The 11 Best Dolls of 2025
Many school-age children are drawn in by the manipulability of a doll’s identity and personality through hairstyles, fashion, and hobby-related accessories.
“They may not say it out loud, but older children have imaginary friends,” Golinkoff, the childhood education professor, told me. “They have conversations during quiet moments inside their heads and develop a more private inner life.”
It touched me to see how deeply some of our older testers connected with their dolls, treating them as forever-friends during a stage of life often marked by uncertainty and shifting social dynamics. “I always look out for her, because, you know, she’s been through a lot,” one 9-year-old said while holding her American Girl doll.
A Mini-Me: American Girl Truly Me
Top pick
These immensely popular 18-inch dolls are highly customizable, with a full range of skin tones, eye colors, hair styles, and other features. Their outfits and accessories reflect the interests of contemporary kids.
American Girl has been a household name in the doll world for nearly four decades, starting with its small line of historically themed dolls launched in 1986. Nowadays, American Girl offers a far broader and more inclusive range, including its customizable Truly Me line.
The core collection encompasses dozens of dolls with a range of skin tones, eye colors, and hair types (including a doll with no hair). The Create Your Own option lets you design a custom doll by choosing from six skin tones, nine hair colors, and 11 hairstyles, and in addition you can select freckles, braces, glasses, and other features. (This option carries a breathtaking $275 price tag, however.)
Maybe it’s the earnest look in their eyes, their subtle dimples, or their two front teeth poking through parted lips, but American Girl’s Truly Me dolls are hard to resist. Their hair feels silkier than that of most other dolls we tested, their fabric torsos are invitingly soft, and their eyelids open and close manually, without the clicking sound common on cheaper dolls. (They don’t always stay shut while lying down, though — one of our kid testers resorted to using tape.)
American Girl produces one of the widest arrays of doll accessories we’ve found, from an iridescent phone wallet to an asthma-care kit.
Accessories galore: Our Generation Doll
Top pick
None of the dolls we tested matched Our Generation’s variety of choices, range of accessories, and affordability.
Developmental psychologist Megan Maas told me that what a child does with a doll can be as important, if not more important, than how the doll looks.
When it comes to matching dolls with a child’s interests, Our Generation offers a dizzying array of accessories, from a Shetland pony to an operable hair-salon chair and styling set (which includes a blow dryer that makes a surprisingly realistic whirring sound).
Because the dolls are 18 inches tall, they’re also compatible with many American Girl outfits and accessories. Some reviewers find the two doll brands’ lines to be indistinguishable, though school-age kids likely won’t be fooled. The kids I spoke with valued their American Girl dolls as keepsakes; one girl, for example, arrived at a playdate with her mother’s hand-me-down dolls in their own bag and made sure to treat them with extra care. Our Generation dolls, on the other hand, aren’t status objects — they’re ready for active, frequent play.
Like American Girl dolls, Our Generation dolls have operable eyelids and fabric torsos with plastic, posable limbs. They can stand (but cannot sit) on their own. Despite their variety, all Our Generation dolls have similarly generic facial features; none closely resemble my Asian American kids, for example. Few dolls represent kids with disabilities or other physical differences.
The dolls are sold only at Target.
Curl friend: Healthy Roots Doll Zoe
Top pick
This doll’s curly, naturally textured hair can be washed, dried, and styled in a variety of ways.
Healthy Roots founder Yelitsa Jean-Charles has said that while growing up, she never had a doll that looked like her — in particular, a doll with curly, naturally textured Black hair. She created Healthy Roots Zoe to help children learn to love and care for their own hair.
Training starts on the box, which includes printed descriptions of different hair textures, from tight coils to wide waves, as well as a step-by-step guide for styling Zoe’s curls into a “fro-hawk” fit for a rockstar. Lessons continue online, with more than 30 free YouTube tutorials outlining basics such as shampooing, sectioning, and comb-outs, alongside more-elaborate lessons on mermaid braids and unicorn Bantu knots.
Zoe comes with removable blue overalls and bright yellow high-tops; in our testing, kids were smitten with the shoes, often wanting to try them on other dolls. The doll’s hair is made specifically to be washed and styled — a rare feature on dolls.
As an 18-inch doll, Zoe is compatible with many Our Generation and American Girl accessories, such as this fancy salon chair.
Zoe was the original doll (or “curl friend”) in the Healthy Roots line and is most consistently in stock; availability for Marisol and Gaiana can fluctuate.
Party pal: Ikuzi Dolls
Top pick
With beautiful outfits, accessories, and high-quality components, these dolls feel special and collectible.
The 18-inch Ikuzi Dolls are notably high-quality, with a soft vinyl texture and sturdy bodies and limbs. Add party-worthy outfits, and they feel almost like collectibles. Ozi Okaro, a former Toys“R”Us e-commerce manager, started Ikuzi Dolls to fill a gap in the market for children of color. (Ikuzi means “to teach” in Igbo, a language spoken mainly in Nigeria.)
The Ikuzi Doll we tested arrived with a head of shiny, bouncy waves, which I immediately felt compelled to stroke, comb, and style into a topknot. Each doll comes in a dress that pairs white tulle or cotton eyelet with a vibrant print inspired by African textiles (the outfits are available in matching kid-size versions, too), as well as beautiful metallic Mary Jane slippers. Additional doll outfits include sequined dresses and a rhinestone tiara.
Some reviewers note that their doll’s curly hair became frizzy after brushing.
Pocket-size playmate: Corolle Mini Corolline
Top pick
This delightful 8-inch doll can come along in nearly any bag — or even a roomy pocket.
I initially felt confused about the Corolle Mini Corolline, a doll that nearly fits in the palm of my hand. Then I tested it with a group of 8- to 11-year-old girls, who gushed over its compact 8-inch size.
“My American Girl doll is too big to bring everywhere,” one 9-year-old tester told me. “And when I pack it, I’m always worried about losing it or getting it dirty.” Mini Corolline can ride in most any purse, tote bag, or backpack, and could even slip into a large pocket.
Older children will appreciate the thoughtful details, including its removable printed dress, long silky hair that can be brushed and styled, operable limbs, and subtle rosy cheeks. The doll’s ballet flats are painted on, keeping accessories from going astray. The redheaded version I used for testing came outfitted in a charming gingham tunic and had the most adorable freckles. The Corolline dolls come in only two skin tones and have similar hairstyles and dresses.
