The Most Expensive CS Skins (Top 10)

#10 Butterfly Knife | Doppler (Sapphire) – $20,000

Let’s start off simple. The tenth most expensive skin in Counter-Strike is the Butterfly Knife | Doppler with a Sapphire pattern. The Butterfly Knife is the most sought after knife in the game, so having a premium skin such as the Sapphire naturally makes it more expensive than a decent car. On average, the Butterfly Knife Sapphire is worth around $20,000.

The Sapphire phase ensures that the Butterfly Knife skin is fully blue and looks mesmerizing in the new Counter-Strike 2 engine, Source 2.  It received a decent injection in price after the release of the sequel, as the changes in lighting and graphics have enhanced the Sapphire’s appearance, making it look better than it already is. 

It is worth noting that Butterfly Knife Sapphires cannot get better than it already is. What we mean is that there are no 1 in 1000 patterns or number 1 float values that could skyrocket its price like the other nine skins on the list. 

A normal Butterfly Knife | Doppler without any rare phases would already cost you around $2,000, so having the Sapphire phase has essentially multiplied its price tenfold. This knife can only be obtained from Spectrum cases, making the supply of them relatively scarce. 

If you think $20,000 is insane for a bunch of in-game pixels, we’re only getting started. Make sure to stay until the end of the list to have your jaw drop. 

#9 AK-47 | Gold Arabesque (Lowest Float) – $39,000

The next skin on the list comes from the AK-47, which is the most iconic rifle in Counter-Strike games. Specifically, we are talking about the Gold Arabesque skin which was released in 2021 as a part of the Dust II Collection. 

The normal price for a regular Factory New copy of this skin is close to $3,000, and around $8,000 at its peak. However, we are talking about a very specific version of the skin which is the number 1 lowest float of it. 

One of the most popular Counter-Strike YouTubers, Sparkles, is responsible for creating this skin. He spent hours finding the lowest float value components for his trade up contract, and was eventually successful in securing the best AK-47 | Gold Arabesque possible in the game. 

The components for the trade up contract alone had already cost him tens of thousands, which is why he decided to list his brand new skin at the $39,000 mark. Keep in mind that his Gold Arabesque is not equipped with a StatTrak counter or stickers that cost a fortune. We are only talking about the raw weapon here. 

When dealing with the richest Counter-Strike collectors in the scene, these people would pay big dollars to have a title such as the number 1 float in the game, which is why this price point of nearly $40,000 isn’t unnatural. 

#8 Sport Gloves | Pandora’s Box (Factory New) – $62,000

At number eight, we have the only gloves skin on the list, which is the Sport Gloves | Pandora Box. This pair of gloves was added into the game on November 28, 2016, and is notoriously known for being the most expensive pair in the market. 

Pandora’s Box gloves feature a mesmerizing combination of black and purple hues, and these gloves look exceptional in Factory New condition. These gloves are, without a doubt, the best-looking gloves in the entire game. 

What makes these gloves so special is that Factory New conditions on glove skins are incredibly rare. Normally for regular weapon skins, the float value range to achieve Factory New condition is at a minimum of 0.07. However, the lowest float for gloves is only 0.06, meaning players only have a range of 0.06 to 0.07 to get gloves in Factory New. 

Minimal Wear versions of the Pandora’s Box are already selling for no less than $10,000, so it isn’t too surprising to see that Factory New ones are priced at $62,000. The prices have settled in after eight years of these gloves being released, as Factory New globes are incredibly rare, meaning prices are very stable. 

In the case of the Sport Gloves | Pandora’s Box, having the number 1 float doesn’t really matter since there is such a small float value window to obtain it in Factory New condition. 

#7 AWP | Gungnir (Lowest Float) – $74,000

Moving on, the next skin on the list is one other an AWP skin, the primary sniper rifle of Counter-Strike. AWP skins in the game are generally expensive, but regular prices cannot compare to the Gungnir in its lowest possible float. 

The AWP | Gungnir is a part of the Norse Collection, which is one of the most expensive collections available in the game. To add on to that, the Gungnir is the skin with the highest rarity in the collection, as it is a Covert skin. 

A Battle-Scarred version of the AWP | Gungnir would already cost an average player around $7,000, which is off-budgets for 99% of the community. Normally, people wouldn’t want to buy skins in Battle-Scarred condition, but it is a special case for the Gungnir as a Battle-Scarred and Factory New Gungnir doesn’t look that different. That being said, a Factory New copy would cost $12,000. 

