CS2 Stickers: Rarity, Pricing, and How to Apply Them to Your Skins
Posted: Sun Oct 18, 2026 6:37 am
CS2 Stickers: Rarity, Pricing, and How to Apply Them to Your Skins
Stickers are cosmetic decals you can stick on weapon skins in Counter-Strike 2. They do not change stats, but they can shift how a skin looks and how much it trades for. This guide covers where stickers come from, how rarity and finish affect price, and how the application process works before you commit.
What Stickers Are and Where They Come From
Stickers are a separate item type, not a skin finish. You receive them from sticker capsules, which you buy from the in-game store and open for one sticker from the set. Some stickers also come from Operation shops.[1] Unlike skins, stickers cannot be used in weekly drops or in Trade Up contracts.[1]
Tournament stickers are a separate category. They feature team logos and player autographs and come from Major capsules sold during the event. Once a Major ends, those capsules stop being sold and the supply is fixed. Every sticker applied to a gun and scraped off is removed from circulation, which is why older Major stickers tend to climb in price over time.[2]
Rarity and Finish: Two Different Axes
Stickers have a rarity tier and a finish style. The two are independent, and both affect price.
Rarity runs from most common to rarest:[1][3]
Within a single capsule the finishes are not equally common. Paper variants drop far more often than holo or foil, which is why two stickers with identical art can sit at wildly different prices.[2]
How Application Works
You can apply up to five stickers to a weapon in CS2, placed anywhere on the body since the update. Previously only four fixed positions were allowed.[1]
The process is one-way. Once a sticker is attached to a weapon it cannot be peeled off and reused. You can only scrape it, and scraping wears it through fixed stages toward a worn, faded appearance. Scraping destroys the sticker permanently.[1][2]
A weapon carrying applied stickers is a single tradeable item. Its value reflects the stickers plus the skin underneath.[2]
Pricing Stickered Skins: SP% and Value Transfer
Stickered skins are not priced as base skin plus full sticker price. The market uses Sticker Percentage (SP%), the portion of a sticker's value that realistically transfers to the skin after application. A common guideline is around 5% per sticker, with some recommending a maximum of 3.5% per sticker to avoid overpaying.[3][4]
For example, a base skin at $50 with a $350 Crown Foil at 5% SP% adds roughly $17.50, putting the estimated craft price near $67.50.[4]
Scrape condition matters too. Unscraped stickers retain full value consideration. Light scrape might hold 50-75% of that. Medium scrape drops to 25-50%. Heavy scrape falls to 10-25%.[4]
The Blue-Chip End: Discontinued Major Stickers
The most expensive stickers are legacy tournament holos from early Majors. The Titan (Holo) from Katowice 2014 trades around $80,000. The iBUYPOWER (Holo) from the same event is near $70,000.[3]
These stickers are expensive because their original supply was tiny, the capsules are no longer sold, and many were lost or destroyed over time.[3]
Should You Apply Expensive Stickers?
For penny-range stickers the trade-off is minor. For high-value stickers the math is less forgiving. A sticker worth $100 might only add a few dollars to the weapon it sits on. If you are after looks, that is fine. If you are after value, you are usually better keeping the sticker unapplied and selling it separately.[3]
FAQ
[1] What are Stickers in CS2 and Why Are They So Expensive (cs.money)
[2] CS2 Stickers: Types, Holo/Foil and Pricing Guide (SteamDB)
[3] CS2 Sticker Guide: Everything you need to know (CS-Resource)
[4] CS2 Sticker Value Guide (SteamAnalyst)
Stickers are cosmetic decals you can stick on weapon skins in Counter-Strike 2. They do not change stats, but they can shift how a skin looks and how much it trades for. This guide covers where stickers come from, how rarity and finish affect price, and how the application process works before you commit.
What Stickers Are and Where They Come From
Stickers are a separate item type, not a skin finish. You receive them from sticker capsules, which you buy from the in-game store and open for one sticker from the set. Some stickers also come from Operation shops.[1] Unlike skins, stickers cannot be used in weekly drops or in Trade Up contracts.[1]
Tournament stickers are a separate category. They feature team logos and player autographs and come from Major capsules sold during the event. Once a Major ends, those capsules stop being sold and the supply is fixed. Every sticker applied to a gun and scraped off is removed from circulation, which is why older Major stickers tend to climb in price over time.[2]
Rarity and Finish: Two Different Axes
Stickers have a rarity tier and a finish style. The two are independent, and both affect price.
Rarity runs from most common to rarest:[1][3]
- High Grade (blue): the most common stickers
- Remarkable (purple): slightly rarer
- Exotic (pink): uncommon
- Extraordinary (red): rare
- Contraband (gold): Howling Dawn is the only Contraband sticker in the game
Within a single capsule the finishes are not equally common. Paper variants drop far more often than holo or foil, which is why two stickers with identical art can sit at wildly different prices.[2]
How Application Works
You can apply up to five stickers to a weapon in CS2, placed anywhere on the body since the update. Previously only four fixed positions were allowed.[1]
The process is one-way. Once a sticker is attached to a weapon it cannot be peeled off and reused. You can only scrape it, and scraping wears it through fixed stages toward a worn, faded appearance. Scraping destroys the sticker permanently.[1][2]
A weapon carrying applied stickers is a single tradeable item. Its value reflects the stickers plus the skin underneath.[2]
Pricing Stickered Skins: SP% and Value Transfer
Stickered skins are not priced as base skin plus full sticker price. The market uses Sticker Percentage (SP%), the portion of a sticker's value that realistically transfers to the skin after application. A common guideline is around 5% per sticker, with some recommending a maximum of 3.5% per sticker to avoid overpaying.[3][4]
For example, a base skin at $50 with a $350 Crown Foil at 5% SP% adds roughly $17.50, putting the estimated craft price near $67.50.[4]
Scrape condition matters too. Unscraped stickers retain full value consideration. Light scrape might hold 50-75% of that. Medium scrape drops to 25-50%. Heavy scrape falls to 10-25%.[4]
The Blue-Chip End: Discontinued Major Stickers
The most expensive stickers are legacy tournament holos from early Majors. The Titan (Holo) from Katowice 2014 trades around $80,000. The iBUYPOWER (Holo) from the same event is near $70,000.[3]
These stickers are expensive because their original supply was tiny, the capsules are no longer sold, and many were lost or destroyed over time.[3]
Should You Apply Expensive Stickers?
For penny-range stickers the trade-off is minor. For high-value stickers the math is less forgiving. A sticker worth $100 might only add a few dollars to the weapon it sits on. If you are after looks, that is fine. If you are after value, you are usually better keeping the sticker unapplied and selling it separately.[3]
FAQ
- Can I remove a sticker and reuse it? No. Application is permanent for that copy. Scraping destroys it.[1]
- How many stickers fit on one weapon? Up to five in CS2, anywhere on the body.[1]
- Do stickers change weapon stats? No. They are cosmetic only.[2]
- What is the most expensive CS2 sticker? Titan (Holo) | Katowice 2014, around $80,000.[3]
- Why are old Major stickers so expensive? Discontinued capsules mean fixed supply, and scraping removes them permanently.[2]
- Can I use stickers in Trade Up contracts? No. Stickers are excluded from Trade Ups.[1]
[1] What are Stickers in CS2 and Why Are They So Expensive (cs.money)
[2] CS2 Stickers: Types, Holo/Foil and Pricing Guide (SteamDB)
[3] CS2 Sticker Guide: Everything you need to know (CS-Resource)
[4] CS2 Sticker Value Guide (SteamAnalyst)