How Much to Charge for a Tarot Reading

For an online tarot reading, charge $10–$20 for a single-card pull, $25–$50 for a three-card spread, and $60–$120+ for a Celtic Cross or comparably deep reading. Those are deliverable-scope starting points for asynchronous written or recorded work, and they sit inside the $20–$75 range Keen publishes for tarot readings on its own platform.

Source checks and FanBell product details were.

If you're still deciding whether to build tarot into a full paid page, tarot readers on FanBell covers the bigger picture. This guide focuses specifically on setting your price.

Should card count or the clock set your price?

Price asynchronous readings by spread and depth, not by the minute, because a written or prerecorded reading has a fixed scope — one card, three cards, or a full spread — from the moment it is ordered. Per-minute pricing belongs to live platforms, where the meter, not the deliverable, sets the total.

Kasamba's own pricing page states that online psychics "usually charge per minute and this ranges from $1 to over $30 per minute depending on their respective ratings and reviews" (Kasamba's psychic reading price page).

Keen's published cost guide puts chat readings on its platform between $1.99 and $6 per minute and phone readings between $2 and $8 per minute, with the platform average "around $3.50" per minute (Keen's "How much will my psychic reading cost" guide).

Psychic Source publishes a one-time introductory rate of $1 per minute for new customers and states that regular advisor rates afterwards start at $0.99 per minute (Psychic Source's pricing page).

All three of those figures describe live conversations of variable length, so they are market anchors rather than a pricing method for a finished written or recorded spread. Three factors should determine where your own offer falls within a spread-based range:

• How much interpretation the spread requires. A three-card reading usually involves explaining how the cards relate to one another, not writing three disconnected card meanings.
• How many questions the request includes. A request covering a relationship, career decision, and relocation has a broader scope than one focused question, even if the buyer initially describes it as one reading.
• How substantial the deliverable is. A concise written answer requires less production than a detailed interpretation or recorded walkthrough.

What is a reasonable starting price for each tarot spread?

Start a single-card pull at $10–$20, a three-card spread at $25–$50, and a Celtic Cross at $60–$120+. These are FanBell editorial starting recommendations set by deliverable scope, not statistically representative marketplace averages. For an external anchor, Thumbtack's tarot cost guide reports a national average of $109 per reading.

Thumbtack's tarot card reading cost guide reports a national average price of $109 per reading, with a low-end average of $73 and a high-end average of $162, compiled from bookings on its marketplace (Thumbtack's 2025 tarot card reading cost guide).

Thumbtack's same guide lists duration-based examples from its pros: $19.99–$35 for a 20–30 minute reading, $29.99–$150 for 30–45 minutes, and $50–$200 for a 60-minute reading.

Keen's published cost guide prices tarot specifically at $20 to $75, above the $15–$20 it gives for a typical short session on its platform and below the $75–$300 it lists for astrology readings.

Those Thumbtack and Keen figures span live phone, video, and in-person sessions rather than the asynchronous written or recorded format this guide covers, so treat them as evidence of what buyers already pay a tarot reader, not a direct benchmark for a written spread.

Use the lower end when you are building experience, producing a concise response, or testing a new offer. Use the upper end when the reading requires more synthesis, greater detail, a recorded presentation, or several connected questions.

Methodology: these editorial ranges are derived by scaling estimated production time (roughly 5-10 minutes for a single card, 15-25 minutes for a three-card spread, and 30-60+ minutes for a Celtic Cross, including drafting or recording) against the fee math in the table below, then checking that the result lands inside Keen's published $20-$75 tarot range and under Thumbtack's $73-$162 live-session averages, both cited above. They are not derived from a survey of asynchronous sellers, because no publisher tracks a representative sample of written or recorded tarot-reading prices.

General marketplaces such as Etsy also list text-based tarot readings, and individual listing prices vary widely, including listings priced well below the ranges in the table above. A single listing price reflects one seller's positioning on a given day, not a verified market average, so it should not set your baseline.

Competing with the lowest visible listing price is not automatically sustainable. Your price still needs to cover the interpretation, writing or recording, buyer communication, and transaction fees involved in delivering the reading.

Should recorded tarot readings cost more than written readings?

Yes, recorded video can reasonably cost more than text at the same spread depth, because it adds arrangement, narration, recording, and re-recording work on top of the interpretation itself. No published source sets a standard video premium for tarot, so set the surcharge from your own timed production rather than a fixed multiplier.

Written readings also require drafting and editing, so format alone should not determine the whole price. A useful structure is to set one price for a written interpretation and a higher price for a recorded version of the same spread, without assigning a fixed premium until you know your own production time.

In one line: price by format only after you price by spread — set your three spread tiers first (single card, three-card, Celtic Cross), then add a video surcharge on top of each tier once you have timed your own recording and editing process.

