How Much Do Nail Techs Make in 2026?
Nail tech pay in 2026 by country (US, UK, Australia, Canada, UAE) from official data, plus commission vs hourly vs booth rent and how owners set commission.
Salon Operations & Content, Blyssbook
Short answer: in the United States the median nail tech (the government's category is "manicurists and pedicurists") earned $17.19 an hour, or $35,760 a year, in May 2025, tips included. The lowest-paid 10% earned under $13.90 an hour and the top 10% over $24.10. In the UK the government's careers service puts nail technicians at £19,000 to £23,000 a year. In Australia the award minimum for beauty staff runs from $27.81 to $32.00 an hour from 1 July 2026. In Canada the median for the group that includes manicurists is $20 an hour. The UAE has no minimum wage and no official figure for nail techs.
Below: pay by country with the source and date of every number, how commission, hourly pay and booth rent compare, the US rules on tips and minimum wage that owners trip over, and a simple way to set a commission rate.
Nail tech pay by country (2026)
| Country | Typical pay | Source and period |
|---|---|---|
| United States | Median $17.19/hour, $35,760/year; bottom 10% under $13.90/hour, top 10% over $24.10/hour | US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook, May 2025 data |
| United Kingdom | £19,000 starting to £23,000 experienced a year; National Living Wage £12.71/hour (21 and over) from 1 April 2026 | National Careers Service nail technician profile (undated); GOV.UK minimum wage rates |
| Australia | Award minimum $27.81 to $32.00/hour depending on level; casuals get 25% more | Fair Work, Hair and Beauty Industry Award [MA000005], rates from 1 July 2026 |
| Canada | Median $20.00/hour; low $15.00, high $30.00 | Job Bank, NOC 63211 (includes manicurists), 2023-2024 data, updated 19 Nov 2025 |
| UAE | No national minimum wage; no official nail tech figure | u.ae, UAE government portal, updated 14 Oct 2026 |
How much do nail techs make in the US?
The Bureau of Labor Statistics counts 201,800 manicurist and pedicurist jobs in 2025, including self-employed techs, and expects the number to grow 9% from 2025 to 2035. The median pay is $17.19 an hour, or $35,760 for a full year of work. Half earn more and half earn less.
Two things matter when you read that number. First, BLS wage data includes tips and commission (its survey FAQ lists both as part of wages), so the median is not base pay plus tips on top. Second, the wage survey covers employees on a payroll. Booth renters and self-employed techs are not in it, and their take-home depends on their own prices and rent.
Pay varies a lot by state and by salon. Busy salons in high-price cities and techs who sell enhancements, art and retail tend to sit at the top of the range; part-time techs and new graduates at the bottom.
How much do nail techs make in the UK?
The National Careers Service, the government's careers site, lists nail technicians at about £19,000 a year when starting and £23,000 when experienced, and notes that many work freelance. Its page carries no date. Any employed tech must get at least the minimum wage: from 1 April 2026 that is £12.71 an hour at 21 and over, £10.85 at 18 to 20, and £8.00 under 18 and for apprentices. At £12.71 a full-time week of 37 hours comes to about £24,450 a year, more than the careers service's starting figure, so treat that range as a rough guide.
How much do nail techs make in Australia?
Employed nail techs in Australia are usually covered by the Hair and Beauty Industry Award 2010. From 1 July 2026 the full-time adult minimum rates run from $27.81 an hour at Level 1 to $32.00 at Level 6 (Level 3 is $29.45, or $1,119.10 a week). Casual staff get a 25% loading on top, so Level 3 casual is $36.81 an hour. Full-time staff get 133% for Saturday work between 7 am and 6 pm and 200% on Sundays between 10 am and 5 pm. Which level a nail tech sits at depends on their qualifications and duties under the award; check the classification schedule or Fair Work before you set pay.
How much do nail techs make in Canada?
Job Bank, the federal job site, reports a median of $20.00 an hour for its occupation group 63211, which covers manicurists along with estheticians and related jobs. The low end is $15.00 and the high end $30.00. These figures come from the 2023-2024 Labour Force Survey and were updated on 19 November 2025.
| Province | Median hourly wage (NOC 63211) |
|---|---|
| Alberta | $21.63 |
| British Columbia | $22.15 |
| Ontario | $19.00 |
| Manitoba | $16.40 |
| Quebec, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, PEI, Saskatchewan | $20.00 |
Minimum wage is set by each province. Ontario's general minimum wage is $17.95 an hour from 1 October 2026.
How much do nail techs make in the UAE?
The UAE government portal states that UAE Labour Law sets no minimum salary for private-sector staff. (A separate AED 6,000 a month floor announced by the labour ministry applies to Emirati citizens only.) We found no official or statistical figure for nail tech pay in the UAE, so we don't quote one. In practice pay is agreed in the employment contract, often as a basic salary plus commission, and salaries are paid through the Wage Protection System.
Commission, hourly pay or booth rent: how nail techs get paid
| Model | How it works | Good for | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Commission | The tech earns a share of each service they do, and often a smaller share of retail they sell | Busy salons; techs who build a following | Slow weeks; in the US, the minimum wage still applies |
| Hourly or salary | A fixed rate per hour or month, sometimes with a bonus | New techs; salons that want steady staffing | Owner carries the cost of quiet hours |
| Salary plus commission | A base wage plus a commission on sales above it | Most salons that want both steadiness and drive | Needs clear rules on what earns commission |
| Booth or chair rent | The tech pays the owner a fixed weekly or monthly rent and keeps their own takings | Experienced techs with their own clients | Rent is due in quiet weeks; booth renters run their own business |
No official body publishes current commission splits for nail salons. The splits salon owners and software vendors commonly quote run from about 40% to the tech for newer techs to 50% or 60% for experienced techs, with a lower rate, often 10% to 20%, on retail. Treat those as a starting point for your own sums, not a market rate.
