As ofOctober 2026
There is no single carbon credit price. Each credit is priced by the seller and buyer, and prices vary more than tenfold between project types. This page summarises the newest openly published prices for each type: Sylvera’s market data for Q3 2026 where it reports a categorySource 1, and Ecosystem Marketplace’s survey of 2023 and 2024 deals where nothing newer is publishedSource 2. It is part of our prices section.
Carbon credit prices by type
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| Category | Kind | Low (USD/t) | High (USD/t) | What the range is, and when |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All voluntary credits (market average) | Mixed | 6.12 | 6.92 | Average price per credit retired: $6.12 in 2026 so far (Q1–Q3), $6.92 in Q3 2026 (Sylvera) |
| Renewable energy | Avoidance | 2.67 | 3.92 | Average transaction price: $3.92 in 2023, $2.67 in 2024 (Ecosystem Marketplace, Table 3) |
| Chemical processes and industrial manufacturing | Avoidance | 3.66 | 4.10 | Average transaction price: $4.10 in 2023, $3.66 in 2024 (Ecosystem Marketplace, Table 3) |
| REDD+ (forest protection) | Avoidance | 3.56 | 7.75 | Average price per credit retired in Q3 2026: $3.56 rated BB or lower, $7.75 rated BBB or higher (Sylvera) |
| Waste disposal | Avoidance | 6.72 | 7.46 | Average transaction price: $7.46 in 2023, $6.72 in 2024 (Ecosystem Marketplace, Table 3) |
| Household and community devices (incl. cookstoves) | Avoidance | 7.30 | 7.71 | Average transaction price: $7.71 in 2023, $7.30 in 2024 (Ecosystem Marketplace, Table 3) |
| Agroforestry | Mixed | 11.58 | 14.11 | Average transaction price: $11.58 in 2023, $14.11 in 2024 (Ecosystem Marketplace, Table 4) |
| Improved forest management (IFM) | Mixed | 12.79 | 21.07 | Average price per credit retired in Q3 2026: $12.79 rated BB or lower, $21.07 rated BBB or higher (Sylvera) |
| Afforestation, reforestation and revegetation (ARR) | Removal | 12.80 | 23.47 | Average price per credit retired in Q3 2026: $12.80 rated BB or lower, $23.47 rated BBB or higher (Sylvera) |
| Biochar | Removal | 160.00 | 160.00 | Average transaction price in 2024 was over $160 (Ecosystem Marketplace report summary); no range published |
| All reduction credits | Avoidance | 4.05 | 4.64 | Average transaction price: $4.64 in 2023, $4.05 in 2024 (Ecosystem Marketplace, Table 7) |
| All removal credits | Removal | 17.28 | 19.50 | Average transaction price: $17.28 in 2023, $19.50 in 2024 (Ecosystem Marketplace, Table 7) |
As of Oct 2026 · Sources: [1] Carbon Market Data Snapshot: Q3 2026; [2] State of the Voluntary Carbon Market 2025: Meeting the Moment, Renewing Trust in Carbon Finance
- All voluntary credits (market average), mixedSource 1$6.12–$6.92
- Renewable energy, avoidanceSource 2$2.67–$3.92
- Chemical processes and industrial manufacturing, avoidanceSource 2$3.66–$4.10
- REDD+ (forest protection), avoidanceSource 1$3.56–$7.75
- Waste disposal, avoidanceSource 2$6.72–$7.46
- Household and community devices (incl. cookstoves), avoidanceSource 2$7.30–$7.71
- Agroforestry, mixedSource 2$11.58–$14.11
- Improved forest management (IFM), mixedSource 1$12.79–$21.07
- Afforestation, reforestation and revegetation (ARR), removalSource 1$12.80–$23.47
- Biochar, removalSource 2$160
- All reduction credits, avoidanceSource 2$4.05–$4.64
- All removal credits, removalSource 2$17.28–$19.50
Rows come from different sources and periods, and the note on each row says which. Removal types are shown in green, and the scale is logarithmic so that biochar fits on the same chart as renewable energy.
Latest prices: Q3 2026
Sylvera’s data on credits retired shows prices rising. The average price paid per credit retired was $6.92 in Q3 2026, up from $5.66 a year earlier, and $6.12 for 2026 so far, up from $5.40Source 1.
Quality now makes a large difference. Credits rated BBB or higher made up 18% of rated retirement volume in Q3 2026 but 42% of its valueSource 1. Within each forest type, highly rated credits cost far more:
- Reforestation (ARR): $23.47 for credits rated BBB or higher, against $12.80 for those rated BB or lowerSource 1.
- Improved forest management (IFM): $21.07 against $12.79Source 1.
- Forest protection (REDD+): $7.75 against $3.56. Highly rated REDD+ credits rose 58% in a year, from $4.90Source 1.
