How to Show Prices on a Service Menu: Set Price, Starts At, Varies or Free

A client scrolling your page at 11 at night has one question before they book: what is this going to cost me? If your service menu answers it clearly, they pick a time. If it says "call for pricing," a lot of them close the tab and book with whoever did answer it.

The trouble is that not every service has one neat price. A men's cut is a men's cut. A color correction depends on what walks in the door. A deep clean depends on the house. So the real question isn't only "should I show prices," it's how to show each price honestly, so the client knows what to expect and you still get paid fairly for the work.

This guide covers the four ways to show a price on a service menu, when to use each one, wording you can copy, and a full example menu. At the end, we'll show how to set it up on Utilica.

Should I put prices on my website?

For most service businesses, yes. A price on the menu does three jobs at once:

• It answers the first question. People who can't see a price often don't ask. They just leave.
• It sorts your clients for you. Someone who sees $180 for a full set and books anyway has already said yes to $180. You skip the back-and-forth in your DMs.
• It saves your time. Every "how much for…" message you don't have to answer is time back in your chair.

The usual worry is "if I post my prices, people will shop me on price alone." Some will. But a client who would leave over $10 was going to leave at the chair, too, and that's a more awkward place to find out. A clear menu lets people who value your work find you, and lets the others move on without costing you a consultation.

The other worry is "my prices depend on the client." That's fair, and it's exactly why you don't need one fixed number on everything. You can be clear about a price without pretending every job is the same. That's what the four price types are for.

What are the ways to show a price on a service menu?

There are really only four. Pick one per service, not one for your whole menu.

A good menu usually mixes them. A barber might have nine set prices and one "price varies" for a big transformation. A dog groomer might put "starts at" on almost everything, because a Great Pyrenees and a Yorkie are not the same afternoon.

When should I use a set price?

Use a set price whenever the work takes about the same time and the same products every time. It's the clearest thing you can show, and clear is what gets people to book.

Men's cut, 45 min, $45. Cut, wash and style.

If you find yourself writing "from" on a service that almost always ends up at the same number, drop the "from." It makes the price feel slippery when it doesn't need to.

What does "starting at" pricing mean?

"Starting at" (or "from") means the number shown is the lowest the service costs, and some clients will pay more. You'll also see it written as "$120+" on salon price lists. Both mean the same thing.

It works well when the extra cost comes from something the client already knows about themselves: hair length and thickness, the size of their dog, how many rooms they have. It works badly when the client has no idea which end they'll land on, because then the "from" price feels like bait.

The fix is to say what moves the price. One short line does it:

Balayage, from $180. Includes toner and blow-dry. Longer or thicker hair may take more time and product, and the price goes up with it. We'll confirm before we start.

Full groom, from $65. Price depends on size and coat condition. Matted coats take longer.

Full set (classic lashes), from $120. Hybrid and volume sets cost more.

Two rules keep "starting at" pricing fair:

1. The starting price should be a price people really pay. If almost nobody gets the "from" price, raise it.
2. Tell them before you start, not after. "This is going to be $210 with your length, are you good with that?" takes ten seconds and keeps the trust you built with the menu.

How do I word "price varies" on a menu?

Some work can't be priced from a menu. A color correction can be two hours or two days. A tattoo depends on size, placement and detail. A move-out clean depends on what the last tenant left behind. For these, a made-up number does more harm than good.

"Price varies" is honest, but on its own it reads like "too expensive to say." Pair it with what happens next, so the client knows how they'll get a real number.

Color correction, price varies. Every correction is different. Book a time and we'll look at your hair, talk through the plan and give you a price before any work starts.

Custom tattoo, price varies. Priced by size, placement and detail. Your deposit holds the time and comes off the final price.

Move-out clean, price varies. Priced by size and condition of the home. We'll confirm the total after the walk-through.

If you can give a rough range, it often helps ("most corrections are $250 to $500"). Only do it if the range is true for most of your clients.

Should consultations be free?

A free consult makes sense when it's short and it leads to a bigger booking: a color consult before a big change, a patch test before lashes, an intro call before a training package. Listing it as its own service, with "Free" in the price spot, makes it easy to book and shows people there's a no-pressure first step.

Color consult, 15 min, Free. Bring photos of what you like. We'll talk through options and give you a price.

If consults eat hours of your week and rarely turn into bookings, charge a small amount and take it off the service. That's a business decision, not a rule.

How to price your services in the first place

The wording only matters if the number underneath it works. A simple way to check each price:

1. Add up your costs for one appointment. Product, supplies, booth rent or overhead for the hours it takes, and card fees.
2. Decide what your time is worth per hour. Not what you'd like to earn someday. What you need to earn now, after costs.
3. Multiply by how long the service really takes. Including setup, cleanup and the chat at the end.
4. Look at what others near you charge, then place yourself on purpose. If you're newer, you might sit a bit lower. If your book is full for three weeks, that's a sign your price is too low.

