CS2 charms have their own rarity system, and it is much easier to understand once you stop comparing them directly to weapon skins.
There are four standard CS2 charm rarity tiers:
High Grade → Remarkable → Exotic → Extraordinary
The colors move from blue to purple to pink to red, with Extraordinary being the highest standard charm rarity.
But there is an important catch.
A charm’s rarity color is not necessarily the color you see on the charm itself. A red-looking Die-Cast AK, for example, does not become a red-rarity Extraordinary charm. Die-Cast AK is still Remarkable. Its appearance can change because of its Charm Template, which is a completely separate system.
If that already sounds confusing, don’t worry. This guide breaks down every CS2 charm rarity, what the colors mean, how difficult each tier is to obtain, and what actually makes one charm rarer or more valuable than another.
CS2 Charm Rarity Order at a Glance
| Charm Rarity | Rarity Color | Relative Rarity | Approx. Tier Chance* | Example Charms |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| High Grade | Blue | Most common | ~80% | Pocket AWP, Baby’s AK, Biomech |
| Remarkable | Purple | Uncommon | ~16% | Die-Cast AK, Hot Hands, Big Brain |
| Exotic | Pink | Rare | ~3.2% | Semi-Precious, Titeenium AWP, Flash Bomb |
| Extraordinary | Red | Rarest standard tier | ~0.64% | Baby Karat T, Butane Buddy, Lil’ Boo |
*These are approximate tier-level rates used for the standard four-rarity Armory collection structure. Your chance of receiving one specific charm is lower because several charms can share the same rarity tier.
If you are familiar with weapon skins, do not use their names interchangeably with these tiers. CS2 weapon finishes use Consumer Grade, Industrial Grade, Mil-Spec, Restricted, Classified and Covert instead.
We explain that system separately in our CS2 Skin Rarity Order & Colors guide.
High Grade Charms – Blue
High Grade is the first and most common CS2 charm rarity.
These charms use the blue rarity color and make up the majority of normal charm collection outcomes.
That does not automatically make them bad charms.
Some High Grade designs are popular because they look good on specific weapons, have interesting template variations, or simply cost far less than the higher-tier options.
Examples include:
- Pocket AWP
- Baby’s AK
- Whittle Knife
- Stitch-Loaded
- Biomech
- Hot Sauce
- Lil’ Ava
For someone who only cares about creating a good-looking loadout, the rarity label should not be the only thing you look at. A cheap High Grade charm that fits your skin can make more sense than forcing an expensive red-tier charm onto a weapon where it does not match.
High Grade also gives us a good example of why rarity and market value are two different things. A particular pattern or collector-favorite design can receive more attention than another charm sitting above it in the rarity ladder.
Remarkable Charms – Purple
The next tier is Remarkable, represented by purple.
Remarkable charms are significantly less common than High Grade charms and include some of the most recognizable pattern-based charms in CS2.
Examples include:
- Die-Cast AK
- Hot Hands
- Glamour Shot
- POP Art
- Disco MAC
- Bomb Tag
- Big Brain
The Die-Cast AK is especially important here because it demonstrates exactly why charm rarity can be misunderstood.
Every Die-Cast AK is formally a Remarkable charm.
However, different Charm Templates can make the miniature AK appear gold, orange, red, pink, purple, blue or cyan. Some of those appearances attract more collector demand than the standard versions.
The visible color changed.
The rarity did not.
For the full template system and the color ranges worth inspecting, use our CS2 Charm Patterns Guide.
That article covers pattern variation. This article covers the actual item rarity. Keeping those two ideas separate will save you a lot of confusion when comparing charms.
Exotic Charms – Pink
Exotic is the third charm rarity tier and uses the pink quality color.
At this point, the available outcomes become much harder to hit compared with High Grade and Remarkable items.
Some well-known Exotic charms include:
- Semi-Precious
- Titeenium AWP
- Lil’ Squirt
- Flash Bomb
- Eye of Ball
- Hungry Eyes
- Diamond Dog
Exotic is also where you start seeing an interesting mix between formal rarity and pattern demand.
Semi-Precious and Titeenium AWP, for example, can both change visually depending on their Charm Template. Two Exotic copies of the same charm can therefore have the exact same rarity while looking noticeably different.
