Two carbon credits can both stand for one tonne of CO₂ and still differ in price by more than fifty times. The gap isn’t random. A handful of features of the credit, and of the deal, explain most of it. This page goes through each one with the latest openly published data, mostly from Ecosystem Marketplace’s survey of voluntary carbon market transactionsSource 1. It is part of our prices section.
What makes one carbon credit cost more than another?
These are the main drivers:
- Project type. Renewable energy, forest protection, cookstoves, reforestation and biochar each trade in their own price band.
- Removal or reduction. Credits that take carbon out of the air cost several times more than credits that avoid emissions.
- Vintage. Recent credits sell for much more than older ones.
- Co-benefits. Credits certified for benefits to local communities or nature tend to carry a premium.
- Quality signals. The ICVCM’s CCP label and independent ratings affect what buyers will pay.
- The deal itself. Volume discounts and differences in project quality move prices within a project typeSource 1.
Project type
The project type sets the price band. In our current snapshot, renewable energy credits averaged $2.67–$3.92 per tonne and biochar over $160 per tonneSource 1, while reforestation credits retired in Q3 2026 averaged $12.80–$23.47 per tonne, depending on their ratingSource 4.
Demand for some types is falling. Renewable energy volumes fell by 23% in 2024 and average prices by 31%Source 1, after the ICVCM decided that credits from current renewable energy methodologies would not receive its CCP labelSource 3. Ecosystem Marketplace found that about half of the credits sold in 2024 traded below the market average, mainly from less additional renewable energy methodologies and older forestry and land use projectsSource 1.
Our page on price by project type gives the range for every type.
Removal or reduction
Buyers pay a large premium for removals. Ecosystem Marketplace sorts credits into removals, reductions and credits that combine both:
Scrolls sideways to show every column.
| Credit kind | 2023 (USD/t) | 2024 (USD/t) |
|---|---|---|
| Removals | 17.28 | 19.50 |
| Reductions | 4.64 | 4.05 |
| Both | 8.40 | 9.73 |
As of Dec 2024 · Source: [1] Ecosystem Marketplace, State of the Voluntary Carbon Market 2025, Table 7
The premium for removals over reductions rose to 381% in 2024, from 245% in 2023Source 1. Supply hasn’t kept up: removals were only 5% of the volume traded in 2024Source 1. Ecosystem Marketplace reports that large technology companies have become a leading source of demand for removals, and that some buyers demand storage lasting 100 or 1,000 yearsSource 1.
See removal vs avoidance credits for what the two kinds of credit do.
Vintage: how old the credit is
A credit’s vintage is the year the reduction or removal happened. Buyers strongly prefer recent vintages:
| Year of sale | Older than 5 years (USD/t) | Last 5 years (USD/t) | Recency premium |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 2.41 | 3.53 | 47% |
| 2021 | 3.69 | 5.09 | 38% |
| 2022 | 5.56 | 8.59 | 55% |
| 2023 | 5.17 | 7.91 | 53% |
| 2024 | 2.94 | 9.31 | 217% |
As of Dec 2024 · Source: [1] Ecosystem Marketplace, State of the Voluntary Carbon Market 2025, Table 8
In 2024 the average price of credits from the last five years rose by 17%, while older credits fell by 43%Source 1. Ecosystem Marketplace gives several reasons. Buyers like to match the vintage to the year of the emissions they are offsetting. Newer credits also avoid outdated methodologies: when the ICVCM approves a version of a methodology, credits issued under earlier versions don’t get the CCP labelSource 1.
Co-benefits
Some projects are certified for benefits beyond carbon, such as support for local communities or the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In 2024 credits with at least one SDG certification sold at a 71% premium, up from 29% the year beforeSource 1.
Treat that figure with care. Ecosystem Marketplace could only source SDG certification data for some standards, so its picture of co-benefits is incompleteSource 1.
Quality labels and ratings
The ICVCM’s Core Carbon Principles set a threshold for quality, and credits that meet it can carry the CCP labelSource 2. Early evidence suggests the label moves prices. The average price of CCP-approved landfill gas credits rose by 35% from the first half of 2024 to the secondSource 1. Our guide to CCP labels explains how the label works.
Independent rating agencies such as BeZero, Sylvera, MSCI and Calyx Global also score credits, and ratings now move prices. In Q3 2026, credits Sylvera rates BBB or higher made up 18% of rated retirement volume but 42% of its valueSource 4. Ecosystem Marketplace notes that their methodologies differ and don’t always produce the same results, which can confuse buyersSource 1. See carbon credit ratings for how each agency’s public method works.
The deal: volume and seller
Even within one project type, individual prices vary. Ecosystem Marketplace lists discounts for large transactions and differences in project quality among the reasonsSource 1. Many trades are private, and its averages are built from deals that market participants chose to report, which it treats as lower bounds for the marketSource 1.
Retail sellers set their own price per tonne for small purchases, so a quote can sit above or below the published average for the same type.
What this means when you compare prices
Use price as a check, not a quality signal
Compare quotes for the same project type and a similar vintage. A price far below the range for that type is worth questioning, and a high price is no proof of quality. Check the methodology and the registry record either way.
- Budget with the carbon credit price snapshot and the ranges by project type.
- If a seller can’t explain why its price differs from the published averages, ask for the project, vintage and serial numbers before paying.
- Cut your own emissions first, then offset what remains.