Is StatTrak Worth It?

How much more does StatTrak cost in CS2?

Less than most people think. We matched every StatTrak item in our price data with its normal twin in the same wear, then compared the lowest cash listing for each. We kept only pairs where both versions had at least five listings, which left 4,663 pairs (CSRated price snapshot, 2 October 2026).

Source: CSRated price snapshot, 2 October 2026. "Typical" is the median pair. Prices are the lowest listing across Skinport, Market.CSGO, Waxpeer, Lis-Skins and White.market.

Listing prices can be optimistic, so we checked them against real sales. For 1,341 gun pairs, both versions had at least five sales on Skinport in the 30 days to 2 October 2026. The median StatTrak sold for 1.57 times the normal version, almost the same as the listing figure. The premium you see on listings is the premium buyers actually pay.

Three patterns stand out:

• Restricted and Classified guns carry the biggest premium, around 1.75 times.
• Covert and Mil-Spec guns carry less, about 1.3 times, and StatTrak was the cheaper version in more than one pair in five.
• Knives carry the smallest premium of all. Above $500, the typical StatTrak knife cost only 1.11 times the normal one.

Does the StatTrak premium change with wear?

A little. On guns, Minimal Wear carried the biggest premium, and Field-Tested and Battle-Scarred the smallest.

Source: CSRated price snapshot, 2 October 2026.

Field-Tested is also where StatTrak most often undercut the normal version: in almost a quarter of Field-Tested gun pairs, StatTrak was the lower price. If you want a StatTrak gun on a budget, Field-Tested is the place to look.

Why is StatTrak only 1.5 times the price if it is 10 times rarer?

Valve's Chinese publisher, Perfect World, published the odds in 2017: when an item can be StatTrak, the chance it drops as StatTrak is 1 in 10. So from cases, a StatTrak version is about ten times rarer than the normal one.

Prices do not follow that. Rarity limits supply, but price depends on demand. Apart from the counter, the StatTrak skin looks the same as the normal one, so a buyer who does not care about the counter has no reason to pay for the full rarity gap. StatTrak trade-ups also create StatTrak items outside cases, as explained below.

The result is a premium that is real but modest. For a buyer, that is good news: the extra cost is usually far below the rarity gap.

Which StatTrak skins have the biggest premium?

The premium varies widely, even between well-known skins at similar prices. Here are some popular Field-Tested skins, with listing prices and Skinport's 30-day median sale for each version.

Source: CSRated price snapshot, 2 October 2026, and Skinport sale medians for the 30 days to 2 October 2026.

Worked example. Say you want an AK-47 Redline in Field-Tested. The normal one listed at $24.41 and the StatTrak at $58.22, so the counter costs you $33.81 extra, more than the gun itself. A Glock-18 Water Elemental is the opposite case: StatTrak cost $1.70 more, about 11%. Same idea, very different price for it.

Across all gun pairs, 28% had a StatTrak premium of 2 times or more, and 34% had a premium under 1.25 times. The only way to know which group your skin is in is to price both versions. Our compare skins tool puts two items side by side.

Is StatTrak ever cheaper than the normal version?

Yes, more often than you might expect. In 17% of gun pairs, the StatTrak version had the lower listing price. Among normal guns listed between $100 and $500, it was 34%.

Some gaps are large and confirmed by sales:

• M4A1-S Flashback (Factory New): normal $114.74, StatTrak $21.06. Skinport's 30-day medians were $138.55 and $23.91.
• Glock-18 Ironwork (Factory New): normal $32.52, StatTrak $7.73.

We do not have a sourced reason for each case, so we will not guess one. The practical lesson is simple: never assume StatTrak costs more. If you would be happy with either version, check both and buy the cheaper one.

Are StatTrak knives worth it?

Usually, yes, if you were going to buy the knife anyway. The knife premium is the smallest in the data, and it shrinks as the price rises.

Source: CSRated price snapshot, 2 October 2026. The Doppler row covers all phases under one market name; see our Doppler phases guide.

On a $2,000 knife, a StatTrak version for the same money is an easy choice. One trade-off: there are fewer StatTrak copies for sale. The normal Karambit Fade had 316 cash listings against 72 for the StatTrak one, so you get less choice of float and pattern. If you are hunting a specific fade or a low float, the normal version gives you more to pick from. The pattern index guide explains why that matters on Fade knives.

Cheaper knives carry a bigger premium. Knives with a normal price between $20 and $100 had a typical premium of 1.43 times.

Does a high StatTrak kill count add value?

No. Skinport's StatTrak guide says the counter resets to zero for the new owner when the item is traded or sold, and that it only counts kills made by the owner. A seller asking extra for "10,000 kills" is charging for something you will not receive.

If you want to keep your own count when you switch skins, there is the StatTrak Swap Tool. Valve's item text says it "swaps StatTrak values between two of the same item type" (Steam Market listing). Both items need to be StatTrak. It listed at $0.85 on Skinport in our snapshot. Since the 12 November 2025 update, newly bought Swap Tools can no longer be traded or listed on the Community Market.

How does StatTrak work in trade-up contracts?

StatTrak trade-ups are a separate market. Steam Support says all ten inputs must be either normal or StatTrak, and normal skins cannot be mixed with StatTrak ones. Ten StatTrak inputs give a StatTrak output.

The 22 October 2025 update added a knife route: five StatTrak Covert items can be exchanged for one StatTrak knife from the collection of one of the inputs. Normal Coverts can give a knife or gloves, but the StatTrak route gives knives only.

That changes the maths. StatTrak inputs cost more than normal ones, but the StatTrak output usually sells for more too. Whether it pays depends on the exact inputs. The trade-up calculator works out the expected value, and our trade-up guide explains the rules in full.

Should you open cases to get StatTrak?

No. The 1 in 10 StatTrak chance applies on top of the normal rarity odds, so a specific StatTrak skin from a case is extremely unlikely. The drop rates tool shows the odds per rarity. Given that a StatTrak skin typically costs about 1.5 times the normal one, buying it directly is almost always cheaper than chasing it. If you do open cases, treat it as entertainment with a set budget; our responsible gaming page has practical limits.

When is StatTrak worth paying for?

Use the numbers above as a rule of thumb, then check the live price for your item.

1. Buying a knife you will keep: take StatTrak if the premium is under about 10% to 15%. Above $500, the typical knife premium was 11%, so many knives qualify.
2. Buying a Covert or Mil-Spec gun: compare both versions. About one pair in five had StatTrak at the lower price.
3. Buying a Restricted or Classified gun: expect to pay about 1.75 times. Only pay it if the counter matters to you.
4. Buying to resell: the premium holds in sales data (1.57 times on Skinport against 1.54 on listings), but StatTrak versions usually have far fewer listings, so there is a smaller market to sell into. Plan for a slower sale.
5. Never pay for the kill count. It resets when the item changes hands.

StatTrak is one of several things that move a skin's price, alongside wear, pattern and stickers. Our guide to how CS2 skin prices work shows how they stack, and the StatTrak glossary entry has the short definition.