Restricted skins are one of the easiest ways to make a CS2 inventory feel less basic without spending much.
And before we go any further, “purple” here means purple rarity, not necessarily a skin that is actually purple in game.
Restricted sits between Mil Spec and Classified in CS2’s rarity system. Some Restricted skins cost a surprising amount, while others can still be picked up for well under a dollar if you are flexible with wear.
For this list, we did not just grab seven random skins with the lowest price tag. We looked for cheap Restricted skins that are affordable, easy to find, and actually make sense in a real loadout.
If you are looking for skins that are literally purple instead, we already have a separate guide to the cheapest purple skins in CS2.
And if your only goal is stretching a tiny inventory budget as far as possible, our list of the best CS2 skins under $1 is worth opening in another tab.
Quick Answer: What Are the Cheapest Restricted Skins in CS2?
If you just want a few names to start checking, the budget end of the Restricted market currently includes skins like the MAC-10 Sakkaku, Tec-9 Red Quartz, P90 Vent Rush, MP7 Just Smile, Five-SeveN Hybrid, Desert Eagle Serpent Strike, and M4A1-S Nitro.
The exact cheapest skin changes constantly because marketplace listings move throughout the day.
Here is the range we would realistically expect to shop around:
| Skin | Weapon | Cheap Wear to Check | Typical Budget Entry |
|---|---|---|---|
| MAC-10 Sakkaku | MAC-10 | Battle-Scarred / Well-Worn | Around $0.30 to $0.60 |
| Tec-9 Red Quartz | Tec-9 | Field-Tested | Around $0.30 to $0.60 |
| P90 Vent Rush | P90 | Field-Tested / Battle-Scarred | Around $0.30 to $0.60 |
| MP7 Just Smile | MP7 | Battle-Scarred | Around $0.30 to $0.60 |
| Five-SeveN Hybrid | Five-SeveN | Well-Worn / Field-Tested | Around $0.35 to $0.60 |
| Desert Eagle Serpent Strike | Desert Eagle | Field-Tested | Around $0.35 to $0.70 |
| M4A1-S Nitro | M4A1-S | Field-Tested / Well-Worn | Around $0.40 to $0.70 |
Prices move constantly, so treat these as shopping ranges rather than fixed prices.
If you want to build the rest of your inventory around skins in the same price range, check our best budget CS2 loadouts for some full inventory ideas.
1. MAC-10 | Sakkaku
If we were building a cheap Restricted inventory from scratch, the MAC-10 Sakkaku would be one of the first skins we looked at.
The artwork covers most of the weapon with an anime inspired face and glowing red eyes, so it does not have the washed out look you would expect from a skin sitting near the bottom of the Restricted market.
More importantly, the MAC-10 is actually useful.
You will see it constantly on T side anti eco rounds and force buys, which gives the Sakkaku more value as a play skin than buying something cheap just because it happens to have a purple rarity tag.
Battle-Scarred is normally where the price gets interesting. This is also one of those finishes where heavier wear does not completely destroy what makes the skin look good.
If you are shopping across more than just Restricted skins, our wider guide to the best cheap CS2 skins has more affordable picks for the main weapons.
Our pick: Battle-Scarred if you only care about price.
2. M4A1-S | Nitro
The M4A1-S Nitro is probably the least exciting design on this list.
It might also be the smartest buy.
You are getting a Restricted skin for one of the most important CT rifles in CS2, and cheaper worn versions can cost less than plenty of skins for weapons you barely touch.
The Nitro is simple. Most of the weapon is dark with orange sections across the body. There is no huge illustration or complicated pattern, but that simplicity has helped it age surprisingly well.
Factory New is a completely different price bracket, so we would not bother if the goal is staying cheap.
Look at Field-Tested, Well-Worn, and Battle-Scarred listings instead.
If you are building an entire inventory for almost nothing, spending your money on a usable M4 before filling random weapon slots makes a lot more sense.
Our pick: Field-Tested if the price gap is small.
3. Five-SeveN | Hybrid
The Five-SeveN Hybrid is one of the better looking skins in this price range if you actually want some purple in your purple rarity skin.
Its silver base is broken up by bright purple sections, giving it a much cleaner look than its low market price suggests.
It also comes from the Kilowatt Collection, making it considerably newer than something like the Nitro.
This is the kind of skin where we would compare several wears before buying. Field-Tested and Well-Worn can sit close together in price, and there is little reason to automatically grab the cheapest listing if a cleaner version is only a few cents more.
If the Five-SeveN is one of your main pistols, we also have a full breakdown of all Five-SeveN skins in CS2 if you want to compare the Hybrid with more expensive options.
For a budget CT pistol slot, it is hard to complain.
Our pick: Field-Tested or Well-Worn depending on the current price gap.
4. Desert Eagle | Serpent Strike
A cheap Desert Eagle skin is automatically more interesting to us than an equally cheap skin for an M249 or Sawed-Off.
You are simply going to see it more.
The Desert Eagle Serpent Strike uses an orange and red snakeskin design across the weapon, and it has enough detail that it does not look like a throwaway low tier finish.
It also gives you a newer alternative to the same handful of cheap Deagle skins that seem to end up in every budget inventory.
Field-Tested is usually the sweet spot here. Going cleaner starts pushing the price up, while Field-Tested keeps the reason for buying it intact: getting a proper Deagle play skin without spending much.
If you would rather spend a little more on the pistol slot, compare it with the finishes in our guide to the best Desert Eagle skins in CS2.
Our pick: Field-Tested.
