Pokémon Card Grader

How the Pokémon card grader works

The grader is a pre-grading tool: it estimates the grade your card would likely receive from a professional grader — before you spend the submission fee. One photo in, a full PSA-style breakdown out, in a few seconds.

1. You upload two photos — front and back

A straight-on photo of each side of the card; the back is required, because a scuffed back caps the grade exactly as a scuffed front does. The AI first detects the card in each frame, squares it up, and checks there's enough resolution to judge condition.

2. It scores the four things human graders score

Professional graders at PSA, BGS and CGC break condition into four factors — and the AI grades each one separately, exactly like a grading room does:

• Corners — each of the four corners is graded individually for wear, whitening and dings; you see a per-corner score, not just an average.
• Edges — all four edges graded individually for whitening, chipping and roughness.
• Surface — scratches, print lines, indentations, holo wear and staining across the card face.
• Centering — the border ratio measured in both directions, reported as left/right and top/bottom percentages (a perfectly centred card is 50/50; PSA's Gem Mint standard allows roughly up to 55/45 on the front).

3. It combines them the way graders do

The final 1–10 estimate isn't a simple average — a single weak factor caps the grade, just like a real submission (one soft corner can turn an otherwise-perfect card into an 8). You get the final grade, a condition label, the four subgrades, and an annotated image marking exactly where points were lost.

4. It identifies the card and does the maths

At the same time, the scanner identifies which card it is — set, number, printing — and looks up its live market value. If it recognises your card, you'll see the raw price next to the PSA 10 price, so the "is grading worth the fee?" question answers itself on the spot.

Getting the best photo

• Straight-on, with the whole card filling the frame — no angles.
• Even, diffuse light. Glare hides surface defects and holo scratches — take it out of the sleeve or toploader if you can.
• Daylight near a window beats a phone flash every time.

Accuracy & honest limits

• This is an estimate, not an official grade — the real grade depends on an in-hand inspection by the grading company.
• It grades both sides from your photos, weighting the front more heavily; damage a photo doesn't show — a soft corner hidden by glare, a dent seen only at an angle — can still lower the real-world result.
• Photo quality is the biggest accuracy factor — a sharp, glare-free shot gets a far more reliable read than a dim, angled one.
• Use it to triage: it's excellent at telling a clear 9–10 candidate from a 6, which is exactly the decision that saves (or wastes) a grading fee.

What it costs

Grading a photo uses 12 AI credits from your monthly pool (it runs the full grading and identification models, our heaviest AI call). Free accounts get 30 credits a month — enough for a couple of grades — and paid plans get 300 to 3,000, with top-ups any time. You'll need to be signed in.

Related: check a card's value first · best cards to grade right now · what grading costs in fees · plan a full submission · plans & AI credits