Tattoo Generator

Plan your studio budget

Tattoo cost calculator

Use the rate and time range supplied by your artist to work out a planning estimate. See how a studio minimum, an agreed extra charge and a prepaid deposit affect the total and amount still due. This is not a quote or a booking.

Your inputs

Calculations update in this browser. This tool sends no calculator entries to a studio, does not create a booking and uses no AI generation or credits.

Use plain nonnegative numbers with a decimal point, without commas or currency symbols. Amounts are limited to 1,000,000 in the chosen currency; hours to 1,000 with up to 2 decimals. Optional blank amounts count as zero.

Choose the currency of every amount you enter. Switching currency changes the label and precision only; it does not convert any amount. JPY and KRW use whole amounts; other listed currencies use up to 2 decimals.

Enter the hourly charge agreed with your artist. No market rate is assumed.

The lower time estimate for one agreed scope of work, in hours. For example, 1.5 means one hour and 30 minutes.

Use the same scope and billable-time definition. This must be equal to or greater than the lower limit.

A floor applied once to this estimate, before extras. It replaces a smaller hourly amount; it is not added to that amount. Leave zero if none applies.

An agreed design fee or other fixed extra, added once. Include only charges outside the hourly rate and minimum. Leave zero if none applies.

Enter only money already paid that your studio confirms will count toward this estimate. It reduces the amount still due and does not increase the total cost.

Your planning estimate

Choose a currency and enter your hourly rate and both time limits. A cost range appears only when all inputs are valid.

Tax, travel, tips and extra sessions are not estimated. Any unentered charge is excluded. All amounts must use the selected currency.

This estimate follows your entries only. Your artist confirms billable time, what a minimum covers, deposit terms and the final price. An excess deposit does not imply a refund.

How the calculation works

  1. Hourly range = entered hourly rate × lower and upper expected hours.
  2. Base range = the greater of the hourly amount and the entered studio minimum, at each end of the range.
  3. Estimated total = base range + the fixed extra charge, added once.
  4. Amount still due = estimated total − the credited prepaid deposit, with a minimum of zero. The deposit remains part of the total; it is already paid.

The time charge is rounded once at each end of the range to the currency's smallest displayed unit; half a unit rounds up. JPY and KRW show whole amounts and the other listed currencies show two decimals. These are planning limits, not market-price advice.

The studio minimum applies once to the scope entered here. If your studio charges a minimum per visit, calculate each visit separately with its own rate, hours, extras and credited payment. This tool does not infer session counts or future charges.

Before asking your artist for a range

  1. Prepare a clear brief with approximate dimensions, placement, references and the detail you want to keep. Ask the artist which work the time range covers, including design, setup and breaks where relevant.
  2. Confirm whether the studio uses hourly billing, a fixed project quote or a session fee. This calculator supports hourly planning only. For a fixed quote, use the artist's written scope and payment schedule.
  3. Ask what is included, whether a minimum applies to each visit and when any prepaid deposit is credited. Keep unconfirmed extras outside the estimate and budget for them separately. A smaller design does not automatically imply a particular price.

Why an artist needs your brief

These are individual studios' explanations, not a market average or preset for this tool. Their policies can change; check the linked studio page and ask your own artist.

  • Three Kings Tattoo · pricing and deposits

    Three Kings describes size, detail, placement, colour and drawing or research as factors in a consultation-based range. Its deposit is credited to the final session.

  • BANG BANG · quotes and minimum billing

    BANG BANG describes artist-dependent pricing and varying minimum hourly billing. It recommends discussing the proposed design, size and placement in a consultation. Ask whether a minimum refers to an amount, a rate or billable hours before entering the figures for your estimate.