyzed which LEGO colors are “Common” because they are available in almost every part, “Uncommon” because they are available in many but not all parts, and “Rare” because they are available in so few parts that you can only use them sparingly. For that article, I created a list of basic bricks, plates, and tiles that I felt were necessary to build interesting models, and used that list of parts to assess how common each color is. For the upcoming 2019 update to that article, I wanted to use data (instead of my instincts) to select the most common parts, and use those parts to judge how common each color is.

Beyond these practical reasons, I found the list of the most common parts really interesting, and I thought my readers would find it interesting too. In this article, we’ll take extra step and analyze the data to learn more about the building blocks of our hobby.

Most Common LEGO Parts

The top 12 parts account for nearly 25% of all pieces manufactured. (Each part shown in it’s most common color.)

Even after trying to exclude printed parts, Minifigure parts, and Duplo pieces, you would have around 675,000 pieces if you purchased one of every set released from 2015-2019. That’s a respectable LEGO collection!

After adding up how many of each part you would get from each set, you end up with a long list of parts… I’ve included a list showing the Top 50 parts below. (The complete list of the Top 500 parts is on a different page to keep the page from loading too slowly.)

In addition to columns describing each part, you will find the number of pieces you would get if you bought one of every set, and the number of colors each part comes in. (Rows containing parts which come in 5 or fewer colors shown with light gray background.) You will also find the current rank, and the year-over-year change for that part (with +/- indicating increased/decreased popularity.)

Top 50 Parts by Number of Pieces

Rank	Image	Part ID	Part Name	# Colors	# Pieces
1 —		3023	1×2 Plate	49	25662
2 —		4073	1×1 Plate, Round	40	23480
3 —		3024	1×1 Plate	46	20983
4 —		2780	Technic Pin with Friction Ridges Lengthwise and Center Slots	1	17222
5 —		54200	1×1 Slope 30° (Cheese)	50	11436
6 —		3004	1×2 Brick	39	11307
7 —		3069b	1×2 Tile	45	11047
8 —		3710	1×4 Plate	34	10254
9 —		3005	1×1 Brick	42	9249
10 —		3020	2×4 Plate	34	8965
11 —		3022	2×2 Plate	30	8737
12 (+1)		6558	Technic Pin Long with Friction Ridges Lengthwise	1	7215
13 (-1)		2412b	1×2 Tile, Grille	25	7119
14 —		15573	1×2 Jumper	28	7056
15 (+1)		98138	1×1 Tile, Round	32	7009
16 (+1)		3070b	1×1 Tile	40	6319
17 (+1)		3021	2×3 Plate	28	6292
18 (-3)		3003	2×2 Brick	37	6244
19 —		3666	1×6 Plate	30	5981
20 (+1)		3623	1×3 Plate	31	5786
21 (-1)		2431	1×4 Tile	38	5722
22 —		11477	2×1 Curved	39	5704
23 (+2)		85984	1×2 Slope 30° (Double Cheese)	32	5295
24 (-1)		4274	Technic Pin 1/2	3	5248
25 (-1)		3010	1×4 Brick	32	5228
26 —		3062b	Brick Round 1 x 1 Open Stud	34	4823
27 (+4)		2420	2×2 Plate, Corner	21	4511
28 (+1)		87580	2×2 Jumper	30	4460
29 (-2)		3001	2×4 Brick	29	4371
30 (+6)		15068	2×2 Curved	34	4282
31 (-3)		43093	Technic Axle Pin with Friction Ridges Lengthwise	1	4230
32 (+1)		3795	2×6 Plate	28	4116
33 (-3)		3068b	2×2 Tile	33	4088
34 (-2)		3040	2×1 Slope 45°	33	3923
35 —		87079	2×4 Tile	33	3778
36 (+1)		6636	1×6 Tile	25	3609
37 (+1)		4032	2×2 Plate, Round w/ Axle	21	3575
38 (+6)		15712	1×1 Clip, Top	12	3488
39 —		87087	1×1 Brick, Stud 1-side	27	3483
40 (-6)		33291	1×1 Plate, Flower (4 Petals)	16	3464
41 (-1)		32062	Technic Axle 2 Notched	2	3225
42 —		3622	1×3 Brick	26	3168
43 (-2)		4589	1×1 Cone	34	3071
44 (-1)		4070	1×1 Brick, Headlight	16	2986
45 —		3941	2×2 Brick, Round w/ Axle	26	2898
46 (+18)		85861	1×1 Plate, Round w/ hole	17	2830
47 (+3)		99780	1×2 Bracket, Inverted	15	2802
48 —		3460	1×8 Plate	24	2780
49 (-2)		32123	Technic Bush 1/2 Smooth with Axle Hole Semi-Reduced	2	2769
50 (-4)		3009	1×6 Brick	27	2673

Analysis

While it’s interesting to simply look through a long list of common LEGO parts, it’s more interesting to look for those parts which stand out. Let’s learn more about the distribution of parts, see which parts come in the most colors, and highlight those parts which are gaining (and decreasing) in popularity.

