Estimate what a tattoo is likely to cost from its size, placement, colour and level of detail — as a range, with the working shown. Tattoo prices vary enormously by country, city and artist, so treat every figure here as a ballpark for budgeting, not a quote.
The only real quote comes from an artist. Nobody can price your tattoo from a web page. Rates differ by a factor of three or more between cities, and a busy artist with a waiting list charges what a newer one cannot. Use this to know roughly what to save, then ask a studio.
Typical range
$100–$500
A small piece (2–4 in) on the forearm, black and grey, moderate detail.
Flat, forgiving and quick to work on. Outlines plus shading, some texture. Most tattoos land here.
Ballpark figures in US dollars, based on the rates studios commonly quote publicly. Not a quote, not sourced from a survey, and not adjusted for your city.
Almost every studio prices in one of three ways, and knowing which one you are dealing with explains most of the difference between two quotes for the same design.
Every studio has a floor — commonly somewhere around $50–100 — that covers setting up, a fresh needle, ink, and the artist's time regardless of how small the piece is. A tiny tattoo that takes twenty minutes still costs the minimum. This is why two small tattoos in one sitting are usually better value than one, and why "how much for something tiny" rarely has a cheaper answer than this.
Anything beyond the minimum is normally billed by time, commonly in the region of $100–250 an hour, though established artists in expensive cities charge well above that and apprentices charge well below. The rate reflects demand and experience more than anything else, and it is the single biggest reason the same design has wildly different prices in two studios on the same street.
For long sessions many artists quote a day rate instead, which usually works out cheaper per hour than the hourly figure. Some quote a flat price for the whole piece after seeing the design. A flat quote protects you if the work runs long and protects the artist if it runs short — ask which model applies before you book, not on the day.
All rows assume the same thing so they can be compared: moderate detail, black and grey, on a forgiving placement such as the forearm or thigh. Colour, heavy detail or a bony placement pushes each row upwards — the calculator above applies those.
| Size | Inches | Centimetres | Time | Typical range | What that looks like |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tiny | Up to 2 in | Up to 5 cm | 30 minutes to 1 hour | $50–$250 | A small symbol, a word, a single fine-line shape. |
| Small | 2–4 in | 5–10 cm | 1–2 hours | $100–$500 | A wrist or ankle piece, a short date, a small flower. |
| Medium | 4–6 in | 10–15 cm | 2–4 hours | $200–$1,000 | A forearm piece, a shoulder cap, a palm-sized design. |
| Large | 6–9 in | 15–23 cm | 4–7 hours | $400–$1,750 | Most of a forearm, a calf piece, a sizeable thigh design. |
| Extra large | 9–14 in | 23–36 cm | 7–12 hours | $700–$3,000 | A half sleeve, a large back or chest panel. |
| Full panel | 14 in and up | 36 cm and up | 12–25 hours | $1,200–$6,250 | A full sleeve, a full back or a leg wrap. Multiple sessions. |
Large work is quoted in hours and paid session by session rather than as one bill. The ranges below are wide because they have to be: a half sleeve of simple blackwork and a half sleeve of colour realism are the same area of skin and nowhere near the same amount of work.
| Piece | Time | Sessions | Typical range | What it covers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Half sleeve | 8–15 hours | 2–4 sittings | $800–$3,750 | Shoulder to elbow, or elbow to wrist, wrapped all the way around. |
| Full sleeve | 20–40 hours | 4–10 sittings | $2,000–$10,000 | Shoulder to wrist, designed as one piece rather than assembled from separate tattoos. |
| Full back piece | 25–50 hours | 5–12 sittings | $2,500–$12,500 | The largest single canvas on the body, and usually the longest project. |
| Forearm piece | 3–6 hours | 1–2 sittings | $300–$1,500 | A single design filling the inner or outer forearm. |
| Rib panel | 6–12 hours | 2–3 sittings | $600–$3,000 | Side of the torso. Slower than the size suggests, because sessions stay short. |
| Small script or date | 30 minutes to 1.5 hours | 1 sitting | $50–$375 | A word, a name or a date. Often priced at the shop minimum. |
People assume size sets the price. It sets the floor; detail sets the ceiling. The same four-inch circle is an hour of clean line work or four hours of photorealism, and the second one costs four times as much. If a quote surprises you, the level of detail is usually why.
Colour is more expensive because packing pigment means covering the same skin repeatedly, not because coloured ink costs more. Expect a colour piece to take roughly a quarter longer than the same design in black and grey, and to need a touch-up more often.
Ribs, hands, fingers, feet and the neck are slower to tattoo — the skin moves, the area is bony, and sessions run shorter because they are harder to sit through. Some artists also charge more for hands and fingers because they know the piece will need reworking. Flat, forgiving areas like the forearm and thigh are the cheapest square inch on the body.
An artist with a year-long waiting list charges what a newer artist cannot, and a studio in a major city charges what a small-town shop does not. This is the largest single variable in tattoo pricing and the one no calculator can model, which is why everything on this page is a range.
Drawing a custom piece takes hours before the needle touches skin. Some artists build that into the rate, some bill a separate design or deposit fee. Bringing a clear reference of what you want shortens that stage, which is the one part of the bill you can genuinely influence.
Deposits are normally taken up front and come off the final bill; they are usually non-refundable if you miss the appointment. Many artists include one touch-up free, and charge for later ones. Tipping is customary in some countries and unheard of in others — where it is normal, budget an extra 15–20% on top of everything above.
Placement changes the price and the experience — the areas that cost more because they are slow to work on are usually the ones that hurt most. The tattoo pain chart rates every zone, and the rib, back and sleeve pages show what people actually get done there.
Small pieces are usually priced at the shop minimum rather than by the hour, which is commonly somewhere around $50–100. Anything up to about two inches that takes under an hour will typically land there, regardless of how quick it is. If you want two small pieces, ask about doing them in one sitting.
A half sleeve is normally 8–15 hours of work spread over two to four sittings, which at typical hourly rates puts it very roughly in the $800–3,750 band. The spread is real, not hedging: simple blackwork and colour realism cover the same skin and are nowhere near the same amount of work. Ask your artist for an hour estimate first, then multiply by their rate.
A full sleeve is usually 20–40 hours across four to ten sittings, so at typical rates it commonly runs from around $2,000 into five figures with a sought-after artist. Most people pay session by session over several months rather than in one go.
Mostly because of the hourly rate, which reflects demand and experience rather than the design. A second reason is how each artist would actually execute it — one may plan more shading or more sessions than the other. A third is the pricing model: a flat quote and an hourly quote for the same piece can look very different until you ask how many hours are behind the flat one.
A tattoo is permanent and correcting bad work costs far more than getting it done well, whether that means a cover-up or laser removal. Judge an artist on healed photographs of work in the style you want, not on price. If budget is the constraint, get something smaller or simpler rather than something cheaper.
It depends entirely on the country. In the United States tipping is customary and 15–20% is common. In much of Europe, Australia and New Zealand it is not expected, though it is always welcome. If you are unsure, ask the studio when you book — nobody will be offended by the question.
No page can be. These are ballpark figures in US dollars, based on the rates studios commonly quote publicly, and they are not adjusted for your city or currency. Use them to know roughly what to save for, then get a real quote from a real artist — that is the only figure that means anything.