No single app does every sorting job. Brickognize identifies one piece from a photo. Brickit scans a spread-out pile and suggests things to build. Rebrickable keeps set and parts lists and shows what you could build from what you own. BrickLink is where you buy missing pieces. BrickSorter, coming soon, sorts a mixed pile of LEGO® bricks back into the sets they came from.
The short answer
Match the app to your question. No single app does every job.
To put a mixed pile back into its sets, you need one that works from each set’s parts list, not from a photo of the pile.
Which app does which job?
| Job | App | What you do | Price model |
|---|---|---|---|
| Identify a piece | Brickognize (website) | Take or upload a photo of one piece | No price shown for a search on its website |
| See what you can build | Brickit (iPhone, Android) | Spread the pile out, take a photo, pick a build | Free to download, optional Pro subscription |
| See what you can build | Rebrickable (website) | Enter the sets and parts you own | Free account, optional paid Pro plan |
| Find and buy missing pieces | BrickLink (website) | Look up a part and buy it from a seller’s shop | Free to sign up, you pay for what you buy |
| Sort back into sets | BrickSorter (coming to the App Store and Google Play) | Add your set numbers, then follow one piece at a time | 300 pieces free, then a one-off payment for 10,000 more |
Which app identifies a single piece?
Brickognize is a website that recognises LEGO® parts, sets and minifigures from a picture. You photograph one piece, and it shows the closest matches with their part numbers. It suits the moment you are holding a piece and do not know its name. It answers “what is this?”, not “which of my sets is it from?”.
Which app shows what you can build from your bricks?
Two services do this in different ways.
Brickit is a phone app. You spread your bricks out and take a photo. It recognises the pieces and suggests models to make from them, with step-by-step instructions, and shows where each piece you need lies in your photo. It is free to download, with an optional Pro subscription.
Rebrickable is a website with parts lists for official sets and fan designs. You tell it which sets and loose parts you own. Its build search works out how much of each set or fan design you could build, and which parts you are missing. A free account covers this. A paid Pro plan raises the limits on how many lists you keep.
Both are about building something new, not about putting a pile back into its original sets.
Where can you find and buy missing pieces?
BrickLink is a marketplace and catalogue of LEGO® parts, sets and minifigures, owned by the LEGO Group since 2019. Thousands of independent shops sell new and used parts through it, and its price guide is built from past sales.
Use it when you know exactly which piece you are short of. Signing up is free. You pay the seller for what you buy.
Which app sorts a mixed pile back into sets?
This is the job BrickSorter does. You tell it which sets are in the pile, usually by typing the number from each instruction booklet. Each set gets a lettered tub: A, B, C and so on. The app then shows a picture of one piece at a time, how many to find, and which tubs they go in.
- Shared pieces. When several sets need the same piece, it shows every tub that needs it.
- Pieces you cannot find. You can skip a piece. It comes back at the end, when the pile is small.
- Lost pieces. A piece that never turns up can be marked as missing, so the set can still be finished.
- Stopping. It saves your place as you go.
Two scanners, one for a single brick and one for a whole tray, help with pieces you cannot place. They are optional: sorting by hand works without the camera. See What BrickSorter does.
Without an app, you can do the same job with each set’s parts list from Rebrickable or BrickLink. With several sets, that means checking each piece against several lists.
What does BrickSorter not do?
- It is not out yet. It is coming to the App Store and Google Play.
- It is not a build-ideas app. It lists other sets you have most of the pieces for, without instructions. Brickit and Rebrickable go much further.
- It does not work out which sets are in your pile. You add them. Pieces from sets you have not added are never asked for, so they stay in the pile.
- It does not sell pieces. For missing pieces, use a marketplace such as BrickLink.
- It is independent. It is not made, sponsored or endorsed by the LEGO Group.
The first 300 pieces you sort are free. After that, a one-off payment adds 10,000 pieces, with no subscription. A monthly Pro plan is for people who sort a lot. See pricing.
Are there machines that sort bricks for you?
Yes, but not for home. The ones we found are home-built projects, or large machines run by businesses that resell bricks. We did not find one on sale for home use.
How do you choose?
Match the app to your question:
- “What is this piece?” Brickognize.
- “What can I make from this pile?” Brickit, or Rebrickable if you know which sets you own.
- “Where do I get the piece I am missing?” BrickLink.
- “Which set does all this belong to?” BrickSorter, or a parts list and some patience.
They also work in turn: sort the pile into sets, note what is missing, then buy it.
Questions people ask
Is there an app that sorts LEGO® pieces automatically? No phone app moves pieces for you. The apps tell you what a piece is, what you can build, or where it goes. You still pick each piece up.
Can an app tell which sets are in a mixed pile? Not reliably from a photo of the pile. Scanning apps recognise pieces, and many pieces appear in hundreds of sets. In BrickSorter you add the sets you know are there.
Which app is best for finding what to build? Brickit, to photograph a pile and get ideas with instructions. Rebrickable, if you know which sets you own.
Do I need a scanner to sort bricks into sets? No. In BrickSorter the scanners are optional, and sorting by hand works without the camera.
