In this article I’m going to do something that some of my friends warn me not to because they are so darn practical:
I’m going to tell all. Oh My God, I’m sharing with the entire world our pricing structure for wall murals. (Subject to increase by 10% every year…)
Why would I do something so daring and crazy, you ask? Because that’s what my blog is all about – uniting artists and sharing information so that we all can be successful and live the dream life.
In a second follow-up article, I’m going to give you our “secrets” for making mural clients so happy that they scream from their rooftops “Use this artist for your next project. She’s/He’s the BEST!”
But first, I’ll go over the money part – because for me, money is important. I love to eat good food and travel. And for some strange reason, it costs money to do that. 🙂
WHY IT’S IMPORTANT TO DEVELOP A STRUCTURED PRICE SHEET
You should have a detailed mural pricing structure in writing. And if you don’t have one already, you can use mine as a guide.
Determining what to charge for a wall mural can be tricky. But once you get a structure in place, pricing murals will be a smooth process.
This month we have two large murals that Drew has been commissioned to paint. One of the murals is for a new store called Yogurt Wave. We flew mural expert, Katie Staib, down from Spokane Washington to help make it look great.
The owners, Kerry and Tommy, contacted Drew because his fun style attracts young people that are into action sports, which is their target market.
Their first question was “what will it cost to have Drew paint a 46’ foot mural?” In just a few short minutes, I was able to give them a quote thanks to my nicely organized price sheet.
One of the most common challenges for artists is determining what to charge for a project. Developing a structure & system will make it so much easier for you.
Our current system is working well for us and our clients understand it. But there may be alternative ways to do it, so if you know of a better system, please share in the comments!
HOW TO DEVELOP YOUR PRICE SHEET
Your mural price sheet should be structured in a way that makes sense and that enables you to easily determine what you will charge based on size of the mural.
We charge approx. $25.00 – $35.00 per square foot with a minimum of 160 square feet. Knowing this makes it easy to establish pricing based on various sizes.
Below is a copy of the price sheet that we give to people prior to a written proposal.
Giving a client a price sheet:
- Weeds out the people who can’t afford you (so you don’t waste your time or theirs); and
- Demonstrates your professionalism. People tend to feel better about handing you a big check when they think you know what you’re doing.
Keep in mind, our pricing may be considered high by some standards and very low by others. We know of many artists that charge a lot more than we do. And then there are some that are charging half of what we do.
HOW MUCH $$$ YOU CHARGE IS RELATIVE TO: your experience, where you are located (some places are cheaper to live than others) and supply and demand of your art.
You are welcome to copy and paste the form below and adjust it accordingly for your own use.
OR buy my Mural Pricing and Proposal Package HERE (it will save you years of agony having a TEMPLATE on a mural proposal!)
SAMPLE MURAL PRICING SHEET
Minimum Price: Murals sized 0 to 160 Square Feet: Price is $5,600
Pricing starts at $35 per square foot and decreases with increased size of mural; at 290 sf price drops to $32/sf – at 500 sf drops to $30/sf – at 900 sf price drops to $28/sf.
(Square Foot is determined by multiplying the height x width of the painting surface)
*Price per square foot may increase if design requested is complex. This will be indicated in price quote and determined at the time that the final sketch is approved.
SAMPLE PRICING, per square foot:
| Prices per Unit Size (sample sizes) | ||
| DIMENSIONS | ²AREA | PRICE |
| Up to 10ft. x 16ft. | 160ft. | $5,600.00 |
| 11ft. x 16ft. | 176ft. | $6,160.00 |
| 12ft. x 20ft. | 240ft. | $8,400.00 |
| 13ft. x 20ft. | 260ft. | $9,100.00 |
| 14ft. x 21ft. | 294ft. | $9,410.00 |
| 15ft. x 23ft. | 345ft. | $11,040.00 |
| 17ft. x 26ft. | 442ft. | $14,144.00 |
| 18ft. x 28ft. | 504ft. | $15,120.00 |
| 19ft. x 30ft. | 570ft. | $17,100.00 |
| 20ft. x 31ft. | 620ft. | $18,600.00 |
| 25ft. x 39ft. | 975ft. | $27,300.00 |
| 28ft. x 44ft. | 1232ft. | $34,500.00 |
Non-Refundable Design/Sketch Fee: $2500.00 – Includes up to 2 sets of changes by client (Additional sketches charged at $250/sketch)
In my Mural Pricing and Proposal Package I also tell you how to handle and what to charge $ for:
- Travel fees
- Liability Insurance
- Unexpected changes to the art
- Adverse conditions on the surface of the wall (i.e. it’s not “paint ready”)
- Payment terms: How much $$$ to ask for UP FRONT before starting the sketch process and when the balance is due
- MORE things you never thought of!
