Tattoo Prices: How Much Do Tattoos Cost in 2023? - AuthorityTattoo (2024)

Average Tattoo Prices

The average cost for a small tattoo, like a flower or an anchor, is$70 to $300. For a medium-sized tattoo like a portrait of an animal or person, expect to spend between$300 and $700. Choosing to get inked by an experienced and talented tattoo artist will likely cost you somewhere in the region of$110 to $180 per hour, and prices will largely depend on how long the tattoo takes to complete.

For a large custom piece, prices generally start at around$700and can increase all the way up to $7000+ for a highly customized and detailed tattoo. These prices are usually reserved for full sleeve or back tattoos.

Below is a table illustrating the estimated average costs (USD) for tattoos based on size, location and artist experience. Remember that these are ballpark figures, and actual prices can vary widely based on the specific tattoo studio, artist’s experience, design complexity, color, and regional cost of living differences.

Tattoo Prices By Size and Color

Below is a section summarizing how much a certain type of tattoo may cost you. Remember,these prices are highly estimated, and prices can vary wildly.

How Much Does A Small Black & Gray Tattoo Cost?

A small black and gray tattoo done by a good/excellent artist will cost $100 – $300.

How Much Does A Small Color Tattoo Cost?

A small color tattoo done by a good/excellent artist will cost $120 – $350.

How Much Does A Medium Black & Gray Tattoo Cost?

A medium black and gray tattoo done by a good/excellent artist will cost $300 – $1500.

How Much Does A Medium Color Tattoo Cost?

A medium color tattoo done by a good/excellent artist will cost $400 – $2000.

How Much Does A Large Black & Gray Tattoo Cost?

A large black and gray tattoo done by a good/excellent artist will cost $700 – $3000.

How Much Does A Large Color Tattoo Cost?

A large color tattoo done by a good/excellent artist will cost $800 – $2500+.

How Much Does A Half-Sleeve Tattoo Cost?

A half sleeve tattoo done by a good/excellent artist will cost $800 – $2500+.

How Much Does A Full Sleeve Tattoo Cost?

A full sleeve tattoo done by a good/excellent artist will cost $1000 – $5000+.

Tattoo Cost Factors

Artist Skill & Experience

Tattoo artist skill levels vary incredibly from artist to artist. At one end of the scale, you’ll likely be getting ripped off if you’re charged any more than $20 by a friend who was bought their first tattoo kit for Christmas from eBay. Or by the guy dishing out tattoos on the sofa of a friend’s house during a party.

At the other end of the scale, if you walk into a top tattoo parlor and ask an artist with 20+ years’ experience what their rate is, don’t be too shocked if they turn around and say $200+ an hour.

Nevertheless, it’s important to consider that an artist doesn’t need to have years of experience to be highly skilled, and an artist is not necessarily guaranteed to be highly skilled even after years of experience.

Check out the video below for some rough tattoo prices according to various sizes:

Artist Popularity

A pretty obvious factor. Naturally, if a tattoo artist is extremely popular and in high demand, they’re going to be able to charge as much as they like while still getting business – so if you walk into a popular studio asking to get tattooed by a popular artist, be ready to pay a premium price for your ink.

Artist Exposure

Even if an artist isn’t above average in experience and quality, their prices will likely soar once they’ve appeared on one or two popular tattooing TV shows or within a couple of trendy tattoo magazines. Demand increases because people want to get inked by ‘that famous tattoo artist.’ Keep this in mind if you’re wanting any ‘a-list artists’ to tattoo you.

Artist Technique

Probably not a factor that will affect most people wanting a tattoo, but some artists from various cultures around the world still practice the art of tattooing using older, more traditional methods. These methods include using cultural techniques and tools that the vast majority of current artists worldwide have no experience of using or implementing.

Therefore, if you wish to be tattooed by an artist using traditional tattooing methods, you’re most likely going to have to pay out more for the privilege.

Artist Speed

All artists work at different speeds. Some artists are incredibly quick with their work, while others take much longer. No single way is better, but if you’re paying by the hour, the slower artist will cost more than the quicker one.

Studio Popularity

A tattoo artist working within a very popular studio will demand a higher price for their work. When artists work within a studio, they usually ‘rent’ a chair from the tattoo shop. The tattoo shop normally then takes a cut of the artist’s earnings as a return for the chair-space.

The more popular a studio is, the more revenue it will be able to generate by recruiting artists who can demand and charge higher tattoo prices. If you go to a world-famous tattoo studio, you will definitely be paying a premium for the pleasure.

Studio Location

A less-popular tattoo studio in a small town is likely to charge less for a tattoo when compared with a bigger studio in a large city. This is because their customer base will be smaller, and they will need to be much more careful with their tattoo pricing structure so they don’t risk turning away their smaller (but extremely important) customer-base.

Another reason shops in more obscure areas may have cheaper tattoo prices is that the good artists in these areas are normally harder to find compared tomore population-dense areas like bigger towns and cities. These places are where many more tattoo studios are usually situated.

Tattoo Planning

Many walk-in studios have hundreds of pre-drawn tattoos (tattoo flash) to choose from. As these tattoos are already designed, the artist can transfer them near-instantly onto your body part of your choice.

These tattoos are normally small and relatively simple, and the fact that they’re already pre-drawn means there’s very little planning involved before getting the session underway. This means there are rarely any costs involved with planning these types of tattoos.

On the other hand, many larger tattoos are custom-drawn to exacting requirements. These tattoo designs can be extremely detailed and take up much of the tattoo artist’s schedule to think up and plan. Many artists will rightly charge extra to create something more personalized and intricate for you.

