CGC Grading Cost: 2026 Fees for Comics and Cards

CGC prices comics by tier. Each tier has a maximum value, meaning the book's fair market value must be at or below that figure. Fees and turnaround below are from CGC's comics fee page, checked September 25, 2026; turnaround times are CGC's estimates, not guarantees.

• Modern Bulk (1975 to present): $27 per book, value up to $400, 45 days, minimum 25 books
• Modern (1975 to present): $30 per book, value up to $400, 45 days
• Vintage Bulk (before 1975): $42 per book, value up to $400, 45 days, minimum 25 books
• Vintage (before 1975): $45 per book, value up to $400, 45 days
• High Value: $105 per book, value up to $1,000, 10 days
• Unlimited Value: 4% of fair market value with a $135 minimum, no value cap, 5 days

Fast Track adds $15 per book to the Modern and Vintage tiers and cuts the estimate to 25 days. CGC announced these tiers in its 2026 price update, effective January 6, 2026 for US submissions.

• Handling: $5 per invoice for online submissions, $8 for paper forms
• Imaging: $5 per book
• Custom label: $8 per book
• JSA signature authentication: $30 per signature
• ReHolder (new slab for an already graded book): $25 per book up to $1,000 value, $75 for higher values
• Grade PreScreen: you pay the tier fee if the book meets your minimum grade, or $9 per rejected book ($5 on bulk tiers)
• Own shipping account: CGC's 2026 update added a $4 fee per shipment when you use your own shipping account
• Signature Series: the 2026 update lists new bulk Signature Series tiers at $50 (modern) and $67 (vintage)

CGC membership cuts grading fees by 10% (Associate and Premium) or 20% (Elite).

Pokémon and other trading cards go through CGC Cards, which has its own tiers. From CGC's cards fee page, checked September 25, 2026:

• Bulk: $17 per card, value up to $500, 150 days, 25-card minimum (card types can be mixed)
• Economy: $20, value up to $1,000, 90 days
• Standard: $55, value up to $3,000, 10 days
• Express: $100, value up to $10,000, 5 days
• WalkThrough: $300, value up to $100,000, 2 days
• Unlimited Value: $300 plus 1% of fair market value, 2 days

Card prices have moved during 2026. CGC's January 2026 announcement listed Bulk at $15 and Economy at $18; the fee page in September showed $17 and $20. Check the live page on the day you submit.

Totals below use CGC's September 2026 fees, before shipping and any membership discount.

• One modern comic, online: $30 + $5 handling = $35
• 25 modern comics on the bulk tier: 25 × $27 + $5 = $680, or $27.20 a book
• A comic worth $500: above the $400 cap, so it goes in High Value at $105
• A comic worth $1,000: still High Value at $105; above $1,000 it moves to Unlimited Value
• A comic worth $5,000: Unlimited Value, 4% of $5,000 = $200
• A card worth $500: Economy at $20, or Bulk at $17 if you send at least 25 cards
• A card worth $1,000: Economy at $20 (up to $1,000, 90 days) or Standard at $55 for about 10 days

Grading pays when the graded value minus the fee beats the raw value. PriceCharting figures retrieved September 25, 2026:

• Deadpool #1 (1997): raw $25; CGC 9.2 $57; CGC 9.8 $190. At $35 all-in, grading only makes money if the copy comes back 9.8.
• The Amazing Spider-Man #300 (1988): raw $381; CGC 9.2 $585; CGC 9.8 $3,144. A copy that might be 9.8 is worth sending, but at that value it belongs in Unlimited Value: 4% of $3,144 is about $126, so the $135 minimum applies.

Declare the value honestly. Because tiers are capped by value, a book worth more than its tier's cap must go in a higher tier.

• PSA began grading comics and magazines on July 14, 2025. Its launch pricing started at $25.99 per book for the Modern tier with a 20-day turnaround, and pressing from $11.99, according to Yahoo Sports' report of PSA's announcement.
• CBCS stopped taking submissions: its owner Collectors set April 17, 2026 as the last submission date (Overstreet Access). See CBCS comic grading.
• CGC starts at $30 for a single modern comic or $27 in bulk.

On the cheapest modern tier PSA's launch price was about $4 lower than CGC's current single-book price. Check both companies' live pages before comparing, since prices change.

For cards, yes. In 2023 CGC Cards changed its scale so that cards previously graded Gem Mint 9.5 count as Gem Mint 10, and added a new Mint+ 9.5 grade. Pristine 10 sits above Gem Mint 10 for cards with 50/50 centering and flawless color. CGC comics were not affected: comic grades still run from 0.5 to 10.0, as described in our comic grading guide.

You do not need a grading company office nearby. CGC lists three ways in (CGC submission FAQ and drop-off guide):

• A local dealer: CGC's Comic Book Dealer Locator searches by city, state, country or postal code and can be filtered by the services a shop offers, including Official Submission Center and Strategic Partner. Authorized dealers are allowed to accept books and submit them for you, and anyone can use them without a CGC membership. The locator shows only the top 50 matches, so narrow the location in a big city.
• A comic show: where CGC has a booth, you sign up for a free account, fill in the online form with the Show Drop Off option, pack the books in packing-slip order and hand them in at the Express Drop-Off sign.
• By mail: submit online with a free or paid membership and ship the books to CGC.