How much do you keep after FanBell and Stripe fees?

On a $75 tarot reading sold through FanBell you keep about $63.52: FanBell's 12% platform fee takes $9.00 and Stripe's standard US online-card rate of 2.9% + $0.30 takes $2.48. FanBell charges nothing until a fan pays, with no monthly fee and no follower minimum.

FanBell charges a 12% platform fee only when a fan pays (FanBell pricing). FanBell is also free to start, has no monthly fee, and has no follower minimum.

FanBell creator payouts are handled through Stripe (how FanBell works). Stripe's published standard rate for US domestic online card payments is 2.9% + 30¢ per successful transaction (Stripe's pricing page). International and manually entered cards can cost more.

Using those stated rates, the estimated net formula is: reading price minus 12% for FanBell, minus approximately 2.9% plus $0.30 for Stripe (FanBell pricing and Stripe pricing). Both fees are calculated on the gross amount the buyer pays, not compounded on each other: FanBell's own pricing page states the formula as creator earnings = fan payment − platform fee − processing fee.

By comparison, Etsy's fees and payments policy states that a sale on Etsy.com is charged a transaction fee of 6.5% of the displayed price, on top of a $0.20 USD listing fee per item (Etsy's fees and payments policy). Etsy separately charges United States sellers a payment processing fee of 3% + $0.25 per order (Etsy's payment processing fees help article). Etsy's $0.20 listing fee is billed whether or not the item sells, which is a structural difference from FanBell's pay-only-when-a-fan-pays model.

Worked out for one row, a $75 reading costs the buyer $75, Stripe takes approximately 2.9% × $75 + $0.30 = $2.48, FanBell takes 12% × $75 = $9.00, and the creator keeps approximately $63.52 (FanBell pricing and Stripe pricing). These figures are estimates rather than exact invoices; check your dashboard for the amount associated with an individual payment. The fixed $0.30 component represents a larger share of a low-priced order, which is one reason this guide recommends starting a single-card pull at $10 rather than trying to match every deeply discounted listing on general marketplaces.

If you tend to price low by default, how to price your services without undervaluing your time explains how to estimate your effective rate. You can set and update the price on your creator services offer.

When should you raise your tarot-reading price?

Raise your tarot-reading rate when demand, scope, or deliverable quality has outgrown the current price — not on a fixed calendar. FanBell's 12% platform fee is the same percentage at every price point, so a higher rate raises your net proportionally. Useful signals include:

• Buyers repeatedly add questions after ordering. If a focused job question regularly expands into relationship and relocation questions, define a clearer scope, charge for additional questions, or move the buyer to a deeper reading tier.
• Your queue is growing faster than you can complete readings. A price increase can moderate demand while paying you more for each booking you accept.
• Your readings have become more detailed. If your current deliverable is substantially more thoughtful or polished than the one you originally priced, the rate should reflect the improved offer.
• Your introductory price has done its job. Once you have credible testimonials or repeat buyers, you no longer need to maintain a temporary review-building rate.
• Recorded readings take longer than expected. Raise the video price if setup, performance, editing, or re-recording consistently makes it more demanding than the written option.

You do not need to apologize for a price change. Update the rate for future requests while completing existing orders under the terms buyers originally accepted.

In one line: raise your price when demand, scope, or quality has outgrown it — not on a fixed schedule — and apply the new rate only to orders placed after the change, since FanBell fees (12%) apply the same way at any price point.

Frequently asked questions

Should every tarot spread have its own price?

Not necessarily. This guide's editorial recommendation is two or three tiers—such as single card, three cards, and full spread—because separate tiers make it easier to match the price to the request, and they are especially useful when buyers frequently submit more questions than the basic offer covers.

Should an asynchronous reading be compared with per-minute psychic apps?

Only as a rough reference point. Per-minute apps charge for live access — Keen reports an average of around $3.50 per minute on its platform (Keen's psychic reading cost guide) — while an asynchronous reader sells a finished written or recorded deliverable the buyer can revisit. Spread depth, question count, and format are more useful pricing units than estimated call length.

Is a $5 tarot reading sustainable?

It may work as a limited introductory offer, but this guide does not recommend it as a default ongoing rate. On a $5 order, Stripe's fixed 30¢ component plus FanBell's 12% fee take roughly $1.05, or about 21% of the payment, before your interpretation and production time — versus about 15% on a $75 reading.

What should you do when a request exceeds the priced spread?

First, explain what the purchased spread includes. Offer to answer the focused question within that scope or ask the buyer to place a separate order for the additional questions. If you cannot fulfill the requested scope, communicate promptly and follow the applicable cancellation or refund process rather than delivering a rushed reading.

Ready to set your price and start taking reading requests? Create your free FanBell page — it only takes a few minutes to set up.