PSA vs. CGC vs. BGS: Which Grading Company to Pick
The full comparison between the four major grading companies - price, turnaround, resale premium, and accessibility from Israel - so you choose right the first time.
Updated 23 July 2026
9 min read
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Four grading companies - PSA, CGC, BGS, and ACE - offer professional card evaluation and grading, but they don't compete on the same field. Each has a different profile of price, turnaround, and the thing that matters most to an Israeli collector: how much the card is actually worth when you sell it back. This guide helps you choose, not just compare.
PSA or CGC - which is better? The short answer
There's no single right answer for everyone - it depends on what matters to you. If maximum resale value is your top priority, especially for a vintage or rare card, PSA is the safe choice even though it's currently the pricier and slower of the four. If low cost, reasonable speed, and simple access from Israel matter more, CGC is the better fit - and it's also gaining fast popularity for modern and Japanese trading cards. BGS mainly matters if you're chasing a Black Label certification on a near-perfect card, and ACE suits a collector holding long-term who isn't in a rush to sell.
PSA vs. CGC vs. BGS vs. ACE
The table below compares the four companies across six dimensions that actually matter for the decision - not just price and turnaround, but what happens when you try to sell the card afterward. Prices refer to direct submission from the US, not including international shipping, insurance, or customs on the way back to Israel.
| Company | Base price (direct submission) | Estimated turnaround | Resale premium | Sub-grades | Access from Israel |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | About $80 for the cheapest active tier (Regular) - Value tiers temporarily paused since June 2026. | About 40-50 business days on the budget tier. | The highest in the market, especially for vintage and rare cards - the secondary market's default. | None. A single overall grade, no corner/edge/surface breakdown. | No official distributor. Submit through an intermediary (Kanto District) or ship abroad on your own. |
| CGC | About $15-18 for the entry tier (Bulk/Economy). | A few months on the budget tier; Express/Walk-Through cut that dramatically at a much higher price. | Lower than PSA for vintage cards, but the gap narrows for modern and Japanese cards - and is rising fast. | Optional, for an extra fee - not on every submission. | Most accessible - official Israeli distributor (MA Collectables, Ashkelon), which also handles PSA submissions. |
| BGS | Varies, generally in a similar range to PSA/CGC. | Varies by tier. | High mainly for high-value cards with a Black Label certification; less prominent for "regular" trading cards. | Yes, by default - centering, corners, edges, and surface on every card. | No official distributor. Submit through an intermediary (Kanto District) or ship abroad on your own. |
| ACE | Varies, no consistent published Israeli data. | Varies. | Lower liquidity in the Israeli secondary market right now - less relevant if you plan to sell soon. | Not clearly documented publicly, as of July 2026. | No known Israeli presence or intermediary currently. |
Pricing Data Changes Often
The figures above are per the companies' official pricing pages and public documentation, as of our check in July 2026 - prices and turnaround change frequently. For full detail on cost, Israeli intermediaries, and the submission process itself, see our grading-from-Israel guide.
Which company fits you
Choosing between the companies is mostly a question of what matters most to you - not which one is "best" in absolute terms. The table below maps a key priority to the company that fits it:
| What matters most to you | Choose | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Maximum resale value, a vintage or rare card | PSA | The highest premium in the secondary market, even at a higher cost. |
| Low cost, reasonable speed, simple access from Israel | CGC | Cheaper and faster on average, with an official Israeli distributor that saves you the logistics headache. |
| A modern or Japanese trading card | CGC | More popular and recognized in the relevant collector community, with a smaller premium gap versus PSA. |
| A near-perfect card, chasing a Black Label | BGS | The only one that issues a separate certification for four perfect sub-grades. |
| You want to know exactly why the card got its grade | BGS, or CGC with the sub-grade add-on | Both expose a breakdown by centering/corners/edges/surface. |
| Long-term collector, not in a rush to sell | ACE, with caution | Lower liquidity in the Israeli market right now - less ideal if you might sell soon. |
A card already graded PSA 10 or CGC 10 typically sells for more, and faster, once listed for sale - the buyer doesn't have to trust the seller's description, the grade speaks for itself, exactly the principle covered in our safe trading guide. You can start selling graded (or raw) cards on our sell page.
What sub-grades are and who should care
Sub-grades are separate scores for four condition components - centering, corners, edges, and surface - on top of the overall grade. They answer "why did this card get a 9 and not a 10" precisely, instead of leaving it to guesswork.