Part Distribution

While there are well over a thousand unique molds, not all parts are created in equal quantities. The most common part is 1×2 plate (part 3023)—if you bought one of every set from that 5-year period, you would have over 25,000 of that part alone, accounting for 3.8% of your pieces.

By contast, there are many parts which are included in just one set. It’s amazing that they are willing to design and cast a mold to produce a part for just one set! (A lot of unique molds are created for Minifigures and accessories used in the popular Collectible Minifigure Series—It must be profitable!)

A small number of LEGO parts make up the vast majority of LEGO pieces manufactured.

When we look at this variability across a large pool of data, we are trying to understand its distribution. In cases like this where a relatively small number pieces of make up the bulk of the collection, we describe the data as having a long-tail distribution.

The good news for people who want a beautifully organized LEGO collection is that you can sort 50% of your collection by part using around 50 compartments, or 90% of your collection by part with fewer than 500 compartments.

The bad news is that the long tail is quite long; In the chart, I only showed the top 500 pieces, but there are thousands more pieces extending off the right side of the chart. There are thousands of unique parts in production, and that’s not including printed parts, minifigures, and retired parts. If you aren’t careful, you will have a lot of tiny drawers with just a single part in it.

Colors

The current LEGO palette includes 41 solid colors, 14 transparent, 8 metallic, 1 glow-in-the-dark white, and 2 transparent with glitter, for a total of 66 colors. This includes the addition of 353Vibrant CoralCoral this year, and last year’s re-introduction of 107Bright Bluish GreenDark Turquoise / Teal.

Part 54200 “1×1 Slope 30° (Cheese)” comes in more colors than any other part.

Some parts are available in a lot of colors and some parts are only in one or a few colors. Typically, parts which are only in one color are functional or connective parts that are not very visible in a finished model. The best example of this are Technic pins and axles which are generally only one color to aid in sorting and finding the right piece well building a model. To help in reading the part list below, you will find that parts which appear in five or fewer colors are shown with a light gray background.

In a different article, we will look at which colors are most common, but I did want to highlight those parts which are available in the most different colors.

Top 25 Parts by Number of Colors

Rank	Image	Part ID	Part Name	# Colors	Most Common Color
5 —		54200	1×1 Slope 30° (Cheese)	50	194Medium Stone GreyLight Bluish Gray
1 —		3023	1×2 Plate	49	194Medium Stone GreyLight Bluish Gray
3 —		3024	1×1 Plate	46	1White
7 —		3069b	1×2 Tile	45	194Medium Stone GreyLight Bluish Gray
9 —		3005	1×1 Brick	42	1White
2 —		4073	1×1 Plate, Round	40	315. Silver Metallic (Flat Silver)
16 (+1)		3070b	1×1 Tile	40	194Medium Stone GreyLight Bluish Gray
6 —		3004	1×2 Brick	39	26Black
22 —		11477	2×1 Curved	39	26Black
21 (-1)		2431	1×4 Tile	38	194Medium Stone GreyLight Bluish Gray
18 (-3)		3003	2×2 Brick	37	194Medium Stone GreyLight Bluish Gray
8 —		3710	1×4 Plate	34	194Medium Stone GreyLight Bluish Gray
10 —		3020	2×4 Plate	34	194Medium Stone GreyLight Bluish Gray
26 —		3062b	Brick Round 1 x 1 Open Stud	34	1White
30 (+6)		15068	2×2 Curved	34	26Black
43 (-2)		4589	1×1 Cone	34	1White
33 (-3)		3068b	2×2 Tile	33	194Medium Stone GreyLight Bluish Gray
34 (-2)		3040	2×1 Slope 45°	33	194Medium Stone GreyLight Bluish Gray
35 —		87079	2×4 Tile	33	194Medium Stone GreyLight Bluish Gray
15 (+1)		98138	1×1 Tile, Round	32	194Medium Stone GreyLight Bluish Gray
23 (+2)		85984	1×2 Slope 30° (Double Cheese)	32	194Medium Stone GreyLight Bluish Gray
25 (-1)		3010	1×4 Brick	32	1White
82 (-3)		50950	3×1 Curved	32	1White
20 (+1)		3623	1×3 Plate	31	194Medium Stone GreyLight Bluish Gray
60 (+6)		6091	1×2×1⅔ Curved	31	1White

Additional Considerations: It important to note that in a few rare cases, a different part ID is used when nearly the same element is made using solid versus transparent plastic. This can make those parts appear to come in fewer colors than they really do.

