27 Toys Under $30 That'll Actually Entertain Your Child

We hope you love our recommendations! Some may have been sent as samples, but all were independently selected by our editors. Just FYI, BuzzFeed collects a share of sales and/or other compensation from the links on this page.

Affordable toys that'll actually keep your kiddos attention sound like a pretty great deal to me.

BuzzFeed Staff

Reviewer's say this is a great toy for all ages — from 3 to 12.

Promising review: "I was pleasantly surprised with how popular this was! I just bought it as a side gift for a child just because it was cheap and it was a puzzle-type toy. However, this kept both kids and adults immensely entertained for hours. It was challenging for everyone but a fun challenge. I’m purchasing another so we can race each other to finish at the next gathering." —Mrs. Dinkleberg

Get it from Amazon for $9.99.

Promising review: "My daughter opened this on Christmas day and worked on it for hours. She could do most things by herself, or with a quick demonstration. She especially loves that she can change the fox's clothes and potentially make more herself, patterned from the ones included. Perfect gift for any fox-loving kid!" —VBB

Get it from Amazon for $19.99 (also available in a koala, bunny, and mouse version).

For ages 6 and up.

Promising review: "I purchased this as one of my stepson's birthday presents this past fall. He just turned 8, and I was trying to get some more outside toys to play with. I thought that he'd enjoy it, but I had no clue how popular this freakin' toy would be. All of our kids, ages 2–8, LOVE this thing and so do all of the neighbor kids. It is played with every single time the kids are outside, sometimes for hours. I have never seen my kids play with ANYTHING for hours, but they sure do with this. Taking it out guarantees that every kid under the age of 12 will appear in our yard." —TheLeeFamily

Get it from Amazon for $14.97.

This BPA-free toy is recommended for babies and toddlers ages 10 months+.

Promising reviews: "I bought this toy for a long-haul plane ride (12 hours) with a 15-month-old child. It was the perfect toy as there were no parts to lose, and she loved it! It was just challenging enough to keep her occupied for small chunks of time. When we arrived at our destination, she continued to play with it. It's great for restaurants and at home. Once she pushed all the 'dimples' through to one side, she would turn it over and start again. It's also small enough to pop into a pocket or bag for transport. Excellent toy!" —EK

Get it from Amazon for $12.89+ (available in two versions).

The game comes with 60 challenges that range from beginner to expert so it will hold their interest as they work their way up to the trickier ones.

Promising review: "What a great combination of construction, puzzles, and games! My 5-year-old and 8-year-old niece were able to challenge themselves to some of the levels (the 8-year-old was was more capable of solving them on her own). The adults also found themselves fixated on playing the different levels as well! It was challenging and fun! We love marble runs and games so this was a perfect fit. This is one of the few games that everyone asks to play and it's perfect when we have guests of kiddos over and keeps everyone busy and engaged for hours!" —Crystal Brown

Get it from Amazon for $29.99.

Promising review: "Scissors skills are important both in and of themselves and because it strengthens the hand muscles to be used for learning to write. My 4-year-old LOVES this book. We received it this week and she has used it for a couple of hours each day. Many of the pages are cutting things out and putting them together (four-scoop ice cream cone, pizza with pepperonis, the components to build a house or a car, puzzles). We've used tape or glue to put the components together. This book is interesting enough to have caught the attention of my older children as well, although I make them let her do the cutting. :D Would make a great gift as it is so unique." —Mom of 7

Get it from Amazon for $7.99.

Pass out all the cards to the players and keep all the stacks face down. Everyone takes a turn putting a card down in the middle, while saying "taco," "cat," "goat," "cheese," and "pizza," in that order. If the picture on your card matches the word that's said, everyone races against each other to slap their hand on the central pile of cards. Whoever is last must take the pile of cards and add them to their stack, and the person who runs out of cards first wins!

Promising review: "The title says it all! You must buy this game if you’re looking to get your kids off their butts, computers, phones, or TV! My children sat for hours, five to be exact, just playing this and laughing. It was a lot of fun for my husband and I to hear them not fighting and doing something together. Loads of fun!! We even loved playing with them!! 🥰🤘" —Melinda Haiden

Get it from Amazon for $9.84.

The kit includes 190 pieces, a solar panel, and detailed instructions.

