Guide4 min read
PSA vs CGC: which grading company is better for Pokémon cards?
How PSA and CGC grade, what each Gem Mint 10 sells for, how much each costs right now, and which one to choose for resale versus speed or budget.
Guide
$17CGC Bulk per card (25 minimum) — cheapest open tier at the big three
New to pull rates? The terms in 30 seconds
- “1 in 92 packs”
- On average, you'd open 92 packs to pull one. It's an average, not a promise: you could hit it in pack 3 or go 300 without one.
- SIR (Special Illustration Rare)
- Full-art cards with special artwork. Usually a set's most valuable pulls.
- IR (Illustration Rare)
- Art cards of single Pokémon. More common than SIRs, and often collected as a set.
- Hyper Rare
- The gold cards. Among the rarest pulls in modern sets.
- Double Rare / Ultra Rare
- The ex and full-art cards that make up most of a set's hits.
- Booster box / ETB
- A booster box has 36 packs. An Elite Trainer Box (ETB) has 9, plus sleeves and accessories.
On this page
For most Pokémon cards you plan to sell, PSA is still the better default. PSA 10 is the grade most price guides and sold listings quote, and PSA slabs usually clear higher and sell faster. CGC wins on price and speed at the low end: its Bulk and Economy tiers are open while PSA’s Value tiers stay paused, and CGC Standard comes back in about two weeks instead of PSA Standard’s three months.
This page is PSA versus CGC only. For Beckett (including Black Label), see PSA vs BGS. Fees for every open tier are in our grading cost guide.
Key takeaways
- PSA gives one grade from 1 to 10. CGC also uses 1–10, with half-points, and offers subgrades on higher tiers.
- A PSA 10 is the liquidity grade for Pokémon. CGC 10s of the same card typically sell for less.
- Right now CGC is cheaper to start: Bulk at $17 (25-card minimum) or Economy at $20, against PSA Standard at $59.99.
- CGC Standard ($55) is much faster than PSA Standard ($59.99) — about 10 working days vs 90–100 business days.
- Choose PSA for resale. Choose CGC for bulk modern cards, a tight budget, or when you need the card back sooner at a mid-tier price.
What is CGC grading?#
CGC is Certified Guaranty Company, part of the Certified Collectibles Group (the same family as CGC comics). For trading cards it grades on a 1-to-10 scale in half-point steps. Collectors usually care about:
| CGC grade | What collectors call it |
|---|---|
| 10 | Pristine / Perfect 10 |
| 9.5 | Gem Mint |
| 9 | Mint |
CGC can print subgrades (centering, corners, edges, surface) on eligible tiers — closer to Beckett’s model than to PSA’s single number. The slab is clear with a CGC label; the brand is widely recognized but has a smaller Pokémon buyer pool than PSA.
How PSA grades (quick refresher)#
PSA (Professional Sports Authenticator) uses a 1-to-10 scale with one overall grade and no subgrades on the label. PSA 10 is Gem Mint, the grade most eBay “sold” filters and price tools use for Pokémon. Higher service tiers can include grader notes. Full comparison with Beckett is on PSA vs BGS.
PSA vs CGC side by side#
| PSA | CGC | |
|---|---|---|
| Scale | 1–10 | 1–10 in half points |
| Subgrades | No (notes on some tiers) | Available on eligible tiers |
| Top grade people quote | PSA 10 Gem Mint | CGC 10 |
| Cheapest open tier (Oct 2026) | Standard, $59.99, 90–100 business days | Bulk, $17 (25-card min), ~150 working days |
| Fast mid tier | Express, $199, 20–30 business days | Standard, $55, ~10 working days |
| Pokémon resale liquidity | Highest | Lower; still tradeable |
Prices and turnarounds change often. Our cost guide and turnaround times track every open tier.
Does a CGC 10 sell for as much as a PSA 10?#
Usually no. Across Pokémon, buyers still pay a premium for PSA 10. TCGCharts’ published comparison of graded sales (the same study we cite for Beckett) found CGC top grades trading below PSA 10 on average for matched cards — with plenty of card-by-card exceptions. Before you pick a grader for a high-value card, check recent sold listings for that exact printing in PSA 10 and CGC 10.
Cost and turnaround: when CGC wins#
As of October 2026:
- PSA’s Value tiers are paused. The cheapest open PSA tier is Standard at $59.99 with a long wait.
- CGC Bulk ($17) and Economy ($20) are the cheapest open grading at the big three, if you can wait months or meet the Bulk minimum.
- CGC Standard ($55, ~10 working days) undercuts PSA Express on price and beats PSA Standard on speed.
So for a stack of modern cards worth $20–$100 raw, CGC is often the only option that makes fee math work. For a card where a PSA 10 premium would pay for itself, PSA is still the rational grader even at $59.99+.
Use the simple test in our cost guide: if the raw card is not worth more than the fee plus shipping, grading is a hobby expense, not a value play.
So which is better, PSA or CGC?#
Choose PSA if:
- You might sell the card soon, or price it against PSA 10 comps.
- The card is iconic enough that buyers filter for PSA only (vintage Charizard, Moonbreon, Illustrator-tier pieces).
- You want maximum liquidity and are willing to pay Standard or higher.
Choose CGC if:
- You are grading a bulk modern submission and need an open low-cost tier.
- You want Standard-tier speed without PSA Express prices.
- You already collect CGC or prefer its slab and subgrades.
Still deciding among all three? Start with PSA vs BGS for Black Label and subgrade questions, then come back here for the PSA/CGC fee and liquidity trade-off. Our how to get cards graded walkthrough covers shipping and upcharges for every company.
Sources#
- TCGCharts, PSA vs CGC vs BGS vs TAG: graded-sale comparisons. Checked with our grading fee snapshot.
- PSA, Trading card grading services and prices.
- CGC, Card services and fees.
- Fee tables on this site last checked October 7, 2026; see how much grading costs.