Most LEGO® alternative brands use the same size blocks as the leading brand from Billund, with full compatibility between them. However, some use smaller or larger blocks that only work within their own ecosystem.
Here is a quick explanation of the brick sizes we stock here at Latericius, in order of size, to help you make the right choice.
Baby blocks
- 1x1 measurements: Varies
- Brands: Duplo, Megabloks, LOZ
This size of blocks is designed for very young children, hence the name and larger brick size.
We don't currently stock any of these sets in the store, but different brands make wildly different sizes, so don't expect universal compatibility.
Standard blocks
- 1x1 measurements: 7.8mm x 7.8mm x 9.6mm (11.4mm including stud)
- Brands: LEGO®, CaDA, Sluban, Mork, Cobi, Mould King, Pantasy
These are the bricks you're probably familiar with if you grew up playing with LEGO®. Most brands use this size of blocks, and not just because they're LEGO® compatible.
They offer the best overall value, and a good price/size ratio. This brick size also covers technic-style sets, making it nearly ubiquitous in the brick building world.
Branded bricks will be molded with LEGO, CaDA, M38 (Sluban), or COBI on the studs, while generic bricks will not feature any branding on the studs.
Note that generic bricks can also be good quality depending on the manufacturer. Mould King and Pantasy use Gobricks, which are excellent quality bricks.
Mini blocks
- 1x1 measurements: 6mm x 6mm x 7.2mm (8.7mm including stud)
- Brands: LOZ
Mini bricks are the most common blocks used by LOZ, and while they are identical to standard blocks in design, they measure roughly 3/4 the size in all dimensions.
This size makes the bricks and sets significantly cheaper while still enabling the full range of piece types. However, they are not compatible with standard blocks.
It's worth noting that you may also find miniaturized technic-style pieces, plates, etc in many builds, further separating it from Nanoblocks below.
Nano blocks
- 1x1 measurements: 3.8mm x 3.8mm x 3mm (4.8mm including stud)
- Brands: Nanoblock
Nano blocks are, unsurprisingly, the size of bricks that Nanoblock uses, and they are the smallest we stock in Latericius.
Not only are they smaller, they also use a different mechanism to interlock, meaning that they are not compatible with any other size of brick. Pieces are nearly all plate-style, with fewer SNOT pieces than other types of bricks. This leads to the trademark pixelated look of the finished sets.
You may see similarly sized bricks labelled as diamond blocks. There are many generic brands selling nano-sized sets, and while they are affordable, they may be frustrating to work with compared to Nanoblock. With blocks this small, lack of quality really hinders the build experience.