One of the trickiest parts of an art career isn’t the painting, sculpting, or creating—it’s deciding what to write on the price tag. Many artists use square-inch pricing as their baseline, and it’s a smart approach. It creates consistency, helps with predictability, and keeps prices aligned across a body of work. But if you stop there, you’ll run into one big issue: awkward numbers.
Why Clean Numbers Matter
Imagine walking into a gallery and seeing a painting priced at $438.20. It feels strange. Even if the math checks out, it doesn’t inspire confidence. Collectors expect polish, and clean numbers—ending in a 5 or 0—signal professionalism.
Clarity matters. When someone is making an emotional, often substantial purchase, the last thing you want is for the price to feel like it came from a spreadsheet rather than a confident market decision.
The Psychology of Price Breaks
Numbers also carry weight beyond math. For decades, retailers have used “just under” pricing: $199 instead of $200, $2,950 instead of $3,000. Even in higher price brackets, buyers respond to that small psychological difference.
It’s not about tricking collectors—it’s about aligning with how humans naturally perceive value. A subtle break under a round figure can feel more approachable while still honoring the value of your work.
A Practical System
To keep things consistent, set rules for rounding your prices:
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Under $1,000: Round to the nearest $5. Example: $438 becomes $435.
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$1,000–$2,500: Round to the nearest $50. Example: $1,237 becomes $1,250.
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Above $2,500: Round to the nearest $100. Example: $2,940 becomes $2,900.
This keeps your pricing clean and easy to manage, without endless overthinking.
When Formulas Break Down
Square-inch pricing is an excellent foundation, but it has limits. Very small works sometimes need a minimum “floor” price, regardless of formula, to reflect effort and presentation. Very large works may need to be capped so they remain competitive in the market. The key is to keep the overall system consistent, but allow for occasional adjustments at the extremes.
The Bigger Picture
Ultimately, pricing is about more than numbers—it’s about positioning. Clean, confident pricing shows buyers you know the value of your work and understand the market. A predictable system saves you from agonizing over each piece and makes your portfolio look cohesive.
In short: use square-inch pricing to establish a baseline, then round to professional, approachable numbers. It’s a small change that can make a big difference in how collectors perceive your art.
In Feng Shui, the most auspicious numbers are 3 and 8. This suggests to use those digits in your prices: $300, $800, $380, etc.
I’ve used square inch pricing now for years and until the pandemic, and annually increased either 5 or 10 percent (depending on how the economy was going). But with the pandemic, my increasing paused. I edged it up 5% last year but all sales have literally stopped since February of this year. Income continues through teaching workshops and private student classes. I don’t think my work has decreased in value or quality at all. Working on expanding my representation further from home now. But the additional cost of doing that will require that I bump pricing up probably an additional 20 or 25% depending on if I have to ship (ridiculously expensive) or can deliver personally.
Linear pricing (H x W) is my preferred method because of consistency.
I use a combination of linear pricing and Square inch pricing….at larger sizes linear pricing seems more reasonable, at smaller sizes I preference square inch pricing
I use square inch pricing with a rate that decreases with size. Then add the cost of mats and frames (plus 20%). I do round up to the nearest $5. I will keep the other numbers in mind for when I create a $1,000 piece.
Jason- this is a life-saver.
I spare us all my shameful horror story of spreadsheets gone awry with a category and multiplier for every eventuality. One day it dawned on me that there were people who knew how to do pricing. Since they were successful at it, —.
I’ve never looked back and I don’t hesitate to come up with a price. (That in itself is seriously huge.)
I now know what it costs (ball-park) to deliver a gallery ready piece, what the estimated calculated net to me is, and, (if my research is accurate), where I sit in the market.
Yes-I still use a spreadsheet but only as the calculator and “price list”. The final column is in bold large type and contains the price. . The rounding rule is in full effect prior.
I check my visceral reaction to the number but am learning to leave it alone. I’m not the prospective buyer eventhough I love my work.
Thank you Jason for your expertise, life lessons, and indefatigable energy to help us artists and your collectors feel confidently good about their art works.
In the early days, when I started selling my work in the street, there was no Zelle, Cash Apps, Venmo, etc., etc. . It was cash and only cash. As a result, everything end with an even number followed by “0”, $200, $220, $240, $260, $280, by adopting this combination, it was easier to complete a transaction, without the need of giving change.
Art is not a toaster competing for shelf space by creating the illusion of value through fractional pricing. To price it such is insulting the client. i have actually seen it tried and watched clients walk away instantly. This holds true at all levels of the art market from 50.00 to 50,000,000 dollars. Wealth does not express itself 5 cents at a time!
Thank you, Jason, for your knowledge and sharing generosity. Every bit of good advice is a gift in this business of creativity. And these are tough times, starting with the pandemic, continuing through Hurricane Ian, and now with the assault on the arts. I just keep painting in hopes that I can make it through.😊
To have consistency among my artwork sizes, I use the addition method: (H + W) x rate. It provides a linear pricing, compared to the square inch method that provides an exponential pricing.
Does this indicate that pricing under $1,000 should end in $5, pricing from $1,000 -$2,500 should end in $50, and pricing above $2,500 should end in the nearest $100? So for pricing under $1,000 should not end in $0?
Thank you for posting this, I am going to try it out with my jellyfish lamps and see if it increases sales since they’re my only item outside the $1000 – $2000 rule.