The leading five
Places 1 to 5 of 35. Sixth place scores 44.
PSA
SGC
CGC
BGS
TAGThe full ranking
All 35 scored graders, highest score first.Sort by
Showing all 35, by score.
| # | Grader | Score | Resale standing | From | Turnaround | eBay guarantee | Compare |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | PSAStill the label buyers trust — but PSA is coasting on that trust while backlogs grow and lawsuits pile up. | 86Tier S | Premium | $39.99Value, cards up to $500 | 90–100 days | Yes | |
| 2 | SGCStill the vintage collector's slab of choice — but the speed it was built on is gone, and its independence under PSA's owner looks thinner every quarter. | 69Tier A | Accepted | $50Standard, cards up to $1,500 | 40+ days | Yes | |
| 3 | CGCThe strongest alternative to PSA for Pokémon and Magic, and the last major grader not owned by Collectors Holdings — though its slabs still trade a little under PSA. | 67Tier A | Accepted | $17Bulk, 25-card minimum, cards up to $500 | 90 days (Economy) | Yes | |
| 4 | BGSThe subgrade specialist, and still the right call for high-end modern chrome — but its independence now sits with the company that owns both its biggest rivals. | 60Tier B | Accepted | $79.95Express | 15 days | Yes | |
| 5 | TAGThe most transparent grade you can buy — every point deduction itemised — but the market still pays for PSA's label, not TAG's evidence. | 57Tier B | Emerging | $29.95Value, 10-card minimum, cards up to $250 | About 45 business days (Standard) | No | |
| 6 | MNT GradingA stable Canadian hockey specialist — dependable within that niche, largely invisible outside it. | 44Tier C | Regional | CA$15Rush, 20+ cards | Varies | No | |
| 7 | KSA CertificationOne of the oldest independents still running, and genuinely respected in Canadian hockey — but liquidity outside that niche is thin. | 43Tier C | Regional | CA$15100+ cards | 40–75 days | No | |
| 8 | DSGA young grader punching well above its weight on documentation — a 32-subgrade report at one flat price — but the resale market hasn't caught up to it yet. | 41Tier C | Raw value | $12Standard, over 100 cards | 10 days | No | |
| 9 | PCA GradeThe European default for Pokemon, and largely invisible to the American market. | 39Tier D | Regional | €10.90Classic, 10+ cards, cards up to €249 | 1 month (Fast) | No | |
| 10 | Ace GradingThe sensible choice for grading Pokémon in the UK or EU — but a US buyer won't pay a premium for an Ace slab. | 38Tier D | Regional | £18Basic | 30 business days | No | |
| 11 | Rare EditionYou're paying for the case, not the grade — a striking display holder whose price outruns any resale benefit. | 38Tier D | Raw value | $39Gold | 20 days | No | |
| 12 | AGSAn interesting robot-graded experiment that collectors largely treat as a pre-screening tool, not a slab to sell in. | 36Tier D | Raw value | $15Standard Bulk (TCG), 30-card minimum, cards up to $100 | 20 days | No | |
| 13 | DCI GradingA legitimate boutique with a regional following — but outside its existing customer base, a DCI slab carries no premium. | 35Tier D | Raw value | $25Slab | 14 business days (RCR); 30 for a slab | No | |
| 14 | CGAThe APAC option, and three different things share the initials. | 34Tier D | Raw value | A$11.50Bulk+, 300-card minimum | Varies by service | No | |
| 15 | RCGA young grader with modern presentation and little the resale market recognises — grade here only for yourself. | 33Tier D | Raw value | $20Revolution, 20+ cards | 25–30 days | No | |
| 16 | ISAAn early alternative that never gained traction — still operating, but with little resale recognition to show for fifteen years. | 32Tier D | Raw value | $15Grading, 10-card minimum | 14 days | No | |
| 17 | Edge GradingBetter known for the survey it publishes than for the slabs it sells. | 31Tier D | Raw value | $20Grading, 10+ cards | 4–8 days | No | |
| 18 | Mana GradingPublishes its reasoning for the grade, which almost nobody else does. | 31Tier D | Raw value | $11.70Bulk Order, 100-card minimum | 20–25 days | No | |
| 19 | FCGA boutique grader with a genuine point of view on eye appeal — but its slabs don't yet carry resale weight, so grade here for your own collection, not to sell. | 30Tier D | Raw value | $15Flat rate | 10 days | No | |
