Every service you perform uses your time, and your time has a cost. If you don’t know what your hour is worth, you tend to charge too little and work too much for too little. The good news: the math is simple.
The three numbers you need
- The income you want per month (your “salary”).
- Your fixed expenses per month: what you pay even if you see no clients (see the list in fixed costs for freelance nail techs).
- The hours you work per month: working days × hours per day.
The formula
A practical example
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Income you want | 3,000 |
| Fixed expenses | 800 |
| Days × hours per day | 22 × 6 = 132 h |
| Hourly cost | 3,800 ÷ 132 ≈ 28.79 |
That means every hour of work must bring in at least 28.79 for you to cover expenses and reach the income you want. Below that, the numbers don’t close.
A common mistake: counting too many hours
Of 8 hours at the salon, not all are appointments. There is setup, sterilizing tools, answering messages and waiting for late clients. Use the hours you actually sell. If you work 8 hours but see clients for 5, use 5. That keeps your hourly cost, and your prices, realistic.
What to do with this number
It is the base for pricing any service: multiply your hourly cost by the service time, add materials and then your profit margin. The full walkthrough is in how to price your nail services.
Prefer not to do it by hand? The free calculator does it in seconds, and the Successful Manicure app stores your hourly cost and applies it to each service you register.