However, things get crazier as the number 1 float AWP | Gungnir recently surfaced in the Counter-Strike community. This AWP | Gungnir in question is worth $74,000. As discussed earlier, traders would always pay a premium to have a number one title, which is why this specific Gungnir is going for six times the regular price of a Factory New one. 

One of the best Counter-Strike players in the world, ZywOo, used the AWP | Gungnir a lot while playing on the biggest stages, which helped increase the price of the skin. 

#6 AK-47 | Wild Lotus (4x Titan Holo) – $160,000

Things start to get serious approaching number six, as we have finally crossed over the $100,000 with this AK-47 | Wild Lotus. The Wild Lotus is the Covert-tier skin in the St. Marc Collection, which is a collection filled with skins valued over hundreds of dollars.

When the skin was first released, a Factory New version of the Wild Lotus was going for around $4,000. However, the price of this skin constantly rose and is now valued at around $13,000 due to scarcity and the release of Counter-Strike 2. 

The AK-47 | Wild Lotus in question was sold for over $160,000, making it one of the largest deals in Counter-Strike history. But, you might be thinking where the other $147,000 came from. Well, this Wild Lotus had four Titan Holo stickers from Katowice 2014. Each of these stickers are going for $70,000, and there are four of them. Absolutely insane. 

So, the value of those four stickers would total $280,000, but it is a known rule within the Counter-Strike community that sellers cannot use the full value of these stickers once applied. This means the buyer got a discount of around $133,000 had these stickers not been pasted on the weapon yet. 

The Wild Lotus we’re talking about is the 29th lowest float during the time of sale, which means it is still in very good condition with an extremely low float value. 

#5 StatTrak M4A4 | Howl (4x iBP Holo) – $215,000

We are going incredibly fast from here, as the next skin on the list has already exceeded the $200,000 mark! Coming in at number five is none other than the iconic M4A4 | Howl. 

The Howl is a one of a kind skin in Counter-Strike, as it is the only weapon skin under the “Contraband” category. It was made a special case after the skin’s artist was exposed for art theft. As a result, the M4A4 | Howl was discontinued, meaning no more Howls can be unboxed ever. However, the Howls circulating in the market were not deleted, making the supply of this skin extremely low. 

A Factory New Howl goes for a little over $5,000, while a StatTrak Factory New one sells for around $15,000. However, the skin we’re talking about is a StatTrak Factory New M4A4 | Howl with four iBUYPOWER Holo stickers from Katowice 2014! This deal for this specific skin was closed at $215,000, which is just incredible. 

Each iBUYPOWER Holo sticker costs $70,000, and is one of the most expensive stickers in the game aside from the Titan Holo. So, there are $280,000 worth of stickers applied to the Howl, making the $215,000 price point understandable. 

The iBUYPOWER Holo sticker is perfect for the Howl, as the organization’s logo features a roaring chimera that complements the angry wolf on the Howl’s skin design. Additionally, both the sticker and skin follow a red color scheme. 

#4 AK-47 | Case Hardened (Pattern 661 + 4x Titan Holo) – $400,000

We are skipping the $300,000 price tag and going straight to $400,000 with the next skin on the list. It is yet another AK-47 skin, but this time, we’re talking about the Case Hardened. 

The Case Hardened is the most unique skin family in the game, as the weapon’s appearance depends on a pattern index ranging from 1 to 1001. For the AK-47, the best Case Hardened pattern is #661, also known as the “Scar Pattern” that is considered the number one Blue Gem. 

The chances of unboxing an AK-47 | Case Hardened is already quite low, but you also have to get it in Factory New condition and hit the 1 in 1001 jackpot to get the correct pattern. There are so many things that have to go right to obtain a Factory New AK-47 | Case Hardened with the #661 pattern.

On top of having the perfect pattern, the AK-47 skin we’re talking about has four Titan Holo stickers from Katowice 2014 applied. As we’ve discussed previously, each of these stickers will cost $70,000, meaning four would total $280,000.

The deal for this insane AK-47 | Case Hardened was completed at the price of $400,000, which was a monumental deal that has already gone down in Counter-Strike history. This means the AK-47 without the stickers would be at least $120,000! However, considering that stickers lose value once applied, it would be safe to assume that the AK-47 would be around $150,000 to $200,000 alone. 

#3 Souvenir AWP | Dragon Lore (Factory New) – $430,000

When clicking on this article, you definitely expected to see this skin make the list. We are talking about the AWP | Dragon Lore, which is the most iconic AWP skin in all of Counter-Strike. Even non-players would have heard of this skin once in their lives. 

The AWP | Dragon Lore comes from the Cobblestone Collection. The only way to obtain one today is through performing trade up contracts, or unboxing Souvenir versions through a Cobblestone Souvenir Package. 

