Labubu Keychain Figure: The Tiny Collectible That’s Quietly Becoming a Big Deal

I have three keychains on my bag right now. Two of them are Labubu. The third is just a regular carabiner from a hiking trip I took two years ago, and honestly, it feels very out of place at this point. This is what happens when you discover Labubu keychains. You think, ‘Okay, it’s small; it’s cheap compared to the big plush dolls.’ ‘I’ll just get one. One. That’s all. That was four months ago.

Wait, There Are Keychains Too?

Yeah. And they’re kind of genius, actually. So most people know Labubu from the bigger plush dolls – the ones Lisa from BLACKPINK had hanging off her Céline bag, the ones that go viral on TikTok every time a new series drops. Those are the ones that cost anywhere from twenty to eighty dollars retail and sometimes hundreds on the resale market.

The keychain figures are different. They’re smaller, usually around 4 to 6 inches, and they come with a clip or ring attachment so you can hang them off basically anything. Bag, keys, zipper, backpack, lanyard. Whatever. The idea is that Labubu comes with you everywhere instead of just sitting on a shelf looking cute.

And that’s honestly what makes the keychain version so appealing. It’s wearable. It’s functional in a way the bigger dolls aren’t. You buy a Labubu keychain figure, and suddenly you’re carrying this little grinning monster with you all day, and it genuinely makes people stop and ask where you got it. That’s happened to me. Multiple times. In a grocery store once. I felt weirdly proud.

The Design Still That Same Unhinged Energy

Here’s what I love about the keychain figures. They didn’t water down the design to make it more “commercial” or whatever. Labubu still looks exactly like Labubu.

Same long floppy ears. Same wide expressive eyes that somehow look both innocent and completely chaotic at the same time. Same grin, that full toothy grin with the tiny sharp teeth that absolutely should not be cute but inexplicably is.

The keychain versions come in all the same series themes as the bigger plush. So if you’re into the nature-inspired Wild series, there’s a keychain version. If you want the holiday editions Chinese New Year, Halloween, and Christmas, those exist as keychains too. The detail work on some of these is genuinely impressive for how small they are.

One thing worth knowing: the keychain figures come in both plush and vinyl formats. The plush ones are soft, fabric-based, and squeezable. The vinyl ones are hard plastic with painted details, more like miniature art figures with a clip attached. Both are great. They just give a different vibe. The plush ones feel cuter and more casual. The vinyl ones feel more like proper collectibles.

Why People Are Obsessed With Clip-On Labubu Specifically

Okay, so there’s a whole culture around bag charms right now. If you follow fashion at all, you already know this. Bag charms, keychains, little accessories hanging off designer bags – it’s become a way of personalising expensive bags that are otherwise pretty standard.

Labubu fits perfectly into that world. A Labubu keychain figure on a plain black bag immediately makes it personal. It says something about the person carrying it. And because there are so many different Labubu designs across so many series, two people can both have Labubu keychains and still have completely different ones. It doesn’t feel like everyone’s wearing the same thing even when everyone’s wearing the same thing.

That’s a genuinely hard thing to pull off, and Pop Mart kind of stumbled into it by accident. The clip-on format was practical. The variety of designs made it personal. The celebrity moment with Lisa made it cool. Everything lined up perfectly.

Now you see Labubu keychain figures clipped to tote bags at coffee shops, hanging off school backpacks, dangling from car mirror attachments, and clipped to luggage at airports. It’s everywhere once you start noticing it.

The Blind Box Element: Yes, It’s Here Too

Of course, the blind box thing applies to keychains as well. Why would Pop Mart make it easy? That’s not the brand. When you buy a Labubu keychain from a series, most of the time you don’t know which design you’re getting until you open it. Same concept as the bigger plush dolls. Same series structure with common designs, slightly rarer designs, and at least one secret edition that appears randomly at a much lower rate than everything else.

For some people this is annoying. They have a specific design in mind; they don’t want to gamble; they just want the thing they want. I get it. For other people, and I am admittedly one of these people, the blind box part is genuinely fun. There’s something about not knowing that makes opening it feel like an event. Even a small keychain figure. You hold the box, you feel around for any clues about what’s inside, and you open it slowly, and for a second, you have no idea what you’re about to see. Is it silly? Yes. Does it work every single time? Also yes.

If you want a specific design without gambling, the resale market has individual listings where the design is clearly shown. You’ll pay more than retail, but you get exactly what you want. Totally valid approach.