PRICE SHEET EXPLANATION
Every detail and *caveat on the price sheet is necessary and came from us learning the hard way. Below are a few points and for ALL of the info get my Proposal Package:
Pricing Structure: I’ve talked to mural artists who charge $40 – $50 a square foot. For us, a starting price of approx. $35 per square foot works, because Drew is extremely efficient and gets a project completed rather quickly.
- You might charge less if you’re new at it or if you live in a low cost-of-living area, or
- You might charge more if you are very experienced or in high demand, or live in a high cost-of-living area (like New York or LA).
Minimum Price: We charge a minimum for small murals under 160 square feet because it’s a lot of work and time to set up at a location. It’s not worth it for us to have Drew go out to paint a small mural and only be paid a couple thousand dollars. You may want to adjust this number up or down, depending upon where you are in your career.
Realistically, for murals smaller than 160 sf, an artist is better off painting an original painting in their studio. It’s easier and doesn’t require travel or set up someplace else. The upside for the client is a piece of art that they can remove from the wall if they move, or that they can resell if they want to later.
Non-Refundable Design (Sketch) Fee: Every mural we do is designed on paper first. We offer the client the ability to pay just for the sketches first, because sometimes a client isn’t sure if you can do what it is that they want.
If they don’t like your design or decide not to use your services after all, they only lose the money they paid for the sketch fee and you are at least paid for your time to sketch it for them. We don’t sketch out anything without the design fee because it’s a lot of work. Just meeting with the person to discuss what they want can take a couple hours. You want to make sure that you are paid for that time.
Why You Should Limit the Number of Sketches: We have a limit of up to 3 sketches (2 sets of changes) and then charge for each additional sketch beyond that. When you do this, your client will be motivated to be very specific about what they want. If you don’t limit the number of sketches, they will just go on and on with changes. Trust me on this!
Wall Preparation: So far, we’ve never had to charge additional fees for wall prep. We’ve only had brand new walls to paint. But if Drew arrived at a location and the walls were in bad shape, we have this caveat in the price quote so that we can charge extra for getting the wall paint-ready.
Payment Terms: This is very Important! We require 50% of the total amount 2 weeks prior to the scheduled start date. This allows us to block out 5 or more days on the calendar (thus not accepting other projects for those days) and to purchase the necessary materials prior to the painting.
Paying a deposit is also a psychological thing with your client – you want to train them to view you as a professional who expects prompt payment, and they are fully committed when they pay half up front.
If you are just building your portfolio, there are other ways to handle the deposit, and I tell you how in my Mural Pricing and Proposal Package.
THE BALANCE is due on the last day of the painting. This is because I personally hate chasing money. I want to be paid and done with a job when it’s finished. Also, I have to pay our assistant on that last day as well. And if you know anything about me by reading my posts, you know that I got out of the Art Banking business years ago!
PROPOSAL PROCESS
When we get a call from someone interested in a mural painting, our process is:
1.) E-mail them the pricing sheet above. This is so that from the very beginning, your client knows your general pricing and they can determine if it’s in their price range.
2.) Gather details about the mural, such as: Height and Width of the proposed mural, physical location, the shape that the wall is in, and what design they want. (I ask the client for this – we rarely go out to see the mural space until after we know it’s a “go”.)
3.) Based on the information provided above, then I’ll write up and e-mail a written proposal. (My Mural Proposal Template available HERE)
Throughout the process I will verbally clarify, up front, how we work (meaning our payment policies). I’ll usually say: “We will begin the sketch process once you pay your Sketch fee. The fee includes up to 3 sketches, so please be as specific as you can about what you want. A 50% deposit is due 2 weeks before the painting begins. The mural will take approximately 5 days (or however many). We plan to work from 9-5 daily. Your final payment is due on the day it’s finished.”
