Most shoppers want to get better value for their money while buying jigsaw puzzles (and actually any other product).
But have you ever wondered what makes the classic jigsaw puzzles more expensive or cheaper?
Of course, material quality is a major factor when it comes to puzzle prices. But assuming the quality is similar, the main element that influences a puzzle price is probably its size. To confirm that, we have performed some research on jigsaw puzzles using Amazon data.
The aim of the research is to determine how the price of a puzzle is affected by its size (and number of pieces). In addition to finding the total price, we also calculated the average price per square foot which gives a more helpful idea about the actual puzzle value you get for what you’re paying.
Following are the results of the study.
Please note this research involves only traditional jigsaw puzzles (i.e. those that are rectangular-shaped and made from cardboard).
General Average Price of Jigsaw Puzzles
The price of an average jigsaw puzzle is about $16 with an expected price range of $11-20.
You can expect to pay $16 on average for a quality jigsaw puzzle.
Jigsaw puzzles on the market have an average size of 3.4 ft2. And the puzzle price per square foot is around $5.4 on average.
Average Price By Puzzle Size
Following are the average puzzle prices based on the size in square foot.
| Puzzle Size (ft2) | Puzzle Dimension | Average Price | Average Price Per ft2 |
| 1 | 14 x 11″ | $12.3 | $11.8 |
| 2 | 19.5 x 14.25″ | $14.4 | $7.4 |
| 3 | 24 x 18″ | $13.7 | $4.6 |
| 4 | 29 x 20″ | $17.2 | $4.3 |
| 5 | 30 x 24″ | $18.3 | $3.7 |
| 6 | 36 x 24″ | $14.0 | $2.3 |
| 7 | 38.5 x 26.5″ | $24.3 | $3.4 |
And here is a graph that illustrates the average price of the different sizes:
As indicated in the above table, the total price of a jigsaw puzzle unsurprisingly increases with size. However, the price per square foot becomes lower.
In other words, even though you will probably be paying more in total for a bigger puzzle, you will get more value for money (i.e. pay less per square foot). This is just like when buying a pizza or bottled water.
There is an interesting observation to note though; the puzzle size of 6 ft2 (i.e. 36 x 24″) appears to defy logic here since it’s considerably cheaper than some smaller sizes including 4 and 5 ft2 (29 x 20″ and 30 x 24″). This might be because this specific size is quite popular and offered by many brands, which drives down the price.
A bigger jigsaw puzzle doesn’t necessarily cost more. For instance, the 6 ft2 puzzle (36″ by 24″) is notably cheaper than the 4 and 5 ft2 sizes, even though it’s larger.
It’s also worth noting that the 6 ft2 puzzle has the cheapest average price per square foot ever, even more than the 7 ft2 size (i.e. 38.5 x 26.5″). Additionally, the seven-square-foot puzzle costs only double the price on average compared to the puzzle with a size of one square foot (i.e. 14 x 11″), but it’s seven times bigger.
Shoppers generally get more value for their money when buying jigsaw puzzles that are bigger in size due to the lower cost per square foot. For instance, the 7 ft2 puzzle (38.5″ x 26.5″) costs only double the price of one that’s 1 ft2, while it’s seven times bigger.
Average Puzzle Price by Number of Pieces
Here are the average prices of jigsaw puzzles for some common number of pieces.
| Puzzle Number of Pieces | Average Price | Average Price Per ft2 |
| 48 | $11.7 | $6.6 |
| 100 | $13.6 | $2.1 |
| 300 | $12.1 | $2.4 |
| 500 | $14.2 | $2.7 |
| 750 | $14.2 | $3.1 |
| 1000 | $17.6 | $3.7 |
| 2000 | $26.4 | $7.2 |
The price of jigsaw puzzles seems to increase gradually with more pieces, with a surge between 1000 and 2000. That’s mainly because the average puzzle size is almost doubled at that point.
Excluding puzzles with less than 100 pieces, the average price per square foot rises as the number of pieces increases.
Additionally, the sweet spot for the cheapest average price per ft2 appears to be between 100 and 1000 pieces.
Shoppers of jigsaw puzzles get better value for their money when the number of pieces is between 100 and 1000.
Average Puzzle Price by Brand
We wanted also to check the puzzle prices for some popular brands to see how they differ.
There is quite a variation in puzzle price between the above brands, starting from an average of about $12 (Mudpuppy) and reaching over $19 (EuroGraphics).
When it comes to the puzzle price per square foot, Mudpuppy and Ravensburger cost the highest amount (with an average of $7 and $9 consecutively). The brands that provide the most value for money are Springbok, Buffalo Games and Ceaco which have an average price of about $4 per square foot.
Some jigsaw puzzle brands provide more value for money due to the lower price per square foot. For example, puzzles from Springbok give shoppers a better deal (costing an average of $3.8/ft2) compared to several other companies including Ravensburger which has an average puzzle price of $7.0/ft2.
And here is a graph that shows the average price of jigsaw puzzles for several popular brands:
Research Method
For this research, we have analyzed over 1000 jigsaw puzzles that are sold on Amazon. Again, this includes only flat rectangular puzzles made from cardboard.
To ensure only high quality products are included and to avoid duplicate listings, we picked only the items that are directly sold by Amazon (not by 3rd parties) and have a review rating of 4+.
The puzzle averages (i.e. total price, price range, price per ft2 and size) were calculated based on at least 70% of the product samples.
The puzzle size was calculated through multiplying the length by width then dividing by 144 to convert from inches to feet.
Lastly, we sorted the puzzles by each of the puzzle size, number of pieces and brand to calculate the corresponding average prices.
Conclusion
We hope this article will be a big help for you while shopping for jigsaw puzzles, whether for yourself or your kids.
To reiterate, You can expect to pay $16 on average for a quality jigsaw puzzle, probably something between $11-20.
The price of jigsaw puzzles directly correlates with their size and number of pieces. The bigger the puzzle (or the higher the number of pieces), the more expensive it becomes generally. However, the price per square foot will generally decrease which results in getting more value for money.
The price per square foot is ultimately a more useful number than the total price to maximize the value for money while shopping for jigsaw puzzles.
Finally, we have created a puzzle price calculator that will quickly provide you with the price of any jigsaw puzzle per square foot without much effort. You merely need to input the puzzle price and dimensions to get the result. Be sure to check it out.
