CS2 stickers differ in three ways: rarity (five tiers, from High Grade to Contraband), quality, meaning the visual effect (seven types, from Paper to Lenticular), and theme (Majors, teams, operations and regular stickers). These are the traits that decide how a sticker looks on a weapon and what it costs.
Any weapon skin can carry up to five stickers. Placement is not limited to fixed slots: you can choose the position and angle of each sticker freely, so players build all kinds of crafts. CS2 now has more than ten thousand stickers; here is how to navigate them.
Types of Stickers by Rarity
Firstly, like other cosmetic items in CS2, stickers are categorized by rarity. From lowest to highest, these categories are:
High Grade (Blue).
Remarkable (Purple).
Exotic (Pink).
Extraordinary (Red).
Contraband (Yellow): a unique category that includes only one sticker, Howling Dawn, currently about $1,350.
Types of Stickers by Quality
The appearance of stickers and how vividly they will look on a weapon largely depends on the quality. The same design can exist in several versions, for example, paper and holographic, with the latter being significantly more expensive. There are seven types of stickers:
Paper: the simplest stickers without any shine or effects. Examples of popular paper stickers include B Hop, Tamara.
Glossy: stickers with a smooth surface. It has a slight shine but doesn’t offer any special effects. Examples include Legendary Eagle and Clutch or Kick.
Glitter: stickers with a shiny surface that reflects light and shimmers. The sticker looks as if it has a paper base with shiny elements applied on top. Examples: Go Boom, Blue Gem.
Holographic: holo stickers sparkle, changing color depending on the lighting angle. Multiple textural layers are used to create the effect, and different patterns can be used in different parts of the sticker. Examples: Unicorn, Infinite Diamond.
Foil: embossed stickers with a pattern that mimics engraving on metal. Examples: Showdown, Romanov’s Fire.
Gold: like foil, these are embossed designs but colored in gold. Examples: Natus Vincere Gold Shanghai 2024, FURIA Gold Paris 2023.
Lenticular: stickers with an unusual visual effect that creates the illusion of depth. They appeared in 2022, so there are still relatively few of them. Examples: Freeze, Global TV.
Usually, higher quality stickers are more expensive, but this correlation is not always straightforward: sometimes a colored version looks better than a relief gold one or gains value because it is used in popular crafts.
Types of Stickers by Themes
Of course, not only the appearance but also what is depicted on them affects the price of stickers. Stickers can be divided into several large groups by theme.
Major stickers feature emblems of participating teams or autographs of their players. They used to come only from capsules during the tournament. Starting with the IEM Cologne Major 2026, Valve replaced capsules with a Major Shop where you buy the exact sticker you want with tokens. They are sold for a limited time, so they usually gain value after the event, which is the basis of making money on Major stickers. The most expensive stickers today date back to Katowice 2014: Titan (Holo) Katowice 2014 costs about $71,500 on LIS-SKINS, and iBUYPOWER (Holo) Katowice 2014 almost never comes up for sale.
For some collectors, stickers with the emblems of teams that no longer exist may be of particular interest. The price of cheaper examples from this category is influenced not only by rarity but also by design: stickers with team logos are purchased not only by fans but also by those who want to use them in combinations with other images, for example, to create inscriptions.
Operation stickers are another category of stickers available for a limited time. Like team stickers, they can be a source of profit if acquired during the operation and then sold after a price increase. However, predicting price dynamics in this case is more challenging.
Regular stickers are all those that do not fall into the previous categories. The images found on them are very diverse. Many are created by community members and are based on popular memes. Choose your collection by themes (for example, from anime stickers) or by colors (here, for example, is a collection of black stickers), or create your own crafts.
You can buy stickers of every type, from paper ones for a few cents to rare holos, on LIS-SKINS.
FAQ
What are the most expensive stickers in CS2?
Team holo stickers from Katowice 2014: single copies sell for tens of thousands of dollars. Among newer stickers, the Holo, Foil and Gold versions of popular teams and players are usually the priciest.
What is the difference between Holo and Foil stickers?
A Holo sticker shimmers and shifts color with the lighting angle, while a Foil sticker is embossed and imitates engraved metal. The same design in Holo or Foil almost always costs more than the paper version.
How many stickers can you put on a weapon?
Up to five per skin, and you can choose the position and angle of each one freely.
