Which market is cheapest for CS2 skins?
We track the lowest listing for every CS2 item on five cash marketplaces, Skinport, Lis-Skins, White.market, Waxpeer and Market.CSGO, plus the Steam Community Market. On 2 October 2026, 5,662 items worth at least $1 were listed on all five cash markets. This is how often each one had the lowest price:
| Market | Cheapest listing | Cheapest with at least 5 listings at that market |
|---|---|---|
| Skinport | 3,087 items (55%) | 1,114 items |
| Lis-Skins | 1,867 items (33%) | 1,850 items |
| White.market | 473 items (8%) | 469 items |
| Waxpeer | 163 items (3%) | 160 items |
| Market.CSGO | 72 items (1%) | 67 items |
Source: CSRated price snapshot, 2 October 2026.
Skinport wins most often, but many of those wins rest on a small number of listings. When the cheapest market also needed at least 5 listings for the item, Lis-Skins came out ahead. Among items with at least 20 Steam listings, Steam was never cheaper than the cash markets for a knife, glove or weapon case, and cheaper for only about 7% of weapon skins.
The gaps between cash markets are smaller than the gap to Steam. The median spread from the cheapest to the dearest cash market was 15%, and the cheapest market typically beat the second cheapest by under 4%.
How do prices compare for 25 popular skins?
We took the 25 weapon skins with the most Skinport sales over 30 days that cost at least $3 and were listed on every market. Here are twelve of them.
| Skin | Cheapest cash listing | Second cheapest | Highest cash listing | Steam |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Desert Eagle Printstream (FT) | Skinport $28.42 | White.market $32.81 | Market.CSGO $35.50 | $45.17 |
| AK-47 Inheritance (FT) | Skinport $28.42 | White.market $32.37 | Market.CSGO $34.52 | $41.54 |
| USP-S Printstream (FT) | Skinport $30.70 | Lis-Skins $35.60 | Market.CSGO $37.62 | $45.45 |
| Glock-18 Shinobu (FT) | Skinport $4.09 | White.market $4.51 | Market.CSGO $4.90 | $6.17 |
| M4A1-S Fade (FN) | Skinport $168.44 | Lis-Skins $170.36 | Market.CSGO $195.37 | $251.56 |
| AK-47 Slate (FT) | Skinport $3.14 | Market.CSGO $3.68 | Waxpeer $3.88 | $4.96 |
| AK-47 Redline (FT) | Skinport $24.41 | Waxpeer $26.30 | White.market $28.19 | $35.89 |
| AK-47 Ice Coaled (FT) | Lis-Skins $3.80 | Skinport $3.80 | Market.CSGO $4.29 | $5.18 |
| AWP Printstream (FT) | Skinport $38.48 | Lis-Skins $42.23 | Market.CSGO $44.87 | $60.09 |
| AWP Atheris (FT) | Skinport $3.41 | Lis-Skins $3.89 | White.market $4.10 | $5.38 |
| AWP Exothermic (MW) | Lis-Skins $4.13 | Skinport $4.17 | Waxpeer $4.34 | $5.48 |
| M4A4 Desolate Space (FT) | Skinport $9.99 | Lis-Skins $12.21 | Market.CSGO $12.92 | $15.20 |
Source: CSRated price snapshot, 2 October 2026. FT is Field-Tested, MW Minimal Wear, FN Factory New.
If you bought one of each of the 25 skins on a single market, the total would have been:
| Market | All 25 skins |
|---|---|
| Skinport | $580.38 |
| Lis-Skins | $629.38 |
| White.market | $644.07 |
| Waxpeer | $647.34 |
| Market.CSGO | $672.69 |
| Steam Community Market | $853.98 |
Skinport had the lowest listing for 23 of the 25 and Lis-Skins for the other 2. Lis-Skins was the most common second cheapest, at 13 of 25. Steam cost a median 46% more than the cheapest cash price, from 31% to 79% depending on the skin.
Why is Skinport's cheapest listing so often the lowest?
Partly because it is one listing, and partly because of what our feed includes. Two things to know before you treat it as the going price.
It is often far below what the skin actually sells for. For the 25 skins, Skinport's cheapest listing was a median 18% below Skinport's own 30-day median sale price. The 25 skins at their Skinport 30-day medians added up to $675.94, more than the $622.28 you would pay by picking the cheapest of the other four markets for each skin. A single bargain listing can be gone in minutes.
It can include items that are not tradable yet. Skinport's API docs describe a tradable option that, when on, shows only tradable items. Our snapshot reads the full list, so a low Skinport price can belong to an item you cannot move until its trade lock ends. Check the item page for a tradable date before you buy.
