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Coil vs Apprentice.
Same pitch. Different money.
Apprentice and coil are selling the same idea: one link and one inbox instead of Calendly, Linktree, spreadsheets, and a pile of DMs. Both take deposits, send consent forms, and text aftercare. The difference is how each one gets paid. Apprentice has a free plan and adds 2% on top of Stripe on every payment. Coil is a flat bill each month and never touches your deposits, tips, or balances. Pick the one whose math you like at the volume you actually do.
The honest read
Apprentice is free to start and takes 2% of what you take.
A free plan up to 50 clients, then $24.99. Stripe's rate plus 2% on every card payment. Cheap on a slow month, more than coil once you're booking real money.
Coil is flat and takes nothing.
$29 a month solo. Stripe charges its own rate and that's it. At $3,000 a month in deposits, Apprentice's 2% is $60 on top of the subscription. Coil is still $29.
Apprentice reads your DMs. Coil gives you a number.
Apprentice pulls Instagram DMs, WhatsApp and email into one inbox. Coil gives every artist a business phone number, reads healing photos, and answers the easy ones. Different bets on where the chaos lives.
The price difference.
- Free planNone$0 up to 50 clientsCoil: see the whole site built before you pay. No card to start.
- Solo artist$29/mo$24.99/mo
- Shop · 3 chairs$147/mo$59.99/moApprentice's Studio Pro includes 3 artists.
- Shop · 6 chairs$294/mo$119.96/moApprentice: $59.99 plus $19.99 for each artist past three.
- Cut on deposits, tips, balances0%2% on top of StripeThe line that decides it. Coil's bill never grows with your bookings.
- Solo at $3,000/mo in card payments$29/mo~$85/moApprentice: $24.99 plus 2% of $3,000. Stripe's own rate applies on both.
- Card processingStripe standardStripe standard
What ships on each side.
- ✓ Ships✓ Ships
Public artist site at your own address
- ✓ Ships— Doesn't
Site built from your photos before you pay
Coil builds the whole site from a few photos and shows it to you first.
- ✓ Ships✓ Ships
Qualified inquiry form (placement, refs, budget)
- ✓ Ships✓ Ships
Deposits by card
- ✓ Ships— Doesn't
Deposits by Venmo, Cash App, Zelle or PayPal
Coil shows the client how you take money; nothing has to run through a processor.
- ✓ Ships✓ Ships
Digital consent forms
- ✓ Ships— Doesn't
State consent rules (attestations, ID upload)
Coil ships Tennessee and Kentucky rules from the primary sources, strict defaults elsewhere.
- ✓ Ships✓ Ships
Aftercare texts on a schedule
- — Doesn't✓ Ships
Instagram DM + WhatsApp inbox
Apprentice's strongest feature. Coil doesn't read your DMs.
- ✓ Ships— Doesn't
A business phone number for client texts
Every coil artist gets a number. Clients text it, not your cell.
- ✓ Ships— Doesn't
AI reads healing photos and answers the normal ones
- ✓ Ships— Doesn't
Cancellation waitlist that texts itself
- ✓ Ships— Doesn't
Tip link on the day
- ✓ Ships— Doesn't
Touch-up credits
- ✓ Ships— Doesn't
Healed-photo reward
- ✓ Ships◐ Partial
Reviews on your page
- ✓ Ships✓ Ships
Flash sheet with claims
- ✓ Ships✓ Ships
Walk-in check-in
- ◐ Partial✓ Ships
Campaigns to past clients
Coil: guest-spot and next-piece texts, not a general campaign tool.
- — Doesn't✓ Ships
AI design and placement previews
- ✓ Ships✓ Ships
Piercing, PMU and tooth gems
Coil: piercing on the Shop plan with its own consent and aftercare.
- ✓ Ships◐ Partial
Roster, commission splits, payout sheet
- ✓ Ships— Doesn't
Apprentice mode (owner approves bookings)
- ✓ Ships— Doesn't
Your address and clients stay yours if you leave the shop
On coil the artist keeps the URL, the client book, every deposit and review.
If most of your booking happens inside Instagram DMs and you want those threads pulled into one inbox with the deposit request right there, Apprentice does that and coil doesn't. If you're an apprentice or part-time and book a handful of pieces a month, the free plan is genuinely free and the 2% on a few hundred dollars is pocket change. And if you're a shop with three or more chairs, Apprentice's flat studio price is cheaper than coil's per-chair math.
When coil is the right call
If you book real money, the 2% adds up fast and coil's flat bill doesn't move. If you want a business number instead of your cell, healing photos read for you, a waitlist that fills a cancelled slot by itself, and a consent form that matches your state's rules, that's coil. And if you ever leave your shop, everything on coil goes with you. Under three chairs, coil is the cheaper shop plan too.
What people ask.
- Does Apprentice take a cut?
- Yes. Apprentice charges Stripe's standard rate plus 2% on card payments, on every plan including the free one. Coil charges nothing on top of Stripe. The subscription is the whole bill.
- Is Apprentice's free plan really free?
- For the subscription, yes: $0 up to 50 clients and 50 AI generations a month. You still pay the 2% on payments. Coil has no free plan, but you see your finished site before you pay and no card is needed to start.
- Does coil read Instagram DMs like Apprentice?
- No. Coil gives you a business phone number and a booking page instead. The point is to move clients off your DMs, not to manage them there. If your whole workflow is DMs and you want it to stay that way, Apprentice fits better.
- Which one is cheaper for a shop?
- Apprentice, above two chairs. Its studio plan is $59.99 for three artists and $19.99 for each one after that. Coil is $49 a chair with a two-chair minimum. Coil is cheaper at two chairs, Apprentice is cheaper from three up.
- Are these prices current?
- Checked September 2026 against Apprentice's own site: free plan, Pro $24.99, Studio Pro $59.99 for three artists plus $19.99 per additional artist, Stripe plus 2% on payments. Coil is $29 solo, $59 pro, $49 a chair for shops. Both can change; check before you decide.
Try coil free.
Drop in a few photos. Coil builds your site and shows it to you before you pay a dollar. No card up front.
Drop a few photos · no card needed · see it before you pay