Headshot guide
How much do headshots cost in 2026?
A headshot session with a US photographer usually costs $150 to $450, and more in New York. Most AI headshot packs cost $29 to $79 up front, and free tools cost time instead of money. Each buys a different number of photos you'd use, so this guide compares them by cost per usable photo.
UpdatedPrices at a glance
| Option | Typical price | What you get | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Photographer session | $216 to $427, average $304 | A 30 to 60 minute session, often with 1 to 3 retouched photos | Thumbtack (January 2025 data); Photography Shark (May 2026) |
| Photographer, by city | About $150 in Phoenix, Houston, Dallas and San Antonio; $450 to $900 or more in New York | As above | Photography Shark, May 2026 |
| On-site team day | $125 to $275 per person with full retouching; from $75 with light editing | Everyone shot in one day with the same setup | James Maher Photography, New York, July 2026 |
| AI headshot pack | Mostly $29 to $79, one time; from $17 | 20 to 200 generated headshots | Vendors' pricing pages, October 2026 |
| AI subscription | $19 to $199 a month | Monthly credits | Photo AI's pricing page, October 2026 |
| Free tools and DIY | $0 | A few images a day, previews, or a long wait | Vendors' pages, October 2026 |
| Leap | Per headshot, shown before each run | Up to four 2K headshots per run; a failed run costs nothing | Leap |
Photographer sessions
Thumbtack's photography cost guide, last updated with January 2025 data, puts the US average for headshot photography at $304, with most people paying $216 to $427. Photography Shark, a Massachusetts studio, compiled published rates in 16 US metros in May 2026 and found a median of about $250 for a standard session, from around $150 in Phoenix, Houston, Dallas and San Antonio to $450 to $900 or more in New York. Bark's 2025 guide quotes $100 to $230 an hour.A standard session is 30 to 60 minutes in a studio with lighting and a set number of retouched photos. In the Boston studios Photography Shark surveyed, the advertised price rarely included more than one to three. Add-ons are where the bill grows: it lists extra retouching at $40 to $100 per image, hair and makeup at $50 to $200, and commercial usage rights at $100 to $500 or more.Before you book, ask how many retouched photos are included and what each extra costs, whether retouching means blemish removal only or skin smoothing as well, whether you can use the photos on a company website or in ads, how many outfit changes the session allows, and what happens if you don't like any of the proofs.Team headshots on site
For a team in one office, a photographer can set up in a meeting room and shoot everyone in a day. James Maher Photography's July 2026 guide to corporate headshots in New York prices team days at $125 to $275 per person with full natural retouching, or from $75 per person with light editing. Per-person prices usually fall as the headcount rises.Ask about minimum fees, travel and setup, and how many retouched photos each person gets. Some costs never appear on the invoice: each person's time away from work, and a second booking for everyone who was out that day or joins later.AI headshot packs
AI headshot services sell a one-time pack of generated photos made from a few of your selfies. These were the prices on each vendor's own pricing page as of October 2026.| Service | Price | Headshots | Photos to upload | From the vendor's page |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| HeadshotPro | $29, $39 or $59 | 30, 50 or 70 | A few selfies | 4K on the $59 plan; "money back if it doesn't look like you" |
| Aragon | $35, $45 or $75 | 40, 60 or 100 | A few | 896×1088 on the first two plans, 1792×2176 on the top one; full refund if you haven't downloaded |
| BetterPic | $35, $39 or $79 | 20, 60 or 120 | About 8 | 4K on every plan |
| Magic Studio | From $59 | 50 across 5 looks | 10 | Refund if you have fewer than 4 decent headshots and haven't downloaded any |
| ProPhotos | $39, $49 or $59 | 40, 100 or 200 | As many as you can | 8, 20 or 40 outfit and background combinations |
| Try It On | From $17 | Varies by plan | Varies | Starting price from its home page |
| Photo AI | $19, $49, $99 or $199 a month ($9 to $99 billed yearly) | Monthly credits | 5 to 15 | Plans are labeled from "low likeness" to "ultra-high likeness" |
Cost per usable photo
