- Loss bonus: $1,400β3,400
- Round win: $3,250
- Plant: +$800 each
- Cap: $16,000
Half of CS2 is decided before the round starts. Whether your team buys rifles, forces with pistols or saves for next round depends on money β and money follows a few fixed rules: the loss bonus, the round rewards and the kill rewards. Teams that understand them buy together and win the rounds that matter; teams that don't end up with two rifles and three pistols. This guide lays out every number and turns them into simple buy, force and save decisions. Checked 2026-10-25.
- Loss bonus: $1,400 to $3,400 per player, one step up per loss, one step down per win.
- Plant and lose: every Terrorist gets +$600, the planter +$300.
- CTs: +$50 team award per Terrorist killed (since July 2025).
- Kill rewards range from $1,500 (knife) to $100 (AWP).
- Buy together, save together β the rule that matters more than any number.
The loss bonus, step by step
A lost round pays every player on the team a loss bonus based on the team's loss count. Valve's rule (unchanged since 2019) is that the count goes up by one with every loss and "decreases by one after every win (minimum 0)", and teams begin each half with a loss count of 1:
| Loss count | Loss bonus per player | When you see it |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | $1,400 | A loss after a win from step 1 β e.g. losing round 2 after winning the pistol round |
| 1 | $1,900 | Losing the pistol round (each half starts at 1) |
| 2 | $2,400 | The second loss in a row of a half |
| 3 | $2,900 | The third loss in a row |
| 4 or more | $3,400 | The cap β the fourth loss in a row and every one after |
Because a win only knocks the count down one step, a team that loses three, wins one and loses again is back at a big loss bonus straight away. That's why "win one round" isn't enough to break an opponent's economy β you need two in a row.
Round and objective rewards
| Event | Reward per player |
|---|---|
| Win by eliminating the other team | $3,250 |
| CTs win when time runs out | $3,250 |
| Terrorists win when the bomb explodes | $3,500 |
| CTs win by defusing | $3,500 |
| Terrorists plant but lose the round | +$600 each, +$300 for the planter |
| CTs β each Terrorist eliminated | +$50 team award (Valve, 15 July 2025) |
The plant bonus is why Terrorists plant even in a lost round: $600 each is often the difference between a full buy and another force. (Valve cut it from $800 on 23 May 2024 to soften the pistol round's knock-on effect β older guides still say $800.) The CT elimination award does the same for Counter-Terrorists who trade kills in a lost round.
Kill rewards by weapon
| Weapon class | Per kill |
|---|---|
| Knife | $1,500 |
| Shotguns (except XM1014) | $900 |
| SMGs (except P90) and the XM1014 | $600 |
| Pistols, rifles, machine guns, P90, grenades | $300 |
| AWP | $100 |
| Zeus x27 | $100 |
Kill rewards matter most in eco and force rounds: an SMG kill pays $600, twice a rifle's, which is why SMGs are the classic anti-eco buy. The AWP pays only $100 a kill β an AWPer lives on the team's money, not their own.
Buy, force or save: reading the next round
The question isn't "what can I buy now?" but "what will the team have next round if we lose?". Add your current money to the loss bonus you'd receive, and compare it with a full buy β a rifle, armour, helmet and utility β for every player:
Full buy
Everyone can afford a rifle, armour and utility and still buy next round after a loss. Buy everything.
Save (eco)
Buying now leaves the team short next round too. Spend little or nothing, keep weapons alive, and buy together next round with the loss bonus.
Force buy
Spend everything on cheaper weapons and armour β worth it when the other team is on a weak buy, or a loss would end the half or the match anyway.
Half buy (don't)
Two players buy rifles while three save. Usually the worst result: you lose the round and the next buy.
Economy habits that win rounds
- Buy as a team.
One caller says "buy", "save" or "force" in freeze time. Five weaker weapons beat two rifles and three pistols.
- Drop for teammates.
A player with $9,000 can buy a rifle for a teammate short of one; the round matters more than the scoreboard.
- Plant whenever you can.
+$600 each, even in a lost round.
- Save your weapon in a lost round.
A rifle carried into the next round is a rifle you don't have to buy.
- Watch reloads.
Since Valve's March 2026 change a reload throws away the bullets left in the magazine, and most weapons have three spare magazines β don't waste them in eco rounds.
Overtime and the match format
Premier and Competitive play MR12: 24 rounds, first to 13. At 12β12 the match goes to overtime: blocks of 6 rounds, first to 4, and each overtime half starts every player on $10,000 β enough for a full buy, which is why overtime is usually rifles against rifles.
Help with team play
- Calls and economy: 1-on-1 coaching β from $18.00 an hour.
- Find the rounds you threw away: demo analysis.
- Read next: getting out of Silver and practice commands.
- Valve β release notes, 13 Mar 2019 (loss-bonus rule) Β· MR12 and overtime (31 Aug 2023, via Dust2.us) Β· July 2025 update (CT award, via Hotspawn) Β· Fire Sale (23 May 2024, plant bonus $800 β $600) Β· Guns, Guides, and Games (18 Mar 2026, reloads)
- Money values: the csdb.gg economy guide (reviewed 13 Jul 2026) β Valve doesn't publish a table. Checked 2026-10-25.
All free tools: calculators, percentiles & season countdowns β
