How Much to Charge for Mastering Clients in 2026 (With Price Tiers)
Published · by Loopin
Price the work you do around the master, not the button press: prep, QC, revisions and delivery. Here are three tiers you can copy, the maths that shows your margin, and the honest line to draw with clients.
Price your time and risk, not the tool
Clients pay for a finished, checked file delivered on time, and for you taking responsibility for it. Your tool cost is tiny by comparison: Loopin Mastering Unlimited is $10 a month or $59 a year (check the pricing page for your region), so even at 40 masters a month your software cost per track is about 25 cents.
That is exactly why you shouldn’t price from tool cost. Price from the hour or so you spend per project on prep, listening, revisions and delivery. Decide your hourly rate, decide how many minutes a track really takes, and multiply. Then check it against what local engineers you compete with actually charge, which you can see on their sites.
Copy these three tiers
These are example numbers to start from, not market data; change them to fit your rate. Reference ($10 per track): automatic master as a client preview, one feel, no revisions, delivered as a WAV. Standard ($25 per track): your prep notes, a feel choice with A/B, one revision, a QC check on peaks and loudness, files named and delivered. Project ($20 per track, 6 or more): Standard, plus a consistency pass across the whole release in running order.
Add a fourth line for when it doesn’t fit: Referral: if the mix needs fixing or the release is vinyl or label work, you pass it to a human mastering engineer and your automatic masters become the reference brief. Offering that line builds trust.
Run your margin for 10 masters a month
Ten Standard masters at $25 is $250. Subtract $10 tool cost for the month (or $4.92 on the yearly plan) and the remaining $240 is for your time. At 25 minutes a track, that is about $57 an hour. Drop the price to $15 and it is $34 an hour; check that number honestly.
Compare that with paying per download elsewhere. At $5 a track on a per-download service such as Ditto’s (at the time of writing, October 2026), ten masters costs $50 a month, so a flat plan is a margin decision as well as a convenience.
Put limits in writing
State what each tier includes: number of revisions, file format, turnaround, and what you won’t fix. Say the master is automatic and a fast first pass, not a bespoke engineer-led master, so the client never discovers it later. Loopin exports a 16-bit WAV at about −14 LUFS with a −1 dBTP ceiling, so say so if delivery specs matter.
Charge extra for rush jobs and for re-masters after the mix changes. Downloads are capped on the free tier, so on deadline days you will want Unlimited. Use free online mastering to audition every feel before you bill.
Show the preview before you collect
The easiest sale is a short A/B. Send the client the loudness-matched Original-vs-Mastered result and let them hear the difference. Previews and A/B are free and unlimited, so you can master the track free as a quote, and only download the final once they’ve agreed.
For where the market sits on cost, see how much mastering costs. And when a client sends a track with real problems, say so and send it back. Doing that is part of what you charge for.
Frequently asked questions
How much should I charge for mastering a song?
Start from your hourly rate times the minutes per track. Example tiers in this post are $10 for a reference master, $25 for a standard master with a revision, and $20 per track for 6 or more. Adjust to your market.
Should I charge per track or per album?
Per track for singles, a discounted per-track rate for projects of 6 or more tracks. Whichever you choose, put revisions and delivery format in writing.
What does an automatic master cost me per track?
Loopin Mastering Unlimited is $10 a month or $59 a year, so 10 masters a month is about $1 each, or $0.49 on the yearly plan.
Do I have to tell clients the master is automatic?
Yes. It builds trust. Describe it as a fast first pass or reference, and offer a human-engineer referral for label or vinyl work.
Can I use free downloads for client work?
Free downloads are capped: 1 per 24 hours with no account, 2 with a free account. For client volume, use Unlimited and check the terms for your use.