[IMAGE: Desert Eagle Serpent Strike]
Alt text: Desert Eagle Serpent Strike budget Restricted CS2 skin
5. MP7 | Just Smile
The MP7 Just Smile looks like someone covered an MP7 in street art and then forgot the skin was supposed to be cheap.
Its blue and purple base, yellow lettering, and oversized smile graphic make it one of the loudest options on this list.
This is not the skin we would choose for a clean or realistic inventory.
For a colorful budget loadout, though, it is an easy recommendation.
Battle-Scarred and Well-Worn versions are normally where you will find the lowest entry price. Check the actual skin before buying because when prices are this low, paying another ten or twenty cents for a nicer float can sometimes be worth it.
If float still feels confusing, our complete CS2 float and wear guide explains exactly why two skins with the same wear can still look different.
Our pick: Battle-Scarred for pure value.
6. P90 | Vent Rush
The P90 Vent Rush is weird in a good way.
Instead of trying to look expensive, its design leans into exposed tubes, tape, mechanical parts, and bright orange sections.
It is busy, but that works on the P90.
The other advantage is price. Worn versions regularly sit near the cheapest end of the Restricted tier.
We would not spend extra chasing Factory New here. The entire reason the Vent Rush makes this list is how cheap it can be in Field-Tested, Well-Worn, or Battle-Scarred condition.
If you are trying to squeeze the most value possible from an inventory budget, we put together a separate guide on how to save money on CS2 skins covering floats, price history, marketplace comparisons, and avoiding unnecessary premiums.
If you already use the P90 occasionally, this is a much better pickup than leaving the slot default.
Our pick: Whichever of Field-Tested, Well-Worn, or Battle-Scarred is cheapest when you buy.
7. Tec-9 | Red Quartz
The Tec-9 Red Quartz proves a skin does not need a giant graphic to look good.
It uses a metallic red crystal style pattern that still holds up despite being from an older CS collection.
And unlike a lot of old skins, it is still extremely affordable.
Field-Tested is normally the version we would look for first. If Factory New happens to be unusually close in price, though, this is one skin where paying a little more can make sense because the cleaner metallic finish suits the design.
It is also a useful T side pistol, so once again you are buying something you might actually pull out during a match.
Our pick: Field-Tested for price, Factory New only if you find a good listing.
What Is Actually the Cheapest Restricted Skin in CS2?
If we ignore how useful the weapon is and look purely at the lowest marketplace listings, the Dual Berettas Cobalt Quartz regularly appears near the very bottom of the Restricted market as well.
So why is it not in our main seven?
Because this guide is about the best cheap Restricted skins, not just finding seven listings separated by a few cents.
For most players, spending roughly the same amount on a MAC-10, Five-SeveN, Desert Eagle, or even an M4A1-S gives you a skin you are more likely to see and use.
That is the same approach we use in our broader guide to the best CS skins in CS2: price matters, but so does whether the skin actually makes sense in your inventory.
If your only goal is getting the cheapest purple rarity item possible, though, Cobalt Quartz is definitely one to check.
Can You Use Restricted Skins in Trade Ups?
Yes.
Restricted skins sit directly below Classified skins, so Restricted inputs can be used in a Trade Up Contract to receive a skin from the Classified tier.
That does not mean you should automatically throw the cheapest Restricted skins into a contract.
Collections matter, output pools matter, and float can matter.
If you are buying these specifically for contracts rather than using them as play skins, read our complete CS2 Trade Up Contracts guide before spending anything.
You can also start one tier lower with our guide to the cheapest Mil Spec skins in CS2.
That creates the normal rarity path:
Mil Spec → Restricted → Classified → Covert
And once you reach the red tier, our updated list of the cheapest Covert skins in CS2 covers the budget end of that market too.
How to Buy Cheap Restricted Skins Without Overpaying
Do not get obsessed with finding the absolute lowest number on the market.
When a skin costs fifty cents, saving three cents while getting a much worse float is not exactly a win.
Compare a few conditions first.
Field-Tested is often the best middle ground because you avoid the cleaner wear premium without automatically getting the roughest looking version available.
You should also compare marketplaces before buying. Steam prices and third party cash markets can be noticeably different.
For a deeper look at marketplaces, deposits, withdrawals, and skin trading, our guide to CS2 trading sites covers the basics.
And if you want to explore skins directly, you can also head back to DaddySkins and browse the available cases and game modes.
Restricted vs Classified vs Covert Skins
The basic rarity path is simple:
Mil Spec → Restricted → Classified → Covert
Restricted is the purple tier.
Classified is pink.
Covert is red.
That color represents the item’s rarity, not necessarily the colors used on the weapon itself.
This distinction is important because players often search by both color and rarity.
A skin that looks red is not automatically Covert, just like a skin that looks purple is not automatically Restricted.
For example, DaddySkins also has a separate guide to cheap red colored CS2 skins, which targets a completely different type of search from the Covert rarity guides.
That is why this page focuses specifically on Restricted rarity skins.
Which Cheap Restricted Skin Is the Best?
For pure value, we would take the MAC-10 Sakkaku.
For a weapon you will use constantly, the M4A1-S Nitro is probably the smarter buy.
The Five-SeveN Hybrid is our favorite if you want something clean and modern, while the Desert Eagle Serpent Strike gives you one of the strongest actual play skins for the money.
The nice part about this tier is that you do not really have to choose just one.
Most of the skins on this list cost less than a dollar in their cheapest conditions. You could build several slots of your inventory for less than the price of one more expensive play skin.
Start with the weapons you actually use, compare wears, check the float, and do not pay extra just because a listing says Factory New.
Cheap does not have to mean bad. You just have to know where to look.
