How Much Do Nails Cost: Complete Pricing Guide

How Much Does a Manicure Cost?

What is the average price of a manicure in the US right now? A basic manicure, with shaping, cuticle care, and regular polish, runs $15 to $50 depending on salon tier and city. That range hasn't shifted dramatically from previous years, but it has crept upward at the bottom end as overhead rises across the industry.

This is the service every other nail treatment gets compared against. A basic manicure includes nail trimming, shaping, cuticle work, a hand soak, and polish. It does not include gel curing, acrylic building, or any spa elements. Those sit one tier up.

What you'll pay depends heavily on where you sit on a spectrum readers have described accurately online: pedicures between $25 and $35, manicures between $15 and $35. That's broadly still right for a basic service at a standard salon. Where the number shifts is location. Major metro salons routinely start manicures at $35 to $40 and climb from there, while suburban and rural salons can still offer a basic manicure under $20.

A French manicure typically adds $5 to $15 for the precision of the tip work. A spa manicure, folding in exfoliation, a hand massage, and a hydrating mask, sits at $40 to $70. For the full price ladder across every manicure type, see how much does a manicure cost.

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How Much Does a Pedicure Cost?

Most people assume a pedicure costs roughly what a manicure does. It usually costs slightly more, because pedicures take longer and involve more physical work. How much does a pedicure typically cost at a nail salon? A basic pedicure runs $25 to $50, with deluxe or spa versions climbing to $50 to $90.

That gap between basic and spa is wider than for manicures, mostly because pedicure upgrades add real time. A basic pedicure covers a foot soak, trimming and shaping, cuticle care, light callus treatment, and polish. A spa upgrade adds extended massage, paraffin treatment, and exfoliating scrubs, each adding ten to twenty minutes of work.

Gel pedicures, for the longer wear, typically add $10 to $20 over a basic pedicure, landing around $40 to $65. The added cost mirrors gel manicure pricing logic: curing time and a soak-off removal process regular polish skips entirely.

One detail that surprises first-time visitors: pedicures last longer than manicures before needing a refresh, four to six weeks against two to three. Even at a slightly higher price per visit, that spacing often makes pedicures cheaper over a year than the equivalent manicure habit. See how much does a pedicure cost for every tier in detail.

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How Much Do Nail Fills Cost?

A gel fill is a maintenance appointment where the technician applies fresh product to the regrowth area only, avoiding a full removal and reapplication. It is the single best way to stretch your nail budget, and most people who skip it are paying more than they need to. How much do nail fills cost? Fills typically run $25 to $45, considerably less than a full new set.

The logic here is straightforward. A full set, gel or acrylic, involves building or applying product across the entire nail. A fill only addresses the gap that's grown out near the cuticle, which takes less product and less time. Most nail techs price fills at 60 to 70 percent of the cost of a full set.

This is also where the annual cost conversation gets real. "fills every 3 weeks at $30 each, that's $520 a year just for maintenance" is a comment pulled almost word for word from real budgeting threads online, and the maths checks out. Seventeen fills a year at $30 lands at $510. Add a full new set once or twice annually and the real number creeps toward $600 to $700, a figure most pricing guides never show you because they only quote the price of one visit.

Skipping fills in favour of letting a set grow out and then removing it entirely is almost always the more expensive path, since full removal and reapplication costs more per session than a fill does. If a deeper dive into fill pricing and frequency is useful, see nail fills cost for the complete breakdown.

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How Much Does BIAB Cost?

BIAB (Builder in a Bottle) is a structured gel overlay applied to the natural nail and cured under LED light. It is the dominant nail service in UK and Australian salons, and its popularity in the US is climbing fast in 2026. How much does BIAB cost in the UK? Expect to pay £35 to £60 for a full BIAB application, roughly equivalent to $45 to $75 once converted.

BIAB sits in an interesting middle ground between gel polish and acrylic. It strengthens and slightly extends the natural nail without building a full sculpted tip, which makes it gentler on nail health than acrylic while lasting noticeably longer than standard gel, often three to four weeks rather than two.

That extra durability is exactly why the price sits where it does. You're paying for a product that needs fewer repeat visits, not for a more complicated application process. In the US, where BIAB is offered at fewer salons, prices skew slightly higher, often $50 to $85, partly because demand is outpacing supply at salons trained in the technique.

Removal matters here more than with regular gel, since BIAB's stronger bond means professional removal is worth the extra $10 to $20 it usually costs, rather than risking nail damage with an at-home soak-off. Our deeper guide on how much does BIAB cost covers regional pricing and what to ask for at your first appointment.

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How Much Does Dip Powder Cost?

What's the price difference between dip powder and gel nails? Dip powder typically runs $40 to $65 for a full set, sitting close to gel pricing but occasionally edging slightly higher depending on the salon and the number of dip layers applied.

Dip powder nails use a resin-and-powder bonding system instead of monomer liquid, creating a hard finish that falls between gel and acrylic in flexibility. Each nail is dipped into coloured powder several times, sealed, and buffed, a process that takes roughly the same time as a gel application but uses a different product category entirely.

"I pay $50 for a dip and it takes 45 minutes, is that right?" Yes, squarely within range. Forty-five minutes is a typical appointment length, and $50 sits comfortably in the middle of the national price band for a standard dip set without added length or art.

Dip's main selling point against gel is durability without UV exposure, since it air-dries rather than curing under a lamp. That makes it attractive to clients who want gel-like longevity, generally two to four weeks, without the lamp time. The trade-off is removal, which requires more soaking than gel and should be done professionally rather than picked off. The full pricing and removal guide lives at dip powder cost.

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What Factors Actually Affect How Much You Pay for Nails?

