How to price your art

Start with a few facts

Pricing feels personal, but it works best as a system you can explain. Before you pick a number, gather:

• Your costs: materials, framing, studio rent spread across a year’s work, shipping.
• Your time: roughly how many hours a typical piece takes.
• Where you sell: your studio, a gallery that takes commission, a co-op, a fair, online.
• Your market: what comparable artists near you charge, and what has actually sold.

Then use one of three methods, and check it against the other two.

Method 1: a size formula

Size formulas give you consistent prices across a body of work, which buyers and galleries like. There are two versions.

Linear inches. Add the width and height, then multiply by a rate.

24 × 36 inch painting at $10 per linear inch: (24 + 36) × $10 = $600

Square inches. Multiply width by height, then multiply by a rate.

24 × 36 inch painting at $0.75 per square inch: 864 × $0.75 = $648, rounded to $650

The two methods behave very differently as work gets bigger or smaller:

Prices in the table are rounded the same way as the calculator at the end of this page.

Area pricing climbs fast for large work and leaves small work almost free, which is why many painters use linear inches, or use area with a minimum price for small pieces. Whatever you choose, apply the same rate to all work of the same kind. Sculpture, works on paper and editions usually need their own rates.

Method 2: time and materials

This method starts from what you need to earn. Add your materials to your hours multiplied by an hourly wage.

Materials $150, plus 25 hours at $30 an hour ($750) = $900 that you need to receive

That $900 is what you keep, not the retail price. If a gallery takes 50%, the retail price has to be $900 ÷ 0.5 = $1,800. At a venue taking 40%, it would be $900 ÷ 0.6 = $1,500.

Time and materials protects you from losing money, but on its own it can produce prices the market will not pay, especially for slow, detailed work. It is most useful as a floor.

Method 3: market comparison

Look for five to ten works that are genuinely comparable to yours: similar medium, size, career stage and region, ideally shown at the kinds of galleries you show with. Note asking prices and, where you can find them, what sold.

Five comparable 24 × 36 paintings priced at $1,200, $1,400, $1,500, $1,800 and $2,200. The middle value is $1,500.

Gallery price lists, artist-run centre and co-op shows, art fairs and artists’ own websites are all fair sources. Compare with peers, not with the famous artist whose work you admire.

Putting the three together

In the examples above, one painting came out at $600 by size, $1,800 by time and materials, and $1,500 by comparison. A gap like that is useful information:

• If the size price is far below the others, your rate is too low. At $25 per linear inch, the same painting is (24 + 36) × $25 = $1,500, in line with the market.
• If time and materials is far above the market, you may be underselling your speed or spending more hours than buyers will pay for. Smaller works or editions can help.

Pick the method that suits your work, set your rates so the result sits near the market, and keep the time-and-materials figure in mind as your floor.

Keep one price everywhere

Charge the same retail price for the same work wherever it is sold: your studio, your website, a gallery, a fair. CARFAC Maritimes’ best-practice standards ask artists and galleries to agree retail prices together and keep them consistent across locations. Undercutting your gallery from your studio damages the relationship and teaches collectors to skip the gallery.

This means you set retail prices with commission in mind from the start. When you sell directly, you keep the difference. For how commissions and discounts work, see gallery commission rates and consignment agreements.

Framing. If you supply a frame, add enough to cover it after commission. A $200 frame sold through a 50% gallery needs $400 added to the retail price for you to get the $200 back.

Tax. Retail prices are quoted before GST, HST or PST.

Raising your prices

Raise prices when there is evidence for it: much of a show sells, a waiting list forms, you win a significant grant or prize, or a public collection acquires your work. Move in modest steps, such as 10 to 15 percent, and apply the new rate to all new work at once. Avoid cutting prices on existing work; it lowers the value of pieces your collectors already own. If you need something more affordable, make smaller works or editions.

A note for US readers: the methods are the same. US galleries commonly split 50/50, and sales tax rules vary by state.

The pricing calculator on this page

A pricing calculator sits on this page. It uses exactly these inputs and steps.

Inputs

1. Method: Size, linear; Size, area; or Time and materials.
2. Width and height, with a unit switch for inches or centimetres. Centimetres are divided by 2.54 to convert them to inches before any rate is applied.
3. Rate per linear inch (Size, linear), in dollars. Example value: $10.
4. Rate per square inch (Size, area), in dollars. Example value: $0.75.
5. Materials cost, hours and hourly rate (Time and materials). Example values: $150, 25 hours, $30.
6. Framing cost (optional, any method), in dollars. Default: $0.
7. Venue commission, as a percentage from 0 to 90. Default: 50.

Steps (c is the commission divided by 100)

1. Size, linear: base = (width + height) × rate per linear inch.
2. Size, area: base = width × height × rate per square inch.
3. Time and materials: base = (materials + hours × hourly rate) ÷ (1 − c).
4. Framing addition = framing cost ÷ (1 − c).
5. Retail before rounding = base + framing addition.
6. Rounding: below $1,000, round to the nearest $10; at $1,000 and above, round to the nearest $50. Halves round up.

Results shown: the suggested retail price; your share (retail × (1 − c)); the venue’s share (retail × c); and your share after paying for the frame. For a 24 × 36 inch painting at $10 per linear inch with a $200 frame and 50% commission, it shows $1,000 retail, $500 to you and $500 to the venue, or $300 after the frame.

Calculator

Work out a retail price

Method

Size, linear Size, area Time and materials

Size

Width Height

Inches Centimetres

Rate per linear inch ($) Rate per square inch ($)

Time and materials

Materials ($) Hours Hourly rate ($)

Frame and venue

Framing cost ($, optional) Venue commission (%)

Suggested retail price

$600

Your share

$300

The venue's share

$300

Your share after paying for the frame

$300

$600 base + $0 for the frame = $600 before rounding

Suggested retail price $600: $300 to you, $300 to the venue.

Frequently asked questions

What is the most common way to price paintings?

Many painters use a size formula, usually linear inches, because it gives consistent prices across a body of work. Check the result against comparable artists’ prices and your own costs.

Should my studio prices be lower than my gallery prices?

No. Keep one retail price everywhere. Selling for less from your studio undercuts your gallery and confuses collectors.

How do I account for gallery commission when pricing?

Set the retail price so that your share after commission covers your costs and time. If you need to receive $900 and the gallery takes 50%, the price is $1,800.

When should I raise my prices?

When there is evidence of demand, such as steady sales, a waiting list or a major acquisition. Raise them in modest steps and apply the change to all new work.

Sources

• Maritime Provinces Commercial Galleries and Artists, CARFAC Maritimes (pricing and commission standards). Read 2026-10-19.
• It’s Time to Rethink the 50/50 Split With Art Galleries, Damien Davis, Hyperallergic, 2025. Read 2026-10-19.