Sub-Grade Transparency
BGS shows sub-grades by default on every card, and from them comes the Black Label certification - four perfect 10s simultaneously, not just an overall average of 10. CGC offers sub-grades as an optional add-on for an extra fee, not by default. PSA doesn't publish sub-grades to the public at all - buyers see only the overall grade, with no way to know whether it came from weak centering or a damaged corner. If you don't care about the breakdown and just want the highest premium, that's not a drawback. If you want full transparency on a card's condition - or you have a card with perfect centering you're confident will score well on the breakdown - sub-grades are worth checking out.
What's practical from Israel
None of the four companies has an official office or physical grading lab in Israel - searching for "PSA Israel" or "CGC Israel" really means looking for a way to reach these companies from here, not a local branch.
- CGC - the most accessible: an official Israeli distributor, MA Collectables (Ashkelon), which also handles PSA submissions through it.
- PSA and BGS - no official distributor; submit through an intermediary like Kanto District, or ship abroad on your own and take on the insurance, forms, and tracking yourself.
- ACE - currently no known intermediary or Israeli presence; every submission requires shipping abroad on your own.
Calculate Costs Before Shipping
On any route that involves shipping abroad and back, there are two things worth calculating in advance: actual wait time (see the comparison table above), and VAT and customs on the card's return to Israel - the exact rules and math are covered in our import taxes guide for cards. Estimate it in advance with our customs calculator, or get the full picture including the fee and both shipping legs with our grading cost calculator. The full guide to the process, including a pre-shipping checklist and a realistic timeline, is in Grading from Israel: the complete guide.
Is this card worth grading
When Grading Isn't Worth It
Grading cost is roughly fixed regardless of the card's value (on the order of tens to a couple hundred shekels, depending on the company and tier), so the real question isn't "which company" but "whether at all." Grading is worth considering only when all of these hold together: the card is already in very high condition (Near Mint or better - see our card condition guide), its raw value is high enough that the expected increase comfortably covers the total cost (check with our card pricing guide), and it's rare, vintage, or in demand. Common cards, even in perfect condition, are almost never worth the cost - no matter which company you choose.
Once you've decided to grade, picking the company is mostly about which premium and which access fit your specific card - see the comparison and decision tables above.
FAQ
What is a PSA 10?
A PSA 10 is the highest grade on PSA's scale - a card preserved in near-perfect condition: sharp corners, good centering, no visible scratches, creases, or flaws. PSA does not publish sub-grades to the public, so the 10 is a single overall score, not an average. A PSA 10 sells for a significant premium over the same card at a lower grade, especially for vintage and rare cards.
How much does PSA grading cost?
The cheapest tier currently active (Regular) costs about $80 per card for direct US submission, not including shipping, insurance, and customs back to Israel. In June 2026 PSA temporarily paused all its lower-priced (Value) tiers due to a submission backlog. Through an Israeli intermediary like Kanto District, the reported cost runs about ₪80-₪265, depending on the tier - full details in our grading-from-Israel guide.
Does CGC hurt a card's resale value?
No. CGC is a well-known, legitimate grading company, not an "inferior brand" - it simply doesn't carry the same premium PSA does in the secondary market for vintage and rare cards. For modern cards and Japanese trading cards, that gap narrows significantly and sometimes nearly disappears. Choosing CGC is a deliberate tradeoff between speed/cost and maximum premium, not a mistake.
What are sub-grades?
Sub-grades are separate scores for each of four condition components - centering, corners, edges, and surface - on top of the overall grade. BGS shows sub-grades on every card by default, CGC offers them as an optional add-on, and PSA doesn't publish them to the public at all. For a collector who wants to know exactly why a card got a 9 instead of a 10, sub-grades are the missing piece.
Is it worth grading a cheap card?
Almost never. Grading cost (₪80+ on average through an Israeli intermediary) is roughly fixed regardless of the card's value, so a card with a raw value of a few dozen shekels will almost always lose money on grading, even if it comes back a perfect 10. The rule: grade when the expected value increase comfortably covers the fee, shipping, and wait time - not before.
What's the difference between a BGS Black Label and a regular grade?
Black Label isn't a grade on its own but a special certification: a card only earns it when all four of BGS's sub-grades (centering, corners, edges, surface) are a perfect 10, not just the overall average. It's significantly rarer than a "regular" BGS 10, and sells for a much higher premium - mainly on high-value, in-demand cards.
Which grading company is most accessible from Israel?
CGC, through its official Israeli distributor - MA Collectables (Ashkelon), which also handles PSA submissions. The other companies (PSA, BGS) aren't directly accessible from Israel: you submit through an intermediary like Kanto District, or ship abroad on your own. ACE currently has no known Israeli presence at all.