Why do nail salon prices vary so much between locations? Three things explain almost all of it: labour time, product cost, and rent. A salon charging $80 for the same gel manicure another salon charges $35 for isn't necessarily overcharging, it's usually paying more for the building it operates in and the experience level of the technician doing the work.

Jaime Schrabeck, owner of Precision Nails and a frequent voice on nail industry pricing, has explained the labour-cost logic that underpins most professional pricing: a technician's time is worth roughly a dollar a minute once you account for product, training, and overhead, which is the closest thing the industry has to a universal pricing principle for nail service pricing principles. A forty-five-minute acrylic application, by that logic, should clear $45 before any markup for skill or location is added.

Location premium is real and measurable. Salons in major metro areas, the kind in Manhattan or Los Angeles cited repeatedly across comparison sites, routinely charge $20 to $40 more than the national average for an identical service, purely because commercial rent in those cities runs multiples higher than in suburban or rural areas. "if you're in NYC or LA everything will cost $50 and up" reflects that reality accurately.

Technician experience matters almost as much as location. A senior technician with advanced certifications, particularly in newer systems like BIAB or intricate nail art, can reasonably charge a premium over a newer technician offering the identical base service, and most clients who pay that premium report it's worth it for precision and longevity. Whether the higher price is worth paying is a genuinely personal calculation, one we cover in detail in are expensive nail salons worth it.

Then there's the factor almost no consumer pricing guide names directly: 2026 tariff pressure on imported gel systems and acrylic powders. Industry benchmark data from Zenoti shows nail service prices rose roughly 12 percent in 2024, and supply costs have continued climbing into 2026, which means salons holding 2023 prices are likely operating at a loss on certain services. That 2026 benchmark data is worth a look if you want the fuller national picture, available through 2026 nail salon price benchmarks.

Finally, the cost you forget until checkout: tipping. How much should I tip my nail technician? In the US, 15 to 20 percent is standard and most technicians depend on it as part of their income. That alone adds $6 to $15 onto a typical $40 to $75 service, a line item that rarely appears in the price quoted online.

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How Much Do Nails Cost in the UK, Australia, and Canada?

A US guide is useless to a UK reader, and vice versa, which is exactly why every major nail pricing post online covers exactly one country. How much do nails cost in the UK versus the US? In raw currency terms, UK prices in pounds track close to US prices in dollars for equivalent services, which means the real cost, once converted, runs noticeably higher in the UK due to the stronger pound.

A basic manicure in the UK runs £18 to £40, against $15 to $50 in the US. Gel manicures sit around £30 to £50 in the UK compared with $30 to $80 in the US, and BIAB, which barely registers as a US service category, dominates UK salon menus at £35 to £60.

Australia runs higher across nearly every category once converted to local currency. A basic manicure costs A$30 to $50, gel sits at A$55 to $85, and acrylics land between A$40 and $70 for standard length, climbing to A$150 or more for extensions with detailed art. Tipping in Australia is genuinely optional, with rounding up the more common gesture than a fixed percentage.

Canada sits closest to US pricing of the four markets, with a basic manicure at $20 to $40 CAD and gel running $40 to $80 CAD depending heavily on city. Vancouver and Toronto sit at the top of that range, Montreal and smaller cities toward the bottom. Tipping in Canada mirrors the US closely, at 15 to 20 percent, and is considered standard rather than optional.

What no other guide currently covers is that US pricing itself varies as much within the country as it does between countries. State-level data shows the gap between, say, a rural Midwest salon and a Manhattan salon can be wider than the gap between the US national average and the UK national average. If state-by-state US pricing is what you need, the full table lives at nail salon cost by state, and our most-cited source for that state data comes from StyleSeat US nail price data.

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How Much Can You Save by Doing Your Nails at Home?

Is it actually cheaper to do your nails at home? Substantially, and the savings compound the longer you stick with it. A salon habit of fills every three weeks can run $500 to $700 a year. The equivalent at-home gel kit or nail wrap routine typically costs under $150 annually once you account for the initial lamp and polish investment.

The maths only works if you're consistent. A UV lamp and starter gel kit costs $40 to $80 upfront, a cost that pays for itself within two or three salon-equivalent applications. Nail wraps and press-ons run even cheaper per use, often $4 to $10 a set, though they trade some of the polish and shaping precision a trained technician brings.

"cheaper to just do them at home" is the exact phrase showing up across budgeting forums, and the instinct is correct, with one caveat. The first few attempts rarely match salon quality. Edges are less clean, gel application is uneven, and removal without proper tools risks nail damage. That gap closes with practice, usually within four or five attempts, after which most people report results close enough to professional work that the difference matters only to someone looking closely.

The honest trade-off isn't really about money, it's about what you're buying alongside the polish. A salon visit includes cuticle care, shaping expertise, and twenty minutes that double as a break from your day. An at-home routine buys back the cost difference at the price of that experience. Neither choice is wrong, but knowing the real annual number, not just the per-visit price, makes the decision an informed one rather than a guess. For a complete toolkit on cutting costs without sacrificing the result, see how to save money on nails.

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The Real Number to Walk In With

Every price in this guide is a starting point, not a ceiling. The salon down the street might quote less than the ranges above, and a boutique studio in a major city might quote considerably more, and both can be entirely fair prices for what they're delivering. What matters isn't memorising a single number. It's knowing which service you're booking, what it should cost given your location, and which extras are likely to land on the bill that the headline price never mentioned.

The reader who walked in expecting $35 and walked out $85 lighter wasn't overcharged. She was under-informed. Removal fees, length surcharges, and tips are not hidden costs in any dishonest sense, they're simply costs that rarely make it onto a salon's website. Now they're on yours.

Budget for the year, not the visit. Whatever service you choose, multiply it by how often you'll actually book it, add the tip, and that number, not the one on the menu, is the real cost of having great nails.