Ask what a carbon credit costs and you’ll get answers ranging from pocket change to the price of a used car — and all of them are correct. Carbon credit prices in 2026 span from about $3 to over $1,000 per tonne. Here’s the map.
Current benchmarks by project type
In the voluntary market, 2026 indicative averages look like this: REDD+ avoided deforestation around $6 per tonne; afforestation/reforestation (ARR) around $22; cookstove and community projects typically $5–15; biochar around $177; direct air capture (DAC) north of $500. Quality cuts across all types: credits rated A–AAA by independent agencies average about $14.80, while CCC–B rated credits fetch roughly $3.50.
What compliance markets pay
Compliance prices dwarf most voluntary credits. EU ETS allowances have traded in the €60–90 range in recent years; UK, California, and Korean allowances each set their own levels. These prices matter to voluntary buyers as a signal: they represent what regulated economies think a tonne is genuinely worth.
The five drivers of price
Project type and cost structure. Protecting existing forest is cheap per tonne; building a DAC plant is industrial capex. Durability. Carbon stored for millennia (geological, mineral) commands multiples of carbon stored in trees that can burn. Quality and rating. Verified additionality, conservative baselines, and third-party ratings translate directly into premiums. Vintage. Fresh credits from current methodologies outsell 2015-era leftovers. Co-benefits. Credits with biodiversity, community, or SDG benefits attract premium buyers — sometimes doubling the price.
Why cheap credits are usually cheap for a reason
A $3 credit typically means an old vintage, a discredited methodology, an inflated baseline, or all three. The 2022–2024 integrity crisis repriced the market: serious buyers migrated to rated, durable credits and the bottom tier became nearly unsellable. If your offsetting budget assumes $5 per tonne for credible claims in 2026, it’s out of date.
What buyers should budget
A defensible corporate portfolio — blending quality avoidance with a growing removals share — costs roughly €25–80 per tonne blended in 2026. Companies aligning with science-based net-zero frameworks, which push residual emissions toward durable removals, should model rising costs through 2030 as removal demand outstrips supply.
Where prices go next
Forecasts diverge, but the consensus direction is up for quality: removal supply is scarce, compliance schemes are opening to Article 6 credits, and corporate net-zero deadlines cluster around 2030. The cheapest quality tonne you’ll ever buy is probably this year’s.
Related reading: How to Buy Carbon Credits · What Is the Voluntary Carbon Market?
