PSA vs CGC vs BGS vs ACE: Which Grader in the UK?

PSA vs CGC vs BGS vs ACE at a glance

All four check a card is genuine, give it a 1–10 grade and seal it in a numbered, tamper-evident case. They differ in whether they use half grades and subgrades, what the label shows, where they are based and what they charge. This table sums up the differences that matter most from the UK.

Which grading company is cheapest in the UK?

On 16 October 2026, the cheapest per-card fees open to everyone were CGC Bulk at £14 + VAT (£16.80) with a 25-card minimum and ACE Basic at £18. ACE members can use a £12 tier. PSA's cheapest open tier was $59.99, and Beckett's cheaper US tiers were waitlisted. Return postage and customs change the totals.

• Return postage: CGC UK charges £32 + VAT (£38.40) to return 1–5 cards by FedEx with signature, £34 + VAT for 6–25. PSA and Beckett US charge international return shipping. Check ACE's return cost at checkout.
• Currency: ACE and CGC UK bill in pounds. PSA and Beckett US bill in US dollars and Beckett Europe in euros, so the pound cost moves with exchange rates.
• Customs: slabs coming back from the US or EU are an import. Goods over £135 can attract import VAT, plus a Royal Mail (£8) or Parcelforce (£12) handling fee. Our UK grading guide explains the rules.

How do the grading scales compare?

All four use 1–10, but the steps differ. PSA uses half grades from 1.5 to 8.5 but has no 9.5. CGC and Beckett use half grades up to 9.5 and put a Pristine 10 above Gem Mint. ACE uses whole numbers only. So a CGC 9.5 or BGS 9.5 has no exact PSA equivalent, and an ACE 9 covers what others split into 9 and 9.5.

Their published centring limits for a 10 are close but not identical. These are the front and back limits each grader states for its top grades:

Centring is only one of four checks. Corners, edges and surface count just as much, and a print line or a speck of whitening can cost a 10 at any grader. Our guide to what each grade means has the full scales.

Do subgrades matter?

Subgrades are separate scores for centring, corners, edges and surface. They show why a card got its grade. Beckett prints all four on its label; ACE says it gives them free; PSA does not give them; CGC UK's fee list did not offer them in October 2026. They matter most if you want to know exactly where a card fell short.

• Beckett colours its label by result: Black for a Pristine 10 with four perfect 10 subgrades, Gold for Pristine 10 and Gem Mint 9.5, Silver for everything else.
• ACE says its subgrades also weigh the card's "points of interest", so they do not work exactly like other graders' subgrades.
• PSA instead adds a qualifier when a card meets a grade apart from one flaw, such as OC (off-centre) or MK (marks). Since 2021 PSA mostly reflects issues in the number itself, but MK and MC (miscut) still appear.

What do the labels and slabs look like?

Each grader has a recognisable label. PSA and CGC print the grade name and number; CGC uses Pristine for its top grade. Beckett colours the label by result. ACE offers a free standard label with a gold highlight for Gem Mint 10s, a colour-matched label for £1 and an illustrated "Ace Label" for £3 on some cards.

Each of these graders lets you look up a certificate number online. Whatever slab you buy, check the certificate number on the grader's own site and make sure the card on record matches the card in the case. Our fake card guide covers what else to check.

Can I submit to each grader from the UK?

• ACE: yes, direct. Submit online and post or courier the cards to ACE in England. ACE also accepts submissions from the EU, US, Canada, Japan, Australia and New Zealand.
• CGC: yes, to its London office (CCG UK) by post, or in person at the Fanatics store at 54 Regent Street, London W1B 4DY, which CGC says accepts trading card submissions.
• PSA: through a UK group-submission dealer listed in PSA's dealer directory, or direct to the US. Its Greater London receiving centre was announced for the second half of 2026 but had no published address or opening date. See our PSA from the UK guide.
• Beckett: direct to the US, or ask Beckett Europe. Its EU page said online submissions from the UK were unavailable and pointed bulk UK orders to a contact.

Which grader should a UK collector choose?

There is no single right answer, and we do not make claims about which label sells for more. Choose by what you need: low cost and no customs, a London office, subgrades on the label, or the grader your intended buyers ask for. Look at sold listings for graded copies of your own card to see which labels buyers use.

• Lowest cost, no customs, pounds: ACE.
• A UK office for a US grader, half grades and a Pristine tier: CGC London. Watch the Bulk minimum and add return postage.
• The grader many buyers ask for by name: PSA. Costs more from the UK today, and involves the US until the London centre opens.
• All four subgrades printed on the label: Beckett, if a tier is open and you can get cards to it.

Also consider TAG, a US grader that adds a 100–1000 point score to the 1–10 grade; our UK grading guide covers its fees.

Before you pay any grader, use our grading checklist to check the numbers add up. You can browse the slabs we have in stock on our graded page, and if you would rather sell raw cards than grade them, see sell your cards.