The Best CS2 Skins in 2025 (From the Cheapest to the Most Expensive)

Quite a few factors affect the popularity of Counter-Strike skins among players and traders.

Sure, a weapon should look great during the game. But also, the best CS2 skins should be decently rare, have some interesting background stories, and be highlighted by pro players and streamers. There are some requirements for the gun itself: if it’s effective in the game, you’ll take your skins to the server often and showcase your wonderful style.

In this article on DMarket Blog, we’ve selected the 20 best skins to obtain for your CS2 inventory. Some of them are pretty cheap, so there are almost no obstacles to purchasing them and playing with them. Others are unique and expensive, so they may become your clever long-term investment.

P250 | Visions

Flavor Text: One crow short of a murder
Added: 1 July 2022
Quality: Classified
Starting Price: $2.92
Case: Recoil Case

Visually, P250 | Visions is a piece of art! It’s like having a stunning painting in your CS2 hand. The skin is eye-catching during matches, and it’s satisfying to deliver shots from it.

The skin’s popularity is based on this authentic beauty, the pistol’s effectiveness, and a relatively cheap price. P250 | Visions can often be spotted in online matches: casual and competitive CS2. Streamers enjoy showcasing it in their videos, but pro players prefer taking more expensive and rare options.

The P250 itself is considered a must-have pistol thanks to its high armor penetration and a headshot kill opportunity.

Buy P250 | Visions on DMarket

AK-47 | Legion of Anubis

Flavor Text: May he tip the scales in your favor
Added: 7 August 2020
Quality: Covert
Starting Price: $29.45
Case: Clutch Case
Collection: The Fracture Collection

This skin is based on the images from Egyptian mythology: specifically the gods of the sun, Ra, and the underworld, Anubis. If you consider the rifle body as a mural in ancient pyramids, it can tell you a story of the balance between life and death.

AK-47 | Legion of Anubis is a Covert-grade rifle. Having skins of such a rarity level at a cheap price is a rare occurrence. Combined with the general beauty of this item, we have a recipe for a popular weapon for casual players. Among CS2 pros, torzsi is known for having taken AK-47 | Legion of Anubis to some big events.

The AK-47 is one of the best weapons in the game. On the T side, most competitors prefer to have this assault rifle.

Buy AK-47 | Legion of Anubis on DMarket

AUG | Death by Puppy

Flavor Text: Not to be confused with “ladder”
Added: 18 October 2019
Quality: Classified
Starting Price: $6.53
Case: CS20 Case
Collection: The CS20 Collection

On the one hand, this skin is filled with fun, colorful creatures. Those puppies represent the absurdity of having cute images on the tools of bloody death. On the other hand, AUG | Death by Puppy is not a cartoonish item. Thanks to the dark metallic surface, the gun creates specific vibes of dedication in the game.

AUG | Death by Puppy is very popular in the Counter-Strike community for its unique design, but not among esports professionals. Thanks to the rarity of a limited release—for the game’s 20th anniversary—the skin is a nice choice for a budget-level investment.

The AUG is a niche weapon. Many casual players love it for its scope accuracy.

Buy AUG | Death by Puppy on DMarket

AK-47 | Nightwish

Description: I’ve been saving this for a special occasion… – Booth, Arms Dealer
Added: 21 January 2022
Quality: Covert
Starting Price: $56.00
Case: Dreams and Nightmares Case

The design of this CS2 skin nicely reflects the theme of the community contest, Dreams & Nightmares. AK-47 | Nightwish was among the winners, and it was added to the game. You can see a somewhat scary deer spirit on the weapon’s body, surrounded by phantasmagoric dreamcatchers.

AK-47 | Nightwish is an extremely popular skin among players and CS2 content creators. People really enjoy its distinct art style! As for professionals, they prefer rarer items with more classic Counter-Strike aesthetics.

Buy AK-47 | Nightwish on DMarket

USP-S | The Traitor

Flavor Text: Past failures are the blueprints for future success
Added: 3 May 2021
Quality: Covert
Starting Price: $28.38
Case: Snakebite Case

The shiny red body of this pistol skin looks amazing in the game. Moreover, there is some symbolism behind USP-S | The Traitor. It combines the story of a snake, which apparently offers an apple to Eve, and the tarot card The Hanged Man. This could be interpreted as reflecting on past mistakes to move into the future—and the Flavor Text supports this.

Pro and casual players alike appreciate USP-S | The Traitor a lot. The design is very catchy, so playing CS2 with this skin brings a nice level of satisfaction. Moreover, USP-S | The Traitor is a decent investment. With the Covert-grade rarity, it’s a desired part of an individual collection.

