How Much Should You Tip Your Tattoo Artist?

One thing first-time clients aren’t always prepared for is the question of tipping your tattoo artist. While tipping is common for restaurant servers and often follows a standard percentage, it’s not always as straightforward when it comes to tattoo artists, since it will depend on where you live, the style of the shop, and what sort of design you’re having tattooed. The bottom line is that tipping your artist for their work is always appreciated, since they are essentially running a business. Plus, if you’re looking to build a relationship with them for future work or touch-ups, tipping is a good start.

Whether you're getting a little flash tattoo done, or sitting for a whole-day session of sleeve, knowing how much to tip and when helps alleviate some discomfort from an already intimate moment. This is an essential tip about tattoos that goes over tipping standards in the US, UK, and Europe, what to do if you want a multi-session tattoo, if the touch-ups are free, and what the artists themselves have to say about tipping.

Tipping Standards by Region: US, UK, and Europe

Tipping between 15 and 25 percent is a standard practice for tattoo artists in the United States. Just like any other service provider in this country, tattoo artists are expected to receive tips. So a tip of $75 to $125 is good for a $500 tattoo session. Tip is very important to an artist who works in a shop as most artists have to pay for the booth or give a percentage of their income to the shop owner.

Tipping in the UK is not expected as much but if you want to be kind, 10-15% is a reasonable amount, as a lot of people just round up to a rounder number. On the continent, things are a bit more mixed up with German and Dutch customers adding 5-10%, or just rounding up and in countries like France, Spain, Italy, tipping is not as common in culture; however, giving a flat €10 to €20 is always appreciated in Southern Europe, no matter the cost of the session. In Scandinavia tipping is rare but also never frowned upon.

When to Tip More or Less Than the Standard

You want to tip above 20 percent when your artist: Did your tattoo from scratch; Made adjustments to the design at your request during the session; Worked with you patiently at a difficult or more sensitive location; Tattooed you last minute or as an emergency. You should also tip more (or at least the 20 percent mark) if your tattoo will involve lots of pre-tattoo drawing (designing it takes time, even if that’s a part of the process you don’t see).

A smaller tip (10%-15%) would be fine if it was a small flash tattoo with very little personalization or if you were given an estimated time that turned out to be more than it really was to complete the tattoo, but less than 10% in the United States may seem like you're unhappy with what they created. If you really aren't happy, talk to them and let them know that you want them to make it right; any good artist will do that for you.

How to Calculate Your Tattoo Tip

Or you can just keep it simple and tip on what your artist quoted you before their "loyalty" discount. If the artist said your session would be €400, and they gave you €50 off for being a repeat customer, that's your base. For artists who charge by the hour, the base is (hourly rate x # of hours worked). Artists in big cities generally charge somewhere around €100 to €200/hour, which would make a €150/hr. 5-hour session call for a €112 to €187 (15-25%) tip.

With flat rates it’s a simple calculation: you just work out the percentage you want. Some clients like to give a fixed sum (in dollars or euros) rather than a percentage. For sessions that cost less than €200, it’s nice to give a tip of at least €30-40. However, with a high-value session (let’s say €1000 or more) even 15% is significant, so a tip of 15-20% is really generous! Either way, your clients will appreciate your efforts if they feel you deserve a tip.

Tipping on Multi-Session Pieces and Touch-Ups

With larger tattoos that are multiple sessions (full sleeve, back piece, leg sleeve): You need to tip after every session, not at the end of the entire piece (which may be months or years away). This is an easy one to understand, you’ve got an artist that’s been doing many hours of work, and they need tips to help with bills between sessions. If you wait until the end of the year to tip (the entire tattoo is finished) then why were you paying your tips during the sessions then?

Touch-ups can be a bit of a confusing grey area for many clients. Typically, artists will offer a complimentary touch-up within a specific timeframe following your appointment, say, 2-6 months, and you're usually not expected to tip for that. Even so, your artist is setting aside time and using equipment, which is why some clients will bring a tip of €15-€30 just out of politeness. For any touch-up that you're paying for, you should tip anywhere from 15-25% like usual.

Cash vs Digital Tips: What Artists Actually Prefer

Most tattoo artists will tell you straight up: They prefer cash. It's more convenient for the artist because they don't have to pay credit card processing fees (which typically run 2.5% to 3.5%) and they have discretion over how to handle the income. A lot of tattoo artists are not technically employees. Either give it to the artist in an envelope, or just hand it over. Both are acceptable.

That said, times have changed and so has the way tips are given. Most tattoo artists are more than happy to receive a Venmo, Cash App, PayPal, or Zelle payment. Many studios also have a point-of-sale system so that you can add a tip after you’ve swiped your card. If you didn’t hit the ATM beforehand, digital tips are infinitely better than no tips. If that’s not an option for you, some shops even offer QR codes to make tipping super easy on your mobile device. Your generosity comes in all shapes and sizes, but what matters to your artist is feeling appreciated and respected for their talent, time, and artistic endeavor.