How to read the table
The low and high columns are not the cheapest and dearest deals in each category. What they mean depends on the row, and the last column says which:
- Forest types from Sylvera (REDD+, IFM, ARR): the Q3 2026 average for credits Sylvera rates BB or lower (low) and BBB or higher (high)Source 1.
- Market average: the average price per credit retired in 2026 so far (low) and in Q3 2026 (high)Source 1.
- Other categories: the category’s average price in 2023 and 2024, from Ecosystem MarketplaceSource 2. A wide range means the average moved a lot between the two years.
Individual deals can sit well above or below these figures.
The kind column is our label for how each category’s credits work:
- Avoidance credits pay for emissions that would otherwise have happened, such as protecting a forest or replacing fossil power.
- Removal credits pay for carbon dioxide taken out of the atmosphere and stored, as in reforestation or biochar.
- Mixed marks categories and averages that combine both, such as improved forest management or the market as a whole.
The chart uses the same data. Each bar spans the range in the table, removal categories are shown in a lighter green, and a narrow range appears as a short bar.
Why carbon credit prices differ
Several features of a credit move its price, and Ecosystem Marketplace’s 2024 data shows how large the gaps can beSource 2:
- Removal or reduction. Removal credits averaged $19.50 per tonne in 2024, against $4.05 for reduction credits. Ecosystem Marketplace reports this as a premium of 381%Source 2.
- Engineered removals. Biochar averaged over $160 per tonne in 2024, more than 25 times the market averageSource 2.
- Vintage. Credits from the last five years sold for a 217% premium over older credits in 2024, up from 53% in 2023Source 2.
- Co-benefits. Credits with at least one Sustainable Development Goal certification carried a 71% premium in 2024, up from 29% the year beforeSource 2.
- Ratings. In Q3 2026, credits Sylvera rates BBB or higher sold for about twice the price of those rated BB or lower for reforestation, and the gap is widening for forest protection and improved forest managementSource 1.
- Quality labels. The ICVCM’s Core Carbon Principles give buyers a common quality threshold, and credits that meet it can carry the CCP labelSource 4.
Supply matters too. Only 5% of credits traded in 2024 came from removal project typesSource 2, so a small number of removal projects compete for growing demand. Our page on removal vs avoidance credits explains the difference between the two. For more detail, see carbon credit prices by project type and why carbon credit prices differ.
Voluntary and compliance prices
The prices on this page are for the voluntary market, where companies and individuals buy credits by choice. Compliance markets, where governments require emitters to hold allowances, work differently. According to the World Bank, the average price across carbon pricing instruments is now nearly $21 per tonne of CO₂eSource 3. That is an average across many schemes and taxes, so don’t compare it directly with a single voluntary credit type. Our guide to the carbon market explains how the two markets fit together, and our EU ETS price page tracks auction prices in the EU’s compliance market.
What the prices mean for buyers
A low price isn’t a problem in itself, and a high one isn’t a guarantee of quality. Use the ranges to check that a quote is in a sensible range for the project type, then check the credit itself: the project, the standard, the vintage and the registry record.
- Small purchases from retailers usually come with a set price per tonne. Compare like with like: the same project type and vintage.
- Larger purchases are often negotiated, so the published averages give you a starting point for a budget.
- Rated credits cost more. If you want credits rated BBB or higher, budget from the high end of the forest ranges.
- Removals cost far more than most avoidance credits. Many buyers mix the two.
Our guides to how to buy carbon offsets and where to buy carbon credits cover what to check before you pay.
How these figures are compiled
We use the newest prices that are published openly, and cite each one:
- Sylvera publishes a quarterly snapshot of its carbon market data. Its prices are averages of what was paid for credits retired, and for some project types it splits them by Sylvera’s own quality ratingSource 1.
- Ecosystem Marketplace publishes an annual survey of voluntary market deals, built from transactions reported by respondents. It describes its figures as lower bounds for the whole marketSource 2.
Many trades are private, so no one sees every price. We don’t use licensed price indexes, and we don’t scrape exchanges or sellers. Where a source gives a single figure, as for biochar, we show it as a single point. Engineered removals other than biochar are left out because we found no openly published average price for them.
Why some figures are older
Sylvera’s quarterly data covers the market average and three forest types. For the other categories, the newest openly published averages are Ecosystem Marketplace’s figures for 2024, from its 2025 surveySource 2. Its next edition would cover 2025. Until a newer source appears, those rows describe 2023 and 2024, and the note on each row says so.
Prices can move faster than any report. If you are budgeting for a purchase now, use these figures as a starting point and ask sellers for current quotes for the project type, rating and vintage you want.
Monthly history
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| Snapshot | All credits, average (USD/t) | Removal credits, average (USD/t) | Categories |
|---|---|---|---|
| October 2026 | $6.12–$6.92 | $17.28–$19.50 | 12 |
As of Oct 2026
October 2026 is the first monthly snapshot on this page. It was refreshed on 5 October 2026 with Sylvera’s Q3 2026 data. Each month we check for newer openly published figures and record the result here.