Comparison
A straight, factual comparison — price, turnaround, subgrades and what actually comes in the box. No spin, and we'll tell you plainly where Beckett is the better choice.
Beckett Grading Services is the company that made subgrades a thing. A BGS label prints a separate score for centering, corners, edges and surface alongside the overall grade, and a BGS Black Label 10 — four perfect subgrades — is one of the most sought-after certifications in the modern hobby.
MPE's most expensive service costs about the same as Beckett's cheapest one. MPE Diamond is $15 a card and back in 2 days; Beckett Base is $14.95 a card without subgrades and estimated at 75+ business days. Everything below is the detail behind that.
Beckett figures on this page are their published per-card rates as shown on beckett.com, checked August 2026. Beckett sets its own prices and may change them at any time — check their site for current rates before you submit.
Both companies price by turnaround speed, so the tiers are lined up fastest to slowest rather than by name.
| Speed | MPE tier | MPE price | Beckett tier | Beckett price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fastest | Diamond — 2 days | $15/card | Priority — 5 business days | $124.95/card |
| Fast | Express — 10 days | $9/card | Express — 15 business days | $79.95/card |
| Mid | Premium — 30 days | $7/card | Standard — 45 business days | $34.95/card |
| Entry | Standard — 90 days | $5/card | Base — 75+ business days | $14.95/card without subgrades $17.95/card with subgrades |
What that means in practice: a 20-card submission is $100 at MPE Standard against $299.00 at Beckett Base, or $359.00 if you want the subgrades that make a BGS slab a BGS slab.
Beckett quotes estimated turnaround in business days; MPE quotes calendar days from the day your cards are received.
| Tier | MPE | Beckett |
|---|---|---|
| Entry | 90 days (Standard, $5) | 75+ business days (Base, $14.95) |
| Mid | 30 days (Premium, $7) | 45 business days (Standard, $34.95) |
| Fast | 10 days (Express, $9) | 15 business days (Express, $79.95) |
| Fastest | 2 days (Diamond, $15) | 5 business days (Priority, $124.95) |
75+ business days is roughly 15 weeks; 90 calendar days is roughly 13. At the entry tier the two are close, and MPE is $5 against $14.95. Above that MPE is quicker at every tier — 30 calendar days beats 45 business days, 10 beats 15, and 2 beats 5 — while costing a fraction as much.
| MPE | Beckett | |
|---|---|---|
| Grading scale | 1–10 with half grades, published in full | 1–10 with half grades, plus Black Label for four perfect subgrades |
| Subgrades | Not printed — centering, corners, edges and surface are assessed, then issued as one overall grade | Printed on the label — included on Standard and faster, +$3 on Base for any 10s |
| Slab | Tamper-evident, sonic-welded, serial + QR | Tamper-evident, with the coloured label tier collectors recognise |
| Card imaging | Front and back images on every card, shown in your online vault | Not included as standard on grading submissions |
| Insurance | Optional shipping insurance, $2 per $100 of coverage, up to $500 per submission | Declared value handled separately at submission |
| Autograph cards | Graded at the standard rate | +$5 per card on top of the grading fee |
| Oversized cards | Graded at the standard rate | +$8 per card on top of the grading fee |
| Public cert lookup | Yes — Cert Lookup and Population Report | Yes |
| Live submission tracking | Yes, on every tier | Yes |
| Custom label art | Yes — design your own label, plus optional colour matching (+$3/card) | Relabelling offered from $9.95/card; custom art not offered |
| Online vault & marketplace | Yes — every graded card lands in a public, shareable vault you can list for sale | Separate Beckett Marketplace |
| Membership required | No | No, though Beckett sells memberships that bundle grading credits |
We'd rather tell you this up front than have you find out after you've shipped:
It's a fair question to ask of any grader that isn't one of the big four, so here is the honest answer.
MPE is veteran owned and operated. Every card is graded on a published 1–10 scale across centering, corners, edges and surface, sealed in a tamper-evident slab with a unique serial and a QR code, and photographed front and back. Anyone can verify a slab through our public Cert Lookup, and the whole graded population is browsable in the Population Report — the same transparency you'd expect from a large grader, on a service that costs $5 a card.
What MPE is not is a subgrade service, and we're not a shortcut to Beckett's resale premium either. We're a younger company and the market prices that in. If you're grading to flip a high-value modern card, that matters. If you're grading to protect, organise and show a collection — and to trade it with other collectors — the grade, the slab and the verification are the parts that count, and those are the parts we've built.
Also worth reading: MPE vs SGC · Full MPE pricing
Yes. Beckett's published rates start at $14.95 per card for Base service without subgrades on a 75+ business day turnaround, and run to $124.95 per card for Priority at 5 business days. MPE's entry tier is $5 per card and MPE's fastest tier — Diamond, at 2 days — is $15 per card. Our most expensive service costs about what Beckett's cheapest one does.
As published on beckett.com in August 2026: $14.95 per card for Base at 75+ business days without subgrades, $17.95 for Base with subgrades, $34.95 for Standard at 45 business days, $79.95 for Express at 15 business days and $124.95 for Priority at 5 business days. Extras include $5 per autograph card, $8 per oversized card, relabelling from $9.95 and recasing from $9.95. Base adds a $3 upcharge for any 10s where subgrades are used.
No, and this is the clearest reason to pick Beckett over us. BGS prints a separate score for centering, corners, edges and surface on the label, and a Black Label 10 — four perfect subgrades — is treated as its own thing in the market. MPE assesses the same four categories but issues a single overall grade on a 1–10 scale with half points. If printed subgrades are what you want, use Beckett.
Beckett publishes estimated turnaround of 75+ business days for Base, 45 for Standard, 15 for Express and 5 for Priority. MPE publishes 90 days for Standard, 30 days for Premium, 10 days for Express and 2 days for Diamond. The entry tiers are close; above that MPE is faster at every level, and every MPE tier costs less than Beckett's cheapest service.
For a genuinely high-value modern card, especially one chasing a Black Label 10, Beckett's subgrades and brand recognition are a real advantage and we won't pretend otherwise. MPE's optional shipping insurance covers up to $500 per submission, so a card worth more than that belongs with a service priced for it. MPE is the better fit for grading in volume, for cards you're keeping, and for building a verifiable collection you can show off and trade.
They're Beckett's own published per-card rates from beckett.com, checked August 2026. Beckett sets its own pricing and can change it at any time, so check their site for current rates. Shipping, insurance and any add-ons are extra on both services.