Being clear and direct helps to prevent misunderstandings later. I don’t like surprises, especially when it comes to money. That’s why I’m so specific in both my written agreements and my verbal discussions with clients. Everything goes better that way, and clients appreciate knowing what to expect.
GIVING A DEAL/PRICE BREAK
Your client may ask for a deal on price. Sometimes it’s reasonable to give a small discount or freebie to a returning client.
For new clients: If it seems like it’ll be a less complicated design, sometimes I’ll offer to deduct their sketch fee from the mural price. Basically I’m waiving the sketch fee, but I still require a payment prior to the sketch process.
You could also offer to lower the per-square-foot fee if the mural is going to be very simple and easy, say, like a basic design. On the other hand, if the design they want is extremely detailed, you should consider increasing the per square foot fee.
ONCE THE SKETCH PROCESS IS COMPLETE
After we get the sketch drawn out, and the client is ready to move forward, we ask for 50% down and we schedule the dates that the painting will take place.
Typically Drew can get a mural completed in 5-7 days. Using a system of gridlines and efficiency, along with the help of an assistant, most murals, even very large ones, can be completed in that time frame.
In the end, the most important thing is to make sure that your client is extremely happy with your work. Read my article “Painting a Wall Mural – Ten Ways to Please Your Client” on how to make your client so pleased, that they are screaming your name from their rooftops!
SAMPLE WALL MURAL PROPOSAL TEMPLATE:
Artist’s Wall Mural Proposal Template Package
I hope this has been helpful to you. Please let me know in the comments below. (Or share your suggestions on how to make the mural pricing process better).
AND: Sign up for my informative Newsletters! In every newsletter I send by email you get FREE art business strategy coaching – my gift to you for being on my e-mail list!
Because of my freakish nature of ruminating over every little detail, it takes me hours to write these articles, and if I know that I’m helping people, I will keep on doing it!
AND, IF YOU WANT A PROFESSIONAL PROPOSAL PROCESS and TEMPLATE, check out this awesome package I created that has helped hundreds of artists proposal and price out murals:
Artist’s Wall Mural Proposal Template and Price Sheet
Luv, Maria xxoo
517 Responses
I am blown away by your willingness to share your prices and give all this wonderful advice. I have painted murals along with other projects and like many I have grossly underpriced myself. Your encouragement not to “bet oneself up” over what seems to be a loss is refreshing. Experience and a lesson learned is how I choose to view them from now on. I too, thank you for your article and help. After homeschooling two sons, I’m ready to get out there and make a living and be a blessing bringing joy through art. Thanks again!
I am just getting started in Southern Florida and found you blog very helpful. Thanks so much for your time,
Dorisann
Your blog has just freed me up. I have been asked to design for fabrics for run way and had no idea as an artist and an architect how to move forward.
Therefore I was lost.
Reading this has shown me that I need not fear using my design collections with a tight clear agreement, royalties with an advance sounds wise.
Pricing sheet is a little difficult as they will be computer designs done too.
But the architectural sketches are really the ones that differ, so I will focus on producing those and moving them forward for the fabric designs.
I guess royalties will be based on gross sales in all outlets and not net sales.
Kind regards,
And thank you for sharing.
Mubo.
Wow thank you for this. I have painted murals for some time now and I hate this part of the process. This has helped me a lot and I am certainly going to put it to use. Thank you so much for sharing!!
one greatful thank to u, ur sharing has helped a lot.
i am going to help my sister try to build up a business of mural.
she is really good at drawing and designing.
hopefully we will go well.
we r in sydney, australia. i think i will need to get some further info about price. cause diff country, right?
Thanks for the info you are awesome. Ive always had issues pricing on murals, this helped me so much thanks again
Hi Maria, Just wanted to let you know I found your article very informative an I feel it will help me greatly in starting my business. Your experience and advise is greatly appreciated and I look forward to reading other newsletters. Thank you again 🙂
I have been in the business for 17 years, and applaud your sound advice. It was also nice to hear my own business practices reaffirmed, too! Nicely done.
Thank you so much!
Thank you soooo very much! I’m starting an inner-city mural-making program and these are the exact questions that I struggled with answering. You are a saint!
