64 Responses to “Review: Magna-tiles vs. Magformers vs. Super Magformers vs. Picasso tiles”

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  1. Sarah

    THANK YOU for this review! I was about to get Picasso Tiles until I read this. Putting Magna Tiles in my Amazon shopping cart right now. Really appreciate it.

    • RhodeyGirlTests

      Thank goodness you saw this in time and didn’t make the same Picasso Tiles mistake I did. Nothing beats the original Magna Tiles!

      • KT

        Same here, thank you random internet people for improving the quality of play!! <3

      • meir

        Hi,

        I have Play mags (copy of magna tiles) and was looking to expand for my kids age 3+5, what do you recommend, more magna tiles (extra style pieces ie 48pc set) or magformers?

        Thanks

        • RhodeyGirlTests

          Magnatiles/PLaymags and Magformers do not work well together, so I would go with Magnatiles or Playmags to expand your set.

  2. Carl

    Thanks for a well written, intelligent review of these magnetic building toys. We’ve bought Magna Tiles in the past for our grand daughters and this year wanted to increase their collection. With a few other brands being offered I wondered if they were all compatible and of the same quality as the Magna Tiles. You answered all my questions. Thanks!

  3. Laila

    We have Picasso Tiles and actually love them! I find them to be strong enough, but now I’m wishing we could try MagnaTiles too! Trying to decide if we should also get magformers or stick with the one kind… Anyway, thanks for the review!

    • meir

      Hi,

      I have the Play mags (copy of magna tiles) and wanted to expand or move onto the magformers, did you try them in the end?

  4. Sylvia

    Thanks for your review! I was looking on Amazon.com and was feeling pretty overwhelmed on all the different brands. There’s one other brand that I keep coming across too…Magnetic Stick N Stack. Have you tried that one? If so, what’s your take on them? Thanks!

  5. liz

    Thank you for this comparison. I was asked to buy a set for my granddaughters, and this helps with the decision!

  6. Selena

    We have the magnatiles and wanted to add to our collection
    I just ordered the power clix by guide craft but wondering your feedback?
    Maybe I should have gotten the super magformers or magnatiles chassis set instead?
    Help!

  7. Stephanie

    Thanks so much! I didnt know which ones to buy – now I do!

  8. Annette

    The only problem with your review is that I now want both and that’s going to cost me a lot of $$!

    No seriously, great, well thought-out review, thank you.

    We have the Magnatiles now and I am very happy with them, but was wondering if perhaps the Magformers would collapse less. They may also be more maneuverable for my 9 month old, and be more plane-ride friendly?

    • RhodeyGirlTests

      I think Magformers are great for the younger age group and are definitely more portable. We love packing some up in an old school metal lunchbox for long car rides. I would go with some Magformers this time around!

  9. Laura

    We have Magnatiles and Picasso Tiles, and we love both of them. The magnets in our Picasso Tiles are just as strong as the Magnatiles. I always recommend Picasso Tiles to others now because the price is so much more reasonable. I honestly can’t tell any difference in them except the price variance.

  10. andreea

    Thanks so much – you hepked us tonight!

  11. Hope

    Thanks, for the thorough review. As other parents/grandparents have stated, we are trying to decide the best tiles for our son for Christmas. This is a big help!

  12. Paula

    Thank you thank you for the review. I almost bought Picasso. I am going with the Magformers for my 6 yr. Grandson who has very low tone (particularly in his hands). Your descriptions helped me understand how each type would work. A smaller tile that is open will be much more successful for him.

    • RhodeyGirlTests

      You definitely made the right decision. The Magformers are definitely my favorite for working on those motor skills and are easier to hold and build with for sure. Enjoy!

  13. Katie

    Thank you, thank you, thank you for this review! I plan to get a set for my son for his 4th birthday and have seen a few brands with varying prices on Amazon, Zulily, etc but I’ve been reluctant to make a choice. I know he will play with these for YEARS so I’m glad to know that, in this case, you really do get what you pay for!

    • RhodeyGirlTests

      It sure is a case where you get what you pay for. It’s been several weeks now since that post, and I can still confidently say Magna-tiles are the best. We’ve added to our collection and are SO happy with them.

  14. Ilesa

    Has anyone tried magrific tiles? I just saw them at target for half the price, $60 for 100 pieces.

    • RhodeyGirlTests

      I have found that no other brand even comes close to Magna-tiles, but I haven’t tried that exact brand.

  15. Shannon Ballinger

    Have you tried the Connec Tiles?

  16. Julie

    Thanks so much for the review! I almost got the picasso ones simply based on price, but if I’m spending that much anyways, I really want them to be sturdy! So, I’ll go for the magna tiles, I think. Thanks again!

  17. lisa

    We got the Picasso Tiles & Magna-tiles in the house.They are the SAME!
    I don’t see Magna-tiles is stronger than Picassotiles at all. I honestly can’t tell
    any difference except the price…..This is really surprise me to see your review about Picassotiles……absolutely not true.

    • RhodeyGirlTests

      That’s really interesting because I see a tremendous difference in the quality. Glad you’ve had a different experience.

