CS2 SG-553 rifle displayed in the weapon inventory

SG 553 Guide for Counter-Strike 2

Damage, spray, the scope, and when it is worth $300 over an AK.

The SG 553 is the T side's scoped rifle, and the only weapon in the game with 100% armour penetration. It costs $3,000, $300 more than the AK, and armour takes nothing off its damage: a helmeted headshot kills out to about 115 metres, and so do four chest hits on an armoured opponent. The scope stretches its accurate range from 23.8 to 37.1 metres.

The trade-off is speed. At 545 rounds a minute it fires slower than any other rifle, so four hits take 0.33 seconds against the AK's 0.30. With the scope up you move at 150 instead of 210. This page goes through the numbers, the spray, when to buy it, and the skins and cases.

Last checked

September 2026

Weapon stats checked against CS2 build 1.41.7.6.

SG 553 at a Glance

The full stat sheet, straight from the game.

Every number below comes from the game build of 18 March 2026. Two of them define the SG 553: 100% armour penetration and a scope that stretches accurate range to 37.1 metres. It is the only weapon in the game that armour does nothing against, and the only scoped rifle on the T side. What it gives up is speed - 545 rounds a minute, the slowest of any rifle.

Damage and money

Price	$3,000
Kill reward	$300
Side	T only
Base damage	30
Armour penetration	100%
Headshot multiplier	4x
Damage lost at 500 units	2%
Wall penetration	200%
One-tap range, helmet	4,512 u (about 115 m)
One-tap range, no helmet	4,512 u (about 115 m)

Handling and ammo

Rate of fire	545 RPM
Magazine	30
Reserve	90 (120 total)
Reload	2.77 s (mag in at 1.03 s)
Deploy	1.00 s
Mobility	210, scoped 150 (knife is 250)
Tagging power	60%
Accurate range, standing	23.8 m (scoped 37.1 m)
Running inaccuracy	142.4 (scoped 140.1)
Recoil	Set pattern
Console command	`give weapon_sg556`

The weak spot is speed, and not only the rate of fire. With 210 mobility the SG 553 is the slowest rifle to carry, and 150 with the scope up. Unlike on the AUG, the scope barely changes running inaccuracy, 140.1 against 142.4. Without the scope it does better on the move than the AK - 142.4 against 182 - but that still means stopping before you shoot.

SG 553 Damage & Armour

What one bullet does, and how many it takes.

Everything here assumes a full-health player at close range. Armour means kevlar on the body and a helmet on the head. The general rules behind these numbers are on the weapons hub.

Damage per bullet

Hitbox	No armour	Armour	Bullets to kill, no armour	Bullets to kill, armour
Head	120	120	1	1
Chest and arms	30	30	4	4
Stomach	37.5	37.5	3	3
Legs	22.5	22.5	5	5

The two armour columns are the same - that is what 100% armour penetration means. The base damage, 30, is the same as the Galil's. Against a player with no armour the two rifles hit exactly as hard; against armour the Galil's helmeted headshot drops to 93 and the SG 553's stays at 120.

Where the SG 553 holds up

Like the AK, the SG 553 loses only 2% of its damage for every 500 units of distance, and with armour out of the picture there is only one set of distances to remember:

Shot	Works up to
Head, helmet or not - 1 bullet	4,512 u (about 115 m)
Chest, armour or not - 4 bullets	4,512 u (about 115 m)
Stomach, armour or not - 3 bullets	2,915 u (about 74 m)
Legs - 5 bullets	2,915 u (about 74 m)

Past each of those distances the count goes up by one. Damage is multiplied by 0.98 for every 500 units of distance, and it drops smoothly in between. Five chest hits kill out to 10,035 units, about 255 metres, and two headshots kill at any distance you will meet on a map.

What this means in a fight

Four chest hits kill an armoured opponent in 0.33 seconds at 545 rounds a minute. Up close that is a little slower than the AK's 0.30. The difference shows at range: the AK keeps its helmet one-tap and four-hit kill out to about 69 metres and then needs a fifth body hit, 0.40 seconds, while the SG 553 keeps both out to 115.

