How much to charge for a treatment: work out your price
Other masters’ prices don’t tell you what your time costs. What a price is made of, a calculator for yours, and how to compare it with the market afterwards.
In short
- A price has four parts: materials, fixed costs, your pay and taxes.
- All costs come only from sold hours, so occupancy moves the price more than materials.
- Compare with the market only once you know your own price.
Contents 8 parts
How prices usually get set, and why it doesn’t work
Look at what others charge and go a little lower. Or round to a number that “sounds normal”. That is how a lot of people set prices, and it is why there are masters with a full calendar who wonder at the end of the month where the money went.
Other people's prices don't tell you what your time costs. Another master may pay less rent, work faster, or be working at a loss without knowing it. This article covers what a price is made of, a calculator for your price, and how to compare it with the market afterwards.
What a price is made of
Every price has four parts, and none of them is optional:
- Materials. Gel, glue, lashes, disposables. They are easy to work out, so they are often the only thing counted.
- Fixed costs. Rent, utilities, your booking system, insurance, courses, wear on your tools. You pay them even in a month with few clients.
- Your pay. The amount you want to take home a month. Without it you work for free, even with a full till.
- Taxes. Social contributions and income tax on profit. The exact amounts depend on where you work and how you are registered.
And there is one hidden thing that changes everything: not every working hour gets sold. All your costs and your pay have to come only from the hours when a client is actually in your chair.
Work out your price
Put in your own numbers. The tax percentage is simplified: the example uses 30%, but yours depends on your income and how you are registered.
Work it out
The price you need
Type in your costs and what you want to earn. The example is a 90-minute treatment.
Price that covers only costs
€13.18
Price that also pays you
€43.80
Needed per booked hour
€26.53
You sell about 98 hours a month. All your costs and your pay have to come from those hours.
The numbers update as you type. Nothing is saved or sent.
In the example, the price that only covers costs is just over €13. But the price that also pays €1,400 a month after taxes is almost €44. The difference between the two is exactly the pay that many masters “forget” to include.
Why occupancy moves the price more than materials
Change just one number in the calculator: occupancy from 70% to 90%. The price you need drops, because the same costs are spread over more sold hours. And the other way round: if half your schedule is empty, every client has to pay for the empty time too.
That is why, before raising prices, it is worth checking how much of your schedule really sells. How to work it out is in Which numbers to check every month.
Once you have your price: compare with the market
Only now is it worth looking at other people's prices. There are three possible cases:
| If your price is | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Below the marketand covers everything | you may be too cheap | raise |
| At market leveleverything adds up | the price is justified | keep |
| Above the marketcosts or pay too high | the model needs to change | review |
If your calculated price is above the market, there are several ways forward, and cutting the price is the last:
- Higher occupancy: fewer empty slots, fewer no-shows.
- Specialising: clients pay more for a master who is the best at one thing.
- Lower fixed costs: a different room, shared rent, cheaper tools.
- Working faster without losing quality: better set-up and fewer interruptions.
A price list clients understand
- One logic for every treatment. If a treatment twice as long costs the same, one of the prices is wrong.
- Extra work priced separately: nail art, removal, length. That keeps the base price clear.
- Too many options get in the way. If a client can't choose in 30 seconds, the list is too complicated.
- Round but justified prices. €44 or €45 is fine if there is a calculation behind it.
How often to review it
A price isn't forever. Work it out again:
Check yourself
When to recalculate your price
How to announce new prices without losing clients is in How to tell clients about a price increase.
How it works in RINDIQ
- Scheduled price change:you can set a new price for a service from a specific date. Clients see it in advance (“From 01.11.2026: €45”), and bookings already made stay as they are.
- Price modifier: you can add a percentage to every treatment at once when you change your whole price list.
- Late-hour surcharge for the most popular evening times.
- Analytics(on the Professional and Business plans) shows occupancy and revenue per hour, so the calculator's numbers can come from your real bookings.
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