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Grader comparison · checked September 5, 2026

Degree vs PSA, Beckett, CGC and SGC

Five graders, five different bets. Published prices, turnaround and policies side by side so you can pick the one that fits what you are doing with the card. Written by Degree, and where another grader is the better fit we say so.

$15–$25Degree, flat per card
27 daysDegree turnaround estimate
Every labelSubgrades printed
NoneMembership or value tiers
Criteria This site Degree PSA Beckett (BGS) CGC Cards SGC
Cheapest price per card you can order today $15 bulk (10+ cards), $25 standard. First order: 5 cards for $50 $79.99 Regular. Value tiers from $24.99 paused since June 2, 2026 $79.95 Express. Base ($14.95 / $17.95 with subgrades) and Standard ($34.95) sold out, expected to reopen September 15 $17 Bulk (25-card minimum), $20 Economy, $55 Standard $50 Standard, raised from $15 on September 2, 2026
Published turnaround at that price 27 business days standard, 31 bulk. Live estimate that moves with volume 40 to 50 business days, longer reported 15 business days (Express). Base is 75+ and Standard 45 when open About 150 working days Bulk, 90 Economy, 10 Standard 40 to 50 business days
Membership required to submit No. No payment method on file needed to start either Yes, Collectors Club for direct submissions No, free account Free account. Paid tiers discount 10 to 20 percent No
Price tied to declared card value No. Flat rate per card (first-order offer capped at $500 declared value per card) Yes. Regular covers up to $1,500, higher value means a higher tier No. Tiers are speed only Yes. Bulk up to $500, Economy $1,000, Standard $3,000 Yes. Standard up to $1,500, $85 up to $3,500
Subgrades printed on the label Yes. Surface, Corners/Edges, Centering on every label at every price No Yes on subgrade tiers. Centering, Corners, Edges, Surface. The $14.95 Base tier omits them No on the standard label No
Encapsulation without a grade Yes. PRSRVD at $18 standard, $11 bulk No comparable service Authentic Only service (authentication, no grade) No comparable service No comparable service
Slab guarantee Slab Guard lifetime guarantee on the holder (USA) Grade and authenticity guarantee Grade and authenticity guarantee CGC guarantee on grade and authenticity Grade and authenticity guarantee

Competitor figures read from each company's own pricing page on September 5, 2026: PSA, Beckett (BGS), CGC Cards, SGC. All turnaround times are the companies' own estimates and none of them are guaranteed, ours included. PSA, Beckett, BGS, CGC and SGC are trademarks of their owners; Degree is not affiliated with them.

Pick by what you are doing

Who should use which grader

Degree

You are keeping the card

  • Personal collection, display, gifts, protecting a childhood binder.
  • You want to know why it got the grade. Subgrades are on every label, grader notes are on the cert page.
  • A stack of $5 to $200 cards where a $50 to $80 fee per card makes no sense.
  • No membership, no declared-value spreadsheet, no surprise upcharge.
  • Sealed without a grade? PRSRVD is encapsulation only.

PSA

You are selling, and soon

  • PSA slabs have the most buyers and the largest premium for a gem grade.
  • The card is worth enough that the fee is a rounding error against the uplift.
  • You are building a registry set that only counts PSA.

Beckett

You want subgrades and a BGS Black Label

  • Half-point scale and a black label for a perfect 10 that the market recognises.
  • You can pay $79.95 Express now, or wait for Base and Standard to reopen.
  • Deep resale market, strongest in modern sports and TCG.

CGC or SGC

Selling TCG or vintage sports

  • CGC: modern Pokémon, Magic and Yu-Gi-Oh! you intend to sell, if you can wait out the Bulk and Economy queues or pay $55 for the 10-day tier.
  • SGC: vintage sports, where the black SGC holder has a loyal market and travels well at auction.

What you get

Every Degree order includes

Degree 0-11 scale

Surface, Corners/Edges and Centering scored 0 to 3 each, plus a structural check for creases and dents. How the scale works →

Public cert page for every slab

Subgrades, grader notes and live population data on one page anyone can open. Look one up →

Free AI grading analysis

Every order comes back with an explanation of what cost points and how to prep the next submission.

Slab Guard lifetime guarantee

The holder is covered for life in the USA.

$5 Submission Kit

Prepaid tracked label, semi-rigid holders and sleeves. Or ship it yourself. How to submit →

FAQ

Common questions

Is Degree Grading legitimate?
Yes. Degree Grading is operated by Degree Media, Inc. in Henderson, Nevada, and has graded cards since 2021. Every slab has a certification number you can verify at degreegrading.com/certification-lookup, which shows the grade, subgrades and grader notes, and every set we have graded is published in the population report.
Should I use Degree or PSA?
If you plan to sell the card and want the widest pool of buyers and the highest gem premium, PSA is the safer choice and is worth its price and wait. If you are grading to protect and display cards you intend to keep, want subgrades on the label, and want a flat price with no membership and no declared-value tiers, Degree does that for $15 to $25 per card.
Should I use Degree or Beckett (BGS)?
Beckett is the other grader that prints subgrades on the label, so this is the closest like-for-like comparison. BGS grades on a half-point scale with a black label for a perfect 10 and has a long-established resale market. The trade-off right now is access and price: Beckett's Base and Standard tiers are sold out until at least September 15, 2026, leaving Express at $79.95 as the cheapest open option. Degree prints subgrades on every label at $15 to $25 and has no paused tiers. If you want subgrades and the card is one you are keeping, Degree is the lower-cost route; if you are chasing a BGS Black Label for resale, wait for Beckett.
Does a Degree 10 equal a PSA 10 or a BGS 10?
No grading company's scale maps exactly onto another's. Degree scores Surface, Corners/Edges and Centering from 0 to 3 each, adds 1 for no creases or dents, and prints those subgrades on the label. The top of the scale (Degree 10 and the rare Degree 11) is deliberately selective. Treat the subgrades as the comparable information, not the headline number.
Why is Degree cheaper than PSA, Beckett, CGC and SGC right now?
Degree charges one flat rate per card regardless of the card's value and does not run a membership program. PSA and SGC raised their entry prices in 2026 and Beckett paused its two cheapest tiers to manage backlogs; Degree publishes a live turnaround estimate instead and adjusts capacity to it.

See what grading costs today

Flat pricing, live turnaround estimate, no membership. First order is 5 cards for $50.

Pricing and turnaround
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