The USP-S pistol is a starting option for the CT side. Many players choose it for its accuracy and the silencer.

Buy USP-S | The Traitor on DMarket

AWP | Fever Dream

Flavor Text: Delirium is a dangerous thing
Added: 16 March 2017
Quality: Classified
Starting Price: $13.35
Case: Spectrum Case
Collection: The Spectrum Collection

The skin really feels like a fever dream of a graffiti artist. The bright colors look somewhat loud over the dark background. The symbols are quite chaotic, which in a way reflects the game’s nature, where not everything goes according to your plan.

AWP | Fever Dream is popular among players who prefer expressive images on their weapons. The skin creates a specific atmosphere around its owner, and you should be in tune with such a style to enjoy this type of aesthetic.

The AWP is a high-risk, high-reward sniper rifle. Everyone in Counter-Strike likes playing with it, but not everyone has the skills to be good with it. Relatively cheap AWP skins are always a good idea for investments.

Buy AWP | Fever Dream on DMarket

AWP | Chrome Cannon

Flavor Text: “Where’d this come from? Why do you ask?” - Booth, Arms Dealer
Added: 7 February 2024
Quality: Covert
Starting Price: $24.98
Case: Kilowatt Case

It’s a futuristic-looking skin, with a polished chrome weapon body and colorful elements that create abstract patterns. AWP | Chrome Cannon wins a lot from the improved lighting of Counter-Strike 2, and the weapon looks just stunning in the game.

Thanks to this visual effect and the general popularity of the AWP, the Chrome Cannon skin is appreciated by many streamers and casual players. Esports professionals prefer something more exceptional for their tournament appearances.

The rarity makes AWP | Chrome Cannon a good investment. The skin comes from the very first CS2-only weapon case, and this historic role is quite significant.

Buy AWP | Chrome Cannon on DMarket

Desert Eagle | Ocean Drive

Flavor Text: Can’t miss—both the colors and when using the weapon
Added: 22 September 2021
Quality: Covert
Starting Price: $70.69
Collection: The Operation Riptide Collection

It’s one of the most vibrant Counter-Strike skins ever! The neon colors of Desert Eagle | Ocean Drive let players stand out in terms of visual extravaganza. It’s a very beautiful skin to play CS2 with! As the name suggests, the design is inspired by the Ocean Drive street in Miami, and specifically its evening neon lights.

Like with some other items in our list of the best CS2 skins, Desert Eagle | Ocean Drive is popular among the general community but not pro players. You have good chances to see this pistol in online matchmaking, but the esports scene is more fond of classic designs and unique rarity.

The Desert Eagle itself is an iconic gun in Counter-Strike. It’s a good choice for eco rounds thanks to the headshot kill possibility. The risk is also high, as the pistol is somewhat slow: you need really good skills to play with it.

Buy Desert Eagle | Ocean Drive on DMarket

AK-47 | The Empress

Flavor Text: Wealth comes in many forms
Added: 14 September 2017
Quality: Covert
Starting Price: $77.63
Case: Spectrum 2 Case
Collection: The Spectrum 2 Collection

The skin is elegant and rich-looking. AK-47 | The Empress is directly inspired by the tarot card with the same name. You can see a beautiful lady on the weapon’s body, and her blond hair is taken back by the invisible wind. The colors and patterns speak of the sun’s power.

Many CS2 pro players like taking AK-47 | The Empress to esports tournaments. stavn is among those who have been spotted with this skin. The community sure follows this example, and the item is super popular. AK-47 | The Empress can be a great purchase for your personal collection and a long-term investment.

Buy AK-47 | The Empress on DMarket

M4A4 | Eye of Horus

Flavor Text: Rise above the rest
Added: 25 April 2023
Quality: Covert
Starting Price: $129.96
Collection: The Anubis Collection

Back in 2023, Valve added Anubis to the competitive maps in Counter-Strike. To commemorate this event, the developers also released the Anubis Collection—M4A4 | Eye of Horus is part of it. It’s inspired by the god Horus from Ancient Egypt. Horus has the head of a falcon, so the skin features this bird alongside the traditional design pattern from that era. This image also hints at the hunting accuracy of falcons and good Counter-Strike players.

M4A4 | Eye of Horus is considered a high-status pick for skin collectors and streamers. Not many casual players go for this purchase, and even pro players prefer other options. The item is still valuable as an investment thanks to its rarity, an interesting design, and the historic role.