| 20 | MBAMBA does two jobs: it grades raw cards in its own holder, and it stickers other graders' slabs with a second opinion. | 30Tier D | Raw value | $15Raw grading, Standard | 30 business days | No | |
| 21 | TGACompetes on price and speed rather than reputation — the wrong trade if you ever intend to sell the card. | 30Tier D | Raw value | $16Value, 15-card minimum | 5 days | No | |
| 22 | Golden GradingFive dollars a card, a slab that reads as Beckett at a glance, and a serial lookup that could not find our card. | 29Tier D | Raw value | $5Economy | 10 days (Express) | No | |
| 23 | Aura GradingCheap, fast and unusually strict on its lowest subgrade — but it rounds every half-grade up, and it shares its name with an unrelated UK grader. | 29Tier D | Raw value | $9Bulk, 50-card minimum | 2–3 weeks | No | |
| 24 | Degree GradingExplains a grade better than almost anyone in the hobby — and almost nobody is buying the slabs. | 25Tier D | Raw value | $15Bulk, 10-card minimum | About 47 business days | No | |
| 25 | Arena ClubGrading bundled into a vault and marketplace — convenient if you sell inside their ecosystem, but the slab alone doesn't yet carry weight outside it. | 24Tier D | Raw value | $15Grade and vault | ~30 business days (estimated, per support) | No | |
| 26 | TCGNot TCGplayer. The name is the most confusing thing about it. | 23Tier D | Raw value | A$16Routine per card | 50–60 business days | No | |
| 27 | ARK GradingAlmost nothing is publicly verifiable about it, and that is the finding. | 22Tier D | Raw value | A$23Economy | 65 days (Economy) | No | |
| 28 | GASAlmost nothing independent is known about it — which, for a grader you are trusting with your card's value, is the answer. | 22Tier D | Raw value | $8Single rate, 100-card minimum | 14 days | No | |
| 29 | WCGReviewers have publicly questioned whether it belongs in the hobby at all — grading here can leave your card harder to sell than raw. | 21Tier D | Raw value | $9Up to 28 day service | 28 days | No | |
| 30 | GMA Grading & AuthenticationThe cheapest way to put a card in a holder — and priced that way for a reason. Fine for bulk, wrong for anything you'd want to sell. | 20Tier D | Raw value | $9Economy, 100+ cards | 25 days | No | |
| 31 | BVGIf your card is pre-1981 and went to Beckett, it came back BVG rather than BGS. | 19Tier D | Raw value | Not listed | 20–25 days | No | |
| 32 | PGIA bulk specialist by design — its own rules cap it at cards worth under $100, which tells you what the slab is for. | 17Tier D | Raw value | $12.50Flat rate, 25-card minimum, cards up to $100 | About 2 weeks (shown as an icon on the site, not stated in text) | No | |
| 33 | GSGSearchable on eBay across all three card categories, and little else is established. | 12Tier D | Raw value | €18.89No subgrades, 60+ cards | 6 weeks | No | |
| 34 | C3 GradingA brand-new flat-rate grader with a distinctive horizontal slab — and nothing independent yet to judge it on. | 8Tier D | Raw value | $9Flat rate | 2–3 weeks | No | |
| 35 | AIC GradingIt grades cards and sells the cards it grades, and almost all of them are tens. | 5Tier D | Raw value | $10Multi-Value | Not published | No |
No scored grader is marked as suited to this.
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Not currently grading
These 5 are left out of the ranking and carry no score. A score says where to send a card, and none of them is taking public submissions. Their slabs are still bought and sold, so each still has a scorecard.
- DefunctBCCGA BCCG grade is not a BGS grade, and the number on the slab is not comparable.
- AbsorbedCSGCSG no longer grades. The slabs are still real and CGC still stands behind them.
- DefunctGAIGone since 2009, but its pack grading is still respected and still trades.
- Not yet openGranite State GradingGrades with AI-assisted inspection and publishes a publicly verifiable cert for every slab — but it is not taking submissions from the public yet.
- SuspendedHGAAcquired by ucollect.com and not currently accepting submissions — whatever HGA becomes in 2026, it isn't a grader you can use today.