A 2 carat lab grown diamond cost about a thousand dollars as a loose stone on 25 September 2026. At Rare Carat, 683 round lab-grown stones of 2.00 to 2.09 carats in G or H color, VS clarity and Ideal or Excellent cut were listed, and the median price was 1,015 dollars. A whiter D color, VS1 stone of the same size had a median of 1,295 dollars there, and Blue Nile listed a 2.02 carat D VS1 for 1,702 dollars the same day. Those are stone prices; a simple 14K gold setting adds about 600 dollars.
This guide gives the same kind of count for 1, 1.5, 3 and 4 carats, the price per carat at each size, what a finished ring costs, and why two stores price the same grades so differently. Every price was read on the store’s own pages on 25 September 2026.
How we are paid. RingReel earns a commission from Rare Carat through the Awin network when you buy through a Rare Carat link on this page, at no cost to you. The figures below are what each store listed on the day.
What is on this page11 sections
Key Takeaways
- At Rare Carat, a round G to H, VS lab diamond had a median of 415 dollars at 1.00 to 1.09 carats, 1,015 dollars at 2.00 to 2.09 carats and 2,015 dollars at 3.00 to 3.09 carats on 25 September 2026.
- Price per carat rises with size: the median stones we opened ran from about 385 dollars a carat at one carat to about 700 dollars a carat at four.
- The largest round G to H, VS, Ideal or Excellent lab diamond at Rare Carat selling for 2,000 dollars or less was a 3.59 carat H VS1 at 1,990 dollars.
- The same D color, VS1 grades cost more at Blue Nile than at Rare Carat: 557 against a median of 405 dollars at about one carat, and 1,702 against 1,295 at about two.
- Wholesale lab-grown prices fell 13% in the year to the second quarter of 2026, but prices for one-carat rounds rose 1%, according to Edahn Golan.
Lab Grown Diamond Price by Carat
Rare Carat’s search lists stones from many wholesalers, which makes it the closest thing to a market count a shopper can see. We queried it for round lab-grown diamonds in G or H color, VS1 or VS2 clarity and Ideal or Excellent cut, and counted every stone at each weight, rather than reading the first page.
| Carat band, round, G to H, VS | Stones listed | Cheapest | Median | Median stone we opened, per carat |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1.00 to 1.09 ct | 805 | 355 dollars | 415 dollars | 1.08 ct G VS2 at 415 dollars, about 384 dollars a carat |
| 1.50 to 1.59 ct | 1,609 | 655 dollars | 800 dollars | 1.59 ct G VS1 at 800 dollars, about 503 dollars a carat |
| 2.00 to 2.09 ct | 683 | 965 dollars | 1,015 dollars | 2.09 ct G VS1 at 1,015 dollars, about 486 dollars a carat |
| 3.00 to 3.09 ct | 288 | 1,750 dollars | 2,015 dollars | 3.06 ct G VS1 at 2,015 dollars, about 658 dollars a carat |
| 4.00 to 4.09 ct | 127 | 2,345 dollars | 2,845 dollars | 4.04 ct G VS1 at 2,845 dollars, about 704 dollars a carat |
Three things stand out. The spread inside each band is narrow: no 1.00 to 1.09 carat stone in that grade range sold above 440 dollars, so the median is close to what you will actually pay. The price per carat climbs with size, but gently, from under 400 dollars a carat to about 700 across a fourfold jump in weight. And lab-grown prices are nowhere near the steep curve of natural diamonds, which our guide to diamond ring price by carat sets out.
What the “Comp. Value” Beside Each Price Means
Every Rare Carat price sits next to a higher “Comp. value”. On 25 September 2026 the price shown was that comp value minus what the page calls “Everyday savings”, already deducted, so the median 2 carat stone above showed 1,015 dollars against a comp value of 1,530. Pay attention to the first figure only. Our Rare Carat review looks at how the comp value is presented.
Oval Stones
Ovals cost a little more than rounds at the same weight in this search, and the same held when we priced oval engagement rings against round stones in one setting. The 1.00 to 1.09 carat G to H, VS ovals had a median of 500 dollars, and the 2.00 to 2.09 carat ovals a median of 1,270 dollars, against 415 and 1,015 dollars for rounds.
1 Carat Lab Grown Diamond Price
A one-carat lab-grown round is the cheapest it has been, and the one size whose wholesale price rose in the latest quarter. At Rare Carat on 25 September 2026, G or H color, VS stones of 1.00 to 1.09 carats ran from 355 dollars, for a 1.00 carat H VS2, to 440 dollars. Stepping up to D color and VS1 clarity barely moved the price: at least 6,971 such stones, all IGI graded, had a median of 405 dollars, and the cheapest was a 1.00 carat D VS1 at 375 dollars.
