PSA scores 17 points higher, mostly on market acceptance.
What decides it for you: Does getting the card back sooner matter more to you than how widely the slab resells?
Five questions, answered
1 · Resale value
Which slab adds more to the resale price?
PSA leads
PSA is rated Premium at resale; SGC is Accepted.
Resale standing is how the US resale market treats the slab: whether buyers pay extra for the label, pay normally, or treat the card as raw. It is recognition, not a promise that a particular card will sell for more. The sold-price figure is a measured sample of Pokémon cards only.
Major US auction housesStandard inventoryStandard inventory
Sold price against a PSA 10 (Pokémon)The referenceNot verified
2 · Long-term hold
Which is the better long-term hold?
No clear lead
Neither is ahead on the things that keep a slab checkable over years, on the evidence we hold.
A slab holds its value over years when a future buyer can still check it: a public cert lookup and a population report let anyone verify a card long after it was graded. Years in business is shown for context; it is not a guarantee the company, or its lookup, will last.
SGC's holder is not verified, so we cannot say which protects better.
We record whether a holder is sealed and tamper-evident, and whether it is a standard size that fits ordinary storage. We have not tested impact, UV or archival protection, so we do not rank holders beyond that.
PSA gave its gem grade to the same share of modern sports cards (40.8%) and more of its modern TCG cards (68.2% against 33.5%).
A gem rate is the share of cards a grader returns at its gem grade or better. It is not a same-card test: each grader sees whatever collectors chose to send it, and the gem grade is not the same at every company.
Cards countedCards added in May 2026Cards added in May 2026
SourceGemRate, May 2026 grading recapGemRate, May 2026 grading recap
5 · Grading technology
Which has the better grading technology?
Method not published
SGC does not publish how its grades are set.
We describe how each grader says its grades are set and do not rank the methods: nothing we can measure shows that one method grades more accurately than another.
FactPSASGC
How grades are setHuman, machine-assistedNot stated
What the grader saysAt least two graders must agree on a grade; PSA has been bringing in Genamint imaging, which measures each card and flags alterations, since buying it in 2021.SGC's site does not describe how cards are graded.
What it costs to start
The cheapest listed slab
The cheapest tier each grader lists today, which is not the same service at both. PSA's covers cards declared up to $1,000.
PSA$59.99per cardStandard, cards up to $1,00090–100 business daysTypical turnaround: 90–100 days
SGC$50per cardStandard40+ business daysTypical turnaround: 40+ days
This site is only as good as the data behind it. If something looks wrong, out of date, or missing — or you just have a thought about it — tell us and we'll take a look.
