Justin Gauthier July 13, 2026

How to Grade Pokémon Cards: The Ultimate Guide to Grading Pokémon Cards

There comes a moment in your Pokémon card collecting journey when you go from casual to committed. You decide to learn how to grade Pokémon cards and find out what your best cards are worth. We’re here to help you take that step today with our Pokémon card grading guide.

The actual process of grading Pokémon cards couldn’t be more straightforward. You send your card (or cards) into a grading company and let them assign a grade based on a blend of quality criteria. Then, they send the card back to you in a sealed slab. Super simple.

Danireon makes it even simpler through our grading submission service. We send in batches of cards on your behalf (along with others). We also happen to stock one of the largest inventories of Pokémon cards in North America, including many pre-graded singles. Learn more below!

Key Takeaways

Pokémon cards are graded on a scale of 1-10. Higher gradings = more value.
Cards are assessed through four factors: centering, corners, edges, and surface condition.
PSA, BGS (Beckett), and CGC are the three main Pokémon grading companies.
The cost to grade Pokémon cards depends on the company, declared card value, and how fast you want your cards back.
Danireon offers Beckett and CGC grading submissions at $45 per card. We handle the entire process on your behalf.

What is Pokémon Card Grading?

You probably have a grasp on what grading Pokémon cards entails already. You send what you suspect is a valuable card in good condition to a professional authentication company. They put it through the wringer, looking at your card under magnification to assess its condition. Then, they stick it in a tamper-proof case (AKA a slab) with a label displaying the grade.

Cards are graded on a scale of 1-10, with a 10 being perfect (or nearly perfect) condition. These cards obviously fetch a higher value on the market than lower cards, or even a pristine card that hasn’t been graded.

There are different Pokémon grading companies, but they all agree on the same four criteria:

Centering: How evenly the card sits within its borders
Corners: Sharpness and wear
Edges: Nicks, whitening, and roughness along the card’s edge
Surface: Scratches, print lines, or blemishes

All it takes is one imperfection in one category to drag the grade down.

Benefits of Grading Pokémon Cards

You know your card is in mint condition. So does the person you’re selling it to. So why would you bother paying for Pokémon card grading? Three reasons:

Authenticity: It’s no secret that our beloved game has been flooded with fakes. A slab from a legit company takes all the guesswork out of identifying real cards.
Protection: That slab has a practical benefit of keeping your card safe from damage and UV exposure. This keeps your 10 at a 10 for the long haul. It holds its value for decades.
Value: Graded Pokémon cards can earn higher resale prices than their ungraded counterparts, even if they’re in the exact same condition. Like, multiples higher.

Anyone sitting on what they believe to be rare Pokémon cards with solid centering and clean surfaces should invest in grading. It pays for itself by helping you maximize the return you get when you decide to sell (if you ever do, of course).

Speaking of which, how much does it cost to grade Pokémon cards?

How Much Does it Cost to Grade Pokémon Cards?

There’s no way to give you a one-size-fits-all answer on the cost of Pokémon card grading. There are a few moving pieces at play - the company you submit your card to, the declared value of said card, and how fast you want the grading process completed.

Not only are there different grading companies out there, but different tiers within each company. Prices start in the $20-$30 range for cards of lower value and standard turnaround times. Express turnaround and higher-value cards push the cost higher.

We here at Danireon offer Beckett submissions at $45 per card. It’s not fast - expect to wait anywhere from 4-6 months to have your card back in hand. Or, you can pay the same price for CGC grading and trim it down to 3-4 months of waiting.

Either way, that price covers the paperwork, submission packaging, and insured shipping. All you have to do is get us the cards, and we’ll take it from there.

How to Grade Pokémon Cards: Step-by-Step Guide

We’ll talk more about the benefits of working with us compared to submitting your own cards to a major grading company later on. But first, is it really worth getting your Pokémon cards graded? That’s something YOU have to decide for yourself.

The answer usually reveals itself if you run the numbers. A raw card that’s worth $15 would have to sell for at least $60 to break even, assuming a $45 grading fee.

That’s why grading Pokémon cards really only makes sense for high-value pulls and chase cards. So if you happen to have one of those cards in your possession, here’s how to grade Pokémon cards.

Choose the Cards You Want to Grade

First, find out for sure that the cards you plan on grading are worth grading at all. Some of the obvious candidates for Pokémon grading are:

Vintage holos
Modern alt arts
Highly sought-after chase cards

Not sure where to start? Look up the cards you’re considering grading on eBay or TCGPlayer. You can also take a look at our own catalog here at Danireon to see what they’re going for. Does a PSA 10 or BGS 9.5 sell for way more than the raw copy? It’s probably worth grading!

But then you have to be honest in assessing the condition of your own card. Do you see surface scratches, soft corners, or obvious centering flaws? Any of these will drag the grade down. You don’t want to send your card in banking on it being a 9 or better only to get a grade of 6, and realize it was a poor financial decision.

