The T-side-exclusive AK-47 is one of the most popular weapons in CS2… which makes it all the more unfortunate that many of its iconic skins cost hundreds of dollars. The good news is that you can still get a fair few cool-looking skins for the AK, even if you’re on a small budget. Here are our top picks for the best cheap AK-47 skins you can get for $20 or less! 

(Prices, as usual, come from Steam—you may be able to get these skins even cheaper on third-party marketplaces.)

1. Slate

Price: $8 (Factory New)

Slate is, well… black. With unobtrusive black textures on the grip, handguard, and magazine, the skin is minimalistic and surprisingly cool-looking for something so simple. It works great on its own, though it’s also an excellent skin for showcasing your stickers—they’ll really stand out against the plain black background. 

Open cases with AK-47 | Slate

2. Phantom Disruptor

Price: $11 (Factory New)

Phantom Disruptor features a creature that’s rather difficult to define at first glance—there are teeth and eyes present, though, if that helps at all. According to the skin’s creator, apel8 귀신, the design shows “a mutated wolf … turned into a mist form”, which goes a long way to explain what we’re looking at. 

Either way, Phantom Disruptor looks pretty cool and has an interesting color palette of tans, yellows and light blue against a black base. Good budget choice for a fantasy- or horror-themed loadout. 

Open cases with AK-47 | Phantom Disruptor

3. Cartel

Price: $11 (Minimal Wear)

Though at first it appears very similar to the vanilla AK-47, Cartel is a much more intricate skin with detailed etchings on almost every metal part of the rifle. The patterns and imagery of skulls and floral ornaments are inspired by Mexican culture and refer to an art style associated with the Mexican Day of the Dead. 

You can also get P250 | Cartel ($6–$19) and, if you’re so inclined, Dual Berettas | Cartel ($0.40–$1.60). 

Open cases with AK-47 | Cartel

4. Rat Rod

Price: $12 (Factory New)

Rugged and scuffed even in Factory New, Rat Rod has a truly post-apocalyptic, wasteland junkyard/Mad Max/zombie-infested gas station feel. The faded, rusty, powder-blue base brings to mind a modified car, as do the welding marks on the lower handguard of the rifle. Rat Rod (originally named “Nibbler”) already has a bunch of stickers on it, so adding your own will only enhance this chaotic, taped-together look. 

If you’re digging this aesthetic, check out Nova | Wild Six and G3SG1 | Scavenger—they come from the same community-created collection (both cost around $1). And check out this post about the best blue skins in CS2!

Open cases with AK-47 | Rat Rod

5. Frontside Misty

Price: $12 (Field-Tested)

CS2 has no official arctic or even winter-themed maps (though the idea of Ts planting bombs while wrapped in furs is quite funny somehow), but if it did, Frontside Misty would fit right in. The white-black-light blue combo works quite well, though some may find the patterns a little too flashy. 

For under $20, you can get Frontside Misty in Field-Tested condition—aim for the lowest floats in this range, though. There’s a noticeable difference in the appearance of this skin at 0.15–0.20 float and 0.30+. 

Open cases with AK-47 | Frontside Misty

6. Nightwish

Price: $12 (Field-Tested)

Now, that’s a colorful design. Nightwish features a base that shows the night sky, though you probably haven’t noticed it at first, as the somewhat psychedelic, brightly colored pattern definitely takes center stage. It shows dreamcatchers and a nightmarish creature—a deer, apparently, according to the skin’s creator. 

Field-Tested looks pretty good, although if you can spend a little extra, go for the Minimal Wear ($26) condition to have the pattern and colors fully intact. 

Open cases with AK-47 | Nightwish

7. Point Disarray

Price: $15 (Minimal Wear)

Point Disarray’s combination of red, black, blue, and white, along with geometric shapes and patterns, makes it look rather modern and quite interesting for an abstract design. It’ll work well with a red loadout, too, especially since there aren’t many red CS2 skins for the AK-47 that you can get on a budget.  

Open cases with AK-47 | Point Disarray

8. Neon Revolution

Price: $15 (Field-Tested)

Yeah, “ANARCHY” just about says it all. 