SG 553 Recoil & Spray

Where thirty bullets go, and how to pull them back.

The SG 553 fires 545 rounds a minute, one bullet every 110 milliseconds. A full magazine of 30 is gone in a little over three seconds. The recoil pattern follows the same overall path every time you spray, which is why spray control can be learned. On top of it sits a little random spread that grows the longer you hold the trigger.

The dots show where each bullet goes if you hold the trigger and don't touch the mouse. The dashed line is where you aimed, and the white dot is the latest shot. The panel on the right is the mouse movement that cancels it - the same path turned upside down and mirrored. ×1 plays at real speed, ×0.5 and ×0.25 slow it down, and Step by step fires one bullet per click with Next shot.

The spray, shot by shot

Shots 1-2. Barely move. The first two bullets land almost where you aimed.
Shots 3-7. Up and to the right. Pull down and to the left.
Shots 8-15. The climb slows, but the spray stays right of where you aimed, highest at shot 15. Keep pulling down and a little left.
Shots 16-19. A sharp move to the right and slightly down, furthest out at shot 19. Pull left.
Shots 20-22. A fast swing back to the left, across the middle in three bullets. Pull right.
Shots 23-27. Further left, furthest out at shot 27. Pull right.
Shots 28-30. Back towards the middle. Pull left a little.

Unlike the AK, which goes straight up first, the SG 553 drifts right from the third shot. The first half of the spray is one long pull down and to the left.

With the scope

The right mouse button brings up the scope. Scoped, the accurate range goes from 23.8 to 37.1 metres, and you move at 150 instead of 210. Running inaccuracy barely changes, 140.1 against 142.4. The viewer above shows the spray without the scope.

How to actually use it

The first seven shots are the part worth drilling - one diagonal pull, down and to the left. Four chest hits kill an armoured opponent out to 115 metres (see Damage & Armour), so a short, controlled burst is usually enough.

Spray control will not make the SG 553 accurate on the move. Its running inaccuracy is 142.4, better than the AK's 182 but still far from standing still. Tapping the opposite movement key - counter-strafing - brings you to a stop faster than just letting go of the key.

At long range, scope in and tap. The helmet one-tap works out to 115 metres, so a single headshot is worth more than a spray.

Did the spray change in 2026?

No. In April 2026 Valve changed how the screen moves when you fire, so it feels closer to CS:GO. Where the bullets land stayed the same. I also checked the pattern offline, on a private server, against my own Logitech G HUB Lua script for the SG 553: its mouse path lines up with these 30 shots. Shots 16-19 go so far to the right that the recording I worked from cut them off, so those four follow the script's path. I don't recommend using scripts like this in Competitive or Premier.

Sources: CS2 update notes, 21 April 2026

When to Buy the SG 553

What an SG 553 round costs, and when it beats the AK.

The SG 553 is a full-buy rifle. It only makes sense when you can afford it with armour and your grenades - otherwise the AK or the Galil does the job for less.

What a full buy adds up to

Item	Price
SG 553	$3,000
Kevlar + helmet	$1,000
Smoke	$300
Molotov	$400
HE grenade	$300
Total	$5,000

The same buy with an AK costs $4,700, and with the Galil $3,800. If $300 more for the SG 553 means dropping a grenade, take the AK.

SG 553 or AK

With the full $5,000, it comes down to the fight you expect. Inside about 69 metres the AK does the same as the SG 553 - a helmet one-tap and four chest hits through armour - and kills 0.03 seconds faster, 0.30 against 0.33. It also reloads faster, 2.4 seconds against 2.8. The SG 553 has the scope, 37.1 metres of accurate range, and keeps both the one-tap and the four-hit kill out to 115 metres. For long angles take the SG 553; for everything closer the AK is the cheaper choice.

