Are American girl dolls the same size as design a friend dolls?

Hey my name is Katie and im from the UK and I have got a argos exclusive designa friend doll and iv also got a american girl doll It just arrived in the post.I mesured them up against eachother and they are around the same hight but the american girl dolls have a bit of a chunckier body.I am looking to purchase another american doll julie but i belive that american girls look prettier but anyway hope this helps :)