Esthi blog · 7 min read
Pricing a facial from competitor menus is how you stay busy and broke. The right price starts with your costs, your time, and the hourly profit you need to take home. Add-ons like LED, dermaplane, and peel boost layer on top of that — they don't fix a broken base price. Here's the framework, with a free facial pricing calculator you can run alongside this article.
Free tool
Strip away the menu language and a defensible facial price is just:
Facial price ≥ product cost + supply cost + room cost + processing fee + (target hourly profit × booked hours)
"Booked hours" matters because a 60-minute facial usually takes 75 minutes by the time you account for setup, intake, and cleanup. Skip that and your effective hourly is wrong before you start. Use the facial pricing calculator to keep the math honest.
Three inputs hide most underpriced facials:
Most solo estheticians with $12–$18 in costs and a $75–$95 target hourly profit land between $130 and $165 for a base facial. Suite-based providers in metro areas with stronger demand routinely go higher. None of those numbers are right for you until your math says so.
The bigger lesson: ranges are useful for sanity-checking, not for setting price. Set price from your numbers, then check the result against the local market.
Add-ons should clear your hourly target on their own time. LED that takes 15 extra minutes should earn at least your target hourly × 0.25 in profit after product cost. Below that, the add-on is dragging your effective hourly down even when the bundled price looks higher.
The facial pricing calculator returns incremental profit and incremental hourly for each add-on so you can spot the ones that aren't pulling their weight.
Re-run the math every 6–12 months and after any meaningful change to backbar cost, rent, processing fees, or your skill level. If your effective hourly is below 70% of target, you're underpriced even on a busy week. Communicate increases with a clear effective date, update your booking site, and don't apologize for getting paid for your work.
Run the base + add-on math from this article on your own numbers.
Get a real product cost per treatment before pricing the facial.
Calculators, the long-form pricing guide, and templates in one place.
The full pricing framework, mistakes to avoid, and signals to raise prices.
It depends on your costs, time, and target hourly. With $15 in costs, a 75-minute booked hour, and an $80/hr target, $95 leaves about $60 of profit at roughly $48/hr effective — underpriced. Run your numbers in the calculator before defending a price.
Give a clear effective date, keep the message short, and don't list every cost. Rising product costs, continued education, and the quality of care are the three reasons that read calmly. Loyal clients will follow.
Both work as long as each clears your hourly target. Built-in add-ons simplify the booking experience; optional add-ons capture upgrade revenue from clients who specifically want it. The bundled view in the calculator shows whether the bundled price still hits target.