Card Centering Calculator
Take or upload a photo of your card and get its centering ratios, checked against PSA, BGS, CGC and ACE limits. Free, no account needed.
Front of the card (Needed)
Back of the card (Optional)
Free, no account needed. JPEG, PNG or WebP up to 10MB.
Buying a card on eBay? Check the listing photos instead.
How the card centering tool works
Step 1
Add a photo
Take a photo with your phone or choose one you already have. The front is enough. Add the back if you want both sides checked.
Step 2
We find the borders
The tool finds the edge of the card and the edge of the printed border, straightens the card if the photo was taken at an angle, and measures the border on all four sides.
Step 3
Read the result
You get the left/right and top/bottom ratios and the best grade the centering allows at PSA, BGS, CGC and ACE. If a line is off, drag it into place.
Centering limits for the top grades
A ratio like 55/45 means the wider border takes up 55% of the space and the narrower one 45%. The closer to 50/50, the better centered the card. Each company allows a little more on the back than on the front.
| Grade | Front, at worst | Back, at worst |
|---|---|---|
| PSA 10 Gem Mint | 55/45 | 75/25 |
| BGS 10 Gem Mint | 55/45 | 60/40 |
| BGS 9.5 Gem Mint | 60/40 | 75/25 |
| CGC 10 Gem Mint | 55/45 | 75/25 |
| ACE 10 Gem Mint | 60/40 | 60/40 |
For every grade, see the grading standards guide and the PSA 10 centering requirements.
How to take a photo the calculator can read
- Take the card out of its sleeve or toploader. Plastic edges and glare get mistaken for the card edge.
- Lay the card flat on a plain surface that is a different colour from the card border.
- Hold the phone straight above the card and keep the whole card in the photo, with a little table showing on every side.
- Use even light. A hard shadow along one edge makes that border look wider than it is.
Card centering questions
- How is card centering calculated?
- Measure the border on the left and on the right. Divide the left border by the two added together and you have the left share. A card with a 2mm left border and a 3mm right border is 40/60. Top and bottom work the same way. The front and the back are measured separately.
- What centering does a PSA 10 need?
- PSA allows up to 55/45 on the front and 75/25 on the back for a PSA 10. Centering is one part of the grade. Corners, edges and surface count too.
- Does it work for Pokémon and sports cards?
- Yes. It works on any standard size trading card with a printed border, including Pokémon, sports cards, Magic: The Gathering, Yu-Gi-Oh! and One Piece. Borderless and full-art cards have no printed border to measure, so they often cannot be read.
- Can I check a card that is in a sleeve or a slab?
- Sometimes, but a bare card on a plain surface gives the most reliable reading. If the tool cannot find the edges, you can place the lines on the photo yourself.
- Is the calculator free?
- Yes. You can check 10 cards a month without an account. You can move the measuring lines by hand if they are off. A free account saves your results. Paid plans give 100 checks a month or unlimited, plus bulk upload.
- Can I check a card on eBay before I buy it?
- Yes. Paste the listing link on the home page and the seller's photos are measured the same way.