The Art Pricing Guide: How to Price Your Art for Beginners

Setting the right prices for your creative products and services can be a challenging task, especially for artists and creative business owners who are just starting out.

Finding the sweet spot where your prices are attractive to customers while also allowing you to reach your income goals requires careful consideration.

In this art pricing guide, we’ll break down the three main factors to consider when pricing your artwork:

market value
differentiation and charging premiums
your business income goals

Whether you're a beginner or seeking to refine your pricing strategy, this guide will provide valuable insights to help you confidently price your art.

Market Value: Understanding Customer Perception and Pricing Standards

Ultimately, you have to price your art products and services at a rate at which people are willing to buy them—this is the “market value.”

To get a good baseline for this, look around at your competitors and trends in your niche:

What are others charging for similar products or services?
What price ranges or tiers are being offered?

If you’re struggling to find this type of information readily available from other artists, you can also consult industry guides and resources.

For example, the Graphic Artists Guide Handbook includes compiled standards and guidelines for pricing specific types of artwork and creative services.

You may find that artists within your niche price according to a certain formula. For instance, some painters price by square inch of canvas, while branding artists may have set fees based on the packages they offer.

By gathering this information, you can determine a standard range of prices for each of your product or service offerings in your creative business.

Differentiation and Premiums: Setting Yourself Apart

The next question you’ll want to answer is: where do you sit on each of those ranges?

In general, those who successfully charge prices on the high end of a range can do so because they’ve differentiated their offering or brand in some way.

In other words, they offer something unique that their competitors can’t—thereby allowing them to charge a premium (and still have customers willing to pay).

Some factors you can consider and use to differentiate and charge higher prices include:

Your artistic style: Is your style distinctive or in high demand?
Materials and craftsmanship: Do you use high-quality materials or employ specialized techniques?
Brand and reputation: Have you established a strong brand or gained recognition in your field? Can you share big, influential names that you’ve worked with in the past for social proof?
Experience: Do you have more years of experience than some of your competitors? Do you have a portfolio of projects showcasing your experience in your industry?
Exclusivity: Do you offer limited editions or custom commissions?
Specialization: Are you known for being a master in one very specific niche, rather than a generalist?

Defining your differentiators is key to determining where your prices can reasonably fall within each standard range.

Income Goals: Making Sure the Numbers Add Up

The third piece to factor in is whether your chosen prices will allow you to feasibly reach your income goals as a creative business owner.

This is where you need to look at the big picture and determine:

Your costs: How much does it cost to actually run your business? Determine the materials, production, marketing, and overhead costs associated with creating your products and services. And if you’re relying on your artwork to pay your bills or other living costs, factor those in too.
Your desired profit margin: How much profit do you want to take away from your business at the end of the year? Consider factors such as reinvestment in your business, growth plans, and personal income goals.
Your sales volume: How many products or service packages are you selling on a consistent basis? How much do you think you can feasibly increase that volume, and in what timeframe?
Your effective hourly rate: How much money do you need to be “making” per hour of work in your business in order to reach your income goals? Does your price for each offering support that goal rate?

This piece can get complicated and sometimes overwhelming when you see a big disparity between your current results and your goals. However, it’s essential to figure out your income targets so you can make the best pricing decisions for your business.

It’s a good idea to take things one step at a time: define your income goals, but then lay out milestones that will help you build towards them over time.

Putting It All Together

When you balance these 3 pieces of the puzzle, you can determine the best prices for the products and services you sell in your creative business.

By understanding what customers are willing to pay, leveraging your unique qualities, and aligning your pricing strategy with your income goals, you can confidently set prices that reflect the value of your art.

Remember, pricing is a dynamic process, and it's essential to evaluate and adjust your prices as your business evolves. With the insights provided in this art pricing guide, you'll be equipped to navigate the complexities of pricing your art and build a successful creative business.