CS2 Stickers

About Stickers

CS2.IO research · updated Aug 14, 2026

Editions set the tier. Team capsules pull Paper most often, then Glitter or Holo, then Foil, then Gold. The rarity band follows the edition, and the mapping has shifted between eras: a Katowice 2014 Holo is Remarkable, while a Paris 2023 Holo is Exotic. Same team, same art, different edition: prices diverge by orders of magnitude.

Supply only shrinks. Tournament capsules are sold in-game during their event and never again. After that the pool is fixed, and every sticker applied to a gun and scraped is burned forever. That attrition is why 2014-2015 crests keep climbing while last year’s Majors trade for cents.

Finish tiers: paper, holo, foil, gold, glitter

The finish determines both look and price ceiling. Paper (the base tier) is matte and the cheapest. Holo (holographic) shifts through a rainbow shimmer as the weapon moves and is the most sought-after mainstream finish. Foil is a metallic mirror-like sheet, used heavily on community and team stickers. Glitter and Gold are higher-end finishes seen on select capsules and crafts, with Gold being the rarest tier in capsules that offer it. 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. Tournament team stickers are usually issued in paper, holo, foil and gold versions of the same logo.

Where stickers come from

Two sources. Sticker Capsules are store items you buy and open (each opens to one sticker from its set) and stay in production, so their prices are driven by ongoing supply and the art inside. Tournament capsules are sold around each Major and contain either team logos or player autographs (paper/holo/foil/gold autos of pros). Once a Major is over, those capsules stop being sold and existing stock slowly drains, which is what turns old autographs and event stickers into appreciating collectibles. Legacy stickers from CS:GO Majors (Katowice 2014 being the most famous example) are the extreme end of this, since their original supply was tiny.

Applying, scraping and crafts

Apply a sticker from your inventory onto one of a weapon's four slots; you can nudge its position, rotate it and scale it down before confirming. Application is permanent for that copy of the sticker, you cannot peel it off and reuse it. Scraping wears the sticker through fixed stages toward a worn, faded appearance, used deliberately on "scratch" crafts. A weapon carrying applied stickers is a single tradeable item whose value reflects the stickers plus the skin. "Crafts" (curated four-sticker combinations, often matched themes, rare holos, or specific player autos) are a whole market segment, and a well-placed set of expensive holos can dominate the price of the gun it sits on.

Demand pockets and what's cheap

The cheapest stickers are common paper variants from current, in-production capsules, which trade for cents. The most consistently demanded mainstream stickers are holos and foils with strong, clean artwork and team stickers from popular orgs. Player autographs from active, well-known pros hold attention while the player is relevant. The blue-chip end is dominated by discontinued Major stickers, where rarity rather than art drives price. Because supply for in-production capsules keeps flowing, paper drops there rarely appreciate, while discontinued holos and team stickers are where long-term value tends to concentrate.

Frequently asked questions