Nix’s Guide to Understanding Tattoo Pricing
To help you better understand what to expect from my pricing, here is a guide that will make it much easier to collaborate on a piece that fits both your vision and your wallet.
Bonus Tip:
Allowing creative freedom can result in a reduced cost!
Why Quoting Online Is Tricky
It’s easy to send a DM with a reference photo and ask, "How much for this?" I get that question a lot, and want to make sure my clients understand how tattoo pricing works. An exact quote requires knowing several variables that I can’t get from a single photo. Many of these variables can easily be adjusted to lower or increase the price of a tattoo:
Level of Detail: A fine-line minimalist tattoo takes a different amount of time and technical approach than a heavy, saturated black and gray realism piece of the same size.
Scale & Proportion: An inch or two in size difference can easily add or subtract an hour of detailed work.
Placement & Body Contour: Curves, ribs, and joints require custom fitting and stenciling time, which must also be accounted for.
Sizing & General Cost Expectations
Final pricing always depends on final artwork detail! But, I completely understand and sympathize with the need to set aside a specific amount of money to prepare for an upcoming expense. Here is my general break down across different sizes to help you better understand the cost of a tattoo with me before you book.
Extra Small Pieces (1–2 inches): Commonly placed on the finger, wrist, or behind the ear. Simple linework, small symbols, or micro-tattoos. You can expect to pay around $50 — $150
Small Pieces (2–5 inches): Commonly placed on the wrist, ankle, and lower bicep. Palm-sized tattoos like linework florals, or animal iconography. These can get pretty detailed, but are not super large and can be completed in under a half day session. You can expect to see prices anywhere between $150 — $350
Medium Pieces (5-7 inches): Commonly placed on the outer bicep, forearm, tricep, calf, or thigh. This is my most commonly booked tattoo size because they make great statement pieces. Medium tattoos are larger than your average patchwork tattoo, but they don’t completely fill out the limb we place it on. You can expect to see prices range from around $400 — $750
Large Pieces | Multi-Session Work Part 1 (7-10 inches): Commonly seen as forearm sleeves, thigh or calf quarter sleeves, and chest panels. These are very difficult to quote online. A highly-detailed, realistic quarter sleeve is going to be a completely different price than a fine-line or minimalist quarter sleeve. The amount of sessions needed to complete the project plays a large role in the final price. All things considered, expect large tattoos to be priced in the ballpark range of $800 – $1,300.
Extra Large Pieces | Multi-Session Work Part 2 (10 inches+): Full back pieces, full chest, full arm or leg sleeves. These pieces are the most difficult to quote online, as it can be difficult to assess how many sessions it will take to complete the work. Expect these tattoos to be charged by the session, ultimately landing in the range of $2,000 – $4,000+
Lettering
Lettering is commonly assumed to be easy/quick work, but script is an art form too. It requires precision and clean, smooth saturation/gradients, just like any other tattoo. Different fonts require different approaches and technique. Placement also plays a large part in how long it takes to execute a script tattoo.
Micro-Script / Minimal Words (Up to 2 Inches)
Starting Rate: $100
Simple names, dates, or short single-word scripts (1–3 words). Fits low-complexity, small placement areas.
Medium Script / Multi-Word Phrases (3 to 6 Inches)
Starting Rate: $200 – $350
Quotes, short phrases (for example: bold forearm/bicep placements). Includes custom hand-script styling and precise body-mapping.
Large / Heavy Custom Script (Chest, Back, Full Forearm)
Starting Rate: $400– $600+
Large-scale script, heavy block lettering, arching chest or back pieces, or wraparound designs requiring extensive draw-on or custom prep work.
Designing Around Your Budget
Every piece of custom art is flexible. If you fall in love with a design but the estimated cost is higher than your comfortable spending limit, I am more than happy to redesign the idea to match your budget without sacrificing artistic integrity. I whole-heartedly enjoy making art that people can afford and proudly wear. Here are a few ways we can make an idea more affordable:
Scaling Down: Reducing a design's physical footprint by just 10% to 15% significantly cuts down execution time.
Simplifying Details: Swapping complex blending or heavy shading for clean linework keeps the core aesthetic intact while keeping costs down.
Splitting Sessions: For larger concepts, breaking the work into multiple shorter sessions over the span of a few months is a common way to divide the price into affordable chunks.
There is zero shame in having a fixed budget. Being upfront about what you want to spend allows the design to be tailored directly to your financial comfort zone, ensuring you leave with custom art you adore at a price you prepared for.
