How Much Does a Tattoo Cost?

As with most things it’s important to do some comparison shopping. Not only should you visit more than one tattoo studio to get a feel for tattoo pricing in your local area and to look through portfolios, you should also visit tattoo studios to get a feel for their procedures, cleanliness, and their customer service attitude.

Many different factors affect the final cost of a tattoo.

If you provide the artwork for the tattoo or use a flash design provided by the tattoo studio you may simply pay a lump sum price for the tattoo. If you’re looking for custom work or a design that’s large or complex, the tattoo artist will probably charge by the hour. Custom tattoos tend to be more expensive and time consuming because they demand the tattoo artist to pay closer attention to the detail and design. In addition, it is a design that they have never done before. Typically, tattoo artists will normally charge you anywhere from 80 – 350 dollars an hour for custom tattoos. If you want the tattoo artist to design a tattoo for you, you’ll probably end up paying more. Depending on the size and location of the tattoo, you can easily spend thousands. Tattoos that cover the entire back for example, can cost you as much as fifteen thousand dollars!

Price can also vary depending the geographical location of the tattoo studio. In large urban cities you may be able to get a small tattoo for $80 – $100 while the same tattoo may cost several dollars less in more rural areas where the cost of living is lower.

If you find one shop whose prices are considerably lower than others in the area, beware. The shop may be cutting costs by skimping on safety and health issues, like reusing items that should be thrown away after being used, or hiring artists that, for whatever reason, are willing to work at reduced rates. You want to proceed with caution if you come upon a shop like this.

When it comes to tattoos, you get what you pay for. Don’t haggle with the tattoo artist over the price, especially if they quote you a flat rate (which should be posted in the shop). In some shops you may see the sign “the price depends on your attitude.” That’s sometimes true. Don’t ever try to cheat the artist out of what he/she deserves or try to talk them down from their normal prices. This is a business for them; treat it with the respect it deserves. If you feel that the price quoted by the artist is too high, you can renegotiate the scope of the tattoo work.

You must settle price negotiation before work begins and be sure to get a price estimate UP FRONT. Don’t leave it up in the air. You should come to your appointment with a set cost in mind based on your conversation with the tattoo artist.

If you’re pleased with the work that the artist does and you feel they treated you well as a customer, you should tip them. Don’t base your tip on whether you experience any pain during the application process. You’ll experience some discomfort during the process. Instead, base your tip on whether the tattoo design is well done, whether you actually got the design you asked for, and if you were treated well as a customer. You should tip between 10% – 20%, based on the factors described above.

You want to make sure that you get your money’s worth because tattoo’s are fairly permanent, unless you want to go through extra money to get it removed.

How Much Does a Tattoo Cost?

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