What does a pack actually cost?
Every sealed product we track, divided by how many packs are inside it, so a booster box and a single pack can finally be compared. Prices are TCGplayer market, read on September 1, 2026, and read again each time the product sync runs. Where the counts come from, and what they were in other years, is on how many packs are in it.
Read this first
The bigger box is not the cheaper pack
The received wisdom is that the bigger the box the cheaper the pack. Of the 22 sets here that sell a pack both loose and inside something bigger, that holds 10 times and fails 12 times: buying single packs one at a time is the cheapest pack in Surging Sparks, Mega Evolution and 10 more. It is not a rule that can be applied from the outside: on the 3 cheapest sets here the cheapest pack comes inside a box or a bundle, and on the 2 priciest the cheapest pack is bought loose. The only way to know is to look at the set you are actually buying, and that is what the table below is.
29 English sets
Cheapest pack to priciest
Every English set we can price sealed, sorted by the cheapest pack available in each one, whatever it is inside. The imported Japanese and Korean sets have guides of their own but no sealed listing to divide, so they are not on this table. Every figure is that product's market price divided by the number of packs in it, before tax and shipping. The counts under the column headings are sourced for the Scarlet & Violet era onward and are not permanent properties of those products, so a set from an earlier era gets an empty cell rather than a figure divided by the wrong number. What each one has held over the years is its own page.
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Booster Box
36 packs
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Elite Trainer Box
9 packs
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Booster Bundle
6 packs
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Build & Battle Box
4 packs
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Single Pack
1 pack
All five are ME05: Pitch Black, so they are the same set's shelf rather than five sets' worth of lookalikes. Photography is TCGplayer's.
| Set | Cheapest pack | Booster Box36 packs | Elite Trainer Box9 packs | Booster Bundle6 packs | Build & Battle Box4 packs | Single Pack1 pack |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Perfect Order202649 rips on the channel | $4.84in the booster box | $4.84$174.22 total | $8.06$72.56 total | $6.94$41.66 total | $9.39$37.57 total | $5.30 |
| Pitch Black202627 rips on the channel | $5.27in the booster box | $5.27$189.57 total | $7.87$70.81 total | $6.58$39.50 total | $9.75$38.99 total | $5.79 |
| Chaos Rising202659 rips on the channel | $5.32in the booster box | $5.32$191.46 total | $7.77$69.95 total | $6.20$37.17 total | $10.87$43.47 total | $5.35 |
| Journey Together202519 rips on the channel | $6.61in the booster box | $6.61$238.14 total | $15.57$140.09 total | $7.58$45.46 total | $9.86$39.42 total | $6.82 |
| Paradox Rift20234 rips on the channel | $7.57in the booster box | $7.57$272.59 total | $15.13$136.13 total | $14.59$87.53 total | $10.85$43.39 total | $8.10 |
| Surging Sparks202410 rips on the channel | $7.88bought loose | No booster box we can price per pack | $14.11$126.95 total | $10.00$60.00 total | $15.35$61.40 total | $7.88 |
| Mega Evolution202519 rips on the channel | $7.97bought loose | No booster box we can price per pack | $12.95$116.58 total | $10.60$63.58 total | $15.07$60.29 total | $7.97 |
| Scarlet & Violet2023 | $8.18in the booster box | $8.18$294.64 total | $15.06$135.58 total | $17.67$106.03 total | $10.21$40.84 total | $9.27 |
| Destined Rivals202517 rips on the channel | $8.97bought loose | No booster box we can price per pack | $13.15$118.31 total | $11.17$67.01 total | $16.85$67.40 total | $8.97 |
| Twilight Masquerade20245 rips on the channel | $8.97bought loose | No booster box we can price per pack | $12.02$108.19 total | $12.64$75.86 total | $15.63$62.50 total | $8.97 |
| Shrouded Fable2024 | $9.04in the booster bundle | No booster box we can price per pack | $12.64$113.74 total | $9.04$54.24 total | No build & battle box we can price per pack | $14.81 |
| Obsidian Flames20232 rips on the channel | $10.25in the booster box | $10.25$368.89 total | $31.17$280.50 total | $20.08$120.50 total | $14.44$57.75 total | $12.38 |
| Stellar Crown2024 | $10.48bought loose | No booster box we can price per pack | $17.15$154.35 total | $12.19$73.15 total | $12.27$49.07 total | $10.48 |