An evolving library of parts

In addition to offering a detailed list of the most common parts, I took the extra step of comparing how common the part is based on the last five years versus a window starting one year earlier. When a part has significantly increased or decreased in the rankings, this reflects a shift towards important new parts and away from parts which are not as widely used anymore.

Increase or decrease is measured as a percentage of current ranking, rather than the number of steps it went up or down. This is due to the fact that it’s much harder to go up by one step near the top than lower in the rankings.

Parts that increased or decreased in popularity in 2019.

31 pieces jumped up in the rankings by 20% or more, and 67 pieces jumped by 10% or more. Most of these are relatively new pieces that filled an obvious gap in the LEGO parts library. Because they are general-purpose parts, they were quickly adopted by LEGO set designers and can be found in many new sets.

Increase of 20% or more

Rank	Image	Part ID	Part Name	# Colors	# Pieces
497 (+84.71%)		36840	Bracket 1 x 1 – 1 x 1 Inverted	6	169
319 (+74.29%)		35480	Plate, Modified 1 x 2 Rounded with 2 Open Studs	9	342
103 (+48.54%)		25269	Tile Round 1 x 1 Quarter	26	1309
283 (+48.06%)		33909	Tile Special 2 x 2 with Only 2 studs	10	402
294 (+42.18%)		27925	Tile 2 x 2 Macaroni	18	389
46 (+39.13%)		85861	1×1 Plate, Round w/ hole	17	2830
413 (+37.77%)		29119	Wedge 2×1 with Stud Notch Right	12	226
200 (+34%)		26047	Plate 1 x 1 Rounded with Handle	8	591
412 (+33.74%)		29120	Wedge 2×1 with Stud Notch Left	12	227
440 (+33.64%)		25214	Brick Round 1 x 1 diameter Tube with 90 Degree Elbow(2 x 2 x 1) and Axle Holes(Crossholes) at each end	8	212
235 (+33.62%)		26601	Wedge Plate 2 x 2 Cut Corner	16	486
255 (+32.94%)		26603	2×3 Tile	14	441
104 (+31.73%)		24866	Plant, Flower 1 x 1	14	1305
302 (+31.13%)		32952	Brick 1 x 1 x 1 2/3 with Studs on 1 Side	14	380
142 (+30.28%)		24201	Slope Curved 2 x 1 Inverted	14	901
424 (+29.48%)		32803	Slope Curved 2 x 2 Inverted	6	223
140 (+28.57%)		20482	Tile Round 1 x 1 with Pin	13	924
329 (+27.96%)		32607	Plant, Plate 1 x 1 Round with 3 Leaves	5	325
484 (+26.45%)		32828	Plate Round 1 x 1 with Hole and Horizontal Bar	3	182
278 (+26.26%)		22961	Technic Pin Connector Hub with 1 Axle	6	405
280 (+26.07%)		28192	Slope 45┬░ 2 x 1 with 2/3 Inverted Cutout and no stud	10	404
461 (+26.03%)		34103	Plate Special 1 x 3 with 2 Studs with Groove and Inside Stud Holde	10	197
256 (+23.83%)		26604	Brick Special 1 x 1 with Studs on 2 Adjacent Sides	5	439
500 (+23%)		22890	Plate Special 1 x 2 with End Towball	1	168
102 (+22.55%)		18654	Technic Pin Connector Round 1L [Beam]	10	1338
262 (+22.52%)		24316	Technic Axle 3 with Stop	1	425
78 (+21.79%)		22885	1×2×1⅔ Brick, 4 Studs 1-side	7	1768
206 (+21.36%)		99563	Money / Gold Bar [Ingot]	9	570
224 (+20.54%)		21459	Weapon Sword / Katana / Shamshir with Capped Pommel [Square Guard]	9	525
362 (+20.44%)		24307	Wedge Plate 2 x 2 Right	13	278
30 (+20%)		15068	2×2 Curved	34	4282

While are lots of pieces which have gone down a few positions in the ranking, just 28 pieces have decreased in the rankings by 10% or more. That’s a lot fewer pieces than those which increased by the same percentage.