This is another reason not to judge a charm using only the pink label.
The rarity tells you where the charm sits in its collection’s drop hierarchy.
It does not tell you which individual template collectors will like the most.
Extraordinary Charms – Red
Extraordinary is the highest standard CS2 charm rarity.
It uses the red rarity color and represents the smallest share of standard four-tier charm collection outcomes.
Examples of Extraordinary charms include:
- Baby Karat T
- Baby Karat CT
- Hot Howl
- Hot Wurst
- Butane Buddy
- 8 Ball IGL
- Glitter Bomb
- Lil’ Ferno
- Lil’ Boo
- Lil’ Eldritch
- Lil’ Serpent
- Quick Silver
If someone asks, “What is the rarest charm color in CS2?”, red is the simple answer.
If they ask, “What is the rarest individual charm?”, the answer becomes more complicated.
That depends on the collection, the number of Extraordinary charms sharing the top tier, whether the source is still available, and what exactly the player means by “rare.”
What Are the Rarest CS2 Charms?
The rarest standard rarity class is easy to identify:
Extraordinary charms are the rarest standard charm tier.
However, not every Extraordinary charm has the exact same individual chance of appearing.
Imagine a collection where the Extraordinary tier has an approximately 0.64% overall chance.
If only two charms share that tier and the items are equally weighted, each specific Extraordinary charm would work out to roughly 0.32%.
If four different charms share the same tier, each specific charm would be closer to 0.16%.
So there are really two questions:
How rare is the tier?
Extraordinary is the rarest.
How rare is one specific charm?
That depends on how many possible items share the tier in its collection.
This is why saying “every red charm has a 0.64% drop rate” is inaccurate. That percentage refers to the rarity tier as a whole, not necessarily one particular item inside it.
CS2 Charm Rarity vs Charm Pattern
This is probably the most important distinction in the entire guide.
A CS2 charm has both an item rarity and, for standard charms, an individual Charm Template.
They do different things.
| Feature | What It Controls |
|---|---|
| Charm rarity | The charm’s formal tier: High Grade, Remarkable, Exotic or Extraordinary |
| Rarity color | Blue, purple, pink or red |
| Charm Template | The individual template assigned to that charm |
| Pattern appearance | Color or visual differences produced by certain templates |
| Market value | What buyers are willing to pay for that exact charm |
A template does not promote a charm into another rarity.
A highly desirable red Die-Cast AK is still Remarkable.
A special-looking Semi-Precious is still Exotic.
An unusual High Grade charm pattern is still High Grade.
This separation matters even more because charm templates can have far more visual variation than players expect. If you want to inspect those differences before buying or trading one, our guide to the best and rarest CS2 charm patterns covers them individually.
CS2 Charm Rarity vs Skin Rarity
Charms and weapon skins share some familiar colors, but they do not use the same rarity names.
For charms:
High Grade → Remarkable → Exotic → Extraordinary
For normal weapon finishes:
Consumer Grade → Industrial Grade → Mil-Spec → Restricted → Classified → Covert
This means an Extraordinary charm should not be called a Covert charm simply because both use a red quality color.
The same applies further down the ladder.
A purple Remarkable charm is not a Restricted item.
A pink Exotic charm is not a Classified item.
They are different item families with different official rarity labels.
For a full breakdown of weapon quality, gold knives and gloves, Contraband and case rarity, see our complete CS2 skin rarity guide.
Do CS2 Charms Have Float or Wear?
No. Standard CS2 charms do not use the weapon-skin float and wear system.
You are not shopping for:
Factory New
Minimal Wear
Field-Tested
Well-Worn
Battle-Scarred
on a normal charm.
Instead, the individual characteristic players usually inspect is its Charm Template.
That is different from weapon skins, where float directly determines exterior condition. If you want to understand that side of CS2 cosmetics, our CS2 float and wear guide explains how weapon float works.
This difference is useful when shopping for charms because you do not need to compare five wear conditions of the same charm. What you may need to compare is the template.
Does Higher Charm Rarity Always Mean a Higher Price?
No.
