What a half carat buys you
A half carat round is 5.1 to 5.2mm across. Stud earrings use this size a lot, and so do engagement rings on a tighter budget. Set on a thin band, it reads bigger than 5mm.
In our October 2026 snapshot, a natural half carat round (G color, VS1 clarity) had a median price of $887, about a quarter of the $3,419 median at 1 carat. Retailers price by the weight printed on the certificate, and 0.50 is a number people search for, so a 0.46ct stone that looks the same once it's set sits just outside most searches. Start your search at 0.45ct.
Where to put your budget at this size
Cut. The facets on a half carat stone are small, and telling G from H, or VS1 from a clean SI1, takes a loupe. The G / VS1 spec we track is already eye-clean here, so dropping a grade frees up money for a better cut. Our SI1 vs SI2 and G vs H color comparisons show where the visible line falls.