CS2 Stars Currency: Can You Trade or Sell Them?
The Armory Pass introduced a new in-game currency to CS2 — Stars — that you earn by playing. Stars are spent in the Armory shop on chase items: premium skin sets, charms, stickers, and souvenir crafts. But there's a recurring question: can you trade or sell Stars? This guide answers that directly and explains how to get the most out of them.
What Stars are
Stars are an account-bound progression currency tied to the active Armory Pass. They don't appear in your CS2 inventory the way skins do — they live in your profile UI, visible only on the Armory shop screen. The exact carry-over behaviour between cycles depends on the cycle's published rules, so check the in-game pass page when in doubt.
How you earn Stars
- Match XP — every official matchmaking game contributes Stars proportional to your XP earned.
- Weekly missions — completing the rotating weekly mission set rewards bonus Stars (typically the largest single source).
- Premium pass tiers — milestones in the pass progression (e.g., reaching pass tier 5, 10, 20) reward bulk Stars.
A typical active player earning the standard pass + playing weekly missions accumulates Stars at a steady weekly clip — exact totals depend on the cycle's reward structure, which Valve tunes per Armory release.
Can you trade Stars?
No. Stars are account-bound and have no item form — they only exist as a number on your account. You can't:
- Trade them via Steam trade offer
- List them on the Steam Market
- Convert them to Steam Wallet funds
- Send them to friends or alt accounts
- Transfer them between Armory cycles (unspent Stars expire)
What Stars CAN do
Spend them in the Armory shop on individual items. Typical price ranges per Armory cycle:
| Item type | Cost in Stars |
|---|---|
| Sticker capsule (random sticker) | 20 Stars |
| Charm (random) | 40 Stars |
| Mil-spec / restricted skin | 50–100 Stars |
| Classified skin | 200–300 Stars |
| Covert / signature skin | 400–800 Stars |
| Souvenir crafts | 300–1000 Stars |
The exact prices change per cycle — the Armory shop shows a live cost on each item.
Are Stars refundable?
No. Once you've activated an Armory Pass and spent Stars, neither the pass nor the Stars are refundable. Steam's standard refund policy doesn't apply to in-game currency conversions. Choose your purchases carefully.
Can the items you buy with Stars be traded?
Eventually, yes — but with restrictions. Items purchased from the Armory have an additional trade lock on top of Steam's standard 7-day hold. See our Armory Pass trade restrictions guide for the full breakdown.
Smart spending strategy
- Don't dribble Stars on cheap stuff. Random stickers and charms drop sub-$1 items 80% of the time. Save your Stars for one or two big pulls.
- Wait until late cycle to spend. Valve sometimes adjusts pricing or adds bonus items in the final weeks. Spending early locks you out of those.
- Pick visible items. Skins in popular weapon classes (rifles, knives) hold value better than less-used weapons (pistols, SMGs).
- Track resale potential. Cross-check the item's expected market price after the trade lock lifts — sometimes you're better off selling the unlocked item on the Market and buying what you actually want.
Frequently asked
Can I buy Stars directly with money? No, only by playing or buying the pass.
Do Stars carry over between Armory cycles? No, unspent Stars expire when the cycle ends.
Is there a limit on Stars per cycle? Yes, the maximum earnable from the standard pass + missions is around 1,000–1,200 Stars per 16-week cycle.
Can I gift Star-purchased items to a friend? Only by trading them after the trade lock lifts (and the standard 7-day Steam hold on top).
Once your Armory items unlock, trade them on hostadz.com/trade — Hostadz prices them against the live market and shows the unlock countdown right on the item card.
Related: Armory Pass trade restrictions · CS2 weekly drops