Higher rarity usually creates more scarcity, which can help support a higher price, but rarity alone does not determine market value.
A charm’s price can also be affected by:
Demand. A design players genuinely want can outperform a less popular item.
Template. Some charms have visual variations that collectors specifically search for.
Collection supply. Availability and the amount already circulating on the market matter.
Appearance. Some inexpensive charms simply look better with popular skins.
Collector behavior. Memorable template numbers, unusual colors and community trends can produce premiums that the base rarity does not explain.
This is why you should compare the exact charm, not just the word High Grade, Exotic or Extraordinary beside it.
The same principle applies throughout the CS2 economy. Our CS2 skin trading guide for beginners goes deeper into evaluating items rather than buying from one stat alone.
How CS2 Charm Collections Work
Valve introduced weapon charms with The Armory update on October 2, 2024.
The first Armory included two charm collections alongside new weapon and sticker collections. Valve later expanded the selection in October 2025 with the Dr. Boom Charm Collection and the Missing Link Community Charm Collection.
We covered that expansion when it happened in our CS2 October 1 update breakdown.
Across the standard charm catalog, you will see names including:
- Small Arms Charm Collection
- Missing Link Charm Collection
- Dr. Boom Charm Collection
- Missing Link Community Charm Collection
Each contains a mixture of the four standard rarity tiers.
Valve has continued experimenting with the charm format as well. In 2026, the Cologne Major introduced Highlight Souvenir Charms tied to memorable tournament moments. Those are special event items and should not be used to redefine the normal High Grade-to-Extraordinary Armory rarity ladder.
Can You Trade Up CS2 Charms?
No. Charms do not use the standard weapon Trade Up Contract progression.
You cannot put a group of High Grade charms into a contract and turn them into a Remarkable charm.
The color ladder shows rarity, but it is not a trade-up path.
That is another major difference between charms and weapon skins.
For weapon finishes, rarity directly matters to Trade Up Contracts. With charms, each item remains the charm and rarity it was created as.
Can Charm Rarity Change?
No.
Attaching a charm to a weapon does not change its rarity.
Removing it does not change its rarity.
Getting a different Charm Template does not change its rarity.
Market prices moving up or down do not change its rarity either.
If you own a Remarkable Die-Cast AK, it stays Remarkable regardless of its pattern, price or the weapon you attach it to.
Is Gold a CS2 Charm Rarity?
No.
This is an easy mistake to make because gold is associated with rare special items in weapon cases, such as knives and gloves.
But gold is not one of the four standard charm rarity tiers.
A charm can physically look gold without having a special “Gold” rarity.
For example, certain charm templates can create much more golden-looking finishes, but the item’s formal rarity remains unchanged.
Again, separate what the charm looks like from what rarity the game assigns to it.
What Is the Highest Charm Rarity in CS2?
Extraordinary is the highest standard CS2 charm rarity.
Its rarity color is red.
The full order from lowest to highest is:
High Grade → Remarkable → Exotic → Extraordinary
What Does a Red CS2 Charm Mean?
If the item quality label is red, the charm is Extraordinary.
That does not mean every charm that visually contains red is Extraordinary.
For example, a red-pattern Die-Cast AK is still Remarkable because the red appearance comes from its template rather than its rarity tier.
Are Exotic or Extraordinary Charms Better?
They are rarer, but “better” depends on what you want.
If you are collecting based on formal rarity, Extraordinary sits above Exotic.
If you are building a loadout based on appearance, a cheaper Remarkable or High Grade charm may fit your weapon better.
And if you are collecting patterns, a desirable template on a lower-rarity charm can sometimes be more interesting than a standard version from the tier above it.
Final Takeaway
The CS2 charm rarity system is simple once you separate it from patterns, prices and weapon-skin rarity.
The order is:
High Grade (Blue) → Remarkable (Purple) → Exotic (Pink) → Extraordinary (Red)
Extraordinary is the highest and rarest standard charm tier.
But rarity is only one part of what makes a charm interesting.
The exact design, its collection, market demand and especially its Charm Template can all affect how players value two charms with the same formal rarity.
So when comparing charms, check the rarity first — then inspect the actual item.
That is where the interesting differences begin.