The M4A4 is one of the most popular picks on the CT side. The assault rifle comes with great effectiveness, and only the silenced version, M4A1-S, can compete with it.

Buy M4A4 | Eye of Horus on DMarket

Desert Eagle | Fennec Fox

Flavor Text: All the better to hear you with
Added: 22 September 2021
Quality: Classified
Starting Price: $372.00
Collection: The 2021 Mirage Collection

This pistol skin is bright and beautiful. Also, it comes with a backstory. The design is inspired by the real-world animal, the fennec fox, that lives in the desert. The addition of Desert Eagle | Fennec Fox to the general collection of CS2 skins happened alongside the 2021 Mirage Collection—based on the iconic desert map. Even the Flavor Text refers to the fennec foxes’ big ears and their sensitive hearing.

Desert Eagle | Fennec Fox is a great collectible item. Due to its unique rarity, people consider it a long-term investment and not a playable skin. Not only is Desert Eagle | Fennec Fox pretty expensive, but it’s also available strictly as a Souvenir. There is no possibility to obtain it even from the best CS2 cases, so go for it on the marketplace.

Buy Desert Eagle | Fennec Fox on DMarket

AK-47 | Case Hardened

Flavor Text: A little color never hurt anyone
Added: 14 August 2013
Quality: Classified
Starting Price: $183.79
Case: CS:GO Weapon Case
Collection: The Arms Deal Collection

The design of this skin reflects the real-world process of heat-treating steel, which is called case hardening. The blue, gold, and purple elements are random on AK-47 | Case Hardened. The most desirable variant is the Blue Gem, where the entire assault rifle is covered with blue. It’s one of the most expensive CS2 skins.

AK-47 | Case Hardened is absolutely iconic in the community. Pro players enjoy showcasing it during the top tournaments—preferably with a lot of blue on the weapon’s body. s1mple is known for having unique AK-47 | Case Hardened skins. The casual players value this skin as well.

Thanks to the unique variants and the historic role of being from the first-ever skin collection, AK-47 | Case Hardened is a great investment option. It’s also a wonderful skin to take to the game.

Buy AK-47 | Case Hardened on DMarket

M4A1-S | Printstream

Flavor Text: WHITE_1; BLACK_1; PEARLESCENT_1; SILENCED_1;
Added: 3 December 2020
Quality: Covert
Starting Price: $149.73
Case: Operation Broken Fang Case
Collection: The Operation Broken Fang Collection2

There is more in this skin than the eye catches at first sight. The white weapon body copies the light-reflecting features of a pearl, and it looks amazing in the game. The light play reveals rainbow colors on M4A1-S | Printstream. The creator, JTPNZ, added an interesting element to the skin: the heart refers to Nirvana’s song Heart-Shaped Box.

The sleek design attracts pro and casual players. Some collectors add stickers to the white body to create specific flavors around M4A1-S | Printstream. In general, it’s one of the most popular CS2 skins! Because of its limited availability, M4A1-S | Printstream is a clever choice for a long-term investment: the skin comes from one of the completed Counter-Strike Operations.

The M4A1-S is an essential choice for the CT side. You can see it in every CS2 match.

Buy M4A1-S | Printstream on DMarket

Falchion Knife | Marble Fade

Flavor Text: The blade is made of many colors, but soon it all looks red
Added: 16 March 2017
Quality: Covert
Starting Price: $196.49
Case: Spectrum Case, Spectrum 2 Case

The Marble Fade CS2 knives are quite unique with their bright, multi-colored patterns. Usually, the blade is covered with yellow, red, and blue. As for the Falchion Knife, it also has these colors for its handle.

Falchion Knife | Marble Fade has rare and more valuable variants: the pattern indexes that correspond to red and blue color coverage. These skins are named Fire and Ice. Pro players, streamers, and passionate collectors enjoy showcasing Falchion Knife | Marble Fade at tournaments and videos. olofmeister has such a skin. It’s an expensive purchase but a good investment.

Buy Falchion Knife | Marble Fade on DMarket

AUG | Flame Jörmungandr

Flavor Text: Wake the gods
Added: 19 November 2019
Quality: Restricted
Starting Price: $353.99
Collection: The Norse Collection

A serpent wraps the weapon body of the AUG rifle. It’s the legendary creature Jörmungandr from Norse mythology, wrapping the entire world. The beast takes its flame form to become part of a CS2 skin.