CGC states that its Authorized Dealers and Official Submission Centers are independent companies, unaffiliated with CGC, and that CGC is not responsible for their services. Being listed is not a recommendation. CBCS no longer takes submissions, so a shop still advertising CBCS grading cannot send books there; see CBCS comic grading.

CGC publishes its own fees but not what a dealer adds on top, and none of the CGC pages we read list dealer charges. Ask before handing anything over:

• Total cost per book: the CGC tier fee, the dealer's own fee, and how return shipping and insurance are charged.
• Which tier: CGC's fee page (checked September 25, 2026) sets Modern at $30 and Vintage at $45 for books worth up to $400, High Value at $105 up to $1,000, and Unlimited Value at 4% of value with a $135 minimum. The declared value decides the tier, so agree on it in writing.
• Turnaround: CGC estimates 45 days for Modern and Vintage, 10 days for High Value and 5 days for Unlimited, before any time the dealer needs.
• A receipt: get a list of every book you left, with its declared value.

If you want a price rather than a grade, that is an appraisal, not grading; see comic book appraisal.

The grading fee is not the whole bill. CGC charges return shipping by the number of books and their total declared value. From CGC's published domestic US return shipping table (PDF, read September 25, 2026), for books worth $1 to $500 in total:

• 1 book: $32
• 2 books: $34
• 3 to 5 books: $38
• 6 to 10 books: $49
• 11 to 15 books: $57
• 16 to 20 books: $65
• 21 to 25 books: $72

Higher values cost more: one book worth $1,001 to $5,000 is $39, and one worth $15,001 to $25,000 is $67. CGC says the table is an estimate and extra charges can apply for remote areas or heavier packages. Returns go by FedEx and are insured up to $100,000 per package in the US; if you use your own shipping account there is a $4 fee and CGC does not insure the shipment (CGC shipping FAQ).

Using CGC's fees and return shipping table, before the cost of mailing the books to CGC and any membership discount:

• One modern comic, online: $30 grading + $5 handling + $32 return = $67
• Five modern comics: 5 × $30 + $5 + $38 = $193, or $38.60 a book
• 25 modern comics on the bulk tier (total value up to $500): 25 × $27 + $5 + $72 = $752, or $30.08 a book

Return shipping is a flat cost per package, so a single book costs more than twice its grading fee. Grouping books into one submission is the easiest way to lower the cost per book.

PSA's comic grading launched on July 14, 2025 at introductory prices. Yahoo Sports reported the regular prices as $29.99 per modern book and $44.99 per vintage book (launch prices $25.99 and $39.99), for books worth $400 or less, with pressing at $11.99 (modern) or $29.99 (vintage) per book. At regular prices that is within a cent of CGC's $30 and $45 single-book tiers; CGC's bulk tiers ($27 and $42) are cheaper. More on PSA: PSA comic grading.

CGC's tiers are capped by fair market value, and the break-even test depends on the graded price, so find the value first. Look up recent sold prices for the same issue and edition in raw and graded condition; our comic book value guide explains where to look. Then compare: if the graded value in the grade you expect does not beat the raw value by more than the all-in cost above, keep the book raw. A ComicLens scan confirms the title, issue number and cover before you look up prices, and there are free scans every day.

CGC Pokémon grading is done by CGC Cards, the card division of the Certified Collectibles Group, the same group that grades comics. CGC Cards grades trading card games, sports cards and non-sports cards, naming Pokémon, Magic: The Gathering, Yu-Gi-Oh!, Topps, Panini and Upper Deck among them, and every certification comes with a guarantee of authenticity and grade (CGC Cards homepage, checked September 25, 2026). Card fees are listed above in the card section.

From CGC's card grading scale, checked September 25, 2026:

• Pristine 10: virtually flawless to the naked eye, with 50/50 centering and flawless color and registration.
• Gem Mint 10: a 10 overall where one criterion falls short of Pristine; front centering up to about 55/45 and back centering up to 75/25.
• Mint+ 9.5: a Mint card with premium eye appeal, lifted by exceptional centering, surface or color.
• Mint 9: four sharp corners with only minor wear; for sports and non-sports cards, centering 60/40 or better on the front and 90/10 on the back.

Cards graded Gem Mint 9.5 under CGC's older trading-card scale correspond to Gem Mint 10 on the current scale.

It is a major, established choice for card grading generally: CGC Cards guarantees the authenticity and grade of every card it certifies and grades Pokémon alongside Magic: The Gathering, Yu-Gi-Oh! and major sports and non-sports card lines (CGC Cards).

Whether CGC is tougher than PSA has no official answer: neither company publishes a side-by-side comparison, so we do not compare tolerances here beyond what CGC states. What CGC does publish is above: a Gem Mint 10 allows front centering to about 55/45, and its Pristine 10 sits above Gem Mint 10 and requires 50/50. Before choosing, compare the two companies' current written standards and fees, and check recent sold prices for your card in each company's slab.