IKEA Complexity Index
Data
product analytics
SHOW HN2026
IKEA Complexity Index
the comments on ikea's site seem to agree with you - lots of extremely negative ones about the assembly I…
ikea.greg.technology#ikea assembly#furniture assembly time#flat pack complexity#effective price
How HN took it
6 positive, 17 neutral or asking, 0 mixed, 14 critical, out of 37 comments about the project. Thread score -0.17.
Execution: 1 for, 8 againstIdea: 3 for, 1 againstDesign: 1 for, 2 againstPricing: 0 for, 2 againstDocs: 1 for, 1 against
The thread, comment by comment
Each row is a top-level comment and its replies, in HN's order. Select a cell to open that comment on HN.
positive neutral or mixed critical about another commenter or something else the maker
What HN said
What people liked
Useful idea and fun data
From 3 comments
Fun data sheet! I was curious about most steps per part and it seems to be TROTTEN[1] at 1.07 steps per part (excluding some other products like a toilet brush with 1 part but…
blixt on HNGood idea. Wish I had this before I made a few purchases!
dgerken on HNCould become a new benchmark for AIs.
amelius on HN
Objections
Assembly time estimates look wrong or AI-generated
From 4 comments
Where did you pull this data from?
joshdavham on HNI think its AI sentiment generated data, no way someone needs 6.5h for a bed frame. I needed at best 2h...
mawadev on HNI don't believe this. The sundvik series feels way more complex than brimnes but wardrobes have the same complexity score.
ItsYan on HNTime estimate is way off for the Smastad loft bed, that thing was such a pain.
juujian on HN
Formula only counts steps and parts, ignores optional steps
From 2 comments
My parser is unfortunately not fancy enough to detect optional steps - but it's a great point!
gregsadetsky on HNIt’s rather a very simple math formula based on the number of steps and parts. I adjusted the formula by researching online what people reported as the time it took them to build…
gregsadetsky on HN
Many listed products are missing
From 1 comment
Tried 4 different items and none are listed.
hdgvhicv on HN
Requests
Add an ease-of-assembly column
From 1 comment
(OP) thanks for this insight, truly - I took another look and ikea.com reviews actually include a whole dedicated "ease of assembly" value! some very easy-looking products do…
gregsadetsky on HN
Add disassembly complexity
From 1 comment
I believe this table needs a column for the disassembly process as well. I bought and assembled a TUFFING Bunk Bed years ago, and even though the complexity of assembly is…
selcuka on HN
Add other flat-pack vendors for comparison
From 1 comment
(in my experience) if this table included other flat-pack vendors the difference would be stark. Wayfair and the like are far more complex to assemble.
gcanyon on HN
Questions
Where does the assembly time data come from
From 2 comments
Where did you pull this data from?
joshdavham on HNWhat's the assembly time based on? IKEA in general is piss easy to assemble except for leveling stuff where you'd need a laser and often times another person. Some of provided…
xxs on HN
Alternatives named
Professional assembly service offered by IKEA
From 2 comments
Wherever I have lived and shopped at IKEA, there is an option to pay ~20% extra to have your item assembled by professionals at your home. It is a steal! Unless you are genuinely…
throwaway2037 on HNI’ve paid for putting twin PAXes with doors together. Two pros came in at 9 am and I was wrapping up vacuuming by 10:30. Best money spent ever
baq on HN
Wayfair and other flat-pack vendors
From 1 comment
(in my experience) if this table included other flat-pack vendors the difference would be stark. Wayfair and the like are far more complex to assemble.
gcanyon on HN