Are French Pokémon Cards Really Cheaper? We Measured It
We compared the cheapest French and English asking prices for every chase card we track on Cardmarket. Most of the time, the answer is no.
Data refreshed weekly · page generated on 2026-08-25.
Across 716 tracked chase cards, the English copy is cheaper than the French one 64% of the time.
The median gap between the two floors: +13.9% for French against English.
What we measured
For every card in our public catalog with active Cardmarket listings in both languages, we took the cheapest French ask and the cheapest English ask, on a comparable condition basis (Near Mint or better). These are asking prices, not completed sales. The numbers on this page are recomputed from our database on every visit: 716 cards compared today.
The result, direction and size
- English cheaper: 461 cards
- French cheaper: 229 cards
- Median FR-vs-EN floor gap: +13.9%
The direction holds in every era we currently cover:
| Series | Cards compared | FR cheaper | FR floor vs EN (median) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scarlet & Violet | 545 | 168 | +16.9% |
| Mega Evolution | 171 | 61 | +9.1% |
The widest gaps right now
Cards where the French floor most exceeds the English one:
| Card | FR floor | EN floor |
|---|---|---|
| Team Rocket's Weezing #199 | €10.99 | €1.00 |
| Pawniard #142 | €21.99 | €6.00 |
| Raboot #147 | €5.99 | €1.80 |
| Maractus #093 | €5.00 | €1.65 |
| Walking Wake ex #205 | €105.00 | €35.00 |
And the reverse, cards where English costs clearly more:
| Card | FR floor | EN floor |
|---|---|---|
| Bewear #079 | €4.00 | €16.95 |
| Cinccino #183 | €6.50 | €23.49 |
| Trubbish #140 | €5.00 | €14.00 |
| Audino #151 | €10.00 | €25.00 |
| Maushold #226 | €28.00 | €69.99 |
What about the "why"?
Print run sizes and distribution volumes are not public, so we cannot measure the causes. What we can see is supply: currently 78,341 English listings against 36,596 French ones across the same cards (a 2.1:1 ratio). Collector forums mostly offer two explanations, international demand for English and smaller French print runs. Our data settles neither.
What this means for you
If you collect in French, check both floors before you buy. Every card page in our set catalog shows them side by side. If either language works for you, the tables above show the cheaper side changes from one card to the next.
Method and limits
- Price = cheapest active Cardmarket listing per language, Near Mint or better, refreshed weekly.
- These are asking prices, not realized sales.
- Scope: the chase rarities (Illustration Rare and up) of recent sets in our public catalog, not the whole game.
- Shipping is not included.