Commonly, artists will charge around 1 tattooing hour for the planning phase. So if your tattoo artist charges $100 an hour for a tattoo, this will potentially be what you pay to have the tattoo artist draw a design up for you.

This design charge can also be a way to ward off the small minority of clients who ask for a tattoo to be drawn up, only to then take the design to another (usually cheaper) artist to get the work done.

Of course, the planning costs vary widely between tattoo artists and tattoo shops. You may be lucky, however, as many professionals do not charge extra for designing custom, highly detailed tattoos.

Size & Detail

If you’re planning to get a huge back-piece ora full sleeve, it will cost considerably more than smaller designs.

Nevertheless, small tattoos will not necessarily cost less than larger ones. For example, an extremely intricate and detailed half-sleeve will likely cost more than a full-sleeve consisting of basic shapes with no shading. Small, intricate details will always take much longer to tattoo than basic linework.

Tattoo Colors

As colored inks generally cost more to buy than black inks, some tattoo artists charge a slightly higher price, although this isn’t a standardized practice. Many tattoo artists decide to charge the same hourly rate regardless of color. This usually includes specialized pieces such aswhite ink tattoos.

Another reason why getting a tattoo in color may be more expensive is that your tattoo artist will generally have to take longer between sections in order to change and mix colors. This chopping-and-changing of colors can bump up the final price of your tattoo, especially if it’s a bigger piece.

Tattoo Location

Most tattoos can be created with little difficulty on many parts of the body, but other, more awkward areas of skin can cause bigger issues and will require greater care and attention from the tattoo artist.

It will usually take longer for your tattoo artist to complete a design on an awkward piece of skin, so the price will rise if you’re being charged by the hour.

Tattoo Materials

If your tattoo artist uses top of the range inks, needles and soaps/creams etc., then they will likely command a slightly higher price.

How Much Do Tattoo Touch Ups Cost?

Sometimes, your tattoo doesn’t heal quite as well as it should do during thetattoo healing process and you need to go back to the studio to get certain areas of the tattoo redone. This is known as a touch up. Most tattoo artists do touch ups on their tattoos for free as long as you go back to the studio within a certain time-frame after your last session (normally a month or two).

Once-in-a-while, you might come across a professional who will charge for all touch ups, although this is relatively rare. In this scenario, the cost of a touch up does vary, but should normally only be a small fee.

If you want the best chance of ensuring your tattoo heals brilliantly, and to minimize the risk of having to go back to the studio for a touch up, then a good tattoo aftercare lotion can make a real difference.

Different Ways Tattoo Prices Are Calculated

Different professionals have different ways of taking payment when it comes to tattooing. Below are the two most common ways in which you might pay your tattoo artist for their work.

Hourly

Keep in mind that many tattooists prefer to charge by the hour, and usually, their minimum charge is for one hour’s work. Therefore, if you go in wanting a tattoo that will take 10 minutes to complete, you’re still probably going to be paying for an hour’s worth of work.

The minimum charge is there because artists will still be using brand new, single-use needles and sterilizing equipment for your tattoo, and this all costs money. Not to mention they may have missed out on a bigger, more expensive tattoo in order to do your ten-minute one.

Hourly charging is normally done on bigger, custom and more complex tattoos where an accurate price is usually impossible to predict until the tattoo has been completed or is very close to completion.

Generally, when you’re paying by the hour, you will pay the artist after each session at the studio. For example, if you go in one day for 4 hours’ worth of a new tattoo, you will pay the artist 4 hours’ worth at the end of the session.

Per-Piece

If the tattoo design is pre-drawn or simple, your artist may charge for the whole tattoo up-front as a one-off payment.

Flash tattoos and smaller custom tattoos are generally easier to predict in terms of times, so your tattoo artist may decide to charge you for the piece as a whole instead of by the hour, even if the tattoo isn’t a pre-designed one.

Discounts and Deals

Sometimes, especially if your tattoo is a bigger piece, certain artists may have deals in-place whereby, for example, if you have a whole days’ worth of tattooing done, you get a small discount. Or, if your work has taken many days to complete, they may even knock a couple of hours off the total price to say thanks for committing to them for such a big, expensive design.

However, not all studios put on discounts, especially if they’re extremely popular or highly regarded. Don’t feel hard-done-by if no deals or discounts are available at your chosen shop. Money-off deals are an exception rather than a rule.

Tattoo Deposits

Usually, tattoo deposits cost what your tattoo artist will normally charge for an hour or two of their work. Your deposit cost will be deducted from the total amount after the final tattooing session is complete. You should also be aware that while most shops take credit cards these days, some still don’t, so bring cash just in case or ask beforehand.

Tattoo Prices Aren’t Everything

Remember – “A GOOD TATTOO IS NOT CHEAP, AND A CHEAP TATTOO IS NOT GOOD”.

I cannot stress this enough. Do not get a tattoo just because it’s cheap! A tattoo is with you for life and you shouldn’t get a sub-optimal piece of artwork on your body just because your shoddy tattoo artist was a bit cheaper than the next guy. You get what you pay for, folks.

Always ensure the tattoo you’re getting is one you’ll continue to love for years to come, and if you can’t afford the tattoo you’ve been dreaming of, save up and wait! You’ll appreciate your decision in the long run.

Unfortunately, nobody in the world can tell you what your tattoo will cost apart from your tattoo artist. You can ask people you know about their tattoo expenditures, but some don’t like talking about it.

Luckily, by studying this guide, you can give yourself a very rough idea of how much your desired artwork might cost, and you can hopefully get an amazing tattoo that you’ll appreciate for the rest of your life, regardless of expense.