PSA vs CGC vs SGC vs BGS: Which Grading Company Is Cheapest, and Which Pays Back?
The cheapest grading company depends on two things: what your card will be worth once it's graded, and what buyers pay for each company's slab. A low fee doesn't help much if the slab sells for a fraction of a PSA 10. This guide puts the current fees, value caps and turnaround times for PSA, CGC, SGC and Beckett (BGS) side by side, then shows what each slab resells for in Pokémon.
Not affiliated with any grading company. We read every fee, value cap and turnaround time below on the company's official site on Oct 20, 2026. Grading prices changed many times in 2026, so check the grader's site before you submit. Turnaround estimates aren't guarantees and don't include shipping.
The cheapest open tier at each company
| Company | Cheapest tier | Fee per card | Max card value | Estimated turnaround |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CGC | Bulk (25-card minimum) Economy | $17 $20 | $500 $1,000 | 150 working days 90 working days |
| BGS (Beckett) | Base (listed as sold out) Standard | $14.95 / $17.95 with subgrades $34.95 | Not listed | 75+ business days 45 business days |
| SGC | Standard | $50 | $1,500 declared value | 40+ business days |
| PSA | Standard (Value tiers paused) | $59.99 | $1,000 insured value | 90–100 business days |
Official fee pages, Oct 20, 2026. CGC's turnaround is in working days; the others are business days. CGC says Associate and Premium members save 10% on grading and Elite members save 20%. Beckett's page doesn't list a maximum card value per tier.
So on fees alone, CGC is the cheapest open option for most cards worth up to $1,000: $20 a card at Economy, or $17 if you can send 25 cards at once. Beckett's Base tier is cheaper on paper but was listed as sold out when we checked. SGC's $50 Standard is the cheapest tier at PSA, CGC or SGC for a card worth $1,000 to $1,500. PSA's cheapest open tier is $59.99, because its Value tiers are paused.
Price by card value: what you'd actually pay
PSA, CGC and SGC set prices by the card's value, so the tier you need depends on what the card is worth after grading, not its raw price. Here is the cheapest tier at each company for a card worth up to each amount. We left out CGC Bulk because it needs 25 cards.
| Card value after grading | PSA | CGC | SGC |
|---|---|---|---|
| Up to $500 | $59.99 Standard | $20 Economy | $50 Standard |
| Up to $1,000 | $59.99 Standard | $20 Economy | $50 Standard |
| Up to $1,500 | $79.99 Priority | $55 Standard | $50 Standard |
| Up to $2,500 | $199 Express | $55 Standard | $85 Standard |
| Up to $3,500 | $349 Super Express | $100 Express | $85 Standard |
| Up to $5,000 | $349 Super Express | $100 Express | $250 Expedited |
| Up to $10,000 | $599 Premier | $100 Express | $500 Expedited |
From the official fee tables on Oct 20, 2026. SGC's Standard service stops at $3,500, so higher values need its 2–3 day Expedited service. BGS isn't in this table because Beckett doesn't publish a value cap per tier.
The gap gets big above $1,500. A card worth $2,500 costs $199 at PSA (Express) but $55 at CGC (Standard) and $85 at SGC. A card worth $5,000 costs $349 at PSA, $100 at CGC and $250 at SGC.
Declare the graded value honestly. PSA's terms say to pick a service level with a maximum insured value above your estimate of the card's value after grading, and that PSA can charge the higher tier's fee if it decides the card is worth more. It can make up to $500 of these adjustments without asking first. CGC says it will move a card to the right higher tier and charge you the difference. Our Pokémon calculator picks PSA's tier from the graded value you enter and warns you when a lower tier could be upcharged.
All tiers, by company
PSA
| Tier | Fee | Max insured value | Turnaround |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | $59.99 | $1,000 | 90–100 business days |
| Priority | $79.99 | $1,500 | 70–80 business days |
| Express | $199 | $2,500 | 20–30 business days |
| Super Express | $349 | $5,000 | 10–15 business days |
| Premier | $599 | $10,000 | 7–10 business days |
PSA's Value Bulk and Value tiers ($500 max) were listed as temporarily paused. Premium tiers for cards worth more than $10,000 start at 5–7 business days.
CGC
| Tier | Fee | Max value per card | Turnaround |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bulk (25-card minimum) | $17 | $500 | 150 working days |
| Economy | $20 | $1,000 | 90 working days |
| Standard | $55 | $3,000 | 10 working days |
| Express | $100 | $10,000 | 5 working days |
| WalkThrough | $300 | $100,000 | 2 working days |
CGC also lists Unlimited Value at $300 + 1% of fair market value (2 working days).
