So, back in April when my parents were talking about giving me a blog, I had been doing a lot of research on the differences between My Twinn and American Girl. So, my mom assigned me (as part of my homeschooling) to write about which one was better and which one wasn’t as great. I decided to post on my blog, so I hope you enjoy reading about the differences!
American Girl dolls are made in China. My Twinn are made in the USA. American Girl dolls are $115-$120 for a ready made doll, complete with one outfit and a pair of shoes. My Twinn dolls are $100 for a completely customizable doll with one outfit, shoes and socks, and a tank and brief set. Which one sounds like a better deal? American Girl? No? Didn’t think so.
So, according to that information, My Twinn is better. But if you’re like me, then you’ll say: “But American Girl has more clothing options. And they have historical clothing! Plus, you can’t tell exactly what your My Twinn doll will look like.”
So, now you’re really confused. They are both good and bad. American Girl only has 18″ dolls and My Twinn has both 23″ and 18″. A lot of people are not happy with American Girl though, because they have mainly Caucasian dolls.
In some areas, My Twinn is clearly better, and in some, AG is.
Cost
AG definitely has the higher price. My Twinn’s has much better prices.
Made in….
The AG dolls are all made in China, out of vinyl that may or may not be phthalate free. My Twinn dolls are made, designed, and assembled in the U.S.A. They are also made from lead-free, phthalate free vinyl.
Customizable-ness
The My Twinn dolls are completely customizable. AG has a lot of dolls to choose from, but the only customizable feature is choosing whether or not they have earrings or a hearing aid or not.
How Many Times the Dolls Go On Sale
American Girl really only has decent sales for Cyber Monday and the occasional Jill’s Steals and Deals sale. My Twinn has one happening almost all the time, which makes getting a doll much cheaper and easier. I feel that they have better return and pricing policies, as well.
Pictures on the Website
When you order an American Girl Doll, the doll in person will look exactly how it looks online. For My Twinn custom dolls, you have no idea exactly how they are going to look or how the hair, eye, and skin combos will look.
Quality
Both are very nice dolls with an equal quality.
Clothing, Accessories, and Furniture
American Girl has many more options, often trendier and brighter. My Twinn has some cute options, too, but they might not appeal to as many 8-12 year olds. They sure do appeal to me, though!
Comes With . . .
American Girl Dolls come with an outfit, small hair accessory, shoes, and socks. My Twinn dolls come with one outfit, hair ribbons, tank and brief set, shoes, and socks.
Hair
American Girl Dolls have wigged hair. My Twinn dolls are wigged. If you wanted to customize a doll with something that neither of the doll brands offer (i.e. purple hair) then both dolls could work.
Here is a great review of a My Twinn doll.
Here is one of an American Girl doll by the same person.
All in all, I think that both are good. It really depends on what you want in each individual doll and what you care about in toy manufacturing.
I personally feel better supporting My Twinn, and I hope that people agree with me.
Kathleen
Just so you know, My Twinn Dolls do not have half wigged hair. They have a piece sewn in to their wigs so that you can part the hair in multiple places, like American Girl Dolls Kailey and McKenna.
Thanks! I corrected it. 🙂
Kathleen
You’re homeschooled too?? Awesome, I didn’t know that! 😀
Have you always been homeschooled? I used to go to a public school, but I’ve been homeschooled for the past 4 years already. It’s so much fun. 🙂
*Sunny
Yep!
I’ve done homeschool and public school, but have been homeschooling for the last two years.
I have been homeschooled all my life! I have never even stepped into a school!
I bought 3 custom full price My Twinns. They arrived beautifully and very happy. I bought 2 dolls ( one for each of my children and the 3rd for one of their friends as a gift). They are stored away form sun, etc. My children take excellent care of these dolls. But after barely one year old, their eyes are turning PINK and My Twinn customer service says it’s no longer guaranteed. The dolls are old. A one yr old doll is not OLD!! These eyes turned pink because of poor quality used. And terrible customer service.
I’m sorry that you had such a bad experience!
I have a My Twinn doll that is 23″ and the only thing I hate about that is I can’t AG products for me. And by me, I mean the doll.
My daughter is now 19 yr old. She has a My Twinn doll and two American Girl dolls from when she was little. Both have held up extremely well over the last 12 years. No complaints on either and her My Twinns dolls eyes never turned pink. We are holding on to all of them for her daughter some day. 🙂
My Twinn dolls are pretty cool! So sweet that you’re saving the dolls for her own daughters. 🙂
Kathleen
my daughter has a my twinn. she will be 30 in December and so the doll it probably 25 years old. It had brown eyes originally and now they are purple. They should pay to fix them.
I got a My Twinn doll about five years ago and I had only played with it for a couple months when it got harder to pose it because the wire got stiffer and really creaky. Although American Girl is more expensive I like them more. I don’t like what they did recently with the historical dolls because they no longer have historically correct clothing.
I have a Samantha AG from 1995, she has held up beautifully, no issues with her eyes and I played with her constantly. I also got a MyTwinn around 1999 and she has also held up well. She has brown eyes that have stayed brown and she has the bendable body which is nice. My only complaint is that the hair gets ruined on both dolls with brushes that aren’t wire (and most kids don’t pay attention to that at younger ages). It’s awesome that you’re homeschooled btw! I’m 25 now and plan to homeschool my daughter!
