A CS2 trade-up contract turns ten skins into one of the next rarity up. It's the only way to "craft" toward better skins in-game — but it runs on float and collection math, and if you don't understand those, it's just an expensive coin flip. Here's how trade-ups actually work and when they're worth doing.
The basic rule
You feed ten skins of the same rarity into a contract and get back one skin of the rarity one tier higher. So ten Mil-Spec (blue) skins produce one Restricted (purple); ten Restricted produce one Classified (pink); and so on up the ladder. StatTrak trade-ups are separate — you need ten StatTrak inputs to get a StatTrak output.
Where the output comes from
The result isn't random across all of CS2. It can only be a skin from the collections your ten inputs belong to, at the next rarity up. If all ten come from one collection, you're guaranteed a skin from that collection's higher tier. Mix collections and the odds split proportionally — seven inputs from Collection A and three from Collection B gives a 70/30 weighting toward each collection's outcomes.
How float (wear) is decided
The output's float is the average of your ten inputs' floats, mapped into the output skin's own wear range. Low-float inputs give a low-float (better-condition) output. This is the key lever: skilled traders buy specific low-float inputs to push an output into Factory New, where it's worth far more. We cover wear in depth in CS2 float value explained.
Are trade-ups profitable?
Sometimes — but only if you've done the math first. A trade-up can return a skin worth less than the ten you put in, so a blind contract is a gamble. Profitable trade-ups are planned: traders pick a collection mix and input floats where the expected value of the possible outputs beats the input cost. If you're not calculating that, you're betting, not crafting.
The honest risk
You can lose value, and the inputs are consumed either way — there's no undo. Treat trade-ups as a tool for a specific known outcome, not a way to "gamble up" to a knife (knives and gloves aren't in the rarity ladder trade-ups climb). For moving skins around safely, see how to trade CS2 skins.
Frequently Asked Questions
How does a CS2 trade-up contract work?
Ten same-rarity skins go in; one skin of the next rarity up comes out, drawn from the collections of your inputs, with a float equal to the scaled average of the inputs' floats.
Can you control the outcome of a trade-up?
Partly. You can guarantee the collection (use ten from one collection) and influence the float (use low-wear inputs), but which specific skin you get within those constraints is random.
Are trade-up contracts profitable?
Only when planned. Many trade-ups lose money. Profitable ones are built around a collection/float combo whose expected output value exceeds the input cost.
Can you get a knife from a trade-up?
No. Trade-ups climb the standard rarity tiers (up to Covert). Knives and gloves are a separate special category and can't be produced by a contract.
Rather buy the skin than gamble for it? Browse verified CS2 accounts, learn the market in are CS2 skins a good investment? and how to trade CS2 skins, and always buy safely.