SGC
| Service | Fee | Max declared value | Turnaround |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | $50 | $1,500 | 40+ business days |
| Standard | $85 | $3,500 | 40+ business days |
| Expedited | $150 | $3,500 | 2–3 business days |
| Expedited | $250 | $7,500 | 2–3 business days |
| Expedited | $500 | $20,000 | 2–3 business days |
| Expedited | $1,000 | $50,000 | 2–3 business days |
| Expedited | $2,000 | $100,000 | 2–3 business days |
Above $100,000, SGC lists $3,750 plus $375 for each extra $10,000 of value. SGC says turnaround starts once the order has been unboxed and logged.
BGS (Beckett)
| Tier | Fee | Turnaround |
|---|---|---|
| Base, no subgrades | $14.95 | 75+ business days |
| Base, with subgrades | $17.95 | 75+ business days |
| Standard | $34.95 | 45 business days |
| Express | $79.95 | 15 business days |
| Priority | $124.95 | 5 business days |
Base was listed as sold out on Oct 20, 2026, and Beckett has opened and paused tiers several times this year. Beckett adds $3 for any 10 where subgrades are added. Beckett took its website offline in early September 2026 and began restoring its online submission center on Oct 15, 2026, so check which tiers are open before you plan a submission.
What each slab resells for (Pokémon)
The fee is only half the comparison. The other half is what buyers pay for the slab. UltraBall Research compared verified eBay US sales of the same Pokémon cards in different slabs from Jul 15 to Oct 12, 2026. Here is each slab's median sale price as a share of the same card's PSA 10:
| Slab | Share of the PSA 10 price | Cards compared |
|---|---|---|
| PSA 10 | 100% (baseline) | – |
| CGC Pristine 10 | 96% | 195 |
| BGS 9.5 | 51% | 79 |
| CGC Gem Mint 10 | 38% | 540 |
| PSA 9 | 22% | 1,749 |
| BGS 9 | 19% | 56 |
| CGC 9 | 10% | 226 |
Source: UltraBall Research, “What a PSA 10 is worth” (published Oct 15, 2026). These are medians across cards, and only cover cards people chose to grade and sell, so they lean toward cards that were worth grading. Your card can differ a lot. SGC wasn't in the study, and we found no comparable large study for sports cards. Always check sold listings for your exact card in each slab.
The key number is 38%. A regular CGC 10 (Gem Mint) sold for well under half of a PSA 10, closer to a PSA 9 than a PSA 10. CGC's rarer Pristine 10 sold for 96%, nearly level with PSA.
Worked example: the $20 grade vs the $59.99 grade
Take a hypothetical Pokémon card that sells for $50 raw, where a PSA 10 sells for $400. We used the median ratios above for the other slabs, $25 shipping, and 13.25% selling fees, with the same math as our calculator. Profit is compared with selling the card raw:
| Result | Grader and tier | Slab sells for | Profit vs selling raw |
|---|---|---|---|
| PSA 10 | PSA Standard ($59.99) | $400 | +$218.63 |
| PSA 9 | PSA Standard ($59.99) | $88 | −$52.03 |
| CGC Pristine 10 | CGC Economy ($20) | $384 | +$244.75 |
| CGC Gem Mint 10 | CGC Economy ($20) | $152 | +$43.48 |
| CGC 9 | CGC Economy ($20) | $40 | −$53.68 |
A PSA 10 makes about 5 times as much as a CGC Gem Mint 10, even after PSA's higher fee. Both 9s lose money. CGC only beats PSA here if the card comes back Pristine, which needs near-perfect 50/50 centering. The cheaper fee mostly limits your loss when the card doesn't get a 10.
Hypothetical prices for illustration, not real comps. A single submission also pays return shipping, and PSA's and CGC's turnaround times differ.
Which should you use?
- Pokémon you plan to sell, with a real shot at a 10: PSA. On UltraBall's data, a CGC Gem Mint 10 sold for 38% of a PSA 10, which usually outweighs the $40 fee difference. Measure centering first with the centering checker.
- Cards you're keeping, or cards likely to land at a 9: CGC Economy or Bulk. At $17–$20 you lose less when the grade disappoints. Grading to protect and display a card is a fine reason to pick the cheapest tier.
- Cards worth more than $1,500, up to $5,000: compare the fee gap. PSA needs Express ($199) or Super Express ($349) here, against $55–$100 at CGC and $85–$250 at SGC. Check whether the PSA slab's resale premium for your card covers that.
- Vintage sports cards: get SGC and PSA comps. SGC is popular for vintage cards. SGC's $50 Standard covers cards up to $1,500.