| Rebel Clash20202 rips on the channel | $10.73bought loose | No booster box we can price per pack | No elite trainer box we can price per pack | No booster bundle we can price per pack | No build & battle box we can price per pack | $10.73 |
| Temporal Forces20242 rips on the channel | $10.87in the build & battle box | No booster box we can price per pack | $13.99$125.91 total | $15.06$90.35 total | $10.87$43.46 total | $11.19 |
| Phantasmal Flames202524 rips on the channel | $11.07bought loose | $11.27$405.80 total | $17.46$157.17 total | $13.56$81.33 total | $16.10$64.39 total | $11.07 |
| Chilling Reign20211 rip on the channel | $11.51bought loose | No booster box we can price per pack | No elite trainer box we can price per pack | No booster bundle we can price per pack | No build & battle box we can price per pack | $11.51 |
| Pokémon GO202212 rips on the channel | $11.68bought loose | No booster box we can price per pack | No elite trainer box we can price per pack | No booster bundle we can price per pack | No build & battle box we can price per pack | $11.68 |
| White Flare20253 rips on the channel | $13.52bought loose | No booster box we can price per pack | $17.25$155.26 total | $14.39$86.33 total | No build & battle box we can price per pack | $13.52 |
| Ascended Heroes202659 rips on the channel | $13.73bought loose | No booster box we can price per pack | $18.78$169.02 total | $14.58$87.50 total | No build & battle box we can price per pack | $13.73 |
| Black Bolt20253 rips on the channel | $14.63bought loose | No booster box we can price per pack | $18.56$167.02 total | $16.04$96.21 total | No build & battle box we can price per pack | $14.63 |
| Silver Tempest2022 | $14.75bought loose | No booster box we can price per pack | No elite trainer box we can price per pack | No booster bundle we can price per pack | No build & battle box we can price per pack | $14.75 |
| Prismatic Evolutions202513 rips on the channel | $14.78bought loose | No booster box we can price per pack | $17.45$157.01 total | $15.34$92.01 total | No build & battle box we can price per pack | $14.78 |
| Shining Fates20212 rips on the channel | $14.89bought loose | No booster box we can price per pack | No elite trainer box we can price per pack | No booster bundle we can price per pack | No build & battle box we can price per pack | $14.89 |
| Paldea Evolved20231 rip on the channel | $15.68in the build & battle box | No booster box we can price per pack | $24.40$219.59 total | $20.94$125.66 total | $15.68$62.72 total | $16.09 |
| Paldean Fates2024 | $22.95bought loose | No booster box we can price per pack | $49.48$445.32 total | $28.02$168.10 total | No build & battle box we can price per pack | $22.95 |
| Crown Zenith20231 rip on the channel | $25.47bought loose | No booster box we can price per pack | No elite trainer box we can price per pack | No booster bundle we can price per pack | No build & battle box we can price per pack | $25.47 |
| 15120231 rip on the channel | $29.27bought loose | No booster box we can price per pack | $63.24$569.14 total | $29.84$179.05 total | No build & battle box we can price per pack | $29.27 |
| Celebrations20211 rip on the channel | $36.78bought loose | No booster box we can price per pack | No elite trainer box we can price per pack | No booster bundle we can price per pack | No build & battle box we can price per pack | $36.78 |
Cheapest pack in that set Set name goes to its full guide
A dash means there is no product of that kind in our nightly pull whose pack count we hold. 21 of these 29 sets have no full booster box we can divide: some never had one in English, and for others TCGplayer lists only a half or enhanced box, whose pack count is not in our data. Either way we leave the cell empty rather than guess at it. See the method note at the bottom.
The pack that wins
Where buying one pack is the cheap way
12 of the 22 sets here that sell a pack both ways sell it more cheaply on its own than inside anything bigger, which is the opposite of how sealed product is usually described. We do not hold a record of which sets are still being printed, so we are not going to tell you why. The figures are what they are on September 1, 2026, and the multiple in each line is what the bigger box costs you per pack against buying loose.
- Surging Sparks. $7.88 a pack on its own. The next cheapest way in is the booster bundle at $10.00 a pack, which is 1.27x the loose price.
- Mega Evolution. $7.97 a pack on its own. The next cheapest way in is the booster bundle at $10.60 a pack, which is 1.33x the loose price.
- Destined Rivals. $8.97 a pack on its own. The next cheapest way in is the booster bundle at $11.17 a pack, which is 1.25x the loose price.