Preparing and Protecting Your Cards

So you’ve decided which cards you’re going to get graded. You need to make sure they don’t lose value in transit, which means investing in protection. Slide each card into a fresh penny sleeve. Not one you just pulled out of an old Pokémon binder.

Then, stick that sleeved card into a card saver (a semi-rigid holder). Most Pokémon grading companies prefer this to hard toploaders. Make sure you’re handling cards by the edges - any fingerprints will show up under magnification and impact your grade.

That’s also why we are so strict about using a brand-new penny sleeve. Just a single speck of dust can be the difference between a 9 and a 10.

This is a conversation for another day, but knowing how to organize Pokémon cards properly before this stage can protect their condition. Check out our full guide on the topic. In the meantime, let’s move on to the next step in how to grade Pokémon cards.

Sending Them to a Grading Company

There are two paths to getting your Pokémon cards graded:

Submit directly to the grading company (PSA, BGS, or CGC)
Use a middleman service (we offer one here at Danireon)

We said earlier it can be worth using a third party. That’s because doing everything yourself means creating an account, paying membership fees (separate from individual grading costs), filling out a detailed submission form for each card with declared values, and shipping with tracking and insurance.

Third-party services like ours take all the stress out of grading Pokémon cards. You just have to handle the prep work. Send us your cards and we do the rest - paperwork filing, packaging prepping, and shipping with insurance.

We can offer pretty competitive rates because we do this in batches for more than one person at a time. We send out batches monthly. As of now, we only offer Pokémon grading through Beckett and CGC.

The Waiting Game

You’d be surprised how long it takes to get Pokémon cards graded. Expect to wait 4-6 months through our BGS service or 3-4 months through our CGC service.

However, some companies offer more expensive premium express services that return graded Pokémon cards within weeks. Even just how busy the companies are at a given time can impact the turnaround time.

We know how hard it is to wait around, anxious to find out what your cards are graded at. All we can tell you is that patience is a virtue!

Where to Grade Pokémon Cards: Key Criteria in Choosing a Grader (and Top Recommendations)

There you have it, how to grade Pokémon cards. Now it’s just a matter of deciding the next step - where to grade Pokémon cards. First, which grading company should you go with?

Reputation matters more than anything else, which is why we only recommend one of the three major graders (PSA, CGC, or BGS). A grade from a company your end-buyer has never heard of literally means nothing.

Not to mention, we’ve seen scams where people think they’re sending their cards to a new, legit company - only to never see them again. If anything ever sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

Then you just have to compare turnaround times and prices. This is only important if you’re on a tight timeline to sell your cards. There is a pretty direct correlation between how fast you get your cards graded and what it’ll cost you. We’ll break down the big three below.

PSA

Professional Sports Authenticator is the gold standard in Pokémon grading. Their 1-10 scale is the industry standard. Every collector hopes to earn a PSA 10 (Gem Mint), as these cards earn you top dollar on the secondary market.

You only get one number on the label. One overall assessment. No sub-grades.

The upside is brand name. Everyone recognizes the PSA label and trusts it. The downside? That namesake comes with a steep grading price. Really slow turnaround times, too. Everyone is trying to get their cards graded by PSA, so it’s not easy to get submission slots all the time.

CGC

Certified Guaranty Company actually made a name for itself grading comics back in the early 2000s. The company started grading trading cards in 2020, and is now the second-largest Pokémon card grading company, one that we send cards to all the time.

CGC also uses a 10-point scale that tops out at Pristine 10. Two professionals separately inspect each card before a grade is assigned.

BGS

Beckett Grading Services is the company that pioneered “sub grades.” Every label shows the main grade along with individual grades for centering, edges, corners, and surface. This gives buyers a bit more transparency about what they’re getting.

The Black Label 10 is top tier - all four sub-grades hit a perfect 10.0. Pokémon cards with this slab are some of the most valuable on the market.

Bottom Line on How to Grade Pokémon Cards

That does it for our complete guide on how to grade Pokémon cards. We can send cards to either BGS or CGC on your behalf at just $45 per card while taking all the stress out of having your cards graded. Just ship your card to our Ottawa location or drop them off locally and leave all the heavy lifting to us.

While you’re there, spoil yourself with the best selection of Pokémon booster boxes in Canada or check out our singles for sale. This will give you something to occupy yourself with while you wait for your cards to get graded!

Frequently asked questions

How much does it cost to have Pokémon cards graded?

$20-$30 per card for the lowest tier and slowest turnaround time - If you go directly to the company, which doesn’t account for membership fees or all the work that goes into submissions. We handle submissions for our customers at $45 a pop.

How do I know if my cards are fake?

You can usually tell - weird card stock thickness, off-color printing, blurry text, or a missing black core layer when you look at the edge of your card under light. Every Pokémon grading company authenticates cards before assessing their condition.

Will Pokémon card grading tell me how much my cards are worth?

No, but it’ll give you everything you need to 1) find out how much your card is worth and 2) get top dollar for it. Grading tells you the condition of your card objectively. It’s the first step towards finding out for sure how much your card is worth.