None of this makes Skinport a bad place to buy. It means the realistic Skinport price for a popular skin sits between its cheapest listing and its 30-day median, and the other markets are often closer to that than the table suggests.
What fees do you pay when you buy?
The listing price is not always the final price. Buyer fees, deposit fees and taxes can add to it. Here is what each market's review record says, as checked on 24 September 2026.
| Market | Buyer fee | How you pay | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Skinport | 0% | PayPal, Visa, Mastercard, Apple Pay, Alipay (varies by country) | Country-specific taxes can be added at checkout |
| Lis-Skins | No separate fee; the site sets its own prices | Card | Deposit fees depend on the payment system; deposited balance cannot be withdrawn |
| White.market | 0% | Bank card, crypto, WhiteBIT Codes, skins, gift cards | Deposit and withdrawal fees of 1% to 3% on most payment systems, 0% with WhiteBIT Codes |
| Waxpeer | No buyer fee rule published | Crypto | Deposit fees vary by method |
| Market.CSGO | No purchase commission listed | Card, bank transfer, selling items | Top-up fee depends on the payment system |
| Steam Community Market | 5% Steam fee plus 10% CS2 fee, already inside the price | Steam Wallet | Wallet money cannot be withdrawn |
Other big marketplaces also charge buyers nothing, including CSFloat, DMarket, BUFF Market, CS.DEALS and the Market mode on CS.MONEY. They do not publish a price feed we can use, so their prices are not in the tables above. Check them by hand for the exact skin. Our marketplace fees page puts every site's buyer, seller and withdrawal fees in one table.
What does buying an AK-47 Redline actually cost?
Say you want an AK-47 | Redline (Field-Tested) and have about $30. On 2 October 2026:
- Skinport, $24.41. The cheapest listing, with no buyer fee, but it was one of 83 Skinport listings, and Skinport's 30-day median sale was $28.38. If that listing is gone, expect to pay more.
- Waxpeer, $26.30. You need to top up with crypto first, and the deposit fee depends on the coin you use.
- Market.CSGO, $27.21. The top-up fee depends on your payment method.
- Lis-Skins, $27.49. Pay by card; any deposit fee comes from the payment system.
- White.market, $28.19. With a 1% to 3% deposit fee on most payment systems, up to about $29.04 all in.
- Steam, $35.89 in wallet money.
The cash markets landed within about $4 of each other, while Steam asked $7.70 to $11.48 more than any of them. For a skin you may sell again one day, buying with cash keeps more of its value. Our guide to adding Steam Wallet funds explains why a wallet dollar buys less.
How else can you pay less for the same skin?
Picking the market is only one lever. These often save more:
- Drop one wear. An AK-47 | Slate cost $3.14 in Field-Tested and $4.55 in Minimal Wear at the cheapest listing. A Glock-18 | Shinobu was $4.09 against $5.34. Our float values guide explains how wear is set.
- Set your own price. Several marketplaces let you bid instead of paying the asking price: buy orders on CSFloat and Market.CSGO, limit orders on White.market and bargain offers on BUFF Market, per their review records.
- Shop by budget, not by name. The budget skins finder lists every skin under a price you set, using the lowest listing across the five cash markets.
- Compare close options. The compare skins tool shows two or three skins side by side with each wear's lowest price.
Is the cheapest listing always the best deal?
Not always. Three checks before you pay:
- Float, pattern and stickers. Two listings of the same skin and wear can differ in value. A cheap listing may have a high float inside its wear band, and a pricier one may carry stickers or a better pattern.
- Trade protection. A skin delivered by trade arrives Trade Protected for 7 days. You can use it right away but cannot resell it until the period ends. The trade hold calculator shows the date.
- The site itself. A price far below every market is a warning sign, not a bargain. Valve's Steam Trading FAQ says hijackers sometimes get login details through a fake Steam or third-party trading site. Paste the address into the scam link checker, and never buy skins from a stranger for money outside a trade offer, which Valve's trading practices page warns against.
Which market should you use?
Match the market to how you pay and how much the price matters:
- You want the lowest price on a popular skin: start with Skinport and Lis-Skins, then check the skin's page on CSRated, which lists every tracked market's current price per wear.
- You pay with PayPal: Skinport is the one of the five that lists it.
- You pay with crypto: Waxpeer takes only crypto, and White.market takes crypto with a 0% deposit option through WhiteBIT Codes.
- You pay by card and want deep stock: Lis-Skins and White.market had the most listings of the cash markets in our snapshot.
- You only have Steam Wallet money: the Steam Market is your only option, and stickers are where the gap to cash markets is smallest.
Prices move every day, so check before you buy. For why the same skin costs different amounts in different places, read how CS2 skin prices work. If fees matter most to you, the lowest-fee marketplaces list ranks sites by what they charge.