PSA Grading Cost 2026: Every Tier, Fee and Upcharge

Short answer: At the time of writing, PSA grading costs 59.99 dollars per card at the cheapest tier, Standard, and rises to 79.99, 199, 349 and 599 dollars per card for faster service and higher value cards. PSA's cheaper Value tiers are paused. On top of the tier price you pay shipping both ways, and a possible upcharge if your card turns out to be worth more than its tier covers.

Most pages that rank for this search still list the old Value Bulk price of around 22 dollars a card. That tier has been closed to new submissions since June 2, 2026. So below is what PSA actually charges today, what gets added on top, and how to work out whether a card is worth grading at all. Every price comes from PSA's pricing page, checked on September 26, 2026. PSA changes prices, so check that page before you submit.

PSA grading prices by tier

PSA prices each service level per card. Each level has a maximum insured value, which is the most your card can be worth and still stay in that tier, and an estimated turnaround in business days.

Standard is 59.99 dollars per card, covers cards worth up to 1,000 dollars, and has an estimated turnaround of 90 to 100 business days. It includes standard imaging of the front and back of the graded card.

Priority is 79.99 dollars per card, covers cards up to 1,500 dollars, and is estimated at 70 to 80 business days. It adds a fitted sleeve protector on the returned slab.

Express is 199 dollars per card, covers cards up to 2,500 dollars, and is estimated at 20 to 30 business days. It adds grader notes, which explain the defects that decided the grade.

Super Express is 349 dollars per card, covers cards up to 5,000 dollars, and is estimated at 10 to 15 business days. It upgrades to high resolution premium imaging.

Premier is 599 dollars per card, covers cards up to 10,000 dollars, and is estimated at 7 to 10 business days. For cards worth more than 10,000 dollars, PSA lists separate premium options.

Notice that the jump from Priority to Express is the big one. You pay about two and a half times as much to cut roughly 50 business days off the wait and get grader notes. For most modern cards, that is hard to justify.

Why the cheap Value tiers are gone for now

PSA paused Value Bulk, Value, Value Plus and Value Max for new submissions from June 2, 2026. In its announcement, PSA said a surge in submissions had pushed its backlog toward 10 million cards, and that the pause was needed to protect its grading standard.

PSA says the pause is tied to operational milestones rather than a date. Its stated target is to bring the backlog down to 5 million cards, which it projected could take up to four months, and then reopen the Value tiers as conditions improve. PSA also launched a public backlog tracker on its site, updated every two weeks, if you want to watch for that.

What this means in practice: until the Value tiers return, Standard at 59.99 dollars is the floor for a PSA submission. Any guide quoting Value Bulk pricing is out of date.

The upcharge, explained plainly

This is the part people find confusing, and the one most guides dodge.

Every tier has a maximum insured value. You pick the tier based on what you expect the card to be worth once graded, not what it is worth raw. If PSA grades your card and it turns out to be worth more than your tier's maximum, PSA's coverage policy says it will upgrade the service level for that one card, not your whole order, and notify you of additional fees. Once those are paid, the card is covered up to the higher tier's maximum.

Here is a simple way to picture it. Say you send a card at Standard, which covers up to 1,000 dollars. It comes back a PSA 10 and that grade sells for around 3,000 dollars. That value belongs in Super Express, which covers up to 5,000 dollars and is priced at 349 dollars per card. PSA moves the card up and bills you the additional fees for that level.

Two practical lessons follow. First, price the card at the grade you realistically expect before you choose a tier, using recent sold prices for that grade. Second, the upcharge is not a penalty. It is PSA insuring a more valuable card, and if you are paying it, the grade usually went your way.

What you actually pay per card

The tier price is only part of the bill. A realistic total for one card includes the tier price, the cost of sending your cards to PSA with tracking and packing supplies, return shipping and insurance, which PSA adds at checkout based on how the order comes back and what it is worth, and any upcharge.

That is why sending one card on its own is the most expensive way to grade. The shipping costs are mostly fixed per order, so they hit hardest on a single card and shrink per card as you add more to the same submission. If you only have one or two cards worth grading, a card shop that runs group submissions can spread those costs across many collectors. Many local card shops do this, though they add their own service fee, so ask for the total before you hand anything over.

PSA also runs on site grading at some large shows, including the National, with its own separate price list. That costs more than mail in grading and exists mainly for speed.

Is your card worth grading?

The math is simple, and doing it before you submit is what separates grading that pays from grading that loses money.

Look up recent sold prices for the raw card and for the grade you honestly expect it to get, usually a PSA 9 and a PSA 10 for a modern card. Subtract the raw price from the graded price. Then subtract the full cost per card from the section above. If what is left is small or negative, grading will not pay off, and selling it raw is the better move.

Be honest about the likely grade. A card with off center borders or a soft corner rarely comes back a 10, and a PSA 9 often sells for a fraction of a 10. Checking centering and corners before you pay is the cheapest step in the whole process. That is part of why I built Cards AI: it shows a card's value from recent eBay sold listings and gives a Cards AI Grade across centering, corners, edges and surface (AI estimate only), so you can screen out weak candidates before paying 59.99 dollars to find out.

If PSA is not the only company you are considering, our breakdown of CGC grading cost covers its tiers, and our guide on how PSA grading works walks through what happens to your card from submission to slab.

Frequently asked questions

What is the cheapest way to grade a card with PSA right now? Standard, at 59.99 dollars per card at the time of writing, for cards worth up to 1,000 dollars. The cheaper Value tiers have been paused since June 2, 2026.

How much does PSA charge for a card worth 500 dollars? A card worth up to 1,000 dollars after grading fits in Standard at 59.99 dollars per card, plus shipping both ways. If it grades higher than expected and is worth more than 1,000 dollars, PSA moves it up a tier and bills the additional fees.

What is a PSA upcharge? When a graded card is worth more than its tier's maximum insured value, PSA upgrades that card to a higher service level and charges additional fees so it is insured for its real value. Only that card is affected, not your whole order.

When will PSA Value Bulk come back? PSA says the Value tiers will reopen once its backlog comes down to its 5 million card target. It has not set a date. Its public backlog tracker is the best place to watch.

How long does PSA grading take? At the time of writing, estimates range from 7 to 10 business days for Premier to 90 to 100 business days for Standard. These are estimates in business days, not calendar days, and do not include shipping time.