Definition
Fade percentage is a community grade for the Fade finish, measuring how much of the skin's full colour gradient — gold, orange, pink, magenta, deep purple — shows on the playside, the face you see when the weapon is equipped. It's derived from the pattern index: the seed decides where the gradient sits on the model, so a high-percentage seed drags the whole spectrum onto the visible surface while a low-percentage one leaves the pale, washed-out end showing. The scale runs from roughly 80% at the floor to 100% for a full fade.
The percentage isn't an official Valve number. It's calculated from the seed by community tools — CSFloat, tradeit and other float-and-pattern inspectors read the inspect link and report the fade percentage directly, so you never compute it by hand the way you'd cross-reference a Case Hardened blue-gem seed against a tier grid.
How fade percentage affects value
On a Fade skin the percentage is the dominant price driver, far ahead of float. Most Fades ship clipped to Factory New, so every copy is clean and the wear barely moves the price — what you're paying for is the gradient. A 100% full fade shows the complete gold-to-purple spectrum with no washed white, and it can be worth several times an 80% floor copy of the same skin.
The size of the premium depends on the weapon. On a small canvas like the Glock-18's slide, a few percent visibly changes the whole gun, so the top band commands a steep multiplier. On a long body like the AWP, the same percentage swing is subtler and the premium is gentler. The Karambit Fade sits between them, with a near-vertical price jump only at a verified true 100%.
Fade percentage is one of several finishes where the pattern rewrites the price — the same seed-driven logic governs Doppler phases, blue gems on Case Hardened, and Marble Fade Fire and Ice. The per-weapon tier lists and how to read your own percentage are in the patterns, floats and wear pillar.