I’m glad to hear that they both held up well! Yes, the hair can be unfortunate. Oh, cool!
I purchased 2 Twin dolls for my granddaughters one year ago. They look amazingly similar to my girls. This was the reason I wanted the Twin vs. American Girl. American Girl dolls only look like whatever the manufacturer decided, not custom made to look like your child. They love how the dolls look like them! I was well pleased with the quality. I have not had any issues whatsoever with the quality or the eyes. The eyes look exactly the same as when fresh out of the box.
I would like to buy more clothes for the dolls and can not find the My Twin website any longer. Did they close their business?
Yes, unfortunately My Twinn closed. Do you have 18″ or 23″ dolls? There are shops on Etsy that sell clothes for both 18″ and 23″ My Twinn dolls. And the 18″ dolls should be able to wear any American Girl, Our Generation, Springfield, etc. clothes.
I bought a my twinn doll that was totally posable about 28 years ago and the doll weather well the eyes are brown like my daughter and they are still brown ( dolls eyes) I’m very happy with the doll. My name is also Kathleen
Hi Kathleen! 🙂
I’m glad the doll lasted so well.
There is NO comparison, NONE!. I am so biased. Almost all dolls are special to the individual beholder, however, the My Twinn cannot be compared. I remember the response of my grand daughters when they received their look-alikes. They were astounded. AGs are fun but are not as nearly identical as the MT. I do concede in that the newer dolls and more recent owners may have altered some of the composition, and certainly don’t have the options that I had when picking out my grand daughters’ keepsakes. What a memory I have of these MTs and their owners. Priceless!!!
Oh, MT was about 2-1/2 times the price of AG years ago when I purchased the MTs. Ahh, and so well worth it.
I’m glad to hear that you love My Twinn dolls so much!
We love our my twinn doll it looks like my daughterand favor me we took it to Disney World and eveyone stop us
How cool!
I was given a Twinn doll (with a matching outfit set for myself and the doll) when I was 4-5, it is now currently about 25 years old. It is in impeccable (seriously, almost new) condition despite having been played with during my childhood and withstanding many moves and time in storage. My daughter is now the same age I was when I was gifted the doll and loves playing with it – we purchased infant clothing which gives it an updated clothing look and fits the doll perfectly. No discoloration in the doll whatsoever – it is truly a product of great quality.
Sidenote: fantastic project and comparison Kathleen! What a fantastic idea – hopefully you c
Wow! It’s great to hear that they hold up well. I do wish My Twinn had been able to stay open!
Thank you!
Kathleen
I am looking for a Mt Twinn doll do anyone no if they are going to open their business. Or a business that makes dolls to look like you? Hoping for the best.
As far as I am aware, My Twinn has no plans to re-open their business.
Here are a few other ideas: https://www.thespruce.com/top-look-alike-dolls-775033.
Many people will also customize American Girl or similar dolls to look more like a certain person or character. You can search “american girl custom doll” and look at the images that come up. There are several Etsy shops who will customize a doll based off of a photo.
Best of luck!
Kathleen
Hi Kathleen,
Thanks for doing your homework so well. You almost did mine too…
Except I cannot find a way to the My Twin Doll website, or any other sign of them as far as placing an order. Could you please tell me how you ordered your dolls?
Thank you.
Unfortunately, My Twinn closed recently. :/ You can still find their dolls on ebay, however. Best of luck finding one!
-Kathleen
Try Facebook. Collectors buy sell and Rehab Twinns there. My Twinn Collectors.
My twins have My Twinn dolls, and they have held up well over the years. My youngest daughter, 15 now, got her doll 12 years ago, and it too, has held up well! The newer, made in China dolis, are not as well made. Fortunately all 3 of our dolls were still made in Colorado. Great comparison.
My husband found a My Twinn doll with Violet eyes in a building behind our house we just bought. On the front of the tag it says My Twinn 1996 Reg. No. PA 6748. On the back of tag it says Doll body made in China. So the whole doll is not made in America. That’s misleading people!
I found your blog when I was looking up My Twinn Dolls. I just purchased a My Twinn doll at the goodwill for $3.03 I had never heard of them but bought it because my grand daughter (4 yo) wanted it. The hair was a little matted but I used baby powder and it combed out so nice. I took a Mr. clean eraser and wiped it down to clean it . The doll looks brand new. And it is blond with blue eyes just like my granddaughter. I feel like I got a steal.
I ordered my daughter her twin when she was 10. That was 18 years ago. I’ve had her boxed back up since she was 18. I just pulled her out to give to her daughter and was very happy that she still is perfect.
Definitely well worth what I spent on it. And will be ordering one for my Granddaughter.
I think My Twinn was better than American Girl. I loved the quality of My Twinn and the person who made the comment about “you never know what you get” was dead wrong.
We were blown away with how realistic our My Twinn dolls were right down the freckles and birthmarks.
I just found in the original box a My Twinn for my grandaughter and they have both American girl dolls and My generation dolls and I really like them all but the M T doll its made that to me is great to know and sad they stop producing. Im just glad the girls have another adorable doll to add to the fun. I would like to find clothing made for the M T doll.
Estoy interesada en una muñeca My Twinn Dolls , a donde debo dirigirme para hacer el pedido ?
Estos son descontinuados. Quizás tratar eBay? Lo siento, yo solo hablo un poquito de español.
Were My Twinn dolls ever made of porcelain?
Not as far as I’m aware