
Acrylic nails are still one of the most affordable nail enhancement services. However, they must be maintained often with acrylic fill-ins that can add up over time.
How much an acrylic nail fill in costs depends on five things: how long the nails are, whether it has custom shapes that require more time to work on, if it needs any repair or any new nail tip replacement, trimming of these overgrown nails, and any specific nail polish options plus any designs or nail art will also cost extra.
How much is a fill-in for acrylic nails?
On average, the cost of an acrylic nail fill is $29.91 nationwide.
The average price of an acrylic fill in nail salons in the United States came at just under 30 U.S. dollars in 2019.
Source
But for your particular acrylic nails, aside from the listed price list of your nail salon, you should expect to pay more if your nails have one or more of the following special features.
Acrylic fill in costs more on long nails
Most of the price lists of nail salons show the acrylic fill-ins for nails that are short, and simple-shaped. Any acrylic nails with a length longer than the so-called active or sport length can incur additional charges because a nail technician needs more time to work on them.
Keep in mind that the longer your acrylic nails are, the more wear and tear they will have after you have them for two weeks or more. So more time is needed to bring them back to their original manicured look.
Expect to pay from $5 to $10 more if your nail technician considers your acrylic nails on the longer side.
Acrylic fill in costs more on specially shaped nails
The price list of your nail salon typically shows the price of acrylic nail fill-in for simpler shaped nails, usually square, squoval (the combination of square and oval shapes), round and oval on active or short nails.
Shapes that need extra time to work on are almonds, stiletto, or coffin. These specially shaped acrylic nails need additional time to bring them back to their original condition after two or more weeks of use.
You should expect to pay from $5 to $10 extra if your acrylic nails have any of those special shapes.
Acrylic refill costs higher with additional repair work
If you have any broken acrylic nails, your acrylic fill will be higher. Typically, an acrylic nail repair or a new one will cost $3 for a short, and simple-shaped one.
If you lost some of your acrylic nails, your acrylic nail fill cost will be higher because of this extra repair work or new nail replacement.
If you have more than one nails that need to be repaired, your nail technician might give to a discount on this service.
If you have more than four nails that need repair or replacement, you should skip your acrylic nail fill and have your acrylic nails taken off and start a new set for the reason that if that many nails have broken during the last two weeks, either that your acrylic nails are old or they are not done properly for your specific work and lifestyle.
Trimming of overgrown nails costs extra for acrylic fills
Trimming or cut down of your overgrown acrylic nails will cost at least $3 more on your acrylic nail fill. If you are a regular customer and your nails grow slowly in two weeks, your nail technician might do this for free on your simple and short acrylic nails.
Otherwise, cut down on the long, custom-shaped acrylic nails will be an additional charge on your total acrylic nail refill bill.
Special nail polish will cost more on acrylic fills
Usually, the regular nail polish will be included in an acrylic nail fill-in price. However, if you want the gel nail polish, expect to pay an extra $10 to $15 for this longer-lasting, and mirror shine feature up to three weeks of this special polish.

Nail designs or nail art will add more to the acrylic fill price
If you love your acrylic nails with all the bling-bling, expect to pay a lot more on your acrylic nail fills.
While some simple nail designs like white tips or french manicure will only cost $5 extra, other complicated designs or nail art can cost up to $10 per nail.
What is the annual cost of acrylic fills?
Acrylic fill costs can add up over time. For the sake of this argument, you do 20 acrylic fills in a year. You will pay almost $600 not including sales tax, tips, gas, and time (travel time and service time). 20 percent tips on $600 is $120. Gas
If we were to use the national average of acrylic fill which is $29.91, let me add other costs that are associated with acrylic fill-ins, per year.
- 20 acrylic fills in a year: $598.2
- With 8% sales tax: $47.86
- With %20 tips: $119.64
- 1 gallon of gas per trip: $3.00 x 20 : 60
The total: $825.70. For easier seeing, I put them in a table below.
Acrylic fill-in cost per year | In Dollars |
20 acrylic fills @ $29.91 each | $598.20 |
8 % sales tax: 598.2 x 0.08 | $47.86 |
20% tips: 598.2 x 0.20 | $119.64 |
1 gallon of gas per trip: $3.00 x 20 | $60.00 |
Total cost of 20 acrylic fills per year | $825.70 |
If you were to divide this money by $8 which is the cost of a fast-food meal, you can buy 103 lunches a year. 103 lunches equal to 20 weeks which is almost lunches for almost half of a year.
How to cut down on acrylic nail fill in cost
It comes down to the accessories you like to put on your acrylic nail fills. Keep these in mind and you might save some money on your acrylic fill expense.
- Wear short and simple shaped acrylic nails.
- Try not to use your nails as tools or abuse them.
- Have simpler designs and save expensive nail arts for special occasions.

The best nail extension alternative to acrylic nails?
What is the latest, cheapest, and easiest artificial nail alternative that you can do at home?
- This new nail extension costs only $3.67.
- They last up to 4 weeks.
- It takes only 30 minutes to do a new set.
- Minimal nail-shaping skills.
- Minimal nail drilling is needed.
- Taking off is fast and easy.
All of these nice features belong to a new nail extension product called Gelish soft gel nail tips.
California is usually the trendsetter state in nail fashion and the first in adopting new nail products. Nail enthusiasts in the golden state are putting these soft gel nail tips on their nails and like them.
You can find out more in detail here about these soft gel nail tips before you purchase.
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WANT TO FIND OUT THE BEST NAIL SALON NEAR YOUR? There are five things the best nail salon should have. You should know them so you can tell if a nail salon near you is safe and worth your while.
ACRYLIC NAILS LIFT? One of the problems that acrylic nail wearers have is lifting. Loose acrylic nails can be annoying to dangerous. They can get caught in your hair and clothes, and in some cases can tear up or real nails. Find out how you can prevent them.