Table of Contents
With a valuation of approximately $5.6 billion, the CS2 economy is the largest virtual/skin economy in the world. Despite the Covert trade-up Update that wiped 50% of the total valuation in October, the Market has bounced back, slowly trending upwards.
The main driving force behind this valuation is the prestigious knives, some of which sell for upwards of ~$6000.
The CS2 knife is extremely rare, with a drop rate of only ~0.26% or one in 385 cases. Getting this “Exceedingly Rare Item” is nothing short of winning a lottery. Ironically, in some cases, it is akin to winning a jackpot with astonishing returns.
In this article, we go over some of these, the most expensive CS2 knives, how they are priced, and where you can monitor them.
How CS2 Knife Pricing Works
The factors that primarily affect the price of a CS2 knife are as follows:
- Skin - The skin is the biggest factor that drives the price of a CS2 knife. The more desirable the skin is for a knife, the higher its value.
- Pattern Template - For some skins, the pattern can easily add an extra 0 to their price. Some examples of such rare patterns are: Karambit - Blue Gem (pattern #387) or Black Pearl (pattern #610). These patterns can add a premium to the already high price tag.
- Quality - There are five distinct quality values for a CS2 knife: Factory New, Minimal Wear, Field-Tested, Well-Worn, and Battle-Scarred. The FN is the highest quality, hence the most expensive, and BS is the lowest, so the cheapest.
- Float value - The Quality of a skin is a factor of its float value. The following table lists the float ranges and their corresponding quality.
| Quality | Float Value |
| Factory New | 0.00 - 0.07 |
| Minimal Wear | 0.07 - 0.15 |
| Field-Tested | 0.15 - 0.38 |
| Well-Worn | 0.38 - 0.45 |
| Battle-Scarred | 0.45 - 1.00 |
A CS2 knife’s value is primarily decided by skin. Some skins, especially with Finish Style: Anodized Multicolor, i.e., Dopplers, Gamma Dopplers, Case Hardeneds, Fades, Marble Fades, etc., have a higher price than other skins. These are also the only pattern-based knife skins, where rare patterns mean a higher value.
The quality is the next factor taken into consideration. In almost all other knives except Anodized Multicolor finishes, Factory New is the highest quality and hence more expensive, Battle-Scarred is the lowest quality, hence the cheapest.
But since the Anodized Multicolor finishes are float-capped, they have negligible price difference between the FN and MW quality.
Since knife kills are rather rare, a CS2 knife only pays a premium of 10-15% for the StatTrak. Most collectors prefer knives without the StatTrak, especially for a high-value CS2 knife.
Lastly, skins with the highest/lowest float values get premium, as most of the high-value CS2 knives are collector items.
While the aforementioned factors do play a part, including skin, pattern or quality, in determining the price of a CS2 knife, it is the community’s demand that really drives the value up. This is the reason why Butterfly Knife | Gamma Doppler is ~$1000+, but Shadow Daggers | Gamma Doppler are less than $250, despite them belonging to the same case, with the same drop rates.
The best source to look up skin prices is the Steam Community Market. But since the Steam Wallet is capped at $2k, the high-value CS2 knives are sold on third-party sites.
The Most Expensive CS2 Knives Right Now
In this section, we will cover the top 10 most expensive CS2 knives available right now. To ensure we feature as many knives as possible, we will cover each knife+skin as a single entry. This ensures the gems/specific patterns of the same knife do not occupy the whole list.
The list for the most expensive CS2 Knives right now is as follows:
- Butterfly Knife | Doppler: The Doppler finish on a balisong is one of the most iconic knives in Counter-Strike. Starting at $2000, this skin has four phases and then the extremely rare four gems. The price ranges for these skins are as follows:
| Pattern | Price Range | |
| Phase 1 | $2000 - $2500 ST: $2000 - $3000 | |
| Phase 2 | $4000 - $5000 ST: $4000 - $5000 | |
| Phase 3 | $2000 - $2500 ST: $2000 - $3000 | |
| Phase 4 | $2500 - $3000 ST: $2500 - $3000 | |
| Ruby (Bright Red) | $10000 - $11000 ST: $10000 - $11000 | |
| Sapphire (Bright Blue) | $6000 - $7000 ST: $6000 - $7000 | |
| Black Pearl | $10000 - $11000 ST: $10000 - $11000 |
- M9 Bayonet | Doppler: The classic American armed forces bayonet that has been part of Counter-Strike since the early CS:GO cases. Similar to the BFK dopplers, these are bright-colored knives with four phases and three gems.
