Comparison
A straight, factual comparison — price, turnaround, declared value and what actually comes in the box. No spin, and we'll tell you plainly where SGC is the better choice.
SGC is one of the big four, best known for the black-matted slab that vintage collectors have trusted for decades. Their pricing is built around declared value: you tell them what the card is worth, and the fee is set by which value band it falls into.
MPE prices by speed instead of value, because most of what collectors own doesn't have a four-figure declared value to price against. MPE's fastest tier costs the same as SGC's cheapest and slowest one — $15 a card. That's the comparison in one line; everything below is the detail.
SGC figures on this page are their published standard-size rates as shown on gosgc.com, checked August 2026. SGC sets its own prices and may change them at any time — check their site for current rates before you submit.
This is the single biggest difference between the two, so it's worth seeing SGC's published bands in full before comparing anything else.
| Maximum declared value | SGC standard — 75+ business days | SGC expedited — 2–3 business days | MPE, any tier |
|---|---|---|---|
| $1,500 | $15/card | Not offered | $5–$15/card |
| $3,500 | $85/card | $150/card | $5–$15/card |
| $7,500 | Not offered | $250/card | $5–$15/card |
| $20,000 | Not offered | $500/card | $5–$15/card |
| $50,000 | Not offered | $1,000/card | $5–$15/card |
| $100,000 | Not offered | $2,000/card | $5–$15/card |
| Over $100,000 | Not offered | $3,750/card, plus $375 per additional $10,000 of value | $5–$15/card |
MPE charges the same fee whether the card is worth $4 or $4,000 — but our optional shipping insurance caps at $500 per submission, which is exactly why a $4,000 card belongs at SGC.
Comparing like with like: an ordinary modern card with a declared value under $1,500 — which is the overwhelming majority of what collectors submit.
| Speed | MPE tier | MPE price | SGC equivalent | SGC price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fastest | Diamond — 2 days | $15/card | Expedited — 2–3 business days, but not offered below $3,500 declared value | $150/card |
| Fast | Express — 10 days | $9/card | No equivalent tier | — |
| Mid | Premium — 30 days | $7/card | No equivalent tier | — |
| Entry | Standard — 90 days | $5/card | Standard — 75+ business days | $15/card |
What that means in practice: a 20-card submission is $100 at MPE Standard against $300 at SGC's entry rate — and if you want those 20 cards back in two days, MPE Diamond is $300 while SGC's expedited service isn't available at that declared value at all.
SGC quotes estimated turnaround in business days from the point your order is unboxed and logged; MPE quotes calendar days from the day your cards are received.
| Tier | MPE | SGC |
|---|---|---|
| Entry | 90 days (Standard, $5) | 75+ business days ($15, up to $1,500 declared value) |
| Mid | 30 days (Premium, $7) | No equivalent tier |
| Fast | 10 days (Express, $9) | No equivalent tier |
| Fastest | 2 days (Diamond, $15) | 2–3 business days, from $150 and only at $3,500+ declared value |
Being fair about this one: "75+ business days" and "90 calendar days" are close enough to call a draw at the entry tier — 75 business days is roughly 15 weeks, and 90 calendar days is roughly 13. The real difference is the middle: SGC has nothing between 75+ business days and a 2–3 day expedited service that most cards don't qualify for. MPE fills that gap at $7 and $9.
| MPE | SGC | |
|---|---|---|
| Grading scale | 1–10 with half grades, published in full | 1–10 with half grades |
| Slab | Tamper-evident, sonic-welded, serial + QR | Tamper-evident, black inner matting |
| Pricing model | By turnaround speed — the same fee on any card | By maximum declared value, in bands from $1,500 to $100,000+ |
| Card imaging | Front and back images on every card, shown in your online vault | Not included as standard on raw grading submissions |
| Insurance / declared value | Optional shipping insurance, $2 per $100 of coverage, up to $500 per submission | Declared value is the basis of the fee, in bands up to $100,000 and above |
| 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) | Not offered on standard submissions |
| Online vault & marketplace | Yes — every graded card lands in a public, shareable vault you can list for sale | Not offered |
| Membership required | No | No |
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 shortcut to the resale premium a decades-old holder carries. We're a younger company, and the market prices that in. If you're grading to flip a high-value vintage 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 Beckett · Full MPE pricing
Yes. SGC's published entry rate is $15 per card for standard-size raw grading at a maximum declared value of $1,500, on an estimated 75+ business day turnaround. MPE's entry tier is $5 per card, and MPE's fastest tier — Diamond, at 2 days — is $15 per card. Our quickest service costs what SGC's slowest one does.
SGC prices standard-size raw grading, crossovers and reviews by the maximum declared value of the card. As published on gosgc.com in August 2026: $15 per card up to $1,500 on 75+ business day standard service; $85 standard or $150 expedited up to $3,500; $250 expedited up to $7,500; $500 up to $20,000; $1,000 up to $50,000; $2,000 up to $100,000; and $3,750 above $100,000, plus $375 for each additional $10,000 of card value.
SGC publishes an estimated 75+ business days for standard service and 2–3 business days for expedited — though expedited is only offered at declared values of $3,500 and above, so most modern cards can't use it. MPE publishes 90 days for Standard, 30 days for Premium, 10 days for Express and 2 days for Diamond, and every tier is available on any card regardless of value.
SGC, for a genuinely high-value card. Their whole pricing model is built around declared value, with bands running past $100,000, while MPE's optional shipping insurance covers up to $500 per submission. Their black-matted holder also carries recognition on vintage cardboard that a newer company can't claim. 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.
Both companies grade on a 1–10 scale with half-point grades. MPE assesses centering, corners, edges and surface, and the full scale is published so you can see what each grade means. Grading is a judgement call at every company, so an MPE grade isn't a guaranteed match for an SGC grade on the same card.
They're SGC's own published standard-size rates from gosgc.com, checked August 2026. SGC sets its own pricing and can change it at any time, so check their site for current rates. Oversized cards and reholders are priced separately. Shipping and insurance are extra on both services.
