Illustration pricing calculator
Price a commission and its usage-rights licence: separating the making fee from the right to use it, the way the industry does.
Price the work of creating an illustration, then the right to use it.
The making fee
The labour of creating the artwork. Price it by your time, or start from the typical per-piece range for the market. A standard commission already includes first (one-time) reproduction rights. Broader use is the licence below.
Typical range, per piece: $200–$900
The usage-rights licence
How far the client may use the art: which media, how widely, for how long. Priced as a percentage of the making fee, because reach and exclusivity, not hours, drive its value.
No separate licence charge. The making fee covers this single use.
Deadline, revisions & concepts
One concept is included; each extra concept shown up front adds about 30% of the making fee.
Reach & adjustments optional
Scales the base fee for the size of the audience, editorial & advertising reach.
Quote worksheet
Online / digital media (web, apps, social)
Every figure is a range. Slide to position within it: low for emerging work or tight budgets, high for established reputation, prominence and demanding use.
- Making fee
one piece $550
range $200–$900 - Usage licence
first / one-time rights included
First / one-time rights. First / one-time rights are the baseline of a commission. The making fee already buys this single use, so there's no separate licence charge.
Licence scope
This quote covers first / one-time reproduction rights for one online / digital media (web, apps, social) use, with copyright retained by the illustrator.
Cancellation / kill fee
A cancellation fee covers work done when a job is killed through no fault of yours; a rejection fee applies if finished work doesn't meet the brief. Billing hourly? Charge the actual hours instead.
An estimate to start a negotiation, not a fixed rate, quote, or legal advice. Copyright stays with the illustrator unless explicitly transferred. Figures exclude VAT / sales tax.
Generated with the absurd.design Illustration Pricing Calculator at absurd.design/tools/illustration-pricing-calculator
A free tool for illustrators pricing their own work, and for clients, art buyers and agencies budgeting or quoting one. It spans 30+ markets, from editorial and advertising to comics, animation, game and concept art, surface design, lettering and type, separating the making fee (the labour) from the licence fee (the right to use it), which scales with reach, term and exclusivity, plus a royalty tab for product and book deals.
How illustration pricing works
Professional illustration is priced in two parts, and treating them as one number is the quickest way to under- or over-charge. The making fee covers the labour of creating the artwork: the time, craft and revisions. The licence fee is charged separately for the right to use it: where it runs, for how long, and how exclusively. This calculator keeps the two apart, the way studios, agencies and experienced illustrators quote.
Making fee vs. licence fee
The making fee answers what it cost to produce the work, and follows scope and complexity. The licence fee answers what the usage is worth to the client. A single spot illustration reused across a global ad campaign earns far more on the licence than on the making, even though the drawing took the same hours.
What scales the licence fee
Three levers move the licence. Reach is where and how widely the work appears, from a single article to worldwide advertising. Term is how long the rights run, from a few months to in perpetuity. Exclusivity is whether the client locks out competing uses, which commands a premium because you give up other income from the piece. The calculator expresses the licence as a multiple of the making fee and adjusts it as you change these.
Markets, currencies and royalties
Rate norms differ by field, so the tool spans 30+ markets (editorial, advertising and packaging, comics, animation, game and concept art, surface and pattern design, lettering and type) in 19 currencies. For product and book work, where the artwork earns per unit sold, the royalty tab estimates earnings from an advance, royalty rate and expected sales, so you can weigh a royalty against a flat licence.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between a making fee and a licence fee?
The making fee pays for the labour of creating the illustration: the time, craft and revisions. The licence fee pays separately for the right to use that artwork, covering where it appears, for how long, and how exclusively. Pricing them as one number is the most common way illustrators undercharge.
How much should I charge for an illustration commission?
It depends on the effort to make the work and the value of its usage. Estimate the making fee from the scope and complexity, then add a licence fee that scales with reach, term and exclusivity. The calculator does both, using rate norms for 30+ markets so the number lands in a defensible range.
What is a usage-rights licence?
It is the permission a client buys to use your illustration in defined ways, for example a UK social campaign for one year, non-exclusive. You keep the copyright and license specific rights. Broader reach, longer terms and exclusivity all increase what that licence is worth.
How do territory, term and exclusivity change the price?
Each widens what the client can do with the work, so each raises the licence fee. A worldwide licence costs more than a single country, a five-year term more than one year, and exclusivity (locking out competing uses) adds a premium because you forgo other income from the piece.
When should I use a royalty instead of a flat licence fee?
Flat licence fees suit campaigns and editorial use with a known scope. Royalties suit product and book deals, where the artwork earns per unit sold. The royalty tab estimates earnings from an advance, royalty rate and expected sales so you can compare the two structures.
Is the illustration pricing calculator free?
Yes. It is free to use, needs no signup, and nothing you enter leaves your browser. You can copy a scope description or share a quote link with a client.