| Pattern | Price Range | |
| Phase 1 | $1000 - $1200 ST: $1000 - $1200 | |
| Phase 2 | $1300 - $1450 ST: $1300 - $1450 | |
| Phase 3 | $1000 - $1200 ST: $1000 - $1200 | |
| Phase 4 | $1000 - $1300 ST: $1000 - $1300 | |
| Ruby (Bright Red) | $8,000 - $9,000 ST: $8,000 - $9,000 | |
| Sapphire (Bright Blue) | $4,500 - $5,000 ST: $4,500 - $5,000 | |
| Black Pearl | $8,000 - $10,000 ST: $8,000 - $10,000 |
- Karambit | Doppler: The Karambit is a curved knife that resembles a claw. The Dopplers are the most sought-after skin for the Karambit, too.
| Pattern | Price Range | |
| Phase 1 | $1300 - $1400 ST: $1300 - $1400 | |
| Phase 2 | $1700 - $2000 ST: $1700 - $2000 | |
| Phase 3 | $1300 - $1400 ST: $1300 - $1400 | |
| Phase 4 | $1300 - $1450 ST: $1300 - $1450 | |
| Ruby (Bright Red) | $7500 - $8100 ST: $7500 - $8100 | |
| Sapphire (Bright Blue) | $4500 - $5500 ST: $4500 - $5500 | |
| Black Pearl | $8000 - $9500 ST: $8000 - $9500 |
- Butterfly Knife | Gamma Doppler: Gamma Dopplers are the bright green blades with the max green called Emerald. Similar to Dopplers, there are four phases and one gem for the Gamma Doppler.
| Pattern | Price Range | |
| Phase 1 | $2000 - $2200 ST: $2000 - $2200 | |
| Phase 2 | $2500 - $2800 ST: $2500 - $2800 | |
| Phase 3 | $2000 - $2100 ST: $2000 - $2100 | |
| Phase 4 | $1900 - $2100 ST: $1900 - $2100 | |
| Emerald (Bright Green) | $8500 - $9000 ST: $7500 - $8500 |
- M9 Bayonet | Gamma Doppler: The green doppler finish for the M9 Bayonet.
| Pattern | Price Range | |
| Phase 1 | $1200 - $1370 ST: $1300 - $1300 | |
| Phase 2 | $1,600 - $1800 ST: $1,600 - $1800 | |
| Phase 3 | $1250 - $1500 ST: $1250 - $1500 | |
| Phase 4 | $1250 - $1500 ST: $1250 - $1500 | |
| Emerald (Bright Green) | $7500 - $8300 ST: $7,500 - $8,300 |
- Karambit | Gamma Doppler: Gamma Dopplers are the bright green blades. Being Dopplers this
| Pattern | Price Range | |
| Phase 1 | $2000 - $2400 ST: $2000 - $2400 | |
| Phase 2 | $2500 - $2800 ST: $2500 - $2800 | |
| Phase 3 | $1800 - $1900 ST: $1800 - $1900 | |
| Phase 4 | $1800 - $1950 ST: $1800 - $1950 | |
| Emerald (Bright Green) | $6,500 - $8,500 ST: $6,500 - $8,500 |
- Talon Knife | Doppler: As the name suggests, the Talon is shaped like an eagle or Falcon talon. The Doppler remains one of the best finishes for Talon, too. The Talon is also an affordable Karambit.
| Pattern | Price Range | |
| Phase 1 | $800 - $900 ST: $900 - $1100 | |
| Phase 2 | $1000 - $1200 ST: $1000 - $1500 | |
| Phase 3 | $850 - $950 ST: $900 - $1000 | |
| Phase 4 | $850 - $950 ST: $900 - $1350 | |
| Ruby (Bright Red) | $2000 - $3000 ST: $2000 - $3500 | |
| Sapphire (Bright Blue) | $1700 - $1900 ST: $1900 - $2500 | |
| Black Pearl | $2500 - $3500 ST: $3000 - $4000 |
- Skeleton Knife | Doppler: Resembling a Japanese Kunai. The Doppler gems especially look very appealing, like knives made out of crystals.
