Trust, fees & policies
The fine print, without the fine print.
Exactly what LVL2 charges, how deposits and chargebacks are handled, who owns your client data, and what happens if you ever want to leave. If a question isn't answered here, ask — and it gets added.
What LVL2 actually charges
LVL2's fees live in one place: client-paid deposits. There is no fee on your session rate, your final payment, your tips, or your earnings. Card processing runs through Stripe, and Stripe's processing fees apply to card payments the same way they would on any platform.
Starter — free forever
$0/month. Zero platform fee. 9.8% booking fee on client-paid deposits only.
A client books with a $100 deposit: the booking fee applies to that deposit. Your rate and the final payment for the tattoo are untouched, and you pay no monthly cost.
Pro — $39/month
$39/mo. Booking fee drops to 4.5% on client-paid deposits.
Rule of thumb: once your clients pay more than about $740/month in deposits, Pro's lower fee covers its own subscription.
Studio — operator plan
Custom. Zero LVL2 platform or booking fees.
Studios pay only Stripe card processing, directly to the card network. Pricing is set per studio — see pricing.
Full current pricing always lives at lvl2.ink/pricing — that page is the source of truth if anything here ever lags behind.
Deposits, chargebacks, and disputes
Every deposit on LVL2 runs through Stripe — the same payment infrastructure used across the industry — and payouts go to your connected account. LVL2 never holds your money in a home-built wallet.
When a chargeback happens, the dispute follows Stripe's formal process. This is where deposit-first booking earns its keep: an LVL2 booking carries structured intake (subject, placement, size, references), a digital waiver, timestamps, and a written record of what the client requested and agreed to. When you contest a dispute, you submit documentation — and LVL2 bookings generate that documentation by default.
Your deposit policy is yours to set: amount, refund terms, and reschedule rules are configured per artist and shown to clients before they pay.
Your clients are yours
The client list you build on LVL2 belongs to you. If you ever leave, contact support and a full export of your client list and booking history will be provided. No contracts, no lock-in period, no termination fees — the product has to earn your stay every month.
"Isn't LVL2 kind of new?"
Yes — newer than Square, Vagaro, or Fresha, and it would be silly to pretend otherwise. Here's what backs it instead of tenure: payments and deposits run on Stripe rather than custom payment rails; there are no contracts and your data is exportable, so the exit cost is near zero; and the platform is built and run by a tattoo artist who still tattoos and runs his own books on it. The free Starter plan exists so you can verify the workflow with real bookings before you commit anything at all.
The numbers from those books are public: the founder case study — about 12 hours a week back from booking DMs and a $100 deposit on every booking, with an explicit list of what LVL2 refuses to claim.
Wondering if it's more than you need? Read Is LVL2 overkill for solo artists? — the honest answer is sometimes yes, and that post tells you how to know.
Common questions
What fees does LVL2 actually charge?
Starter: free forever, 9.8% booking fee on client-paid deposits only. Pro: $39/month + 4.5% on client-paid deposits. Studio: zero LVL2 booking fees, Stripe processing only. Fees never touch your session rate or earnings.
What happens if there's a chargeback on a deposit?
The dispute runs through Stripe's formal process, and your LVL2 booking record — intake, references, waiver, timestamps — is the documentation you submit to contest it.
Can I export my client data if I leave?
Yes. Contact support for a full export of your client list and booking history. No contracts, no lock-in.
Do I have to sign a contract?
No. Starter is free forever, Pro is month to month, and you can leave with your data at any time.
Is LVL2 overkill for a solo artist?
It doesn't have to be: the minimal setup is a booking link with structured intake and one deposit rule, done in an afternoon. Everything else can wait until you grow into it.