That near-equality of D and G is the lab-grown market in a sentence. Edahn Golan told Rapaport in 2025 that “growers are moving quickly toward a D-flawless product”, and the listings bear it out. What the step from VS1 to VS2 does to price and appearance is covered in our guide to VS1 vs VS2.
2 Carat Lab Grown Diamond Price
The 2 carat lab grown diamond is the size most searched for and, on the evidence of The Knot’s 2026 Real Weddings Study, the size buyers choose: Rapaport News reported that lab-grown engagement rings bought by couples married in 2025 averaged 2 carats and 4,300 dollars.
The Stone by Itself
On 25 September 2026, Rare Carat’s 683 round G to H, VS, Ideal or Excellent stones of 2.00 to 2.09 carats ran from 965 dollars to 1,065 dollars, with a median of 1,015. The cheapest was a 2.01 carat G VS1 graded by IGI. In D color and VS1 clarity, at least 2,694 stones had a median of 1,295 dollars. At Blue Nile, the first page of D VS1 rounds of 2.00 to 2.09 carats ran from 1,702 to 1,741 dollars.
As a Finished Ring
Rare Carat’s Linda Comfort-Fit setting in 14K white gold, a plain 1.5mm solitaire, was 610 dollars on 25 September 2026. Set with that 2.01 carat G VS1 stone at 965 dollars, the ring comes to 1,575 dollars before tax, which is well under The Knot’s reported average for a 2 carat lab-grown ring. Setting prices vary far more than stone prices do, so the setting is where a 2 carat budget is really decided, as our lab grown diamond engagement rings, priced as finished rings, show.
Ovals and Other Shapes
A 2 carat oval cost more in the same search: the median of 67 oval G to H, VS stones of 2.00 to 2.09 carats was 1,270 dollars. The Knot’s study found oval the most popular shape among lab-grown buyers.
3 Carat Lab Grown Diamond Ring Prices
Three carats is where lab-grown and natural part company completely. At Rare Carat, 288 round G to H, VS stones of 3.00 to 3.09 carats were listed on 25 September 2026, from 1,750 dollars for a 3.01 carat H VS2 to a median of 2,015 dollars. With the same 610 dollar Linda setting, a 3 carat lab-grown ring comes to 2,360 dollars.
Blue Nile’s D color, VS1 rounds of 3.00 to 3.09 carats started at 3,707 dollars for a 3.02 carat stone graded by IGI, and a 3.03 carat stone graded by GIA was 4,464 dollars. Whether that report difference is worth paying for is the subject of our guide to IGI vs GIA.
What 2,000 Dollars Buys
The largest round lab-grown diamond at Rare Carat in G or H color, VS clarity and Ideal or Excellent cut selling for 2,000 dollars or less on 25 September 2026 was a 3.59 carat H VS1, graded by IGI, at 1,990 dollars. A search for 3.60 carats and up at that price returned nothing. At the whiter end, 2,000 dollars covered a D VS1 stone of just over 2 carats with room left for a setting.
Why Two Stores Price the Same Grades Differently
We priced the one grade both stores stock in quantity, round D color, VS1, Ideal or Excellent, IGI graded.
| Round, D, VS1, IGI, 25/09/2026 | Rare Carat | Blue Nile |
|---|---|---|
| About 1 carat | Median 405 dollars; cheapest 375 dollars for 1.00 ct | 557 dollars for 1.06 ct, first page 557 to 589 dollars |
| About 2 carats | Median 1,295 dollars; cheapest 1,270 dollars for 2.00 ct | 1,702 dollars for 2.02 ct, first page 1,702 to 1,741 dollars |
| About 3 carats | Not searched in D VS1 | 3,707 dollars for 3.02 ct |
Rare Carat was cheaper at both sizes we could compare, by roughly a quarter. Its search lists stones from many wholesalers side by side, and each listing names the supplier. Blue Nile’s lab-grown search opens with D to F color already selected, and a search for G or H, VS rounds of about one carat returned nothing, which leaves little room to save by stepping down a color grade there. Our comparison of Rare Carat vs Blue Nile sets their returns, upgrades and price match terms side by side, and our guide to the best place to buy lab-grown diamonds adds four more stores.
Lab-Grown Prices Are Still Moving
The prices above are a snapshot of a falling market, and the fall is uneven by size.
