Tired Of The IKEA BILLY Hype? Consider A Highly Rated Alternative Instead

While there is a lot to love about the IKEA BILLY line, it's a pretty basic piece of furniture. Made from affordable materials and available in a number of colors, it's not much more than a simple bookcase that has grown in popularity due to its high ratings. It's also proven to be a very versatile item, with countless ideas on the internet for how to maximize storage and organization with this piece. However, the standard six-shelf BILLY will cost you at least $69 to bring this piece of furniture into your home, leading some to question if there are better, or at least comparable, alternatives to consider.

Walmart's furniture and household items brand Mainstays offers basic pieces for the home at affordable prices, ranging from furniture to sheets to dishes and cookware. In its inventory, you'll find many products that mimic those found in other brands, including IKEA. It takes little effort to see that the Mainstays 5-Shelf Bookcase with Adjustable Shelves is stylistically very similar to IKEA's BILLY bookcase, featuring the same clean lines as the iconic bookcase but with slightly smaller dimensions (the BILLY is roughly 6 ½ inches wider and 8 inches taller) and one less shelf.

Although you'll get more with the BILLY, the price of the Mainstays bookcase makes it a compelling alternative. Costing the customer only $34.96, the Mainstays option is a significantly more budget-friendly piece of furniture that can maximize storage space. While the IKEA BILLY offers more color options, if you're content with either a white or black bookcase, you should have no problems settling for the Mainstays product.

Overall, the Mainstays adjustable bookcase has a fairly similar 5-star customer approval rating (68%) as the IKEA model (78%). Customers praise the Mainstays product for being sturdy and easy to put together, as well as looking great once assembled. One 5-star review says (via Walmart), "I really enjoy this bookshelf, I had bought one in person and needed to order the second one so I knew it was a good price and nice quality for the price. It was an easy assembly and I did it all by myself. It looks nice and great! I have them for my book collection and they hold many books!"

The BILLY is undeniably the more sturdy choice, as it can support a maximum load of up to 66 pounds. The fixed shelves on the Mainstays bookcase each holds up to 50 pounds and the adjustable ones can support 35 pounds. However, both are ideal for loading up with books, decorations, artwork, or keepsakes. Just keep your heavier books on the Mainstays fixed shelves to prevent the adjustable ones from sagging.

Should you decide to purchase a Mainstays bookcase, there are endless options for personalization on its blank canvas. Use adhesive wallpaper to give the backing a fresh aesthetic without spending much money. Or, purchase a black version and use a stencil template with white paint to give it a two-tone visual that could be a bold addition to any living space. You can also try your hand at personalizing the Mainstays product even more by utilizing DIY hacks for the BILLY bookcase on this more affordable model.