- Twilight Masquerade. $8.97 a pack on its own. The next cheapest way in is the elite trainer box at $12.02 a pack, which is 1.34x the loose price.
- Stellar Crown. $10.48 a pack on its own. The next cheapest way in is the booster bundle at $12.19 a pack, which is 1.16x the loose price.
- Phantasmal Flames. $11.07 a pack on its own. The next cheapest way in is the booster box at $11.27 a pack, which is 1.02x the loose price.
- White Flare. $13.52 a pack on its own. The next cheapest way in is the booster bundle at $14.39 a pack, which is 1.06x the loose price.
- Ascended Heroes. $13.73 a pack on its own. The next cheapest way in is the booster bundle at $14.58 a pack, which is 1.06x the loose price.
- Black Bolt. $14.63 a pack on its own. The next cheapest way in is the booster bundle at $16.04 a pack, which is 1.10x the loose price.
- Prismatic Evolutions. $14.78 a pack on its own. The next cheapest way in is the booster bundle at $15.34 a pack, which is 1.04x the loose price.
- Paldean Fates. $22.95 a pack on its own. The next cheapest way in is the booster bundle at $28.02 a pack, which is 1.22x the loose price.
- 151. $29.27 a pack on its own. The next cheapest way in is the booster bundle at $29.84 a pack, which is 1.02x the loose price.
The Elite Trainer Box
What the ETB premium looks like
22 of the 29 sets on this page sell an Elite Trainer Box, and in not one of them is it the cheapest pack. In 12 of the 22 it is the priciest thing on the row. Measured against the cheapest pack in its own set it runs a median of 1.57x.
That gap is not the whole story and this page will not pretend it is. An Elite Trainer Box also carries sleeves, dice, a promo card, dividers and the box itself, and we have no source for what any of that is worth, so we do not subtract a made up number from the price to make the comparison look better. If you want the sleeves, the premium may be the cheapest sleeves you will buy. If you want packs, there is a cheaper way to get them in every set on this page.
Before you buy anything
What this page will not tell you
- Whether the cards inside are worth the price. That calculation needs pull rates, and The Pokemon Company does not publish them, so nobody quoting you one has them either. What we do have is 306 openings of these sets on camera with the results written down, which is observed and not the same thing.
- What you will pay at a shop. Market price is what copies have been selling for online. A counter in Rochester, NY or a table at a card show is its own market, sometimes under this and sometimes over, and there is no feed for either.
- Anything about half boxes, blisters, tins or collection boxes. They are in the sync and on the set guides with their full prices, but their pack counts are either variable or not in our data, so they are not divided here. A per-pack figure over a guessed pack count is worse than no figure.
- Which set to open. Cheapest is not best and this is not a recommendation. It is a price list.
Prices are TCGplayer market prices, read September 1, 2026. The pack counts are our own per-kind figures for the current era, sourced on how many packs are in it and applied only to sets from the Scarlet & Violet era onward, because they are not what those products held in earlier ones. Every per-pack figure on this page is one of those prices divided by one of those counts, computed when the page was built. No affiliate links, and nothing here is a recommendation to buy anything. Set guides for all 29 of these are under set guides, and what it costs to buy the cards instead of the packs is on cost to complete a set. The same sum for one small 2026 product, singles against boxes, is on the First Partner Illustration Collection guide, which also has the suggested price beside the shelf price.
The price questions this page gets asked
How much does a Pokemon booster pack cost?
It depends far more on the set than on where you buy it. Across the 29 sets priced on this page a pack runs from $4.84 for Perfect Order to $36.78 for Celebrations, a spread of 7.60x for the same object. Those are TCGplayer market prices read on September 1, 2026, divided by the pack count printed on the product.
Is a booster box cheaper per pack than buying single packs?
Not reliably. A single pack bought on its own is the cheapest pack in 12 of the 22 sets here that sell a pack both ways, and a box or bundle is cheaper in 10. It has to be checked set by set rather than assumed: on the 3 cheapest sets here the cheapest pack comes inside a box or a bundle, and on the 2 priciest the cheapest pack is bought loose.
Is an Elite Trainer Box worth it?
Purely as packs, no. Across the 22 sets priced here the Elite Trainer Box is never the cheapest pack in its set, it is the priciest option on the row in 12 of them, and it runs a median of 1.57x the cheapest pack in the same set. It also comes with sleeves, dice, a promo card and the box itself, and we put no price on those, so whether that gap is worth paying is a question about the accessories rather than about the cards.