Spray- and drip-painted with chaotic graffiti and sporting a post-apocalyptic punk vibe, Neon Revolution is an eye-catching, dynamic skin that really can’t be missed. In an interesting move, the creator kept the original base (the vanilla AK-47) and applied paint effects over it with no base color, so the skin really makes the rifle look as if it underwent a DIY makeover involving a few cans of spray paint. 

Neon Revolution is one of the pinkest AK skins, and it made our list of the best pink skins in CS2, too. 

Open cases with AK-47 | Neon Revolution

9. Redline

Price: $17 (Field-Tested)

Elegant in its simplicity, Redline features a carbon fiber pattern applied to all metal parts of the rifle, with small red accents that give it a unique character. The mostly-black color scheme makes Redline the perfect choice for displaying your prized stickers, especially if they’re in shades of red. 

You can get a matching skin for your sniper rifle, too: AWP | Redline ($50–$70). 

Open cases with AK-47 | Redline

10. Head Shot

Price: $17 (Field-Tested)

Head Shot has a pretty complex design that includes purple, reddish pink, black, and shades of gray and features a pearlescent finish. The semi-wildstyle graffiti that’s the centerpiece of this skin reads “Head Shot Gun”: not the most profound message, for sure, but a relevant one at least. 

Open cases with AK-47 | Head Shot

11. Legion of Anubis

Price: $20 (Factory New)

A must-have for any fans of ancient Egyptian imagery or mythology out there—or anyone who’s into cool-looking custom painted designs that have a deeper meaning, really. Legion of Anubis shows the Egyptian gods Anubis and Ra, alongside a whole array of other symbols and patterns related to ancient Egyptian culture. The hieroglyphics on the lower handguard are a nice touch. The best part is that for around $20, you can get it in Factory New condition, so all of these details can really shine. 

For more ancient Egyptian-themed CS2 skins, check out M4A4 | Eye of Horus ($185–$1380), XM1014 | Entombed ($2–$8) and PP-Bizon | Judgement of Anubis ($4–$10). 

Open cases with AK-47 | Legion of Anubis

12. Ice Coaled

Price: $20 (Factory New)

Some still find it pretty cool, others will say it’s way too common. Either way, Ice Coaled is a decent choice of skin for under $20, especially since you can get it in Factory New within that budget. 

The design features a fairly simple green-to-blue gradient with pleasant color tones and a series of white accents that make the skin look more interesting and modern. 

Open cases with AK-47 | Ice Coaled

13. Orbit Mk01

Price: $20 (Factory New)

Anyone else getting Mass Effect 1 vibes from this one? Or are y’all too cool and/or young?

Anyway, Orbit Mk01 goes for a futuristic look that’ll suit any sci-fi-themed loadout. The colors are rather muted, but the design makes up for that with fairly complex patterns that make the rifle look less like an AK-47 and more like something out of a space opera-type movie or game. 

Open cases with AK-47 | Orbit Mk01

14. Leet Museo

Price: $20 (Field-Tested)

And now for something more unusual that won’t suit every taste or loadout. It’s hard to estimate how many Counter-Strike players are also fans of cubism (random guess: not many), but if that sounds like you and you’re looking for a little Picasso in your skins, Leet Museo won’t let you down. 

In its unique (for a CS2 skin, anyway) style, the skin depicts Elite Crew Ts on Dust II. Also, chickens. 

Open cases with AK-47 | Leet Museo

15. Asiimov

Price: $20 (Battle-Scarred)

If you don’t mind the scuffs and scratches of a Battle-Scarred AK-47 Asiimov, you can pick one up for around $20. While there’s no AK version of the so-called Blackiimov (AWP | Asiimov with a high float that turns the scope completely black), the skin looks pretty decent on the lower-float end of Battle-Scarred. See for yourself: 

Still, if you can spare a few extra bucks, go for a low-float Field-Tested Asiimov (around $25 on Steam). 

Open cases with AK-47 | Asiimov

That’s all, folks—15 cheap AK-47 skins to choose from. If you’re open to increasing your budget, check out our list of the best AK-47 skins in CS2, and if you’re ready to try your luck on Key-Drop, start with the AK-47 case!