All CSGO Knives: Most expensive knife, cheapest, and best knives to buy

The most desirable items in CS:GO and Counter-Strike 2 are knives, so if you want to swap out the default blades for something more unique, here are the best knives in CS:GO, from cheapest to the most expensive.

There’s a total of 19 knife types you can use, and all of these knives have unique skins, patterns and designs too, so the choices are endless.

Although some knives, like the Butterfly Knife or Karambit, are very expensive, some of the “cheaper” knives can be very pricey too if they have a certain pattern on them.

For example, specific rare patterns called ‘Blue Gems’ will always make any knife cost thousands of dollars. The most desirable knives can sell for over $10,000, with the most expensive valued at around $1.5 million.

But, for us regular folk, we’ll just be looking at prices of regular Counter-Strike knives you can find on the Steam Market or reputable skin websites. The prices will depend on the skin, wear, and pattern, and StatTrak versions of any knife are typically more expensive than the non-StatTrak versions.

Contents

• All CSGO Knives and prices
• Most expensive CSGO knife
• Cheapest CSGO knife
• Best knives to buy
• Where to buy CS:GO knives

How much are CS:GO knives?

These are price ranges for the standard versions of these knives. These price charts don’t include extremely rare versions such as Sapphire, Emerald, Ruby, Black Pearl, or Blue Gem (Case Hardened) knives.

These are the most expensive knives in CS:GO ordered by price as of April 2023:

All CS:GO Knives and prices (April 2023)

Knife	Release date	Price	Image
Butterfly Knife	July 1, 2014	$650-$8000
Karambit	August 14, 2013	$500-$4500
M9 Bayonet	August 14, 2013	$450-$4500
Talon Knife	August 3, 2018	$350-$4000
Skeleton Knife	November 19, 2019	$350-$3500
Bayonet	August 14, 2013	$280-$3000
Flip Knife	August 14, 2013	$200-$2000
Stiletto Knife	August 3, 2018	$200-$1800
Classic Knife	October 18, 2019	$180-$1500
Nomad Knife	November 19, 2019	$180-$1500
Ursus Knife	August 3, 2018	$140-$1000
Huntsman Knife	May 1, 2014	$140-$1000
Bowie Knife	February 18, 2016	$130-$1000
Paracord Knife	November 19, 2019	$130-$1000
Falchion Knife	May 26, 2015	$130-$900
Survival Knife	November 19, 2019	$100-$900
Shadow Daggers	September 17, 2015	$100-$500
Navaja Knife	August 3, 2018	$90-$600

Most Expensive CS:GO knife: Butterfly Knife

The Butterfly Knife is one of the early knives added back in 2014, and to this day, it is generally the most expensive knife on the market. The least expensive version is typically around $500, while the most expensive can reach over $20,000, typically for Emerald or Sapphire Butterfly knives. Recent sales for Emerald Butterfly Knives have even reached over $25,000.

Although the blade itself isn’t the biggest, especially compared to the Bayonet, Bowie, or Huntsman, the reason the Butterfly is so expensive is all because of the animations.

Both drawing the knife and inspecting it will see your in-game character perform some incredible feats of knife trickery, flawlessly showing off moves a professional would be proud of. Check out the animations in the video:

However, the most expensive single knife in CS:GO is actually a Karambit, specifically the 387 pattern ‘Blue Gem‘ Karambit in Factory New condition. There is only one of these knives in existence, and its current owner turned down an offer of around $1.5 million for it.

Cheapest CS:GO knife

The cheapest knife in CS:GO is the Navaja knife. Added in 2018, it’s one of the newer knives, and suffers from a very small blade and limited animations.

Many players claim it looks more like a letter opener or butter knife, than something that could actually do much damage. Some Navaja knives are less than $100.

YouTube: BTD-TV

This Marble Fade Navaja is more expensive, and has been rising in price.

Another cheap knife is the Shadow Daggers, costing around $100 for the cheapest set. This is in fact two knives, wielded in each hand, which you might think would make them more desirable.

Unfortunately, like the Navaja, they’re not the most intimidating knives, and they also move the crosshair when equipped, something many players dislike. In CS2 though, this bug has been fixed.

Best CS:GO knife to buy

So, if you want to get your very own CS:GO knife, where to start? There are a number of things to consider, beyond just what one you think looks the best.

Price & Investment

Obviously, you can only buy what you can afford, but if you can’t afford the knife you want right now, you should consider waiting and saving up some money. CS:GO knives can be an investment if you keep them for a while before selling.

Some knives have also been losing value. For example, you could buy a Classic Knife for under $200, but since release, the Classic Knife has been declining in price. A minimal wear Classic Knife ‘Night Stripe’ used to cost almost $200, but is only around $140 today.

Data from CS.Money shows that in 2023, some knives have increased in price a lot. The Karambit | Blue Steel went from around $580 to $630, for example. Other knives that have risen in price include the Flip Knife, Talon Knife, Butterfly Knife, and M9 Bayonet. Data below compares January prices to February 2023.

Animations

Before buying your knife, you should check out the animations in-game. You will see these animations in every match, so it’s best to choose a knife that has animations you like.

There are lots of YouTube videos that will show you all the animations, or you can also check it out yourself in-game, by using a custom server and websites like BroSkins.

Wear, Pattern, Skin

Every knife has a variety of skins, from plain dark skins like Night Stripe to vibrant rainbow colors like the Marble Fade. Typically, more colorful skins will cost more, because they are more desirable. You can also get the plain version of each knife, called ‘Vanilla’ – but don’t be fooled, that doesn’t mean they will be cheaper.

Valve

Case Hardened knives with lots of blue are very rare and expensive, and are called “Blue Gems”.

Blue Gems, like this Talon above, are Case Hardened skins with max-blue patterns. The website CSGOBlueGem tracks all the known Blue Gem knives in existence, if you want to learn more.

It’s also important to pay attention to the wear level. A ‘Factory New’ knife will look almost flawless, while a ‘Battle Scarred’ Knife will look very damaged and worn – which obviously impacts the price.

Finally, if you want to get serious about your knife, pay attention to patterns. Every knife skin has 1000 patterns, and they can all look very different. For example, on ‘Fade’ knives, some patterns will have more of the knife painted, while some will have big gaps missing – no two knives are identical.

Where to buy CS:GO knives

If you’ve made your mind up, there are a few places to buy your knife.

The safest and easiest way is through the Steam Marketplace. Here, items under $2000 in value can be listed, and you can simply deposit money into your Steam balance to make the purchase.

However, there are some downsides to Steam, the main one being the prices. Because Valve takes a percentage of every sale, sellers will often list their items at a higher price. This is where third-party websites can have an advantage.

There are many reputable CS:GO skin websites out there, such as CS.MONEY, BitSkins or SkinPort. These sites will often have knives for sale cheaper than what you will find on the Steam market. And there is no price limit, so if you’re looking for a very expensive knife pattern like a Ruby or Emerald, you will have to use a third-party website, as the Steam Marketplace has a price cap.

That’s everything you need to know about knives in CS:GO. If you’re also looking to kit out your weapons with some skins, check out our list of the best CS:GO weapon skins here.