How Do I Track My LEGO Collection?
To track a LEGO collection, keep a record of every set you own — its set number, where you got it, what you paid, and its condition — and update it as the collection grows. You can do this in a spreadsheet, a notes app, on paper, on a catalog website, or in a dedicated app built for the job. The right choice mostly comes down to how many sets you have and how much you want filled in for you.
Here are the five common approaches, what each is good at, and where each falls down.
Can I track a LEGO collection in a spreadsheet?
Yes — Excel, Numbers, or Google Sheets all work. You add a row per set with columns for the set number, name, year, price paid, and condition.
- Good for: total control over your columns; works offline; free.
- Falls down on: everything is manual. You type set names and piece counts by hand, there are no pictures, and there's no way to see a set's current market value or its parts list without looking it up separately. It gets unwieldy past a few dozen sets.
A notes app
A running list in Apple Notes, Notion, or similar.
- Good for: quick capture; you already have the app.
- Falls down on: no structure, no sorting, no totals, no values. Fine for ten sets, painful for a hundred.
Pen and paper
A notebook or index cards.
- Good for: zero setup; survives forever.
- Falls down on: you can't search, sort, or back it up, and you can't share it. Re-counting your collection means flipping pages.
A catalog website
Sites that hold a database of every LEGO set let you mark which ones you own.
- Good for: accurate set data and pictures you don't have to enter yourself.
- Falls down on: they're built around the database, not around your shelf. Tracking condition, multiple copies, what you paid, or which parts are missing is usually clumsy or impossible, and your data lives on someone else's server behind a login.
A dedicated app
An app built specifically for tracking a collection combines the structure of a spreadsheet with the catalog data of a website — and adds the things neither can do, like photos, market values, and parts lists, automatically. For most collectors past their first few dozen sets, this is the method that stops fighting back.
The easy way: track your collection in Afolio
Afolio is an app for Mac, iPhone and iPad built for exactly this. You don't type set details by hand. You search the built-in catalog of every LEGO set ever made, add the set, and Afolio fills in the name, year, theme, piece count, image, and full parts list for you.
- On iPhone and iPad: tap All Sets under Catalog on the home screen (iPhone) or in the sidebar (iPad), find the set, and tap Add to My Collection.
- On the Mac: search or browse the catalog in the sidebar, select the set, and click Add to My Collection.
For each set you own, you can record:
- How you got it, the date, and the price you paid
- Condition, built status, and whether stickers are applied — from sealed (NISB) to used and part-built
- Multiple copies of the same set, tracked separately PRO
- Notes, favourites, and a wishlist of sets you don't own yet
Because the catalog is built in, Afolio also shows the complete part inventory for every set and the minifigures each set contains, and with Pro it can show current market values. None of it has to be typed in.
Your collection stays on your devices and syncs between your iPhone, iPad and Mac through your own iCloud account, so a set you add on your phone at a sale is on your Mac when you get home. Sync is free, and there is no Afolio account to create and no tracking.
Once your collection is in, you can slice it any way you like with Smart Collections, check completeness with the parts checklist, and see what your sets are worth. Picked up a set with no box? Start by identifying the set first.
Try it yourself
Afolio tracks your LEGO collection on Mac, iPhone and iPad, with free iCloud sync between them. It's free for up to 25 sets, and Pro is a one-time upgrade with no subscription.
Prefer not to use the Mac App Store? Download the Mac version directly.
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© The Half Bakery Pty Ltd
LEGO is a trademark of the LEGO Group, which does not sponsor or endorse this app.