How Much Does PSA Grading Cost in 2026? PSA vs CGC vs BGS
What card grading actually costs — service tiers, declared value and turnaround — plus how to decide whether a card is even worth grading.
Grading can multiply a card's value — or quietly cost you more than it adds. Before you ship anything, it helps to understand what grading actually costs and how the pricing works, because there isn't one flat number.
What you pay for, and why it varies
Grading fees aren't fixed — they scale with two things:
- Service level / turnaround. Faster service costs more. Graders publish tiers from budget "bulk" (cheapest, slowest, often with minimum card counts) up to express options that turn around in days.
- Declared value. Most graders tie the fee to the card's value — the higher you declare, the higher the fee and the more insurance you're paying for. A common, cheap bulk card and a four-figure chase card are not the same line item.
On top of the per-card fee you pay shipping both ways and insurance, which can be the deciding cost on lower-value cards.
Because tiers and prices change regularly, always pull the current price list from the grader's own site before you budget. Treat any number you read in an article as a ballpark.
PSA vs CGC vs BGS, briefly
- PSA — the largest and most liquid for many categories; PSA-graded cards often sell fastest.
- CGC — strong in TCG, competitive turnaround and pricing.
- BGS (Beckett) — known for subgrades and high-end slabs.
Liquidity matters: a slightly cheaper grade is no bargain if that label sells for less or slower in your category. For Pokémon and most TCG singles, check which label commands the best premium for that specific card.
The real question: is it worth grading?
Grading pays off when a high grade is both likely and worth a large multiple of the raw price. A useful rule of thumb: grade when the top-grade comp is at least 3–5× your all-in cost (raw value + fees + shipping) and the card looks clean.
Run your specific numbers in the grading ROI calculator — it compares the expected value of grading against just selling the card raw. And check the card's raw value first with Foilio's free search; see also how card value works.
[Should you grade it? Run the numbers →](/tools/grading-calculator)
*Costs vary by grader, tier and declared value and change over time — verify current pricing with PSA, CGC or BGS directly. Estimates only, not financial advice.*