What Wholesale Prices Did, by Carat Band
Edahn Golan Diamond Research & Data reported in July 2026 that its lab-grown wholesale price index “declined 13% year over year and is down 96% since we began tracking wholesale prices in July 2018”. The bands did not move together: wholesale prices for 1-carat rounds rose 1%, those for 1.50 to 1.99 carat stones fell 11%, and 2-carat stones fell 20%. Its earlier lists recorded a 14% fall in the first quarter of 2026 and 26% across 2025. These are trade prices in Mumbai and Surat for IGI-certified stones, not retail prices.
What That Means for What You Pay
De Beers, closing its own lab-grown brand in 2025, said it expects “both the cost and price of lab-grown diamonds to fall further”. Signet, the owner of Kay, Zales, Jared and Blue Nile, tells investors that lower costs “may continue to drive down retail prices of lab-grown diamonds”. For a buyer that has two consequences: a price quoted a year ago is not a guide to today’s, and a lab-grown stone is not something to buy expecting it to hold its price. Our guide to whether lab-grown diamonds are worth it looks at resale and trade-ins.
Which Size Fits the Budget
| Budget for the stone, 25/09/2026 | What Rare Carat’s listings supported | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| Under 500 dollars | A 1 carat round, G to H or even D, VS | The comp value is not the price |
| Around 1,000 dollars | A 2 carat round, G to H, VS | Cut grade and the report number |
| Around 1,300 dollars | A 2 carat round in D color, VS1 | Whether D is worth it over G for you |
| Around 2,000 dollars | A 3 carat round, or up to about 3.6 carats in H VS1 | The finger it will sit on |
| Around 3,000 dollars | A 4 carat round, G to H, VS | Setting strength for a large stone |
Frequently Asked Questions
How Much Is a 2 Carat Lab Grown Diamond Worth?
As a purchase, about 1,000 dollars: the median round G to H, VS stone of 2.00 to 2.09 carats at Rare Carat was 1,015 dollars in September 2026. As resale, far less. Worthy, a diamond resale platform, does not accept lab-grown stones, and stores offer credit only toward a stone twice the price.
What Is the Price of a 2 Carat Lab Grown Diamond?
On 25 September 2026, a round 2 carat lab-grown diamond in G or H color and VS clarity cost 965 to 1,065 dollars at Rare Carat. A D color, VS1 stone had a median of 1,295 dollars there, and Blue Nile listed one of 2.02 carats at 1,702 dollars. A simple 14K setting adds about 610 dollars.
What Size Lab Grown Diamond Can You Get for $2000?
About three and a half carats as a loose stone. On 25 September 2026 the largest round G to H, VS1 or VS2, Ideal or Excellent lab diamond at Rare Carat for 2,000 dollars or less was a 3.59 carat H VS1 at 1,990 dollars. With a setting included, the 2 carat stone and 14K solitaire we priced came to 1,575 dollars.
Sources
- Rare Carat, Lab Grown Diamonds search, round and oval, G to H, VS1 to VS2, Ideal or Excellent, and round D VS1 IGI, 1.00 to 4.09 carats, accessed 25/09/2026, including 1.08 ct G VS2, 1.59 ct G VS1, 2.01 ct G VS1, 2.09 ct G VS1, 3.06 ct G VS1, 4.04 ct G VS1, 3.59 ct H VS1, 1.00 ct D VS1 and 2.00 ct D VS1.
- Rare Carat, Linda Comfort-Fit Engagement Ring (1.5mm), 14K white gold, accessed 25/09/2026.
- Blue Nile, Lab-Grown Diamonds search, round, D, VS1, including IGI 1.06 Carat, IGI 2.02 Carat, IGI 3.02 Carat and GIA 3.03 Carat, accessed 25/09/2026.
- Edahn Golan Diamond Research & Data, After a 96% Decline, What’s Next for Lab-Grown Diamond Prices?, 2026, accessed 25/09/2026.
- Edahn Golan Diamond Research & Data, Lab-Grown Diamond Wholesale Prices Down 26% in 2025, 2026, accessed 25/09/2026.
- Rapaport News, Does the New Certification Stance Affect Lab-Grown Diamonds?, 2025, accessed 25/09/2026.
- Rapaport News, Lab-Grown ‘Taking Over’ Engagement-Ring Spending: The Knot, 2026.
- The Knot Worldwide, The Knot Worldwide Unveils 2026 Real Weddings Study, 2026.
- De Beers Group, De Beers Group announces intention to close Lightbox business, 2025, accessed 25/09/2026.
- Signet Jewelers, Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended January 31, 2026, 2026, accessed 25/09/2026.
- Worthy, What We Accept, undated, accessed 25/09/2026.