PSA Comic Grading: Prices, Turnaround and PSA vs CGC

Yes. PSA started grading comic books and magazines on July 14, 2025, with its own holder and label design for the category (Yahoo Sports). It grades on the same 0.5 to 10.0 scale as its competitors, in half-point steps and finer steps near the top (MyComicsCollection, July 2026). CGC's longtime rival CBCS stopped taking submissions after April 17, 2026, which leaves CGC and PSA as the two main choices. See CBCS comic grading.

From Yahoo Sports' reports of PSA's announcement (July 2025):

• Modern (1975 and later): $25.99 per book at the launch price, $29.99 regular, for books worth $400 or less; about 20 business days at launch
• Vintage (before 1975): $39.99 launch price, $44.99 regular, also for books worth $400 or less
• Pressing: $11.99 per modern book, $29.99 per vintage book; it removes bends, creases and dents before grading, roughly doubles the turnaround on the lower tiers, and must apply to every book in the order
• Magazines: all magazine grading carried a 75-day turnaround at launch, because PSA's magazine holders were delayed by tariffs

PSA's service page returned an access error when we tried to read it on September 25, 2026, so we could not confirm today's prices or the tiers for books worth more than $400. Check the live page before you submit.

Side by side for a book worth $400 or less, using PSA's announced prices and CGC's fee page checked September 25, 2026:

• Modern book: PSA $29.99 regular ($25.99 at launch); CGC $30, or $27 each in bulk of 25 or more
• Vintage book: PSA $44.99 regular ($39.99 at launch); CGC $45, or $42 each in bulk
• Pressing: PSA offers it in the same order from $11.99; CGC's fee page lists no pressing service
• Handling: CGC adds $5 per online invoice
• Books over $400: CGC's High Value tier is $105 up to $1,000, then 4% of value with a $135 minimum

At regular prices the two are within a few cents of each other per book. The real differences are bulk discounts at CGC, pressing in the same order at PSA, and which slab sells better for your issue. Full CGC fees and return shipping are on our CGC grading cost page.

CGC has the longer record in comics: it has graded comics since January 2000, and when PSA entered the category Yahoo Sports noted that all ten of the top ten comic book sales of all time were CGC-graded books. PSA's strength is its large customer base from trading cards; it has graded comics only since July 2025, so there is less sales history to show how buyers price its comic slabs.

A practical rule: for a high-value key you plan to sell, look at recent sold listings for the same issue and grade in each company's slab, and send it where it sells better. For books you are keeping, the cheaper total cost for your order is a reasonable tiebreaker.

PSA stopped grading Funko Pop! figures after December 1, 2025; that was the last day items could arrive for Funko grading, reholders or dual service. ICv2 reported the change on November 11, 2025 and noted it came as Funko's sales were declining, but did not quote a reason from PSA. PSA still authenticates autographs on signed Funko Pops and seals them in its Blue Label, which means autograph authentication only. The change does not affect comic book grading.

• Know the value first. The $400 cap on the entry tiers means you need a realistic value before you choose a tier; see how to find what a comic is worth.
• Decide on pressing for the whole order. PSA applies pressing to every book in an order, so split pressed and unpressed books into separate orders.
• Check for restoration. Grading will note it, and restored books sell for less; see spot a fake or restored comic.
• Confirm the issue. A scan with ComicLens reads the title, issue number and cover from a photo, and there are free scans every day.

Research and drafting were assisted by AI and checked line by line against the sources listed on this page. Prices are the figures shown by the named source on the date given; they change with the market.