Factory New vs Minimal Wear at a glance
Both Factory New and Minimal Wear are exterior tiers derived from a skin's hidden float value — the permanent 0–1 number that decides how worn the texture looks. Factory New (FN) covers floats from 0.00 up to 0.07, and Minimal Wear (MW) covers 0.07 up to 0.15. They sit side by side as the two cleanest tiers, above Field-Tested, Well-Worn and Battle-Scarred.
Because they're neighbours on the float scale, the visual difference is smaller than the names suggest. The real decision isn't "which looks better" — FN always wins on paper — but "is the FN price premium worth it for this finish and my budget?" The full list of tiers lives on our exteriors page.
The float ranges, precisely
Float is assigned when a skin is generated and never changes. Where the number lands sets the tier:
- Factory New — float 0.00 to 0.07. Pristine surface, no visible wear. Within this band a 0.001 copy is flawless, while a 0.069 copy is one hair from crossing into Minimal Wear.
- Minimal Wear — float 0.07 to 0.15. A few faint scuffs and the first hints of edge fading. Still reads as a clean, well-kept skin in-game.
Note that the MW band is roughly the same width as FN, so two Minimal Wear copies can vary too — a 0.08 MW is nearly Factory New, while a 0.14 MW is approaching Field-Tested. When the price gap matters, the exact float matters more than the tier label.
What the difference actually looks like
On most skins the jump from FN to MW is subtle. Minimal Wear introduces light scratching, a little wear on the high-contact edges of the model, and a slight softening of the paint. At the distance you view a weapon during normal play, these changes are easy to miss — which is exactly why MW is so popular.
The difference becomes visible on finishes with large, smooth painted areas: glossy gradients, solid colours and mirror-like surfaces show edge wear more readily. On busy or weathered artwork — Asiimov, Hyper Beast, Bloodsport and similar grunge styles — the design already includes scratches and grime, so a Minimal Wear copy can look indistinguishable from Factory New.
The price gap — often 2–5×
Factory New almost always carries a premium over Minimal Wear, and the gap is typically in the region of 2–5×, sometimes wider on scarce or high-demand finishes. The cleaner and more gradient-heavy the skin, the steeper the jump, because that's where the pristine surface is most prized. On weathered designs the FN-to-MW gap is usually much narrower.
Our valuations come from our own in-house algorithm, which reads a live multi-market price grid across 41 marketplaces for each finish and wear tier. That lets you see the real FN-versus-MW spread for a specific skin instead of guessing — and it's the fastest way to spot when an FN listing is priced far above the typical premium.
When Factory New is worth it
Pay up for Factory New when the surface is the whole point:
- Clean gradient and solid finishes where any wear is obvious, such as AK-47 Vulcan-style or glossy single-colour skins.
- Knives and gloves. A pristine knife finish like Doppler or Marble Fade is a centrepiece, and low-float FN copies are what collectors chase.
- Collecting and resale. If you want a low-float, showcase-grade example — or expect to resell to collectors — Factory New holds its appeal best.
When Minimal Wear is the smarter buy
For the majority of players, Minimal Wear is the value sweet spot:
- Most loadout skins. If you just want a great-looking weapon to play with, MW gives you near-FN looks without the premium.
- Weathered art. On Asiimov, Bloodsport, Hyper Beast and other grunge finishes, the design hides MW wear, so paying for FN is mostly wasted money.
- Capped finishes. Some skins can't even roll FN, making MW the cleanest copy available — see the next section.
Float caps — when Factory New isn't an option
Every finish has a creator-set minimum and maximum float cap that clips the 0–1 range. If a skin's minimum cap sits at or above 0.07, it can never be Factory New. The textbook case is the AK-47 | Redline, capped around 0.10, so its cleanest obtainable copy is Minimal Wear — there is no FN Redline to buy at any price.
Plenty of other finishes share this trait. Before you start hunting for a Factory New copy, confirm the skin can actually roll one; the wear range and float caps are listed on every finish in our skins catalog.
How to decide — and where to browse
A simple framework: first ask whether the artwork is clean or weathered. Clean gradient or solid finishes reward Factory New; weathered designs don't. Then check the price spread — if FN costs only a little more than MW, take FN; if it's a 4–5× jump on a skin you'll mostly see at a distance, MW is the rational pick. Finally, confirm the skin can reach FN at all, and within your chosen tier buy the lowest float you can comfortably afford.
To compare real FN-versus-MW pricing, start with a weapon hub like the AWP hub, browse value-focused picks in our budget AWPs list, or read the companion AWP skins buying guide. For the underlying number that drives both tiers, the float value guide has the full picture.
FN vs MW, in one sentence
Factory New and Minimal Wear differ by a sliver of float and look nearly identical in-game — so buy Factory New only when the finish is clean enough to show it off or you're collecting, and choose Minimal Wear for almost everything else. For more vocabulary, see our CS2 skins glossary.