US rules on tips, commission and minimum wage
- Tips belong to the staff. Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (29 U.S.C. 203(m)(2)(B)) an employer may not keep any part of an employee's tips, and managers and supervisors may not take money from a tip pool. The Department of Labor's Fact Sheet #15 explains tip pools: they are allowed only among eligible staff, and must be paid out by the regular payday.
- Commission doesn't cancel the minimum wage. The Department of Labor's Fact Sheet #23 says the regular rate of pay cannot be less than the minimum wage. Many states set a higher minimum than the federal $7.25.
- Overtime. Commission-paid staff at a retail or service business can be exempt from overtime only if all three conditions in Fact Sheet #20 are met: the business qualifies, the regular rate is more than one and a half times the minimum wage, and more than half of earnings come from commission. Customer tips never count as commission.
- Booth renters are a different relationship. Whether someone is a contractor or an employee is decided by the IRS and Department of Labor tests, not by what the contract calls them.
This is a summary, not legal advice. State law can be stricter, so check your state's labour department before you change how you pay.
How should a nail salon owner set commission?
- 1Work out what one service costs you before the tech is paid: products used, card fees, and your share of rent, power and software for the time the chair is busy.
- 2Decide the margin you need on each service after that cost.
- 3What's left is what you can pay the tech, as a percentage of the service price. That is your commission rate.
- 4Set a separate, lower rate on retail, because product cost is higher.
- 5Check the result against the minimum wage for a slow week. In the US, if commission falls short, you must make up the difference.
- 6Write the rules down: what earns commission, how discounts and refunds affect it, and how tips are shared when two techs work on one client.
A worked example, with made-up numbers to show the sum: a tech does $4,000 of services in a month at 45% commission and sells $300 of retail at 10%. Commission is $1,800 plus $30, and the tips clients left for that tech, say $600, are paid on top. Their pay line for the month is $2,430.
Working out commission without a spreadsheet
In Blyssbook you give each tech a commission rate, a percentage or a fixed amount, for services and for retail, with different rates per service if you like. Every ticket line earns commission for the tech who did it. When two techs work on one client, the tip on that ticket is shared equally between them. At the end of the month the pay run lists each tech's base pay, commission, tips and adjustments, and exports to CSV for your accountant. Commission and payroll are on every Blyssbook plan, including Starter. Blyssbook doesn't move money: you approve the pay run and pay staff the way you already do.
Questions nail techs and owners ask
How much do nail techs make an hour?
In the US the median was $17.19 an hour in May 2025, tips included (BLS). In Canada the median for the group that includes manicurists is $20.00. In Australia award minimums run from $27.81 to $32.00 an hour from 1 July 2026, and in the UK the minimum for workers 21 and over is £12.71 from 1 April 2026.
Do nail techs get tips on top of their pay?
Yes. Tips are paid to the tech on top of commission or wages, and in the US the employer may not keep them. Note that the BLS median of $35,760 already includes tips, because its survey counts tips as wages.
What is a normal commission for a nail tech?
There is no official figure. The splits commonly quoted run from about 40% for newer techs to 50% or 60% for experienced ones, with 10% to 20% on retail. Work out your own rate from your costs and check it against the minimum wage.
Is booth rent better than commission for a nail tech?
Booth rent can pay more for an experienced tech with a full book, because they keep their own takings, but rent is due in slow weeks and they run their own business, with their own taxes, products and insurance. Commission suits techs who want the salon to bring in clients and handle the business side.
Can a nail salon owner keep part of the tips?
Not in the US. Under the FLSA an employer, including managers and supervisors, may not keep any part of an employee's tips. A tip pool is allowed only among eligible staff.
Sources
- US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook, Manicurists and Pedicurists (May 2025 pay, 2025-35 outlook), bls.gov/ooh/personal-care-and-service/manicurists-and-pedicurists.htm, checked 6 Nov 2026
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics FAQ (tips and commission included in wages), bls.gov/oes/oes_ques.htm, checked 6 Nov 2026
- US Department of Labor Fact Sheets #15 (tipped employees), #20 (commission employees, section 7(i)) and #23 (overtime and regular rate), dol.gov, checked 6 Nov 2026; 29 U.S.C. 203(m)(2)(B)
- GOV.UK, National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage rates from 1 April 2026, gov.uk/national-minimum-wage-rates, checked 6 Nov 2026
- National Careers Service, Nail technician, nationalcareers.service.gov.uk/job-profiles/nail-technician, checked 6 Nov 2026
- Fair Work Commission, Hair and Beauty Industry Award 2010 [MA000005], clause 17.1 rates from 1 July 2026, awards.fairwork.gov.au/MA000005.html, checked 6 Nov 2026
- Job Bank, wages for Manicurist (NOC 63211), jobbank.gc.ca/marketreport/wages-occupation/14035/ca, checked 6 Nov 2026
- Government of Ontario, minimum wage from 1 October 2026, ontario.ca, checked 6 Nov 2026
- UAE government portal, payment of wages in the private sector, u.ae, checked 6 Nov 2026
How this guide was made: written by Sam Rahman from Blyssbook setups and product testing. Pay figures are from the official sources above, read on 6 November 2026. Product facts checked against the app on 6 November 2026.
Written by Sam Rahman, Salon Operations & Content at Blyssbook. Last updated 6 November 2026.