Then check how long each service actually runs. If "full set" is listed as 2 hours but always runs 2.5, your price and your schedule are both off.

How to write a service menu people actually read

A few habits make any menu easier to book from:

• Name services the way clients say them. "Men's cut," not "Gentleman's Grooming Experience." People scan for words they'd type.
• Put the length on every service. Clients plan their day around it.
• One line for what's included. "Cut, wash and style." "Includes toner." "Nails and ears included."
• Group related services together. Cuts with cuts, color with color, add-ons at the end.
• Keep it short. If you have 40 services, most clients can't find the one they want. Fold the rare ones into "price varies" or a consult.
• Say which days a service is offered if it isn't every day. Nothing is worse than a client choosing a service and then finding no open times.

Example service menu (salon)

Here's a full menu using all four price types. Copy it and change the names and numbers to fit your business.

The same pattern works for other trades:

• Barbers: set prices on cuts and beard trims, "starts at" on designs, "price varies" on big transformations. More ideas on our page for barbers.
• Lash and nail techs: set prices on fills, "starts at" on full sets and nail art. See for lash techs and for nail techs.
• Tattoo artists: "starts at" on flash, "price varies" on custom work, a free consult. See for tattoo artists.
• Dog groomers: "starts at" by size, set prices on nail trims. See for dog groomers.
• Trainers: set prices per session or package, a free intro call. See for personal trainers.

How do deposits work with "starts at" and "price varies"?

A deposit holds the time and comes off the final price. It's how you get booked and paid up front, even when the full price isn't settled yet.

• Set price: simple. Ask for the full price, a set amount, or a percent.
• Starts at: take the deposit (or the starting price) when they book, and collect the difference at the appointment.
• Price varies: a percent of an unknown price doesn't work, so use a set dollar amount, like $50, and take it off the final bill.

Write it into your policy so nobody is surprised:

Your deposit holds the time and comes off the price. Cancel at least 24 hours ahead and it is refunded. Cancel later than that and the deposit is kept.

We wrote a whole guide on the wording for this: how to ask a customer for a deposit.

How to show prices on your service menu on Utilica

On Utilica, your services live on your booking page and on your link in bio page, and each one has its own price type. Here's how to set it up.

1. Add your services. Go to Bookings, open Booking settings, and stay on the Services tab. Give each service a name, how long it takes, and a short description of what's included. A page can list up to 12 services.

2. Pick how each service is priced. Under Price, choose one:

• Set price: type the price. It shows as "$45".
• Starts at: type the starting price. It shows as "From $120".
• Varies: no price to type. It shows as "Price varies".
• Free: it shows as "Free", and nothing is charged.

That label shows everywhere the service is listed: your page, your booking page, and the time picker.

3. Choose what booking asks for. On the Payment tab, under "When a priced service is booked, ask for," pick A deposit, The full price, or Nothing. A deposit can be a set amount or a percent (10%, 20%, 25% or 50%). You'll see a worked example right under it, like "$20 when they book, $25 at the appointment," so you know exactly what clients will pay.

How each price type works with that:

• Set price and Starts at use the price you typed. A "From $120" service with a 25% deposit asks for $30 when they book.
• Price varies has no price to take a percent of, so it only asks for a deposit when your deposit is a set amount. With a percent deposit, or the full price, a "price varies" service books without charging anything. After you see the job, send the final price as an invoice.
• Free services never ask for anything.

You can also choose how long an unpaid booking holds its time (from 30 minutes up to a day, or until you cancel it), and add your policy, which is shown before they book and in their emails.

FeatureBooked, and paid up front.Take a deposit when a client books, hold the time until it is paid, and email a reminder before they come. The deposit is paid in Cash App, Venmo, PayPal or Zelle with the amount filled in, and we take no fee on it.utilica.app/features/deposits→

4. Set the days each service is offered. Under each service, Days it's offered shows your open days. Tap a day to leave it out. If you only do color on Tuesdays and Thursdays, or big tattoo sessions on weekends, the service only shows times on those days, inside your normal hours. Leave them all on and it's offered every day you're open.

5. Add your days off. On the Hours tab, under Days off, add a date range for holidays, a trip or a training weekend, with a note only you see. Nothing can be booked on those days, from your page or from your forms.

6. Share it. Your services show on your link in bio page, and clients can book from there or from your full booking page. If you sell on a Utilica website, services with the same category are listed together, so cuts, color and extras each get their own group.

Who it's forA booking page that takes the deposit for you.Online booking for hair salons and stylists. Clients pick a service, a stylist and a time, pay a deposit in the apps they already use, and get a reminder.utilica.app/for/salons→

The short version

Show a price for everything you can. Use a set price when the work is the same every time, "starts at" when there's a real floor and you say what moves it, "price varies" when you need to see the job first, and "free" for short consults. Put the length and what's included on every line, take a deposit so the time is booked and paid up front, and tell the client the final number before you start.

A clear menu does a lot of your selling for you. Set yours up on Utilica and see how it reads from the client's side.