PSA grading cost in 2026: every tier, and what BGS, CGC and SGC charge

PSA grading costs $59.99 per card on the cheapest tier you can book: Standard, which PSA opened on 14 September 2026 with a 90–100 business-day estimate. The whole Value ladder, $24.99 to $64.99 per card, has been paused since 2 June. Above Standard the ladder runs $79.99, $199, $349 and $599, then four-figure Premium tiers.

Every number on this page was read off the grader’s own fee page or announcement on 15 September 2026, and the second half compares the same card at BGS, CGC and SGC. PSA changed its price list twice in 2026 alone, so treat this as a dated snapshot, not a price list.

PSA grading cost by service level#

Declared value selects the tier: each level carries a maximum insured value, and a card worth more than the tier allows does not belong in that tier. The paused Value prices are the ones PSA set in February; Value Bulk is a Collectors Club-only service when it is open.

Speed is not the only thing the fee buys. Standard includes front and back imaging; Priority and up return the graded card in a fitted sleeve; Express and up add grader notes explaining the outcome; Super Express and up switch to high-resolution imaging.

The PSA tiers you cannot book right now#

PSA paused new submissions for all four Value tiers on 2 June 2026. Its announcement tied the pause to a surge that added 1.6 million cards to a backlog approaching ten million, and promised to reopen the tiers as the backlog came down rather than on a set date. On 9 September PSA put the active global backlog at about 9.9 million units and said the Value tiers remain paused.

Standard is PSA’s first step back down the price ladder, and PSA is explicit that it is not a replacement for Value: Standard orders are processed after existing Value and Bulk orders. At $59.99 a card, the fee alone is a large share of anything worth under about $150.

A published turnaround is an estimate the grader is free to revise while your cards sit in its building.

How long PSA grading takes right now#

On 15 September 2026 PSA estimated 90–100 business days for Standard and 70–80 for Priority, falling to 7–10 for Premier and 5–7 for the Premium tiers. Business days skip weekends and holidays, so the cheapest tier means roughly four to five months of calendar time before return shipping, and the estimate starts when PSA receives and logs the order rather than when you post it.

The estimate for the same $79.99 tier has moved several times this year, which is the reason to check the live page on the day you submit:

If speed matters more than the holder, CGC Standard at $55 with a ten-working-day estimate is the comparison to make; the full CGC ladder is below.

PSA vs BGS vs CGC vs SGC: entry tiers compared#

In August two of the four majors had their cheapest tiers switched off: PSA’s Value ladder, and Beckett’s Base and Standard. By 15 September Beckett had reopened Base with subgrades and Standard through a temporary submission form, and PSA had added Standard while keeping Value paused.

BGS: lowest list price, booked through a temporary form#

Beckett publishes the lowest headline fee of the four, and in September it is also the hardest to check: beckett.com and the Beckett app were offline for infrastructure work, and submissions ran through a temporary form.

Fees and turnaround are the ones Beckett published on 21 August 2026, when Base and Standard were sold out. Beckett’s notice on 15 September states that pricing remains unchanged and turnaround estimates are not being extended as those tiers reopen. Extras are priced separately: an autograph card adds $5, an oversized card $8, relabelling starts at $9.95, and a $3 fee applies to any 10 where subgrades are added. Drop-offs by appointment continue at Beckett’s headquarters in Plano, Texas. Every BGS tier, extra and caveat is on Beckett grading cost.

CGC: the flat ladder with nothing switched off#

CGC publishes six grading tiers and, on 15 September 2026 as in August, none of them were closed.

Bulk takes a mix of different games in one submission and needs 25 cards; Economy has no minimum. A pedigree note on the label costs the tier fee plus $5, a card with a printing error carries no extra fee, and CGC will evaluate a card already sealed by PSA, Beckett or SGC for crossover, returning it in its original holder if it would not match or beat the existing grade. Paid CGC memberships take 10% or 20% off grading, depending on the level. The full ladder with add-ons is on CGC grading cost.

Read against PSA, the comparison is stark: CGC Standard at $55 and ten working days is both cheaper and roughly seven times faster than PSA Priority at $79.99 and 70–80 business days.

SGC: cheapest at the bottom, expedited-only higher up#

SGC’s standard-size table is unusual in shape. When we read it on 21 August 2026, under $1,500 declared value it charged $15 per card on a 75-plus-day service with no expedited option at all. On 15 September SGC’s page showed a 40-plus business-day estimate for standard service and 2–3 days for expedited, but its fee table did not load, so the fees in this section are the August ones. At $3,500 the standard service costs $85 and expedited $150. From $7,500 upward only expedited exists: $250, then $500 at $20,000, $1,000 at $50,000 and $2,000 at $100,000. Above $100,000 the fee is $3,750 plus $375 for each additional $10,000 of declared value.

That shape rewards exactly one behaviour — sending inexpensive cards and waiting — and prices everything else at a premium.

Fee is the smaller half of the cost#

What this means for a submission today#

If the goal is the lowest cost per card, SGC, CGC Economy at $20 and Beckett Base are the entry tiers open, and all of them ask for months of patience. If the goal is speed, CGC Standard at $55 and ten working days undercuts every comparable option. If the goal is resale in the holder buyers pay most for, that is PSA Standard at $59.99 with a 90–100 day wait, or Priority at $79.99 with 70–80 days, and the premium has to clear the gap.

The mechanics of actually sending the cards — account, form, packing, and when the clock starts — are in how to get cards graded. Sending from Britain adds two shipping legs and an import VAT bill to every line above, and that version of the sum is on PSA grading in the UK.

Which of those three is right depends on your card’s raw price — which comes from completed sales, not from a guide, as what a card is worth explains — the graded price it might reach, and every one of those costs. Run them through the grading ROI calculator; the reasoning behind the inputs is in is it worth grading Pokémon cards, and the difference between the four grading scales themselves is in PSA vs BGS vs CGC, with PSA’s own ladder grade by grade in PSA grading scale. Before any of it, be sure the card is what you think it is: condition and centering decide the grade you are paying to find out.

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