Promising review: "I purchased this as a gift for an 8-year-old boy. He loves to build, loves robotics, dinosaurs, and Godzilla. :) He LOVES this set! He sits for hours on end, which is an amazing accomplishment for any 8-year-old, playing with and building all the different robot toys. A friend's 8-year-old daughter loves them, the 48-year-old parent loves them, and the 75-year-old grandpa loves them. Fun for the whole family!" —MBC

Get it from Amazon for $24.99.

This set comes with a carrying case, five Disney Princess rubber charms, 150 beads, and four silicone necklaces.

Promising review: "My 3-year-old twins loved it, entertained for hours which is rare. Perfect for teaching coordination, color patterns, encourages creativity. The necklaces are a soft, stretchy material with a safe breakaway clasp but that also stays on well. I wore a necklace for hours around the house and didn't fall off. The beads are cute and a good variety of colors. Overall great project, loads of fun for toddlers." —Lyss

Get it from Amazon for $10.

Promising review: "This tablet has entertained my 4-year-old grandson for hours at a time. He loves that he can erase at will and that the drawings are multicolored. I highly recommend this item for 18 months old and up. I bought a pink one for our 18-month-old granddaughter, and she too is just enthralled with it and the 'power' she has to erase, create, erase, create! They loved them so much, that we bought another set of two different colors so that they would have them at home as well as at 'Grammy's.'" —Kindle Customer Red Heart

Get it from Amazon for $14.99+ (available in four colors).

Promising review: "I can not give these enough stars! These are the best thing ever, they keep my 5-year-old entertained for hours!" —turbo1795

Get it from Amazon for $8.99+ (available in four versions).

Promising review: "I bought this flower garden as a gift for my 3-year-old daughter. She absolutely loves it! She has always enjoyed blocks and this is something different that has kept her engaged for hours! We highly recommend this product to others!!" —Ashley Petersen

Get it from Amazon for $11.98+ (available in two sizes).

The set comes with a storage tin, rolling pin, wee knife, pizza/dough cutter, mixing spoon, three wee spoons, mixing bowl, pizza/pie pan, pie server, sheet pan, silicone cake and cupcake molds, two silicone finger mitts, and 48-page recipe book.

Promising review: "This keeps my daughter busy for HOURS! My daughter saw this online somewhere, and she asked for it as a birthday gift. I expected it to be cute, but not useful. As it turns out, I was completely wrong. She has regularly made mini chocolate chip cookies, and she'll be doing mini calzones tomorrow. It's adorable and the recipes totally work. She and her friends LOVE it." —Elura C. Kish

Get it from Amazon for $23.99.

Promising reviews: "I purchased this for my 8-year-old son and his eyes lit up since he loves dinosaurs. It can be constructed into three different builds and keep him busy for hours. He loves it and its low price point makes it a great option for an affordable Lego gift." —Anthony T.

"Fantastic Lego set! Simple enough for kids to do with very little help but difficult enough to keep them busy for hours assembling it and playing with it afterward! I also love the fact that they can take it apart and choose to build another model as it comes with three instruction booklets." —SR

Get it from Amazon for $11.99.

Players spin a color wheel to determine which color tile they jump on next. The goal is to stay off of the lava (floor) and only land on tiles to get to safety.

Promising review: "My kids like to play the floor is lava with the couch cushions and after yelling at them for the 1,000th time to pick the cushions back up off the floor, we got this game. This game entertains my kids and keeps my couch intact. Good buy!" —Squishygrapes

Get it from Target for $16.99.

Promising review: "My 15-year-old asked for these after seeing them on TikTok. I got them as a stocking stuffer thinking they’d be tossed aside. Unbelievably he and his 17-year-old brother have spent time lying in the floor, tossing them up to the ceiling, and waiting for them to fall so they can catch them. I never expected them to get this much use. Bonus is they’re off their phones and in the family room with us." —Amazon Customer

Get a set of six from Amazon for $10.69 (also available in 16 count).

Promising review: "I got this for my 2-year-old daughter's birthday and she LOVES it. She is a little nervous on the playground and she took to this right away. It folds down easily and sets up easily — the design is brilliant. It was actually so easy that I watched the 30 second set up video just to be sure I got it right lol. My 8-year-old son got on it too and it held up. We live in an apartment so this is something that she can climb on safely without taking up a ton of space. Love this product!!" —jenna

Get it from Amazon for $21.99+ (available in three styles).