Prices More Accessible Than You Think

This is where keychain figures have a real advantage over the bigger Labubu dolls. The retail price for a standard Labubu keychain figure usually sits between 10 and 30 dollars. Some of the more elaborate ones with detailed accessories or larger sizes go a bit higher, but for the most part these are genuinely accessible. You’re not committing to a fifty or eighty dollar purchase the way you are with the full-size plush.

That lower entry point is a huge part of why keychain figures have become so popular for people who are new to Labubu collecting. It’s a way to join the thing without a big financial risk. You buy one, you see if you like it, you decide where to go from there.

On the resale market, common designs usually go for somewhere between 20 and 60 dollars. Rare variants and secret editions from popular series can push higher, sometimes 100 to 300 dollars for particularly sought-after pieces. And collaboration keychain figures with major brand partners can go well beyond that, same as the bigger dolls.

The thing about Labubu is that even the “small” versions exist in a real collector economy. These aren’t just cheap trinkets that nobody cares about. People track them. They value them. They trade them. If you pull a secret edition from a keychain blind box, that’s not a nothing-moment. That’s actually worth something.

Best Ways to Style a Labubu Keychain Figure

Okay, so this is the genuinely fun part, and I want to give you some real ideas beyond just “clip it to your bag”.

• On your bag strap’s classic look, the clip goes on a D-ring or strap attachment point, and Labubu hangs and swings a little as you walk. Very visible. Gets a lot of attention.
• On a backpack zipper, more casual energy works really well with streetwear or student aesthetics. Having two or three different Labubu keychains on different zippers of the same bag is a look that people genuinely pull off well.
• On your car keys, this one has a certain confidence to it. You pull out your keys and there’s just this tiny grinning monster attached to them. I respect it.
• On luggage and airport aesthetics. Also practical because a distinctive keychain helps you spot your bag on a baggage carousel, which is actually useful.
• Clipped to a lanyard: If you wear a work or school lanyard, a Labubu figure hanging off it makes the whole thing considerably more interesting. More people have done this than you’d think.

The one thing I’d say is think about scale. A tiny Labubu figure on a very large tote might look a bit lost. And a larger keychain version on a small clutch can look overwhelming. Matching the size of the figure to the size of what it’s attached to makes the whole thing look more intentional.

Where to Buy Labubu Keychain Figures

Same channels as the bigger dolls, mostly.

Pop Mart’s official app and website are always the first stop. New series get announced there first, and buying direct means retail pricing. The app also has a scan-verify feature for authentication, which is useful.

Pop Mart physical stores are worth visiting if you have one near you. The keychain figures are usually displayed in their boxes, and the Robo Shop kiosks carry them too. Good for browsing what’s available right now.

Resale platforms like StockX, eBay, Carousell, and Mercari – depending on your region – are where you go for specific designs, older series, or rare editions. Check seller history carefully. For any purchase over 50 dollars, look for sellers who offer authentication or have significant verified feedback.

The fake problem applies here too. Counterfeit Labubu keychains exist, and they’re more common at the lower price point because buyers let their guard down. Real ones have clean, detailed fabric or clean painted vinyl, proper Pop Mart tags, and solid clip hardware. Fakes tend to have rougher details, flimsy clips, and packaging that’s slightly off. When in doubt, buy from verified sources.

Quick Things Worth Knowing Before You Buy

The clip hardware on genuine Labubu keychain figures is actually decent quality; it’s meant to hold up to daily bag use. That said, if you’re hanging one off something that gets a lot of physical stress (gym bag, active daypack), check the attachment point occasionally just to make sure it’s secure.

Some limited edition keychains come with additional accessories: tiny props, extra clothing pieces, and little items that go with the character’s series theme. These small accessories can get lost easily, so if you’re keeping them, store them somewhere safe or just keep the packaging.

For collectors who are buying sealed for investment purposes: keychain figures in original unopened packaging hold value better than opened ones. The condition of the box matters more than most people expect in the resale market.

Honestly, the Best Entry Point Into Labubu

If someone asked me right now how to start collecting Labubu without spending a tonne of money upfront, I’d say, ‘Start with a keychain figure. ‘Every time.

The price is manageable. The design is the same Labubu you’re seeing everywhere. You get to experience the blind box opening, which gives you a real sense of whether the hobby is for you. And you end up with something genuinely wearable and visible that connects you to this whole collector world.

From there you can decide if you want to go deeper. Maybe you stay with keychains because they fit your budget and your lifestyle. Maybe one keychain leads to your first full plush doll, which leads to hunting limited editions, which leads to joining collector Discord servers at midnight trying to figure out drop times.

Both outcomes are valid. I say that as someone who is currently looking at my collection, thinking about where I went wrong, with zero regrets. Get a Labubu keychain figure. You’ll understand the moment you open the box.