Why Are Lab Grown Diamonds Cheaper? The Truth About Pricing in 2026

The price gap is massive.

A one-carat lab-grown diamond costs around $1,000. The same quality natural diamond? About $4,200.

I've been tracking diamond prices for years, and the numbers are wild. Lab-grown diamonds typically cost 60-75% less than natural diamonds of the same quality.

Here's what that looks like in practice:

A 2-carat diamond with excellent specs might run you $15,000-$20,000 if it's mined from the earth. But lab-grown? Only $3,500-$5,000.

The gap keeps getting wider, too. Lab diamonds now sell at an 80% to 90% discount compared to mined diamonds.

And people are noticing.

Lab-grown stones jumped from just 1% of diamond sales in 2015 to about 20% by 2024. For center stones specifically, the shift is even more dramatic — 52% were lab-grown in 2024, up from only 12% in 2019.

That's a pretty clear vote with people's wallets.

But why exactly are lab diamonds so much cheaper? And what does this mean if you're shopping for a ring or considering an investment?

Let me break down what's really happening here.

The Price Evolution of Lab Grown Diamonds

The price collapse happened faster than anyone expected.

When lab diamonds first hit the market around 2015, they cost only 10% less than mined ones. Most people figured that was about as cheap as they'd get.

They were wrong.

By 2024, something dramatic shifted — lab diamonds became 90% cheaper than natural diamonds of the same quality.

Here's how wild the drop was:

In 2019:

• Mined 1-carat diamond: About $4,800

• Lab-grown 1-carat diamond: About $2,400

Fast forward to 2026:

• Mined 1-carat diamond: About $3,840

• Lab-grown 1-carat diamond: Just $800

That's not a gradual decline. That's a price freefall.

Currently, lab diamonds cost about 83% less than natural diamonds. And we're talking about diamonds that are chemically identical to the ones pulled from the ground.

Since 2020, prices for lab diamonds have fallen by 74%. (That's like buying a car for $30,000 and watching similar models sell for $8,000 just four years later.)

But here's an interesting twist:

In recent months, lab diamond prices ticked up slightly by 3.32%. A 1-carat lab diamond now runs about $747, a 2-carat costs $1,650, and a 3-carat costs $2,361.

Why the small uptick? Experts think lab diamond prices are finally approaching the floor — the basic cost of actually making them.

In other words, they might have bottomed out.

What caused this massive price drop in the first place? And more importantly, what does it mean if you're shopping for a diamond right now?

5 Key Reasons Why Lab Grown Diamonds Are So Much Cheaper

The reasons behind this price drop come down to some pretty fundamental differences in how these diamonds get made and sold.

1. Speed of Production

Natural diamonds take millions of years to form deep underground. Lab diamonds? Just weeks.

This means companies can scale production based on demand rather than hoping they'll find enough stones in the ground. When you can control your supply chain this precisely, costs drop fast.

2. No Mining Infrastructure

Mining diamonds requires massive operations. You're talking about moving tons of earth, operating heavy machinery, and maintaining complex supply chains across remote locations.

Lab diamonds skip all of that. The overhead is just the lab facility and equipment.

3. Improving Technology

Here's where it gets interesting: the technology keeps getting better and cheaper. Some labs now use AI to optimize the growing process.

Every improvement in efficiency translates directly to lower production costs. And unlike mining, where you're at the mercy of what's in the ground, lab technology advances consistently.

4. Streamlined Distribution

Natural diamonds pass through multiple middlemen before reaching consumers. Each step adds markup.

Lab diamonds often go straight from manufacturer to retailer. Sometimes directly to consumers. Fewer hands in the supply chain means lower final prices.

5. Market Competition

This might be the biggest factor: tons of companies now produce lab diamonds. As more players entered the market, prices dropped by 20% in just one year.

Basic economics. More supply plus competition equals lower prices.

The thing is, this trend shows no signs of slowing down. As production scales up and technology improves further, that 80-90% discount might get even bigger.

Which brings up an interesting question: what does this mean if you're actually shopping for a diamond?

Lab Grown Diamond Value Over Time

Here's where things get complicated.

Lab diamonds look identical to mined ones. They test the same. They sparkle the same. But when it comes to holding value? That's a different story entirely.

If you buy a lab diamond and try to sell it later, it might only be worth 10-30% of what you paid. Think of it like buying a $10,000 car and only getting $1,000 to $3,000 back when you sell it.

Why such a steep drop?

Labs can produce diamonds whenever demand exists. There's no scarcity. No "limited supply" driving up resale prices.

Natural diamonds aren't great investments either — they usually retain about 25-50% of their value. But that's still significantly better than lab-grown.

I found a real example that shows this clearly:

A 1.5-carat lab diamond sold for $10,300 in 2016. By 2021, that same stone was worth only $3,975. Meanwhile, a comparable natural diamond barely moved in price during the same period.

The trend isn't slowing down, either. As production technology improves, lab diamonds become even cheaper to create. Which means the lab diamond you buy today could be worth less tomorrow.

But here's what's interesting:

Despite poor resale value, the lab diamond market hit $24 billion in 2022 and could reach $59.2 billion by 2032.

Clearly, people are buying lab diamonds for reasons other than investment potential. Maybe it's the bigger stone for the same budget. Maybe it's the ethics. Maybe it's just getting more sparkle without the massive price tag.

Whatever the reason, the numbers don't lie. More people are choosing lab diamonds every year, even knowing they won't get their money back.

What This Means for Buyers in 2025

Here's the thing: Lab diamonds give you way more diamond for your dollar.

We're talking about 80-90% savings compared to mined diamonds. That's not a small difference — it's game-changing money.

Think about it this way: Instead of a 1-carat natural diamond for $4,200, you could get a 2-carat lab diamond for less than $2,000. Same sparkle, bigger stone, more presence on the finger.

The reasons behind this pricing make sense when you break them down:

• No million-year wait time (labs grow them in weeks)

• No massive mining operations to fund

• Technology keeps improving the process

• Shorter supply chains mean fewer markups

• More competition drives prices down

But there's something you need to know about resale value.

Lab diamonds hold 10-30% of what you paid if you sell them later. Natural diamonds? About 25-50%. This happens because labs can create new diamonds on demand, while natural ones are finite.

Does this matter? Depends on your goals.

If you're buying an engagement ring you plan to keep forever, the resale value is pretty much irrelevant. You get a bigger, more beautiful stone for the same budget.

If you're thinking about diamonds as an investment, that's a different conversation entirely.

Pro tip: Focus on what you actually want — a stunning piece of jewelry that makes you happy every time you look at it. The money you save on a lab diamond can go toward a better setting, a larger stone, or just stay in your pocket.

The market has spoken, too. More than half of center stones sold in 2024 were lab-grown. People are choosing bigger diamonds for less money, and they're not looking back.