SG 553 without armour

Don't. At $3,000 the SG 553 with no armour costs more than a Galil with kevlar and a helmet ($2,800). The comparison of a rifle without armour against a cheaper one with it is in the AK-47 guide.

Against an eco

The SG 553 pays $300 a kill, like every rifle. Most SMGs pay $600. If the CTs are saving and you don't have a rifle yet, an SMG like the MAC-10 earns twice as much per kill and kills unarmoured players fast enough.

Dropping one for a teammate

At $3,000 the SG 553 is the most expensive T rifle to drop. If a teammate just needs a rifle, an AK costs $300 less and a Galil $1,200 less.

SG 553 vs Other Rifles

What the SG 553 does better, and what it gives up.

The SG 553 wins on armour penetration and range, and loses on rate of fire and mobility. How much that matters depends on who you compare it with. The table below has all the numbers side by side.

vs AK-47

$300 cheaper and the rifle most Ts buy instead. How they compare through armour is covered in When to Buy above. Past that, the SG 553 is far better on the move, 142.4 against 182, and a little more accurate standing without the scope, 23.8 metres against 21.7. The AK fires faster, 600 rounds a minute against 545, and moves a little faster, 215 against 210. More in the AK-47 guide.

vs Galil AR

$1,200 cheaper, with the same 30 damage a bullet. The difference is armour: the Galil gets 77.5% through, so its helmeted headshot does 93 and it needs five chest hits, 0.36 seconds, where the SG 553 needs four, 0.33. The Galil holds 35 rounds and 175 in total against 30 and 120, but it has the shortest accurate range of any rifle, 16.3 metres against 23.8. Details in the Galil AR guide.

vs AUG

The CT side's scoped rifle, $300 more expensive. The AUG gets 90% through armour and one-taps a helmeted opponent only inside about 5 metres, where the SG 553 manages 115. Past 5 metres the AUG needs five chest hits, 0.40 seconds, against the SG 553's four, 0.33. The AUG fires faster, 600 rounds a minute, its scope reaches a little further, 38.3 metres against 37.1, and scoped it is far better on the move, 109.4 against 140.1. It also reloads a full second slower. Details in the AUG guide.

vs M4A4

The M4A4 is the rifle the SG 553 most often meets, and it costs $100 less. The M4A4 never one-taps a helmeted opponent and needs five chest hits through armour, 0.36 seconds out to 60 metres. The SG 553 needs four, 0.33 seconds out to 115. The M4A4 is more accurate standing without a scope, 27.7 metres against 23.8, fires 666 rounds a minute and carries 150 rounds against 120. Details in the M4A4 guide.

The M4A1-S and FAMAS are CT-side only and have their own guides: M4A1-S and FAMAS.

Rifle Stats Table

All seven rifles side by side, with the SG 553 already open.

This is the same table as on the weapons hub, but filtered down to rifles. The SG 553 row is open with its damage per hitbox and full stats, and it is already ticked for comparison with the AK-47, Galil AR and AUG. Untick any of them, or tick the M4A4, M4A1-S or FAMAS instead - up to four at a time.

Click a column header to sort. The SG 553 row shows the rifle without the scope, and the scoped numbers are in its card under variants. The M4A1-S is listed without the silencer, like in the source sheet. The full table with all 36 weapons is on the weapons hub.

Click any weapon for damage per hitbox, full stats and variants.

	Weapon	Type	Price	Kill $	Damage	Armour pen	RPM	Mag	Total ammo	HS kill vs helmet

Stats from the CS2 Weapon Spreadsheet, game build of 18 March 2026. Shotgun damage is per pellet. Headshot ranges are converted from game units at 39.4 units per metre. Zeus and knife values come from the game files rather than the sheet.

SG 553 Skins & Cases

SG 553 skins by market listings and price, and where they come from.

Three ways to look at SG 553 skins. Most listed are the ones with the most offers across the markets I track, in other words the ones currently offered most often. Most expensive are the skins that stay expensive even in their cheapest wear. Cheapest are the ones that stay cheap even in their best wear. Prices update every 15 minutes, and the range on each card runs from the cheapest variant to the most expensive one, wear and StatTrak included.