A pack of 50 headshots sounds like more than a photographer's three, but nobody uses 50. AI headshots vary from one image to the next: some look like you, some look like a relative, and a few have odd hands or teeth. What counts is how many you'd put on LinkedIn or a company page.HeadshotPro answers this in its own FAQ, under "How many good photos can I expect?": "Every order includes at least one guaranteed keeper, and most customers get more than that." It adds that the number depends on the photos you upload, and that if you follow its guidelines "you'll typically walk away with 5-10+ headshots you're happy to use."So the sum is the price divided by the photos you keep; the size of the pack doesn't enter it. On HeadshotPro's $39 plan, keeping 10 works out at $3.90 a photo and keeping 5 at $7.80. Someone who keeps 20 pays $1.95 each. A $304 photographer session that delivers one to three retouched photos works out at $101 to $304 a photo, but those photos are retouched by hand and chosen from the proofs, so nearly every one is usable.If you only need two photos, the $39 plan costs $19.50 for each one you use, however many extras come with it.| Option | You pay | Photos you'd use | Per usable photo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Photographer, US average | $304 | 1 to 3 | $101 to $304 |
| Photographer, cheaper metro | About $150 | 1 to 3 | $50 to $150 |
| On-site team day, New York | $75 to $275 per person | 1 to 3 | $25 to $275 |
| AI pack, HeadshotPro $39 plan | $39 | 5 to 10+, by the vendor's estimate | $3.90 to $7.80, less if you keep more |
| DIY in Gemini or ChatGPT | $0 on free plans | Depends on your prompts and tries | $0, plus your time |
| Leap | The price shown before each run | Up to four made per run; you keep the ones you like | The run's price divided by the ones you keep |
Free tools and DIY
General AI tools make a headshot from one photo and a prompt. Gemini's free plan includes image generation with Nano Banana 2, under daily limits Google says may change, while Nano Banana Pro is on paid plans. OpenAI lists image generation on ChatGPT's free plan as limited and doesn't publish a number. Canva gives two free credits for its headshot generator, then a 24-hour wait, according to Fello AI's September 2026 review. Adobe Firefly's headshot generator gives free daily generations with an Adobe account.Specialist sites have free versions too, each with a catch. In October 2026, HeadshotPro's free tool gave one HD headshot at 1024×1024 from one selfie with no sign-up, and showed its other styles as lower-quality previews you could unlock for $29 or $39. BetterPic's free tier made 10 headshots in 4K from 8 to 12 selfies, after a 60 to 90 day wait in a shared queue. Aragon's needed an account and at least six selfies, and delivered standard definition.The catch with the free route is time: one image per prompt, results that change from try to try, and no matching set. For a single LinkedIn photo it can be enough, and Leap's guide to free AI headshot generators shows how to get a good one.How Leap prices headshots
Leap charges per headshot. You see the price before each run, and you can make a single headshot or up to four in a run. A failed run costs nothing. There's no subscription, and your balance isn't tied to headshots: it works for every model and recipe in Leap's studio.Each run starts from one to four of your everyday photos; three is best (straight on, three-quarter, and one taken by someone else). You pick one of seven backdrops, an outfit or your own clothes, an expression and whether to keep your glasses, and get 2K headshots, square for LinkedIn or 4:5 or 3:4 for bios and print. The generator keeps your face as it is, with no slimming, smoothing, whitened teeth or de-aging.To compare it with the numbers above, divide what a run cost by the headshots you keep from it. You can start free with no card, since new accounts get a small welcome credit.Which option fits
- One or two photos for LinkedIn, a CV or a bio: an AI generator, or a careful prompt in a free tool.
- A team in one office: a photographer's on-site day, plus AI for remote staff and new hires with the same backdrop and crop.
- Print, magazine features, executive bios, or a firm that doesn't allow AI images: a photographer.
- Actors: a photographer. Casting needs photos that show how you look today, and casting directors have said they turn down AI headshots.
- A tight budget and some patience: free tools, with the limits above.