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SetPulls

Is grading worth it? Pokémon card grading calculator

Pick PSA, CGC or Beckett and a tier, then type your card's raw price, what each grade sells for and your own chance of getting it. The calculator subtracts the grading fee, shipping and selling fees and shows what grading leaves next to selling raw. Fees are from each company's own page, checked October 14, 2026. It runs in your browser: nothing you type is sent or saved.

Value cap $1,000 per card; 90 to 100 business days (PSA's estimate, checked October 14, 2026).

Blank uses the listed $59.99. Type your own if you pay less or more.

What you could sell it for ungraded.

Slab price and your chance of each grade

Your own numbers: we don't fill these in.

PSA 10

PSA 9

PSA 8

PSA 7 or lower

Shipping and supplies

Blank counts as $0.

Grade it or sell it raw?

Selling raw leaves
Enter the raw price
Cost of grading
$59.99
Expected result if you grade
not set
Difference
not set

Enter your own chance for each grade to see the expected result.

Chance of a PSA 10 you would need (the rest landing on PSA 9): enter the raw price and both slab prices

If the card comes back as…
GradeSale leavesvs selling raw
PSA 10not setnot set
PSA 9not setnot set
PSA 8not setnot set
PSA 7 or lowernot setnot set

“vs selling raw” = what that slab sale leaves − cost of grading − what selling raw leaves.

  • eBay takes its percentage on the total amount of the sale, which includes any shipping the buyer pays, so with shipping charged the real fee is a little higher than shown here.

Grading fees by tier, checked October 14, 2026

CompanyTierFee per cardValue capTurnaround
CGCBulk25-card minimum$17$500150 working days
CGCEconomy$20$1,00090 working days
CGCStandard$55$3,00010 working days
CGCExpress$100$10,0005 working days
CGCWalkThrough$300$100,0002 working days
CGCUnlimited Value$300 + 1% of valueNone listed2 working days
PSAValueTemporarily paused per PSAPaused
PSAStandard$59.99$1,00090 to 100 business days
PSAPriority$79.99$1,50070 to 80 business days
PSAExpress$199$2,50020 to 30 business days
PSASuper Express$349$5,00010 to 15 business days
PSAPremier$599$10,0007 to 10 business days
BeckettBaseTemporarily paused per BeckettPaused
BeckettStandardTemporarily paused per BeckettPaused
BeckettExpress$79.95None listed15 business days
Bar chart of the grading fee per card for every open single-card tier: from CGC Economy at $20 to PSA Premier at $599.Bar chart of the grading fee per card for every open single-card tier: from CGC Economy at $20 to PSA Premier at $599.
Chart: SetPulls. Fee per card for each open single-card tier, before shipping and add-ons. Source: PSA, CGC and Beckett fee pages, read October 14, 2026.

Value cap is PSA's maximum insured value or CGC's maximum value per card. Turnaround is each company's own estimate: PSA in business days, CGC in working days, Beckett in business days. Sources, read October 14, 2026: CGC fees, PSA fees, Beckett paused tiers, Beckett fees.

How grading math works

  • Selling raw: what the sale leaves = raw price − selling fees.
  • Each grade: what the slab sale leaves = slab price − selling fees.
  • Cost of grading = grading fee + shipping to the grader + return shipping + supplies.
  • Expected result of grading = Σ (your chance of each grade × what that slab sale leaves) − cost of grading. Any chance you leave unassigned goes to the lowest grade.
  • Difference = expected result of grading − what selling raw leaves.
  • Break-even chance of the grade you hope for = (raw sale leaves + cost − fallback sale leaves) ÷ (hoped-for sale leaves − fallback sale leaves), with every other card landing on the fallback grade.

Mew ex 152/128, the Special Illustration Rare from 30th Celebration, had a TCGplayer market price of $85.67 on October 12, 2026 (Near Mint, read by hand on the Price Guide page). Sold raw on eBay, it leaves $73.92 after the 13.25% fee and the $0.40 order fee.

The cheapest single-card tier at each company takes a big share of that price before any shipping: CGC Economy ($20) is 23%, PSA Standard ($59.99) is 70%, and Beckett Express ($79.95) is 93%.

So even a PSA 10 you were certain of, graded at Standard, would have to sell for at least $154.82 on eBay just to match selling the raw card, before shipping either way. Any chance of a 9 instead pushes that higher.

Bar chart of the cheapest grade as a share of a $85.67 Mew ex: CGC Economy 23%, PSA Standard 70%, Beckett Express 93%.Bar chart of the cheapest grade as a share of a $85.67 Mew ex: CGC Economy 23%, PSA Standard 70%, Beckett Express 93%.
Chart: SetPulls. The cheapest open tier at each company as a share of Mew ex 152/128's $85.67 market price. Source: TCGplayer Price Guide (October 12, 2026) and the fee pages.
Line chart of what a certain 10 must sell for on eBay to match selling the card raw, for raw prices from $20 to $500. At $100 raw: CGC $123.05, PSA $169.15, Beckett $192.16.Line chart of what a certain 10 must sell for on eBay to match selling the card raw, for raw prices from $20 to $500. At $100 raw: CGC $123.05, PSA $169.15, Beckett $192.16.
Chart: SetPulls. Both sales on eBay, no shipping, each company's cheapest open tier. A $100 raw card needs a certain 10 that sells for at least $123.05 (CGC Economy), $169.15 (PSA Standard), $192.16 (Beckett Express). Source: eBay and the fee pages.

Price source: TCGplayer Price Guide, 30th Celebration. Selling fees are the ones in our how to sell Pokémon cards guide.

What this calculator does not know

  • Your chance of each grade. We don't know of a free, reliable source for the odds of a grade on a card nobody has graded yet, so we don't publish an estimate. Look at your card's centering, corners, edges and surface (our condition guide shows how) and be honest.
  • Slab prices. We don't fill them in: type recent prices for your exact card and grade from the marketplace you'd sell on.
  • Turnaround. The times in the table are each company's estimates, not promises; CGC says its times are not guaranteed. Prices can move while your card is away.
  • Loss or damage in the mail, and the value cap of the tier. Insure the parcel for what the card is worth.
  • Taxes, membership fees, grader upcharges and add-ons such as CGC's CrossOver or pedigree labels.

This page is published for informational and entertainment purposes. It does not constitute professional financial, legal, or technical advice.

Questions the calculator can't answer for you

Can I declare a lower value to get a cheaper tier?

Each tier has a value cap: PSA lists a maximum insured value per card, and CGC a maximum value per card. CGC says that if it judges a card worth more than declared, it will move it to the appropriate higher tier and the additional charge will be the responsibility of the submitter. The calculator warns when any price you type is above the cap of the tier you picked, but it doesn't add that charge for you.

Do CGC membership discounts change the answer?

They can on cheap cards, where the fee is most of the cost. CGC's fee page says: "Associate and Premium members save 10% on grading. Elite members save 20% on grading." The calculator uses the listed fee; type your discounted fee in the grading fee box to see your own numbers.

Our take

Going by the fee table above, on a card worth $85.67 the cheapest grade costs 23% to 93% of its price before shipping or selling fees, so for most modern cards the fee decides the answer. Grading pays when a 10 sells for well above the raw price plus that fee and your chance of getting it is high; the break-even line shows how high it has to be. If you can't name a recent slab price for your exact card, you aren't ready to send it.

Last reviewed .