- Subgrades or a shot at a Black Label: BGS. Beckett prints four subgrades on every label. Check which Beckett tiers are open first.
- Whichever you pick, comp the exact slab. Look up sold prices for your card in that company's holder and grade before you pay, not just its PSA 10 price.
About our calculators: the Pokémon calculator and sports card calculator currently model PSA's fees and value caps only. Use them for the PSA side, and use the tables above to compare CGC, SGC or BGS. For grading scales and label differences, see our PSA vs BGS vs CGC vs SGC guide.
More guides
- Card Centering Checker: Free photo tool that measures front centering and shows the best PSA grade it allows.
- PSA Grading Scale and Standards Explained: What PSA looks for at every grade, centering limits, qualifiers and a pre-submission checklist.
- Is It Worth Grading Pokémon Cards?: When grading pays off, worked examples with real fee math, and when to sell raw instead.
- PSA vs BGS vs CGC vs SGC: Grading scales, top labels, current standard-tier pricing and which grader fits Pokémon or sports.
- How to Send and Ship Cards to PSA: Step-by-step: online submission, sleeving, semi-rigid holders, packing, tracking and what happens next.
Ready to run your own numbers? Use the Pokémon grading calculator or the sports card calculator.
FAQ
What is the cheapest card grading company?
On Oct 20, 2026, CGC had the cheapest open tiers we could verify: Bulk at $17 a card (25-card minimum, cards worth up to $500) and Economy at $20 (up to $1,000). Beckett's Base tier ($14.95) was listed as sold out. SGC's cheapest tier was $50 and PSA's was $59.99, with PSA's Value tiers paused.
Is PSA or CGC better for Pokémon cards?
If you plan to sell and the card has a real chance at a 10, PSA usually comes out ahead: in UltraBall's October 2026 data a CGC Gem Mint 10 sold for a median 38% of the same card's PSA 10. CGC costs less to grade, which makes it a good choice for cards you're keeping or that will likely get a 9.
Is a CGC 10 worth as much as a PSA 10?
Usually not. In UltraBall's data a CGC Gem Mint 10 sold for a median 38% of a PSA 10. CGC's rarer Pristine 10 sold for 96%. Check sold listings for your own card, because the gap varies.
Do grading companies charge more for valuable cards?
Yes. PSA, CGC and SGC price their tiers by card value. If the grader decides your card is worth more than your tier allows, it can move it to a higher tier and charge the difference. PSA can make up to $500 of these adjustments without asking first, so pick the tier from the card's value after grading.
How much does BGS grading cost?
Beckett listed Base at $14.95 ($17.95 with subgrades, 75+ business days), Standard at $34.95 (45), Express at $79.95 (15) and Priority at $124.95 (5) on Oct 20, 2026. Base was listed as sold out, so check which tiers are open.
Does the calculator compare grading companies?
Not yet. Our calculators model PSA's fees and value caps only. Use the tables on this page to compare CGC, SGC and BGS fees.
Sources
- PSA, Trading card grading pricing (Standard $59.99 / $1,000 / 90–100 business days; Priority $79.99 / $1,500 / 70–80; Express $199.00 / $2,500 / 20–30; Super Express $349.00 / $5,000 / 10–15; Premier $599.00 / $10,000 / 7–10; Value services temporarily paused). Accessed Oct 20, 2026.
- PSA, Submission Services Terms and Conditions (§2 choose a Maximum Insured Value above the post-grading value; adjusted fees; §16 up to $500 of service-level adjustments without notice). Accessed Oct 20, 2026.
- CGC Cards, Services & Fees (Bulk $17 / $500 / 150 working days, 25-card minimum; Economy $20 / $1,000 / 90; Standard $55 / $3,000 / 10; Express $100 / $10,000 / 5; WalkThrough $300 / $100,000 / 2; member discounts; higher-tier rule). Accessed Oct 20, 2026.
- SGC, Card Grading Services and Fees (Standard 40+ days: $50 to $1,500, $85 to $3,500; Expedited 2–3 days: $150 to $3,500 up to $2,000 to $100,000). Accessed Oct 20, 2026.
- Beckett, Card Grading (Base $14.95 / $17.95, 75+ business days; Standard $34.95, 45; Express $79.95, 15; Priority $124.95, 5; $3 fee for 10s with subgrades; Base listed as sold out). Accessed Oct 20, 2026.
- Beckett, Tech Updates (Oct 15, 2026 Phase 1 restoration of the online submission center). Accessed Oct 20, 2026.
- UltraBall Research, What a PSA 10 is worth (published Oct 15, 2026; slab prices as a share of PSA 10, verified eBay US sales Jul 15 to Oct 12, 2026). Accessed Oct 20, 2026.