# Prices

[SKUs](/core-api-reference/skus.md) can have a price for each [price list](/core-api-reference/price_lists.md). When you create a [line item](/core-api-reference/line_items.md), it gets the price associated with the order's price list.

#### Price amounts

Each price has an amount (the actual selling price) and an optional *compare-at* amount (the full price that you want to display to the customer — typically with a strikethrough — on your [product](/how-tos/product-discovery/product-page.md) and [product listing](/how-tos/product-discovery/product-listing-page.md) pages). All amounts must be **in cents** (the other conversions — such as float, formatted, etc. — will be automatically calculated).

{% hint style="info" %}
The `compare_at_amount_cents` value must be **greater than or equal to** (usually greater than) the `amount_cent` value. If you try to set for a price a *compare-at* amount lower than the actual amount the API will not return any error, but just set the `compare_at_amount_cents` value equal to the `amount_cents` value.
{% endhint %}

{% hint style="warning" %}
Some currencies have a zero exponent and cannot be expressed in cents (e.g. `JPY` and `HUF`). In such cases, you have to express the value as it is (e.g. `10000` JPY, not `1000000` JPY).
{% endhint %}

#### Price tiers

Prices can be [tiered](/core-api-reference/price_tiers.md) based on the quantity or the frequency (e.g. [subscriptions](/core-api-reference/order_subscriptions.md)) of the item purchased (a maximum of **10** tiers for each price is currently supported). See [price volume tiers](/core-api-reference/price_volume_tiers.md) and [price frequency tiers](/core-api-reference/price_frequency_tiers.md) to learn more.

#### External prices

If you prefer not to manage prices within Commerce Layer but use an external service instead (e.g. to support more dynamic pricing or just rely on an existing service that you are already using) you can leverage our [external prices](https://docs.commercelayer.io/developers/external-resources/external-prices) feature.

<details>

<summary>How-to</summary>

Check the related [guide](https://docs.commercelayer.io/developers/external-resources/external-prices) to learn how to fetch and manage prices via external services.

</details>

<details>

<summary>Data model</summary>

Check the related [ER diagram](/data-model/pricing-and-markets/price-lists-and-currencies.md) and explore the flowchart that illustrates how the price resource relates to the other API entities.

</details>


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