While pro players rarely take AUG | Flame Jörmungandr to the top-tier tournaments, the item is very popular among streamers and collectors. In the general community, the skin is considered a great part of any CS2 inventory. AUG | Flame Jörmungandr has a high investment value.

Buy AUG | Flame Jörmungandr on DMarket

Desert Eagle | Emerald Jörmungandr

Flavor Text: Wake the gods
Added: 19 November 2019
Quality: Restricted
Starting Price: $518.78
Collection: The Norse Collection

Jörmungandr, the World Serpent from Norse mythology, covers itself with emerald scales—specifically for this Desert Eagle skin. The item comes with different variants, as the serpent’s head can be imprinted in various positions: for example, on the grip or the hammer.

The green design looks amazing in CS2, especially when it corresponds with the colors of your gloves. Those who want to create high-tier skin collections hunt for Desert Eagle | Emerald Jörmungandr. The gun is often showcased by popular streamers. For investment purposes, consider getting the grip variant.

Buy Desert Eagle | Emerald Jörmungandr on DMarket

Falchion Knife | Doppler (Sapphire)

Flavor Text: Getting lost in its color can prove fatal
Added: 16 March 2017
Quality: Covert
Starting Price: $850.00
Case: Spectrum Case, Spectrum 2 Case

It’s an extremely rare and highly desired Phase of a CS2 Doppler skin. Falchion Knife | Doppler (Sapphire) is distinguishable by its beautiful blue blade. Also, this specific CS2 knife has the skin colors on its handle.

It’s more than just a blue knife. The surface resembles a real sapphire, which looks amazing in the game when your character plays with it in his hand. Anyone in the community would be glad to have Falchion Knife | Doppler (Sapphire)! This includes even the top CS2 professionals. The unique value and high popularity make this knife an exceptionally good investment!

Buy Falchion Knife | Doppler (Sapphire) on DMarket

Gut Knife | Gamma Doppler (Emerald)

Added: 15 June 2015
Quality: Covert
Starting Price: $314.32
Case: Gamma Case, Gamma 2 Case

This skin is a gem-like version of Gamma Doppler. The entire blade is green, and it resembles the surface of an emerald. Such knives are super rare—and they look amazing in the game.

The Gut Knife itself adds an additional value to Gamma Doppler (Emerald). The handle here is just two wooden pieces that cover the metal. Therefore, the emerald pattern is visible on the edges.

Similar to other gem variants, Gut Knife | Gamma Doppler (Emerald) is a desired skin. It’s an investment worth hunting for on the CS2 skin marketplaces.

Buy Gut Knife | Gamma Doppler on DMarket

M4A1-S | Blue Phosphor

Flavor Text: Feeling blue?
Added: 3 December 2020
Quality: Classified
Starting Price: $956.85
Collection: The Control Collection

The design of this skin is generally minimalistic, but the shiny blue surface creates wonderful light effects in the game. M4A1-S | Blue Phosphor resembles early one-colored Counter-Strike skins.

The skin is unique thanks to its very limited Float Value range. M4A1-S | Blue Phosphor is only available as Factory New and Minimal Wear.

Many popular pro players and streamers highlight this amazing skin in their videos and during CS2 esports tournaments. The uniqueness and the visual beauty of M4A1-S | Blue Phosphor make the item extremely valuable. It’s a great addition to high-tier skin collections.

Buy M4A1-S | Blue Phosphor on DMarket

Butterfly Knife | Doppler (Ruby)

Flavor Text: Getting lost in its color can prove fatal
Added: 16 March 2017
Quality: Covert
Starting Price: $3,833.76
Case: Spectrum Case, Spectrum 2 Case

This item concludes our list of the best CS2 skins: Butterfly Knife | Doppler (Ruby) is one of the most valuable Doppler Phases thanks to the combo of the knife type and the unique gem pattern.

The blade is a red, ruby-like surface. The in-game light plays on it wonderfully to create amazing visual effects. Just watching this knife is a pleasure. In addition, Counter-Strike character models have a special animation for the Butterfly Knives. They close and open it in their hand, and players really enjoy this show.

The Ruby Phase of the Doppler skins is generally the best to have, but obtaining it is exceptional luck.

Buy Butterfly Knife | Doppler (Ruby) on DMarket

Your preferences on visual aesthetics and the available budget are crucial factors for selecting your personal best CS2 skins.

If you are looking for a playable weapon, focus on those you like the most—they’ll reflect your unique style better. For investment and collectibles purposes, aim for the most unique offers in terms of rarity. They tend to keep and increase their value.

Check out other popular CS2 lists:

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