As with many creative professions, different tattoo artists charge different rates and have different charging structures. Many tattoo devotees pour scorn on anyone enquiring about the cost of their body art – if you want a cheap tattoo, be prepared for second-rate work, they’ll tell you. The best ink may cost you, but with something that is going to mark you permanently, there should be no compromise on price. Remember, good tattoos aren’t cheap and cheap tattoos aren’t good.
As a starting point, you can probably reckon on a reputable tattooist charging in the region of £70 for a small, simple tattoo.
Some tattooists charge by the hour, some prefer to give a set price for a single project. Standard small tattoos are usually charged at a set price – complex tattoos such as a “sleeve” will probably be charged at an hourly rate of anywhere between £40 and £250. A large design could thus end up costing many hundreds of pounds, particularly if it is a design tailor-made for you and not one of the stock images available at the tattoo studio.
Most tattooists prefer to give a quotation, particularly for a big, customised job. They prefer to see you in person at the tattoo studio for a consultation, taking into account the design you want and the positioning of the tattoo, before they give a price. If you accept the fee, you may have to pay upfront before the work is done, or – if it is an expensive job that will be done in stages – payment terms can be mutually agreed.
There are several factors that affect the price of a tattoo:
- Size DOES matter, simply because the bigger the tattoo, the more work the artist has to do.
- The artist will charge for his/her time and skill if a customised design is to be produced and used rather than a stock design.
- Colour and shading added to a tattoo will make it more expensive because the work is more intricate and will take longer.
- The position of the tattoo also affects the price. If the artist is going to be inking in sensitive areas of the body, he/she will usually charge more.
- The more well known the tattoo artist you employ, the more you can expect to pay. The location of the tattoo studio you visit also plays a role in pricing, central city establishments being more expensive than outer suburbs and small towns.
- You should also consider the cost of any aftercare involved while your tattoo is healing, and maintenance of the tattoo (re-inking) if it begins to fade over the years.
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