How to open a nail salon in Thailand: budget, equipment and first clients

A home studio costs less to start. A shopfront costs more but brings walk-in clients and people see your shop every day. Pick the one that fits your budget and the clients you already have, and for the steps common to every beauty business, read our guide to opening a beauty salon in Thailand.

Home studio

• No rent: the starter kit is most of the budget
• You set your hours around your bookings
• Clients need clear directions before their first visit
• Check your condo or village rules on visitors first

Shopfront, market stall or mall space

• Rent, fit-out and often staff to pay
• Walk-in clients see you every day
• You need the lease or landlord's consent to register

Registration

A shop with a permanent storefront must file a commercial registration within 30 days of starting business. In Bangkok you file at the district office, elsewhere at the municipality or TAO, or online with the Department of Business Development (DBD). The fee is about 50 THB and the certificate usually comes the same day.

Bring your ID card, your house registration, form ทพ. and proof of premises. VAT at 7% only applies once annual revenue passes 1.8 million THB, and setting up a company instead costs about 5,000 to 6,000 THB.

For a home studio, the sources we read do not say clearly whether registration is required. Ask your district office, and read the two open questions below before you sign a lease.

Your budget depends first on the size of the shop. One table at a market and a five-station studio in a mall do not cost the same.

The starter kit

For a first station you need gel polish, a basic nail-art kit, a table, a chair and a UV/LED lamp. SmartSME puts this kit at about 5,000 to 15,000 THB, while a copy of the same article on Line Today says 3,000 to 5,000 THB, so treat both as a rough range.

A home seller of press-on nails wrote on Lemon8 that her gel lamp cost 300 to 1,200 THB and her materials 500 to 2,500 THB. That is one person's account, not an official figure.

Where budgets leak

• Too many gel colours bought before the first client
• Nail-art tools for designs nobody has asked for
• Packaging and stock for products that do not sell

A nail owner with more than two years in the business wrote that she spent tens of thousands of baht on gel, press-on nails and packaging, and got back only hundreds. Start small and buy more as bookings come in.

Plan a line for the monthly software cost as well: a booking and salon app like SeeU costs from 990 THB a month excluding 7% VAT, after a 30-day free trial. We found no reliable source for shop rents or nail technician salaries, so ask for local quotes. The table below sums up the budgets KTC published in 2024 by shop size.

Set each price from three numbers: your time, your product cost and the margin you want. Then check it against shops nearby.

1. 01Time the service, from shaping to top coat.
2. 02Set an hourly rate that covers rent, tools and your own pay.
3. 03Add the product used per client.
4. 04Add your margin, then compare with local prices.

Prices on the market today

Fastwork says basic gel polish starts at about 150 THB. A small home shop listed gel on hands from 150 THB, on feet from 250 THB, flash, cat-eye or glitter colours at 250 THB and powder dip at 350 THB (2024). First Nail Studio starts some gel services at about 350 THB.

The only Bangkok list of gel extension prices we found dates from around 2021, from 150 THB per finger up to 2,000 THB. It is outdated, so check current prices near you.

Extensions and nail art

Extensions and nail art take longer, so the same method gives a higher price. Price nail art per finger or by level of detail: a simple line and a 3D design should not cost the same.

Here is the method with round figures.

A set of extensions or detailed nail art can take hours. If the client does not come, that slot is lost, and you rarely fill it at short notice. A deposit asks the client to commit, and covers part of your time if they do not show up.

Set up a deposit in 4 steps

1. 01Ask for it on long services only: extensions, full sets, detailed nail art.
2. 02Write the amount in your price list and in every booking confirmation.
3. 03Set a clear refund deadline, for example cancellations up to 24 hours before.
4. 04Send a reminder the day before and a few hours before.

Taking deposits by bank transfer in a LINE chat works at the start, but you check every slip by hand and keep track of who has paid.

With SeeU, the client pays the deposit by card or PromptPay when booking (Premium). You choose the amount, from 10 to 100% of the booking, and the refund deadline, and reminders go out by themselves 24 hours and 2 hours before. See our nail salon booking app and POS, and how to take online bookings through LINE.

Your first clients will find you where they already look for nail designs: Instagram, TikTok and LINE. Show your work, then make booking a single tap.

• Photograph every set close up, in daylight
• Post short videos of your process on TikTok
• Put one booking link in your Instagram and TikTok bio
• Share the same link in LINE chats and on Google

A booking link instead of chat

With a booking link, clients see your free slots and pick one themselves, without messages back and forth. SeeU gives your shop its own booking link to share on Instagram, LINE or your Google Business profile, and a page on the SeeU marketplace, where clients in Bangkok search and book. Bookings from the marketplace, Instagram and the front desk land in one calendar.

LINE Official Account

If you answer clients through a LINE Official Account, replies, greeting messages and auto-replies are free, according to LINE Bot Pro. Here are the Thai plans as of October 2026, excluding 7% VAT.