Should you charge for a tattoo consultation?

Artists split. The fees artists name for their own consults run $20 to $50, and some are credited if the client books. Others do consults free, or skip them and let a request form do the job. Whichever you pick, put it in writing before the client books.

Someone wants a sleeve and asks to come in and talk it through. You block an hour on a Thursday and get to the shop early. The hour passes and there's no text. The consult was free, so you have no deposit to keep, just an empty hour.

Artists split, and what we have is one long thread plus a few shop pages, so don't read it as a headcount. In a May 2026 thread on consult no-shows, artists described fees, rebook fees and deposits-first, and others described free consults, with no clear lead either way. One of the fee voices is a free consult with a $20 fee to rebook. The artist who started it estimated only about 40% of the people who book an in-person consult show up. Shop pages split too: a Seattle shop and a Texas artist list free consults, a New Jersey shop a fee.

The fees artists named for their own consults run from $20 to $50:

Second-hand, a coworker charged $40 off the deposit and was well known for one style, so clients already wanted him. A commenter said one top shop in a very expensive city charges $100 or $150. The New Jersey page lists $25 to $50 with no refund and nothing off the tattoo.

Two of the three artists who described their own fee credit or refund it. That's three voices, so treat it as examples. Wording to adapt:

Booking the consult:

If the fee comes off the deposit, set the deposit first.

One artist takes free consults all the time because talking to people breaks the wall, and says it depends how in demand you are. Another called any charge for a consultation "outrageous." An artist outside the US charged a small deductible fee and dropped it: "a lot of people didn't book."

Free or paid, artists also protect the hour by putting consults right before or after a session, or moving them online. For a missed consult, wording to adapt:

The deposit side of a no-show is in what to do when a tattoo client no-shows.

To get the idea clear enough to draw, and to say the terms out loud before money moves. Artists in the threads use the time like this:

Both orders show up. Some artists hold the consult first and take the deposit before anything gets drawn. Others want money first, mostly after being burned by no-shows: one only books a consult for someone who already has a deposit down, and another books it like any session, with the normal $100 deposit that comes off the tattoo.

Bigger piece, longer talk. Artists named 5 to 10 minutes at the short end, 15 to 20 with a rough mockup, about 30 with references on the table, and 30 to 60 for a few.

For out-of-town clients, video is the usual answer: all five comments in one thread mentioned a video call. One artist called it disrespectful to run a consult with another client in the chair; another said a ten-minute chat is a break for the client in the chair.

No. Some artists keep consults for big pieces and let a form or email do the rest, and one does an in-depth one for every piece. One artist who started doing consults runs them for sleeves, large leg pieces, backs, chests and bigger cover-ups; others say in person for cover-ups and large pieces, and one skips the in-person one only for something small and simple.

Others replace it. One artist's request form asks everything they'd ask in a consult, with a photo of the spot. Another does every consult by email so both sides can go back and review. Either way, the form has to ask what you'd ask: the idea, the spot with a photo, the size, references and dates.

The artists who charge in that thread describe it as a fix for no-shows. One who keeps consults free says it depends on how in demand you are. The $50 artist uses the fee to discourage consults on five-minute jobs. Look at your own no-show history before you pick.

Artists split. Fees artists named for their own consults run $20 to $50, and some are credited to the deposit if the client books. Others keep consults free.

Bigger piece, longer talk. Artists named 5 to 10 minutes at the short end, 15 to 30 in the middle, and 30 to 60 for a few.

No. Artists mention big pieces like sleeves, large leg pieces, backs, chests and bigger cover-ups. Some use a form or email for the rest.

Both orders show up. Some artists consult first and take the deposit before drawing. Artists burned by no-shows take a fee or deposit first.

Checked October 2026. Based on r/TattooArtists threads (2024 to 2026), mainly a long May 2026 thread on consult no-shows, plus three shop or artist web pages (New Jersey, Seattle, Texas). The advice to close the deposit and the date before the consult ends is ours, not something the threads say. It's what artists said, not a survey, and the fee counts rest mostly on one thread.

Gal, founder of Collabo.ink, the booking app for tattoo artists. For 15 years I booked sessions for dozens of artists, some of them among the best known in the world. Collabo.ink takes your bookings and deposits, so you can focus on what matters: tattooing.