A Steam level costs exactly what its card sets cost. Steam grants 100 XP for every complete set you craft into a badge, so the price of any level is the number of sets it takes multiplied by the price of one set.
The catch is that the number of sets per level keeps climbing. Below, every common target is priced at the rates we sell at today, with the math behind each number. We've traded Steam card sets since 2017, so these are checkout prices, not estimates. (For the bigger picture on XP, start with the complete guide to leveling up on Steam.)
How much do Steam levels cost?
At October 2026 prices, a card set costs $0.345 at SteamLevelForge, so level 10 costs $3.45, level 50 costs $51.75 and level 100 costs $189.75, starting from level 0. Building level 100 from raw cards on the Steam Market cost $195.40 at the cheapest and $396.00 at median prices in an October 2026 snapshot.
Price your exact target on the level-up calculator. It starts from the XP you already have, so you only pay for the gap.
The formula: sets × price per set
Two numbers decide every price on this page.
Sets. One complete set is one badge craft, and one craft is 100 XP. Steam charges 100 XP per level for levels 1–10, 200 XP per level for 11–20, 300 for 21–30, and another 100 for every ten levels after that. Add up the XP to your target, divide by 100, and you have the sets.
Price per set. $0.345 by card or PayPal. In other currencies, one TF2 key covers 6.6 sets and one set costs 700 gems.
A worked example: level 30 needs 6,000 XP. That's 60 sets, and 60 × $0.345 = $20.70.
Steam level prices, from level 10 to 250
Every row comes from the same XP curve our level calculator runs on, priced at October 2026 rates from level 0.
| Target level | Total XP | Card sets | Card or PayPal | TF2 keys | Gems |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | 1,000 | 10 | $3.45 | 2 | 7,000 |
| 25 | 4,500 | 45 | $15.53 | 7 | 31,500 |
| 50 | 15,000 | 150 | $51.75 | 23 | 105,000 |
| 100 | 55,000 | 550 | $189.75 | 84 | 385,000 |
| 150 | 120,000 | 1,200 | $414.00 | 182 | 840,000 |
| 200 | 210,000 | 2,100 | $724.50 | 319 | 1,470,000 |
| 250 | 325,000 | 3,250 | $1,121.25 | 493 | 2,275,000 |
Keys only come whole, so that column rounds up to the next key.
What about doing it yourself on the Market? There's a solid figure for one row only: level 100 cost $195.40 buying the cheapest 110 games, and $396.00 at median set prices, in a snapshot of 13,966 sets from the public steam.tools Steam Market dataset (20 October 2026). We don't stretch that to other levels, because it doesn't scale in a straight line. A badge stops granting XP after five crafts, so level 150 needs at least 240 different games and level 250 at least 650. The deeper down the price list you have to go, the more the average set costs.
Why every 10 levels costs more
Steam raises the XP price of a level every ten levels, while a set stays fixed at 100 XP. So each ten-level band takes ten more sets than the one before it:
| Levels | Sets | Card or PayPal |
|---|---|---|
| 0 → 10 | 10 | $3.45 |
| 10 → 20 | 20 | $6.90 |
| 40 → 50 | 50 | $17.25 |
| 90 → 100 | 100 | $34.50 |
| 140 → 150 | 150 | $51.75 |
| 190 → 200 | 200 | $69.00 |
| 240 → 250 | 250 | $86.25 |
The ten levels from 90 to 100 cost ten times as much as the first ten. Levels 70 to 100 take 270 of the 550 sets for level 100, almost half the bill for under a third of the levels.
A single level works the same way. Below level 10, one level is one set: $0.345. Going from 99 to 100 takes ten sets ($3.45), and 199 to 200 takes twenty ($6.90). How many card sets you need for level 100 breaks the curve down band by band.
What it costs from your current level
Nobody starts at zero for long, and the XP you already have comes straight off the bill. From level 20, reaching level 50 is 120 sets, or $41.40. From level 50, level 100 is 400 sets, or $138.00. From 100, level 200 is 1,550 sets, or $534.75.
You don't need to do that subtraction yourself. The calculator reads where you are and prices only the sets between there and your target.
Paying with keys, gems or points
Same sets, different currency. One TF2 key buys 6.6 sets, a set costs 700 gems, and loyalty points earned on earlier orders pay at 210 per set. Which works out cheapest depends on what you already hold and on that day's key and gem markets. Our cheap Steam leveling guide covers when each one wins.
What "buying Steam levels" actually buys
You can't buy a level. Nobody can sell you one without logging into your account, and handing over a login is how accounts get stolen or permanently disabled.
What you buy is the card sets. They arrive in one Steam trade offer, usually within a minute of payment clearing, and you craft them into badges on Steam. Crafting is the step that grants XP: for level 100 that's 550 crafts, around 90 minutes. Your account stays yours the whole time, and all we need is your trade URL. Is buying Steam trading card sets safe? covers the rest.
Is it cheaper to level up yourself?
Not at level 100, and the hours make the gap wider still.
| Doing it yourself on the Market | SteamLevelForge | |
|---|---|---|
| Card cost, level 100 | $195.40 best case, $396.00 at median | $189.75 |
| Purchases | ~3,000 individual cards | One order |
| Your time | ~17 hours | One trade offer + ~90 minutes crafting |
The 17 hours break down as roughly 1.5 hours finding suitable games, 14 hours buying cards and 1.5 hours crafting. Buying sets removes the first two. The crafting stays with you either way, and the leveling service page runs the same time comparison for any target you type in.
Doing it yourself still makes sense for a handful of levels. The free badges and card drops from games you already own can carry an account to level 10–15 at no cost, and the DIY tactics guide shows how to stretch them. For a real target, level 50, level 100 and beyond, assembled sets save the hours, and at level 100 they save money too.
Who sets these prices
Every price on this page comes from a service that has traded Steam card sets continuously since 2017: more than 15,000 trades, three dedicated trading bots, 5,600+ accounts leveled and over 41 million XP delivered. The calculator also shows the highest level our current stock can reach, so you're never charged for a level we can't fill.
See your price on the level-up calculator. Enter your target and it prices the gap from where you are, in every currency we accept. Prefer Steam chat? Add our bot on Steam and type !check to see what it can do for your profile.
Frequently asked questions
How much does Steam level 100 cost?
From level 0, level 100 takes 550 card sets: $189.75 by card or PayPal, 84 TF2 keys, or 385,000 gems at October 2026 rates. Building it from raw Market cards cost $195.40 at best and $396.00 at median prices in an October 2026 snapshot.
How much does one Steam level cost?
It depends on the level. Below level 10, one level is one set, or $0.345. Level 99 to 100 takes ten sets ($3.45), and 199 to 200 takes twenty ($6.90), because Steam raises the XP per level every ten levels.
Can you buy Steam levels directly?
No. Steam only grants XP when you craft a badge on your own account, so what you buy is complete card sets, delivered by trade offer, which you then craft. Anyone offering to add levels directly needs your login, and that is the transaction that gets accounts disabled.
Can you pay for Steam levels with PayPal?
Yes. Card and PayPal payments run at $0.345 per set at checkout as of October 2026. You can also pay with TF2 keys (6.6 sets per key), Steam gems (700 per set) or loyalty points.
Is it cheaper to level up yourself?
Not at level 100. Raw Market cards cost $195.40 even when you buy the 110 cheapest games, against $189.75 for the same 550 sets bought here, and the DIY route takes around 17 hours. For a few levels from free badges and card drops you already own, doing it yourself costs nothing.