| Pattern | Price Range | |
| Phase 1 | $650 - $750 ST: $750 - $1000 | |
| Phase 2 | $900 - $1000 ST: $900 - $1000 | |
| Phase 3 | $650 - $750 ST: $650 - $1000 | |
| Phase 4 | $750 - $850 ST: $750 - $950 | |
| Ruby (Bright Red) | $2800 - $3000 ST: $2800 - $3500 | |
| Sapphire (Bright Blue) | $1600 - $1900 ST: $1500 - $2000 | |
| Black Pearl | $2500 - $3000 ST: $2500 - $3500 |
- Butterfly | Fade: The only non-dopplers in the top 10, the Fade skins are based on three colors: Purple, Pink, and Yellow. The 100% fade knives are purple and pink, whereas lower percentages are yellow.
| Pattern | Price Range | |
| Normal | $2400 - $2500 ST: $2400 - $2500 | |
| 100% Fade | 1.5-2x of current price |
- Karambit | Fade: The Fade skin for the claw knife, the karambit fades are also highly sought after. Unlike the butterfly, the Karambit fades are much more visually appealing as the colors are obvious.
| Pattern | Price Range | |
| Normal | $2000 - $2200 ST: $2000 - $2200 | |
| 100% Fade | 1.5-2x of current price |
In this list, we have excluded extremely rare, single-pattern variants of a knife and instead focused on more accessible knives. The single-pattern knives are outliers and are akin to art pieces rather than skins. One example of this is the Karambit | Case Hardened #387 that was previously sold for $1 million.
What Makes a Knife Spike in Value?
As previously mentioned, the price of a CS2 knife is correlated to its demand, meaning factors outside of the game affect the price. This includes exposure.
Examples of prices driven by this are the price of Butterfly knives and Karambits. These are not necessarily rarer than other knives, but they have been ubiquitous in the CS community, popularised by pros.
Especially with CS2 players fast switching to knives, some of the best pro player clips will include a Butterfly knife or Karambit inspect towards the end. This has single-handedly driven the values of the two aforementioned knives to levels beyond imagination.
Another factor that has spiked and will spike the CS2 knife values in the future is the availability of the cases. A few months ago, Valve removed old cases from the in-game weekly drop, which means there is a limited supply of old cases. This increases the value of the case as well as the knives that are only available in these old cases.
Even with the trade ups, the Reds are expensive and limited, which will later spike the value of CS2 knives.
Where to Track CS2 Knife Prices
Steam Community Market is the official site to sell/buy CS2 knives and skins. It can be accessed via Steam or in-game. To access the Steam Market in-game, follow these steps:
- Open Counter-Strike 2
- Navigate to Inventory
- Choose Steam Market
This instantly opens the Steam Market. You can use the filters and search tool to find the knife you want to buy.
The problem with the Steam Market is that the funds obtained from selling a knife or a skin are only available as Steam credits. Moreover, there is a $2K cap, meaning high-value knives are not available on the Steam Market; in such cases, third-party marketplaces come in clutch.
These third-party marketplaces allow you to sell skins and withdraw the money using bank transfer, crypto, or debit card. There are many such third-party marketplaces, but CSFloat is one of the safer ones, with a peer-to-peer selling mode. It holds the skins until the transaction is complete.
You can also use PriceEmpire and CSGOSkins.gg to track the prices of your favorite skins. These sites help you track the prices of your favorite CS2 knife and show you its availability on different marketplaces.
PriceEmpire can track the entirety of the CS2 market and the value of your inventory. If you're also tracking which CS2 matches are live and which tournaments are coming up alongside your skin portfolio, CS2 live scores, and match results are available at Strafe's CS2 hub.
Conclusion
A CS2 Knife is not just a tool to flex on your flair, but as the market continues to grow, it has become an investment, albeit risky. Contrary to popular beliefs, these in-game items have held their value and will continue to hold their value, unless Valve decides to pull the plug on the market and completely shut down the selling/buying of skins.
Use Steam Market and sites like CSFloat and PriceEmpire to keep track of the market. To stay updated on the latest updates affecting the game and the skins, you can use the news tab on Strafe.
