What are the best jigsaw puzzles? Here's a List of the top popular jigsaw puzzle companies:


In the market today, some of the best puzzle brands must maintain interesting images for the puzzles to sell. The best jigsaw puzzles will start with a clear, sharp, attractive image. The image will be large enough on the puzzle box and/or it will have a poster inside. The box will be firm and sealed with plastic to avoid loss of pieces and to protect the image cover. The box design must be very sturdy to keep the puzzle pieces safe.  The details on the box will state the artist, number and piece shapes and the size the puzzle measures when completed. The pieces inside the box will be in a sealed bag. Most premium puzzles will have little puzzle dust from the cutting manufacturer. The pieces will not be cut loose. That’s in a perfect world.

Puzzle quality is HUGE these days. The good news is, the market is now flooded with a plethora of jigsaw puzzle brands.

There were a lot of different jigsaw puzzle brands opened during the pandemic. There are so many top brands these days, it’s difficult to decide on just one. The most popular brands remain the most preferred brands.   A 1000-piece jigsaw puzzle is most common among adults.  Many seniors prefer 500-piece puzzles.   Many puzzle enthusiasts have a large collection of jigsaw puzzles.  While there is room in the market for 3D puzzles, they are not common among the majority of puzzlers.

New to jigsaw puzzles? Here are some pointers.

When trying a puzzle for the first time, be sure to choose an image that is not too ‘busy’. The number of pieces does not determine the skill levels. A 500-piece puzzle can be more difficult than a 1000-piece puzzle. Some of the most popular jigsaw puzzles these days have what we call ‘very busy’ images. Those types are not for first timers.

Jigsaw puzzles are a huge market in the United States, especially during the pandemic in 2019 - 2021. Today, more than ever, it is very important to have high-quality puzzles due to competition. If you go to an 'all' jigsaw puzzles store, be prepared to have a difficult time selecting just one.  Some companies will open their puzzle warehouse for people to shop.  The ‘silver lining’ about all the companies that started since the pandemic, is puzzlers having a fantastic array of image choices. WerkShoppe is one such company.

The question of how to count puzzle pieces is very common.  Counting individual pieces does not mean there are no missing pieces. Even the best jigsaw puzzle brands can have missing pieces. The piece count of a puzzle cannot be determined easily if the cut is random.  Many puzzlers like random cut puzzles better than grid/ribbon cute puzzles. The only true way to know how many pieces are in the puzzle is to contact the puzzle company or the cutting manufacturer. They will know by the cutting grid used. BUT, they won’t know if there are any missing pieces. Often brand new, sealed puzzles are purchased with missing pieces. That's a fact!

There are a few puzzle companies that will turn a customized photo into a jigsaw puzzle. That makes for a perfect gift, as Puzzlers love to get new jigsaw puzzles in the mail. It can be tricky to get a photo turned into a good quality jigsaw puzzle. It is best to contact the company and have them confirm your photo will turn into a clean, sharp puzzle image.

Not all jigsaw puzzles are high quality.  What for these pointers when  purchasing your  first puzzle:

More Jigsaw Puzzle Brand Pointers

For the best jigsaw puzzle brands, you will likely pay top dollars. The average price range of jigsaw puzzles these days are now $20-30 dollars.  However, the majority of jigsaw puzzles are medium to good quality except for the really lower priced which tend to use very thin board and very little variation in the cutting style. They offset that low quality with fantastic images!

Puzzle companies may use a few puzzle cutting manufacturers before they settle on any one specific company. Quality control is a vital part of the cutting process, as the sharpness of the blades will determine the level of puzzle dust.  It’s possible to have a great quality cut on one puzzle image and a poor cut on another of the same image. One gets the sharp blade, the other gets the not-so-sharp blade.

Most puzzles are contained in a plastic bag inside the box, and maybe only 10% do not use plastic bags.  Many jigsaw puzzle companies will put an image of the puzzle shapes on the outside of the box, which helps determine if the puzzle cut is random or grid-like cut. It is not uncommon for a puzzle company to switch up the type of cut used, therefore the same company can use random or ribbon cuts on their products.

If you are searching for a specific puzzle image or brand, use this example,  """1,000-piece puzzle""" in the Google search box to get the quickest results. Using the quotations will minimize the number of returns, but the information returned will be more focused to your search.

If you want a good deal on jigsaw puzzles, take a look at your local Thrift Store. Sometimes you can get brand new sealed puzzles at bargain prices. Often Spring cleaning sees an increase of puzzles at the Thrift Stores, like the ‘new-unwanted’ Christmas puzzle presents.  Don’t forget to check local online markets. Puzzlers looking to offload their collections in bulk prices can be found there. Another ‘market’ for bargain puzzles is church/fundraisers.

Jigsaw Puzzle Companies

Cobble Hill puzzles is a Canadian-owned company founded in 2005, with high-end images and quality jigsaw puzzle pieces. There are a great many Canadian art prints to decide upon. The company uses a linen finish on their puzzles and poster, so no glare. The cut is random shapes. The variety of piece size comes in small, medium and large. They sell easy handling pieces for seniors and graduated-cut pieces for family puzzles. They produce some of their images ‘in-house’. Their puzzles are cut by puzzle manufacturers in the USA.  Cobble Hill Puzzles Amazon Store  

White Mountain puzzles is another ‘big name’ for puzzle brands. The company is located in Jackson, NH  in the White Mountain National Forest since 1978. This family-owned business is known for their great customer service, good quality products and the artistic theme that puzzlers are familiar with. White Mountain Puzzles Amazon Store 

Buffalo Games puzzles, situated in New York since 1986 boasts 30+ years experience in the puzzle/gaming industry. Their products are good and are one of the few companies to take on the series by Ron Silvers, known as phototmosaics. Buffalo Puzzles Amazon Store  

Ravensburger puzzles started in Germany back in 1883. Since then the company has offices set up state-side too.  The cutting pattern is grid-ribbon like and the quality is good. They cut their own puzzles with what they refer to as their ‘unique soft-click- technology. Ravensburger Puzzles Amazon Store