Promising reviews: "My 5-year-old niece loves it! What can be said really? It's a game where you use a toy plunger to make a smiling rubber poop fly through the air to be caught for points. My niece, like many little kids, is going through a phase where anything related to poop is absolutely hilarious, so I thought this game would be just the thing for her. She loves it! The game is very easy to pick up for 4- and 5-year-olds, the components are well-made, and the poop is...oddly realistic, except for its smiling face of course. This is without a doubt the cleanest option for playing with poop on the market. Your kids'll love it." —Brendan Williams

"This game is hilarious, my 2 1/2-year-old couldn't get enough of it. As a 44-year-old adult male, I had a great time playing it. I bought this into my work, some colleagues and myself had a good time playing this, I think it could make for a fun drinking game as well." —Buyer

Get it from Amazon for $21.99.

Promising review: "My 8-year-old daughter loved this birthday gift. The only problem is that my 6-year-old and 12-year-old daughters love it too, so now I have to purchase two more." —Carl Fowler

Get it from Amazon for $19.99+ (available in 11 colors).

The stickers are reusable and come with a sheet to store them on so your little one can switch up their doll's expressions as often as they like. And each box comes with a code to bring you doll to life in the Avastars fashion game app.

Promising review: "My two daughters love this Avastars doll! It comes with a blank doll base that you can dress up however you like. There are reusable face stickers and designs to dress up the clothes. It's a bigger size doll than expected and has two outfits, two sticker sheets, hair, and a sheet to place your stickers when not in use. We haven't tried it with the app yet but it's fun just as a doll too!" —KH

Get it from Amazon for $14.99+ (available in two styles) or get another version with darker skin tones for $9.99+ (available in two styles).

Promising review: "I did not see a volume control but It was a huge hit! Everyone at the baby shower had to play with it and the kids loved it! Can't wait to see how the new baby likes it when he comes. Saw it on TikTok and it looked adorable. It is as described and packaged well." —Katje H.

Get it from Amazon for $9.99+ (available in 11 variations).

Recommend for ages 18 months and up.

Promising review: "Bought this for my grandson as 'baby coco' is one of his fave shows and I’m so happy I did. Listening to him sing along to the song and watching him fall asleep holding it is the sweetest most adorable thing ever." —Crystal Smith

Get it from Amazon for $14.71+ (available in two characters).

Promising review: "My granddaughter started crawling just to chase it. She loves it! Initially, it would just go around while she was laying on her belly, but then she was able to get on her knees. And as soon as that thing starts to move she is working on crawling after it. It's the only thing that she's been crawling to get." —Mary M Espejo

Get it from Amazon for $26.49.

Recommend for ages 6 months and up.

Promising review: "We purchased this gem for my then-12-month-old for Christmas and it's absolutely one of her favorite toys! I like to hide some of her Sesame Street figurines in it too to encourage her to 'help them escape.' I love that it gets her brain thinking in how to get each toy out and then how to place them back in. It's fun watching her challenge herself, and when she gets them out she's so proud! Very engaging." —Online shopper

Get it from Amazon for $27.95.

Players take turns drawing cards to see which toy to save before time runs out. If they don't get the toy in time, the monster will gobble it up.

Promising reviews: "Very fun! Easy! Kids love it!" —Lynne Farr

"Such a cute game for toddlers. We have fun waiting for the monster to gobble attack! Highly recommend." —Michele1224

Get it from Amazon for $19.08.

This toy includes an air fryer with a pull-out tray, two chicken nuggets, and four fries.

Promising review: "I have been looking for this toy for a year and finally found it. It's great. I love it and the realistic look it gives. My 4-year-old loves 'making' chicken nuggets and fries for his sister." —Jamie Edwards

Get it from Amazon for $29.99.

Promising review: "Game is fun to play, rules are simple and it's an interactive way to get young children interested in board games/game night. This is now our go to game when trying to engage the toddler and respect taking turns." —Gigi's Giants

Get it from Amazon for $15.99+ (available in two versions).

Reviews for this post have been edited for length and clarity.