Artist growth guide
Art Commission Pricing Guide
Good commission pricing protects both the artist and the collector before the work begins.
Price the full project, not only the canvas
Commission pricing should include materials, planning time, client communication, sketches, revisions, packaging, and the opportunity cost of reserving studio time.
A simple formula is base artwork price plus complexity premium plus rush premium, then adjusted for shipping, framing, and payment fees.
Deposits and revision limits
A deposit helps confirm seriousness before the artist starts. Many artists use 30% to 50% upfront, with the balance due before shipment or final file delivery.
Set revision limits before payment. For example, include one concept round and one refinement round, then price additional changes separately.
Fee-aware examples
For a $1,200 commission sold through ArtKit, a 5% platform fee is $60. Stripe processing is typically 2.9% + 30 cents per card transaction. Payment processing is about $35.10, so the artist should account for roughly $95.10 in platform and card costs.
On a 35% commission marketplace, that same sale would cost $420. At 50%, it would cost $600. That difference is why direct commission inquiries are worth building into your own site.