Decrease of 10% or more

Rank	Image	Part ID	Part Name	# Colors	# Pieces
117 (-30.77%)		15379	Technic Link Tread with Beveled Edge	2	1170
292 (-25%)		61184	Technic Pin 1/2 with 2L Bar Extension	2	390
491 (-23.63%)		13971	Wheel 18 x 8 with Fake Bolts and Deep Spokes with Inner Ring	3	178
18 (-16.67%)		3003	2×2 Brick	37	6244
314 (-15.92%)		4079b	Minifig Seat 2 x 2 with Center Sprue Mark	10	351
322 (-15.84%)		2458	Brick Special 1 x 2 with Pin	7	338
120 (-15.83%)		30374	Bar 4L (Lightsaber Blade / Wand)	17	1145
425 (-15.29%)		32001	Technic Plate 2 x 6 [5 Holes]	6	223
308 (-15.26%)		58176	Light Cover with Internal Bar / Bionicle Barraki Eye	11	363
40 (-15%)		33291	1×1 Plate, Flower (4 Petals)	16	3464
476 (-14.92%)		90640	Hero Factory Armor with Ball Joint Socket – Size 4	24	188
444 (-14.19%)		30162	Equipment Binoculars	4	211
289 (-14.19%)		2817	Plate Special 2 x 2 with 2 Pin Holes	4	392
61 (-13.11%)		3700	1×2 Technic Brick, 1 Hole	16	2297
168 (-12.5%)		6231	Panel 1 x 1 x 1 Corner	13	778
371 (-12.4%)		32530	Technic Pin Connector Plate 1 x 2 x 1 2/3 [Two Holes On Top]	5	269
226 (-12.39%)		6587	Technic Axle 3 with Stud	2	512
471 (-12.1%)		3742	Plant, Flower – Small	5	190
358 (-12.01%)		50745	Mudguard 4 x 2 1/2 x 2 with Arch Round	16	282
386 (-11.92%)		3679	Turntable 2 x 2 Plate – Top	1	259
178 (-11.8%)		32525	Technic Beam 1 x 11 Thick	14	735
439 (-11.16%)		64782	Technic Panel 1 x 5 x 11	10	213
350 (-11.14%)		2476	Plate Special 2 x 2 with Pin on Bottom	3	289
163 (-11.04%)		10247	Plate Special 2 x 2 with 1 Pin Hole [Complete Underside Rib]	6	790
297 (-10.44%)		3045	Slope 45┬░ 2 x 2 Double Convex	17	387
422 (-10.43%)		42446	Neckwear Bracket [One Stud]	6	223
166 (-10.24%)		2450	Wedge Plate 3 x 3 Cut Corner	19	782
473 (-10.15%)		32271	Technic Beam 1 x 9 Bent (7 – 3) Thick	11	190
379 (-10.03%)		56145	Wheel 30.4 x 20 without Pinholes, with Reinforced Rim	9	264

It makes sense that new elements gain popularity quickly as they are included in a lot of new sets, but fade out of popularity much more slowly as building styles evolve over time.

The LEGO community gets really excited about the introduction of new parts, but barely notices when older parts are retired. I guess you can say that the “cult of the new” is real for LEGO fans.

See Also

If you enjoyed this article, you might also enjoy…

The LEGO Architect

Learn 7 styles of architecture using LEGO. The book includes a brief history of each style, photos of amazing buildings to use for inspiration, and instructions to get started. Written by Brick Architect founder Tom Alphin.

4.7 Stars at Amazon, and available in 10 languages.

$25. No Starch Press.

LEGO Storage Guide

Get Organized! My LEGO Storage Guide offers in-depth suggestions to organize, sort, and store a LEGO collection of any size. Be sure to take a look, as there are some great storage rpducts for the LEGO Lover on your shopping list.

See how a well organized LEGO collection can unlock creativity!

Free at Brick Architect.

Akro-Mils 64 Drawer Cabinet

Plastic drawer cabinets by Akro-Mils are the top pick for most LEGO enthusiasts in the USA. The drawers are easily removed and stack-able, deep enough for 16-stud bricks, flexible which makes them durable, and competitively priced.

Add printable LEGO Brick Labels for the ultimate in organization!

$35. Buy at Amazon.

Conclusions

I was surprised to learn that the #1 piece accounts for 3.7% of parts produced, and the top 50 parts account for 50% of the parts which are produced. While I already knew that LEGO parts followed a long-tail distribution, I continue to be amazed by their willingness to create new parts which aren’t used very often. The only way it makes sense to design and create specialty molds which are used for only a few sets is if they have learned how to make high-quality molds much more cheaply that I was led to believe, or if they are making a ton of money from sets with specialy parts. (Both are likely true.)

I was also surprised to see how quickly new parts enter the mainstream… Every year, the LEGO Group introduces a few parts which are so useful that they get used in a ton of sets. While the changes in a single year caused by new System and Technic parts is fairly small, the change over a period of 5-10 years is remarkable. It’s hard to imagine building LEGO models without classic bricks and plates, as well as new classics like the 2×2 Jumper or 1×2 brackets. In the near future, people will look at parts like 1 x 2 Rounded with 2 Open Studs in the same way—how did LEGO builders live without it?

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