Diamond Price Chart by Carat
What a natural and a lab-grown diamond cost at the weights people actually buy — dated, sourced and read carat by carat.
6 weightsNatural and lab-grownFree · no account
In September 2026 a natural round diamond graded G–H color and VS2 clarity, with an excellent cut and a GIA report, costs about $1,200–1,800 at half a carat, $4,000–6,000 at one carat, $10,000–14,000 at 1.5 carats, $22,000–28,000 at two carats and $50,000–80,000 at three. A lab-grown stone of the same grade costs roughly 75–90% less.
Figures reviewed September 2026
A diamond is priced by the carat, and the price per carat rises with weight, because large rough is rarer than small rough. It also steps rather than climbs: the whole market shops at half a carat, one carat, one and a half and two, and a stone just under one of those weights costs noticeably less for a difference nobody sees on a hand.
The chart below gives the published September 2026 range at each weight for the most commonly bought grade. Each weight's own page adds what color, clarity and shape do to that figure, how natural compares with lab-grown and moissanite, and what buying just under the step saves.
Diamond prices by carat, September 2026
| Weight | Natural, G–H VS2 | Median | Lab-grown, same grade | Round, face-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Half carat | $1,200–1,800 | $1,400 | $300–500 | 5.1 mm |
| 3/4 carat | $1,800–2,800 | $2,300 | About a quarter of natural | 5.8 mm |
| 1 carat | $4,000–6,000 | $5,200 | $800–1,500 | 6.4 mm |
| 1.5 carat | $10,000–14,000 | $12,500 | $2,000–3,500 | 7.4 mm |
| 2 carat | $22,000–28,000 | $25,000 | $3,500–6,000 | 8.1 mm |
| 3 carat | $50,000–80,000 | $66,000 | $7,000–11,000 | 9.3 mm |
Published September 2026 prices for GIA-graded round brilliants with an excellent cut. Sizes are typical face-up diameters for well-cut stones.
Natural diamond prices have been falling since their 2022 peak, and the decline was steepest below a carat. Rapaport's RapNet index for 1-carat SI diamonds fell 24.1% through 2025 before the decline eased in early 2026, and a tracked cohort of 1-carat natural stones was down a further 14.4% between January and mid-September 2026.
Lab-grown prices fell faster still for several years, and in 2026 a lab-grown stone costs roughly a fifth of a natural one at a carat and a seventh at three carats. That gap is the main reason natural prices under a carat have come down: the budget end of the market has moved to lab-grown.
Each weight, read on its own
Prices by color and clarity, by shape, natural against lab-grown, and what buying just under the step saves.
Questions we are asked
- How much does a diamond cost per carat?
- It depends on the weight, because price per carat rises with size. In September 2026 a natural G–H VS2 round cost roughly $2,800 per carat at half a carat, $5,200 at one carat, $12,500 at two carats and $22,000 at three carats.
- Why do diamond prices jump at 1 carat?
- Because buyers shop at the round numbers. Price per carat steps up at 0.50, 0.90, 1.00, 1.50, 2.00 and 3.00 carats, so a stone just under a step costs noticeably less and looks almost the same.
- How much cheaper are lab-grown diamonds?
- In September 2026, roughly 75–90% cheaper than natural stones of the same grade — about a fifth of the natural price at one carat and a seventh at three carats.
- The Diamond Price — natural and lab-grown price chart by carat, September 2026
- Rapaport — decline in diamond prices eases (RapNet index, February 2026)
Indicative US retail figures, never an appraisal or a quotation. A grading report, the stone itself and a jeweler who can see both are what price a particular diamond.
Lovenhall DiamondRead the stone itself
This chart reads the market. The instrument reads the stone in front of you — the four Cs estimated from a photograph, with a range beside them.