Best cheap M249 skins in CS2 - Updated for 2025

The M249 is CS2's ultimate meme machine gun – a $5200 beast that nobody asked for, nobody buys, and yet somehow still exists to confuse new players and create legendary moments of pure chaos. This 100-round belt-fed monster is the most expensive weapon that isn't an AWP, offering the unique ability to hold mouse1 for approximately seventeen years while turning the entire map into a no-fly zone. Is it practical? Absolutely not. Is it viable? Almost never. Will buying it make your team question your sanity? Without a doubt. But when you're up 15-3 and want to establish dominance through sheer psychological warfare, nothing says "I don't respect you" quite like winning rounds with the M249. The absurd silver lining? M249 skins are basically free because nobody in their right mind is shopping for them, meaning you can own some genuinely cool designs for less than you'd spend on a single flash.
We've ventured into the forgotten wasteland of the M249 marketplace and discovered something shocking – there are actually some sick skins for this thing. The M249 might be CS2's least-purchased weapon, but that hasn't stopped skin designers from creating some legitimately impressive designs for it. From military-grade patterns that make it look like actual heavy weaponry to wild artistic interpretations that embrace its meme status, the budget tier isn't just affordable – it's practically giving these skins away. Since approximately three people worldwide main the M249, the market has naturally adjusted, leaving decent skins at prices that make even Nova skins look expensive. Whether you want to lean into the meme or pretend you're using a legitimate weapon, these picks deliver surprising quality at unsurprising prices. Each skin has been chosen for its unexpected visual appeal, microscopic pricing, and ability to make those once-in-a-lifetime M249 clips even more memorable.

Our favorite budget M249 skins

Look, nobody's saying the M249 is good. But sometimes, being good isn't the point – sometimes you just want to hold W and mouse1 while laughing maniacally, and these budget skins ensure you're doing it with inexplicable style. Whether you're memeing in deathmatch or pulling it out in the last round of a stomp, these skins make sure your M249 looks better than it performs (which isn't saying much, but still). At these prices, buying an M249 skin costs less than the weapon appears in actual matches. The M249 exists in a weird space where it's too expensive to be practical and too impractical to be expensive, but that's exactly what makes it special. With these budget skins, you can finally give this unloved LMG the cosmetic respect it doesn't deserve, all while spending less than you'd lose in a single eco round. Embrace the absurdity.