PSA vs BGS vs CGC: what a 10 means at each company
Reference and math only. This site does not appraise cards, does not price them for you and does not authenticate them — every number here is one you enter or one you verify at the source we cite.
Updated Aug 21, 2026
The four majors differ in three ways that actually change what you get back: how many grades sit at the top of the scale, whether the scale has half steps and subgrades, and what happens when a card turns out to be altered. Fees and turnaround are a separate question, answered further down and in full on the cost page.
Everything below is read from each company’s own published standards on 21 August 2026.
What a 10 means at each company#
| Company | Top grade | Centering required at the top |
|---|---|---|
| PSA | Gem Mint 10 — a “virtually perfect card” | Approximately 55/45 front, 75/25 reverse |
| BGS | Pristine 10, Black Label | 50/50 all around on front, 55/45 or better on back |
| CGC | Pristine 10 | 50/50, with flawless colour and registration |
| CGC | Gem Mint 10 — a 10 overall, one criterion short of Pristine | Not to exceed approximately 55/45 front, 75/25 reverse |
| SGC | 10 PRI — “virtually flawless” | 50/50 |
| SGC | 10 GM | 55/45 or better |
Three of the four split the top of the scale in two. PSA does not: at PSA there is one 10, and the card either is one or is not.
That structural difference is the source of most cross-company confusion. A CGC Gem Mint 10 and a CGC Pristine 10 are both tens; only one of them carries the special label. At PSA the equivalent distinction does not exist on the label at all.
Half grades and subgrades#
BGS: halves everywhere
Beckett states that final grades come in half-point increments across the scale — 10, 9.5, 9, 8.5 and so on down to 1.
CGC and SGC: halves too
CGC names Mint+ 9.5 and NM/Mint+ 8.5 as their own rungs; SGC lists 9.5, 8.5, 7.5 and every half step down to 1.5.
PSA: one half step
PSA's published card ladder runs 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.5, 1. The single half grade sits at the bottom, not near the top.
Subgrades are Beckett’s alone by default. Every BGS card is scored on four categories — centering, corners, edges and surface — and those four appear on the label next to the overall grade. Beckett charges $3 extra on any 10 where subgrades are added, and prices its Base tier at $14.95 without subgrades against $17.95 with them.
Why that matters in practice: on a modern card, the gap between 9.5 and 10 is usually one category. Subgrades tell you which one, which is the difference between “this card was unlucky” and “this card was never going to grade”.
Altered cards: the part nobody compares#
PSA publishes what happens when a card fails authenticity rather than condition, and the list is worth reading before submitting anything vintage. A card returned without a numeric grade carries one of these reasons:
| Code | What PSA found |
|---|---|
| N1 | Evidence of trimming — an edge that appears altered |
| N2 | Evidence of restoration — paper stock built up |
| N3 | Evidence of recolouration |
| N4 | Questionable authenticity |
| N5 | Altered stock, including crease pressing, scratch removal or enhanced gloss |
| N6 | Minimum size requirement — the card is significantly undersized |
| N7 | Evidence of cleaning, including whitener used on borders |
Several of those can still be encapsulated as “Authentic Altered” at the grader’s discretion, and you pay the fee either way. N4 never is: a card PSA believes to be counterfeit is not encapsulated under any circumstance, and the fee still applies.
Beckett states that an authenticity check for trimming, doctoring and alteration runs on every card before grading begins. CGC approaches the same problem from the other end with crossover, evaluating a card already sealed by PSA, Beckett or SGC and returning it untouched in its original holder if it would not match or beat the existing grade.
Cost and speed, briefly#
The full tables are on the cost comparison page, but the shape of it as of 21 August 2026: SGC at $15 and CGC Economy at $20 were the cheapest tiers anyone could book, PSA’s Value ladder and Beckett’s Base and Standard tiers were closed to new submissions, and CGC Standard at $55 with a ten-working-day turnaround was both cheaper and far faster than PSA Regular at $79.99 with 70 to 80 business days.
Which one fits which card#
PSA
Vintage, high-value and anything you intend to sell. The population is largest, the market is deepest and the holder carries the biggest resale premium — which is why it costs the most and takes the longest.
BGS
Modern chase cards where you want to know why the grade landed where it did. Subgrades turn a disappointing 9.5 into information, and the Black Label is its own collecting target.
CGC
When speed and price both matter. A ten-working-day Standard tier at $55 has no equivalent elsewhere, and nothing in its ladder was closed when we checked.
SGC
Cheap vintage in volume. The $15 tier under $1,500 declared value is the lowest published fee of the four, and the tuxedo holder has its own following among vintage collectors.
The caveat that makes the rest honest#
Resale premium is the reason most people choose PSA, and it is the one claim on this page that carries no number, because this site does not republish card price data. Check it yourself before paying for it: look up completed sales of your exact card in a PSA holder and in a BGS or CGC holder at the same grade, and see whether the gap covers the difference in fees and months.
The arithmetic for that comparison is on the grading ROI calculator, and the reasoning is in is it worth grading Pokémon cards. If the card is still raw and unassessed, start with condition and the one attribute you can measure yourself, centering — at three of the four companies, the top grade begins with 50/50. What the card is worth in the first place is the value question.
Sources
Every figure above was read on the page below on the date shown. Grading fees and marketplace rules change without notice — check the source before you send anything.
- PSA — Grading Standards, grade definitions and no-grade codes — checked Aug 21, 2026
- Beckett — Grading scale, subgrades and service levels — checked Aug 21, 2026
- CGC Cards — Grading Scale — checked Aug 21, 2026
- SGC — Grading Scale — checked Aug 21, 2026
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between PSA, BGS and CGC?
PSA issues a single top grade and almost no half grades. BGS grades in half-point steps and prints four subgrades on every label. CGC and SGC each split the top into a Pristine 10 and a Gem Mint 10. All four seal the card; only the resale premium differs, and PSA carries the largest one.
Is a BGS 9.5 better than a PSA 10?
They are not the same rung. A BGS 9.5 is Gem Mint on a scale whose top grade is Pristine 10; a PSA 10 is the top of its scale. Buyers price them separately, and on most cards the PSA 10 sells for more, which is a market fact rather than a statement about the card.
Which grading company is the strictest?
On published centering alone, the Pristine grades are strictest: BGS Black Label demands 50/50 on the front and 55/45 or better on the back, and CGC and SGC both require 50/50 for Pristine. PSA’s single 10 allows approximately 55/45 front and 75/25 reverse.
What are BGS subgrades?
Four separate scores printed on the label for centering, corners, edges and surface, alongside the overall grade. They explain why a card landed where it did, which matters most on modern cards where a single weak category is the difference between a 9.5 and a 10.
Do graders check whether a card has been altered?
Yes, and PSA publishes what it does about it: cards showing trimming, restoration, recolouration, altered stock or evidence of cleaning come back with a no-grade code rather than a number, and questionable authenticity is never encapsulated. Beckett states an authenticity check runs before grading begins.
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