  18. MamaSos

    I dont agree at all with your review, i was so worried about my picasso tiles as i didn’t see this review till after i had already ordered. My son is currently building towers with his picassos and absolutely no issues with magnet strength. It was a much more affordable option for us, as he has been coming home from school every day talking about magna tiles. He has not been able to tell the difference. Picasso are not a waste of money

  19. Jen

    I just ordered Picasso…then thought about canceling the order after this review… But think I will go through with it based on the comments supporting Picasso. They are in line with many amazon reviewing parents that insist there is no difference but price. You are the only person I have seen actually say magna tiles are better quality. I think the magna tiles collapse too easily. I don’t think they are that great and am on the hunt for something BETTER. Maybe magna tiles lowered their quality or something??? I don’t know, but I’m confident Picasso can’t be worse. I’m really considering stick n stack due to all the shapes (doors, windows, etc. that my daughter will love)…wish I could try them all!

    • RhodeyGirlTests

      How’s the quality now that you’ve received them? I think I got some really good batches of Magna-tiles. We were at a friend’s house recently who has Magna-tiles and they, too, were collapsing easily. So strange! I still stick with my original review though since that’s been my experience at home.

  20. Wendy

    Great review! The Lakeshore in-store price (AZ) is $103 for 100 piece Magna-tile set as part of their back to school sale this year.

  21. Romita

    This was just what I was looking for. Thank you so much! 🙂

  22. My son’s 3rd birthday is coming up, and I desperately want to get him some type of magnetic toy, as he really enjoys magnets. Thank you for such a detailed comparison between the types, it was very useful! c:

  23. Kimberly Ingersoll

    Growingtreetoys.com has the magna tiles 100 piece clear set for $120 (with discount $102 shipped). However, they also have free shipping on orders over $75 plus you can save 15% on your first order with them using code 39B49. It appears if you join their rewards program you can earn points that can translate to money by writing reviews and referring others, so you might be able to bring down the price even further.

  24. Dee

    Do you know anything about the Cra-Z-Art Magrific at all? They seem to be a newer item. I want to get a magnetic tile collect for my kids but so many options and so many opinions. Just wanted to see if you had tried these at all since you wrote this post.

  25. Faith

    is discovery kids 24 pcs work with any of those tiles?

  26. Faith

    Is discovery kids 24pcs work with any of those tiles?

  27. Tricia

    I am going to buy one set for my 1 and 3 year old. I see many times you say Magna-tiles is the best but Magformers works with little hands. Do the Magformers have the same quality magnet in your opinion? Should I start with the Magformers since they are so little?

    • RhodeyGirlTests

      Sorry for the late email. I would actually go straight to Magna-tiles in this case for the 3 year old’s sake. Your 1 year old will still love them too!

  28. GrammyOfTwo

    Thanks for your review of “Magna-Tiles and Magnaformers”; I felt like I was sinking in a sea of Mag-somethings…lol

    After reading thru and looking at the Magnaformers, “this time” I purchased their 62 piece set (around $63) and they work much better for my 4 year-old grandson.

    I had previously purchased the Magna-Tiles for his birthday but wasn’t very impressed because sometimes they were very hard to get apart, but in other instances fell apart too easily.

    I LOVE the way a geometric design can be created on a flat surface, then picked up (little fingers can do this too 🙂 from the middle of the design, to create the 3D geometric shape!

    I watched a Magnaformer video and connected 6 square tiles on a table, pulled them up from the middle and created an instant CUBE! Fantastic!

    (we just ordered another set for a present 🙂

  29. Jason

    Hi, thanks for the review and agree that magnetic tiles are second to none for longer interest. Do you know if crazy brand are compatible with magna.?

    • RhodeyGirlTests

      Sorry, I’ve never heard of crazy brand.

    • George

      Since they’re magnetic, most of them will stick to each other, even if they’re of a different brand, but the sizes won’t line up most of the time. I have the ones from Shape Mags and they usually fit nicely with other tiles since it has more shapes.

  30. Dorothy Truong

    Hi,

    I’m wanting to purchase Magnetic Tiles and just started researching all the different brands.

    I have seen a brand ‘ Best Choice Products’ sell magnetic tiles for a lot cheaper than Magnatiles. have you had any experience with these? If so, are they any good and woudl they be compatible with Magna Tiles?

    Many thanks,
    Dorothy

  31. Thanks for this set of reviews -this post was extremely helpful in making a decision in what to start with.

  32. Mary Neyland

    Hi! I purchased magna tiles for a four-year-old. He instantly started building things. But it reminds me of that game Janga. One wrong move and it collapses like a card house. When I hear magnets are superstrong I sort of expected more than that. Truly, does anyone know the strongest magnets? Or is this normal for magnetic toys? I want to add to his set and they build amazing creations but the collapsible thing like a card house is very disturbing to me. Please advise.

    • RhodeyGirlTests

      Hm, I’m surprised you’ve had this experience as my kids build super tall structures without issue. I’m not sure how to help!

  33. Lisi

    Being new to the world of “Magnas” I have one word…WOW!! More overwhelmed now than ever. Hopefully after Christmas I can add some helpful comments to one side or another.

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