Hi, I’m on the San Francisco Peninsula and looking to commission a very large mural on a retaining wall of one of our buildings. Was curious to price it out to tell my boss what we’re looking at price-wise so as not to get sticker shock later. This is so helpful! Now we can actually budget for it. Thank you very much! Cheers.
Hi, Thank you for this very detailed explanation for pricing. I have just started up and have a potential first client soon and I was really unsure of pricing. I’m not sure I would feel comfortable charging as much as you do as I am starting up but its a good base to go on. Also, your willingness to share your contracts on here is so so helpful. I dreaded trying to write up a contract with nothing to go off, this gives a really good basis to go on and adapt to my own skills and experience. Thanks again, Lisa (London based artist)
I AM STOKED! I just placed my first ad on CLto actually get PAID for mural painting. my wall are full and i’ve done much art, large art at our new baby, THE LUSTY AXLE bar and grill..I got an offer to bid almost immediately for a Thai restaurant and 2kids rooms. FREAKED OUT>>NO IDEA what to charge or say …absolutely NO clue and am now feeling on TOP OF THE WORLD! I love LOVE LOVE painting for my friends and family because of the sheer joy..the squeal …LOVE IT ..now I’m gonna get PAID to do that
THANK THAnK THANK YOU
This was very informative. I’m just starting out with this and that was my number one question: How do I know how much to charge? I will be following your Newsletter. Thanks again!
i do murals how can i get jobs
new to this trying to learn as much as possible. Have modeled much of my contracting after your s. I appreciate your willingness to help others.
Do you include the paint prices in your “flat fees” per foot,or are are they added later or separately?
I am just starting my 4th mural…so far, all have been community projects…this one is a gift…but I do plan to do them in the future.
Your BLOG is so incredibly helpful!!
Cheers, Carol
Carol, thanks for the comment! Yes, our prices include all materials. However, you can do it any way you wish. If you want to carve the prices out for materials and have the client pay for it separately, that works.
Thanks for your help….
I love your philosophy in sharing ideas. So many artists seem to hide away in fear of giving somebody else the advantage but I have long felt that the only way of getting along is by helping others, so thank you. This article has been very useful!
This was great thank you!
this is great information. Thank you!
I setting up the “Business” end of my business. I see your pricing does not include liability insurance. Dont you just carry an umbrella policy of a couple of million on your business? If not, now do you handle this? Thank you.
Great article, I been wondering about the liability insurance, last year I paid my own and is expensive, I only needed it for three month project but had to pay for one year! Who in these cases covers the liability insurance or do youz get it per job? Or does client pay for it? And then what about when you bring on other artists? How do they get it as well?
Thanks Maria for the information!! Please answer Martin´s Post. If the liability is not included in the price, how you charge it.
Martin, see this page: http://www.decorativeartisans.org/
http://www.decorativeartisans.org/?page=LiabilityInsurance
thank you so much for writing this and other posts! I’m a freelance artist just starting out having (sort of!) fallen into it, and I have been really fumbling about in the dark!
Found this article very helpful I am just starting out doing murals and was unsure about the process. It explains a lot and even confirmed some problems I had had with some clients with small web designs Thanks
I am a graphic designer and artist/painter as well. I will ne starting my first mural soon and this post was more then helpful!!! Thank you very much
O also on my first mural, i will be painting a very simple 2 color mural of the clients logo and then have a few walls with various sizes .. Should I charge a fixed price?? The other walls will be at my creative disposal to paint what ever i want.. Whats your advice on charging?? Tank you so much in advance!!!
Maria,
Thank you so Much!
I have been doing commision artwork for people for years and have always had a HELL of a time with pricing. I have recently been comissioned to do a 20′ x 60′ mural for our local soccer club. (it started out 40×80′!) After reading your blog (and a few other mural artists pages) I felt a lot more confident about the quoting process. I am going to be painting on MDO with house paint in the background (donated) and Golden Acrylics for the design and then installing it on the building. Unfortunatley our town is lower income so I will be charging less than you, but I figure this will be a great job to put in my portfolio. ( I am charging $25/sqft)
And it will give me a decent paycheck for doing something I love!
Thank you again!