Consumer Grade

Waves Perforated

$0.01 - $8.35

View prices →

Mil-Spec Grade

Cyberforce

$0.03 - $0.74

View prices →

Consumer Grade

Night Camo

$0.01 - $0.03

View prices →

Mil-Spec Grade

Ol' Rusty

$0.06 - $0.32

View prices →

Consumer Grade

Safari Print

$0.01 - $0.03

View prices →

Consumer Grade

Army Sheen

$0.02 - $0.03

View prices →

Restricted

Dragon Tech

$0.30 - $2.32

View prices →

Consumer Grade

Bleached

$0.06 - $0.32

View prices →

All of them, with a price for every wear, are on the SG 553 skins page.

Cases with SG 553 skins

Every case that can drop an SG 553 skin, newest first. The number under each case is how many SG 553 skins it holds.

Revolution Case2023 · 1 skin

Recoil Case2022 · 1 skin

Snakebite Case2021 · 1 skin

Fracture Case2020 · 1 skin

Prisma 2 Case2020 · 1 skin

Shattered Web Case2019 · 1 skin

Danger Zone Case2018 · 1 skin

Clutch Case2018 · 1 skin

Spectrum 2 Case2017 · 1 skin

Gamma 2 Case2016 · 1 skin

Gamma Case2016 · 1 skin

Chroma 3 Case2016 · 1 skin

Revolver Case2015 · 1 skin

Falchion Case2015 · 1 skin

Operation Phoenix Weapon Case2014 · 1 skin

Operation Bravo Case2013 · 1 skin

CS:GO Weapon Case2013 · 1 skin

SG 553 skins that never came from a case

Some SG 553 skins come from map collections, operations, or the Armory instead of cases. Collections marked "souvenir" also come in souvenir packages from Majors.

Browse all CS2 cases and all collections, or check what your own skins are worth with the Inventory Value Calculator.

Common SG 553 Mistakes

Small habits that cost rounds, and what the numbers say instead.

Reloading after every fight

Since the 18 March 2026 update, a reload throws away whatever is left in the magazine and takes a full one from your reserve. The SG 553 has three spare magazines of 30, so a reload with ten rounds still in the gun throws away a third of a magazine. How this habit caught me out is in the AK-47 guide.

The second reload mistake is reloading when you are not safe. From pressing R to being able to shoot again the SG 553 needs 2.8 seconds, faster than every rifle except the AK. Only reload when you are sure nobody can swing on you for about three seconds.

Buying it without the full buy

The SG 553 is $300 more than the AK and $1,200 more than the Galil. If buying it means no helmet or no grenades, one of those rifles with a full buy is the better choice for the round. The numbers are in When to Buy.

Moving with the scope up

Scoped, you move at 150 instead of 210, and unlike on the AUG, the scope does almost nothing for accuracy on the move - 140.1 against 142.4. Scope in when you stop on an angle, not before.

Spraying at long range

A helmeted headshot kills out to 115 metres, but the spray drifts right from the third bullet. At long range, a single tap at the head does more than a spray that lands its later bullets to the side. Scope in and tap with a short pause between shots.

Spraying all thirty

Between shots 16 and 22 the spray goes far to the right and then swings back left across the middle in three bullets, and the random spread keeps growing. Four chest hits kill an armoured opponent anywhere on the map, so the first half of the magazine is what matters. The spray section shows where the rest go.

Shooting on the move

The SG 553's running inaccuracy is 142.4. That is better than the AK's 182, but a spray on the move still goes wide. Stop first: tapping the opposite movement key - counter-strafing - brings you to a stop faster than just letting go of the key.

Buying it against an eco

The SG 553 pays $300 a kill, most SMGs pay $600. Against players with no armour an SMG kills fast enough and earns twice as much. More in When to Buy.