What's the difference between a reborn doll and a regular baby doll?

Reborn-style dolls aim for lifelike realism with vinyl heads, hand-painted features, and weighted cloth or silicone bodies, while regular baby dolls prioritize durable play. Specialist subreddit threads in r/reborndolls repeatedly note that true artist reborns are hand-made and expensive; Amazon-priced "reborn" dolls like Babeside, Aori, and similar brands are mass-produced reborn-style sculpts rather than one-of-a-kind artist pieces.