How much is a belly button piercing? Prices, jewelry and hidden costs

A belly button piercing costs $40 to $90 in a US studio, with jewelry, where it is priced separately, at $30 to $120 for an implant-grade titanium curved barbell. Most people leave having spent between $70 and $210, plus a tip.

Location moves the price. Expect the top of the range in New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco, and the lower end in smaller markets. These are typical US studio ranges as of September 2026. Studios set their own prices, so confirm with yours before you book.

What the piercing fee pays for

A navel piercing fee covers more than most, because the most important part happens before the needle:

• An anatomy check. Not every navel can hold a piercing. A good piercer looks at you standing, sitting and bending forward, because a fold that looks right when you stand can flatten when you sit. See the belly button piercing guide for what they are looking for.
• A single-use sterile needle, opened in front of you, and tools sterilised in an autoclave.
• Choosing the right jewelry length for your fold, which matters a great deal on a navel.
• The piercer’s training and time, and aftercare guidance.
• At many studios, the first downsize.

A piercer who checks your anatomy and tells you not to go ahead has just saved you the cost of a piercing that would have rejected. That is worth more than any discount.

Floating navels cost the same to pierce

If your navel is shallow or folds when you sit, your piercer may suggest a floating navel. The piercing fee is the same. The jewelry is different: a curved bar with a flat disc on the lower end, sized to your fold, instead of a ball that would press into it.

Jewelry prices

The starting jewelry for a navel piercing is a curved barbell, 14 gauge, in implant-grade titanium, with a small top. What moves the price is the top and the metal:

Navel jewelry sits at the upper end of the gold ranges, because a curved bar uses more metal than a stud.

Dangly jewelry is for later. Charms and drops add weight to the lower opening and catch on clothing, which drags on a healing channel. Wait until the piercing has healed, and even then wear them sparingly, since weight on the lower end is a common cause of long-term migration.

Skip the cheap multipacks. Navel jewelry sold in bargain sets is often plated or of unknown metal, with external threads that scrape the channel every time you change it. It is the most common source of long-term irritation in this piercing, and irritation is what ends up costing money. The materials guide explains what to look for.

The real total for the first year

A navel piercing takes six to twelve months to heal, so its costs are spread out. Here is what the first year typically adds up to:

The downsize happens at eight to twelve weeks, when the swelling has gone and the long starter bar is swapped for a shorter one. Some studios include both the visit and the shorter bar; others charge for one or both, so ask when you book.

Two costs that are easy to forget:

• A retainer. If you need to hide the piercing, or remove metal for a scan, a piercing retainer keeps the channel open. Flexible retainers are also what many people switch to in pregnancy.
• Clothing. High waistbands press directly on a healing navel. You may find yourself reaching for low-rise or looser clothes for a few months, which is cheaper than a piercing that will not settle.

What a problem costs

The most expensive belly button piercing is the one that goes wrong. An infection means a doctor’s appointment and usually a course of antibiotics. Rejection means removing the jewelry, waiting for the area to heal, and sometimes finding that it cannot be re-pierced at all because of the scar. Belly button piercing rejection explains the signs and how to act early.

The things that prevent both are cheap: implant-grade jewelry, the downsize on time, clean hands, and staying out of pools and hot tubs until the piercing has healed. Infected belly button piercing explains how to tell irritation from infection, and how long a belly button piercing takes to heal covers the timeline.

Choosing on more than price

A studio worth paying for opens a sterile needle in front of you, uses implant-grade jewelry and can tell you exactly what it is, checks your anatomy in more than one position, and can show you photographs of healed navel piercings. The Association of Professional Piercers has a checklist for picking your piercer.

If a studio does all of that and costs $20 more, pay the $20.

Tipping

In the US, tipping your piercer 15 to 20 percent of the piercing fee is standard. It is not customary in many other countries, so check local practice. For every other placement, see piercing prices.