A regular Dragon Lore in Factory New condition goes for a little less than $11,000. However, a Souvenir one costs almost forty times the regular version! A Cobblestone Package costs over $1,000 to open, and the chances of unboxing a Dragon Lore is 1 in 3906! Using these odds, you would have to spend over $390,000 to obtain a Souvenir Dragon Lore. 

With how much money must be invested to obtain one, it is not that surprising to hear that a Souvenir AWP | Dragon Lore in Factory New condition was sold for $430,000! The supply of these Dragon Lores are extremely small, so the prices are expected to continue to rise in the future. As of today, the $430,000 is the most expensive CSGO skin ever sold.

It is worth noting that Souvenir skins will have golden player signatures on it. If, in the next few years, another Souvenir Dragon Lore is unboxed and it has a sticker of a famous AWPer such as s1mple on it, we might see the price of it exceed a million dollars. 

#2 StatTrak AK-47 | Case Hardened (Pattern 661) – $1,000,000 Offer

Now, things get really unbelievable. We will be revisiting the AK-47 | Case Hardened for number two on the list. 

We’ve already talked about how difficult it is to obtain an AK-47 | Case Hardened with the #661 pattern and why it was sold for over $400,000. However, this skin in question is a StatTrak version of it! This is the only StatTrak Case Hardened with pattern #661 in Factory New condition in existence. It is a 1 out of 1, making it the most expensive AK-47 skin CSGO has ever seen. 

The owner of the skin received an offer of $1,000,000 for the skin, but thought it was too low. Instead, he has listed it for $2,000,000, but nobody dares to offer that much money; for now, at least… Still, considering that a trader had already prepared a million dollars for it, it is safe to say that this skin will auto-sell at that price.

Let’s take a step back to run some numbers and figure out how insanely lucky you’d have to be to get your hands on this skin. Here are the odds you have to go through:

• Unboxing an AK-47 | Case Hardened: ~1.6% chance
• Getting the skin in Factory New condition: ~3% chance
• Getting the skin in StatTrak: ~10% chance
• Getting #661 out of 1001 patterns: ~0.10% chance

If we multiply all of these odds together, we will get a 0.000004755% chance, which is just too much to comprehend. Now that you’ve seen these odds, is a price tag of $2,000,000 justified?

#1 Karambit | Case Hardened (Pattern 387) – $1,500,000 Offer

Finally, we have THE craziest skin in the game. It might have been pretty surprising that only one knife was on the list so far, but it’s only right that a knife would take the number one spot. The most expensive Counter-Strike skin in existence is the number 1 Karambit | Case Hardened Blue Gem with the #387 pattern.

Like the AK-47 | Case Hardened, there is a “best” pattern for the Karambit | Case Hardened which essentially gives it an entirely ocean-blue playside. Seriously, this Karambit is a thing of beauty. 

There have been several pattern #387 Karambits that were unboxed, but many of them come in Well-Worn or other lower conditions, which have been sold for over $100,000 to $150,000 in recent times. 

However, the most valuable skin in the game is a Factory New version of the #387 Karambit | Case Hardened. It is owned by a Chinese collector who bought it in 2016 for around $100,000, back then when skins weren’t as expensive as today. 

This hundred-thousand dollar purchase turned out to be one of the luckiest, or smartest decisions this person has ever made, as it turned out to be the most valuable Counter-Strike skin in the world. 

His Karambit | Case Hardened was offered $1,500,000 in cash, and he declined it saying it was “too low.” It is also worth noting that the owner is extremely hard to contact, and the person offering a million and a half had to go through the popular streamer ohnePixel to relay the message.

To this day, the Counter-Strike community wonders how much money must be put on the table for the seller to even consider the offer and not consider it to be a lowball. This is the first time we’ve heard someone say $1,500,000 is “too low” for some in-game pixels.

In conclusion, it is truly mind-boggling to see how expensive skins have gotten throughout the years. During the early days of Counter-Strike, it would be insane to hear a $20,000 deal go through, but transactions for this amount happen everyday at this point. It is just insane that two skins are worth over the million-dollar mark. 

Do note that skins tend to fluctuate in price, but almost all of the skins featured on the list are special cases that have extremely rare patterns and unbelievable float values. The prices of these skins shouldn’t drop anytime soon unless someone uses their lifetime’s worth of luck to unbox another one. 

It is true that the skins on the first and second positions were not officially sold yet, but the traders still have these offers on the table, and they can definitely sell for $1,000,000 and $1,500,000, respectively.