Many people often have no idea how much "graffiti art" costs and often underestimate the cost of having professional graffiti/street art commissioned. Hiring a graffiti artist should be no different than hiring a fine artist to create a large scale mural with a brush. In my opinion, aerosol art is not formally taught in art schools and those with this rare talent should actually be charging a premium. Graffiti and the medium of spray paint is one of the newest form art that came out of our generation and I can guarantee we will learn about it as a movement in future art history books. After reviewing countless companies throughout the world, we were able to create an industry rate card. Of course, pricing will always vary depending on the area that you are working in and how well known/established you are as an artist. For the most part, you should be able to use the following pricing structure for the United States:
The majority of companies typically charge by the square footage that they are covering:
Low Detail (1-2 Colors and traditional graffiti)
Prices in $USD
Up to 150 sq. ft. at $30/sq. ft.
Rates may decrease as coverage increases
See examples directly below
The majority of companies typically charge by the square footage that they are covering:
Low Detail (1-2 Colors and traditional graffiti)
Prices in $USD
Up to 150 sq. ft. at $30/sq. ft.
Rates may decrease as coverage increases
See examples directly below
Medium Detail (Vector based, full color graphics)
Prices in $USD
Up to 150 sq. ft. at $50/sq. ft.
Rates may decrease as coverage increases
See examples directly below
High Detail (Photorealism)
Prices in $USD
Up to 150 sq. ft. at $75/sq. ft.
Rates may decrease as coverage increases
See examples directly below
Sales Tax: In the United States, graffiti artwork is subject to sales tax in states like New York (even if you are hiring artists for a live event.) There are exceptions when the artwork is part of a capital improvement project. I would double check with your accountant as these laws vary on a state by state basis.
Sketches: Every company has their own ways of dealing with the sketch process. Most will charge for a sketch or only begin working on sketches with a deposit. With established companies like Graffiti USA and Graffiti Life (UK), they have an extensive portfolio of work over the years that can be browsed for references. The industry standard seems to be that up to 2-3 rounds of sketches are inclusive of the price and there is a charge for additional sketches.
Why is it so expensive?
Currently, graffiti artists are very high in demand and the rates are not much different from traditional mural art. For comparison, we also found a recent/similar article by Maria Brophy on pricing a wall mural (using brush.) All of the companies that we have ranked are professional agencies that are fully insured with reliable testimonials and case studies. A lot of time goes into the creative process from the concepts and sketching to the revisions to obtaining the proper supplies and then finally creating the artwork, documenting, etc.