Sandy
This site is excellent for me and you guys will be mentioned through my success, thank you much!
Thank you for helping other artists with your candor – pricing is one of the toughest choices to make as a creative!
very helpful. if a wall isn’t white, does drew prime it or paint it white before he starts his mural?
You have been sent from above, thank you thank you thank you!!
Thank you for being so open with your pricing structure! It’s fabulous to see all the comments posted and to know that others are experiencing exactly the same thing I am. I have been painting murals as a side job since the early 1990’s and have NEVER charged even close to what I should. I keep taking on jobs for clients that have a small budget thinking that I will get a “big” break and a mural business will take off. In some ways it has since I have been getting new and repeat clients by word of mouth only, but haven’t charged nearly enough to make it worth my while to quit my full time job. I’m finally to the point where I really would like to quit my full time job and start painting for a living. I believe that by using your pricing as a guideline and marketing myself through a website, I feel confident I could make things work. Thank you soooo much and I wish you all the best!
Very interesting. How did you go about getting your clientele?
Thanks you are very generous and kind for sharing
great advice
It is a kind and thoughful person who shares information without asking for anything in return; wishing you great success always!
THOUGHTFUL!!
HEY THATS NICE THANK U DO U HAVE OTHER PRICE QUALTS FOR A LESSER SQUAR FEET
PRICE
Thanks so much for sharing this information. I’m about to do my first mural (for a business owned by a friend) and I had no idea where to begin with baseline per sf pricing. I’m in Memphis, TN – a much more depressed economy than where you are – so I know my prices will have to be much, much lower. That said, I’m moving this winter to Austin, so now I know how to adjust my prices accordingly! Thanks again!
hello im zhayde and i would like to see if i can send you one of my wall murals that i did for my niece funny thing is it was just a project now people around the neighborhood want one and i just would like to know what you think i’m worth please and thank you
This is great advise, thank you for sharing your wisdom and experience.
I’m based in England but found your blog very useful as I am considering starting my own Art/Mural business. It has helped me to work out how to price without getting ripped off Thank you.
I really enjoyed reading this, thank you, and it was very good reading this after experiencing a client from hell! (Due to the urgency of their job I didn’t do my usual thing of taking a 50% deposit up front – etc.). My question is – what do you think it’s fair to pay an assistant given your pricing structure? I tried to get an assistant on my last job and the guy I asked wasn’t available, I had an idea of what to pay him but wonder how you price this?
Thanks!
Lauren, great question! We pay Drew’s assistants based on their experience. For someone with no experience, usually $10 / hour. For someone with experience, $30/hour or more.
Thanks Maria, that’s very helpful! I was going to pay him $10 per hour – don’t think he’s done a mural before.
i am an artist i do paintings murals mosaics woodinlayworks
stainedglass
sculptures
+91 9242370274
creativeworks07@gmail.com
How amazing of you to do this! This has been so helpful!
Thank you for sharing this valuable information! PS. Love following your adventures on Instagram 😉
A few commenters seemed concerned about getting stuffed on the final payment, or having the check bounce. Perhaps in the contact it could say that final payment be made in cash or cashiers check? Something like that. I’m just researching having a mural done and I know I can’t afford you! But kudos for you on your professionalism.
Hey, I think your site might be having browser compatibility issues.
When I look at your blog in Ie, it looks fine but when opening in Internet Explorer,
it has some overlapping. I just wanted to give you a
quick heads up! Other then that, very good blog!
I see this post was originally written in 2010…it’s amazing how helpful your information continues to be. THANK YOU you are a friend to all artist.
Hey there maria,i stubled across your article while looking for a good paint source here in australia for painting wall murals obviously all airbrush work,i have been using auto paints for years now only because i do alot of different services,i am currently looking for a water-based paint to use for my wall mural work….anyway would like to say thank you for the great info in your article and love ya work:)
Maria,
Wow! what a wonderful asset you have created here…Thank you! I have Been painting giant murals recently but have been donating them, im currently painting a giant grain silo that measures 100ft tall x 118ft wide, its a series of cylinders connected to each other, im donating this one as well… I know the cost of materials but have no clue as how to price this sort of project in terms of labor… any suggestions ? I will be painting more murals of this size and plan to charge.
thank you,
Rick Sinnett