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.

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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.
$59 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 $59.
Apprentice collects your DMs. coil answers them.
Apprentice pulls Instagram DMs, WhatsApp and email into one inbox. coil answers the Instagram DMs from people asking to book, from your account, within a minute, with your booking link, and gives every artist a business phone number for the rest. Different bets on where the chaos lives.

The price difference.

CoilApprentice

Free plan
coil: see the whole site built before you pay, then 30 days free.
None$0 up to 50 clients
Solo artist
$59/mo$24.99/mo
Shop · 3 chairs
Apprentice's Studio Pro includes 3 artists.
$147/mo$59.99/mo
Shop · 6 chairs
Apprentice: $59.99 plus $19.99 for each artist past three.
$294/mo$119.96/mo
Shop · 8 chairs
coil stops here: chair 9 and up are free.
$392/mo$159.94/mo
Shop · 20 chairs
From 20 chairs, coil costs less on the subscription alone, before Apprentice's 2%.
$392/mo$399.82/mo
Cut on deposits, tips, balances
The line that decides it. coil's bill never grows with your bookings.
0%2% on top of Stripe
Solo at $3,000/mo in card payments
Apprentice: $24.99 plus 2% of $3,000. Stripe's own rate applies on both.
$59/mo~$85/mo
Card processing
Stripe standardStripe standard

Feature by feature.

CoilApprentice

Public artist site at your own address
YesYes
Site built from your photos before you pay
coil builds the whole site from a few photos and shows it to you first.
YesNo
Booking form that asks placement, references and budget
YesYes
Deposits by card
YesYes
Deposits by Venmo, Cash App, Zelle or PayPal
coil shows the client how you take money; nothing has to run through a processor.
YesNo
Digital consent forms
YesYes
State consent rules (attestations, ID upload)
coil ships Tennessee and Kentucky rules from the primary sources, strict defaults elsewhere.
YesNo
Aftercare texts on a schedule
YesYes
Instagram DM + WhatsApp inbox
Apprentice's strongest feature. coil answers booking DMs with your link and keeps those conversations in its inbox, not the rest of your DMs. No WhatsApp or email.
PartlyYes
A business phone number for client texts
Every coil artist gets a number. Clients text it, not your cell.
YesNo
AI reads healing photos and answers the normal ones
YesNo
Cancellation waitlist that texts itself
YesNo
Tip link on the day
YesNo
Touch-up credits
YesNo
Healed-photo reward
YesNo
Reviews on your page
YesPartly
Flash sheet with claims
YesYes
Walk-in check-in
YesYes
Campaigns to past clients
coil: guest-spot and next-piece texts, not a general campaign tool.
PartlyYes
AI design and placement previews
NoYes
Piercing, PMU and tooth gems
coil: piercing on the Shop plan with its own consent and aftercare.
YesYes
Roster, commission splits, payout sheet
YesPartly
Apprentice bookings wait for your approval
YesNo
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.
YesNo

When Apprentice fits you better

If you want Instagram, WhatsApp and email threads all in 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 on the subscription alone, Apprentice's studio plan costs less than coil for any shop under 20 chairs.

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. For a big shop, coil stops at $392 a month because chair 9 and up are free, while Apprentice keeps adding $19.99 an artist and 2% of every payment.

Questions

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?

Differently. coil answers the DMs from people asking to book, from your account, within a minute, with your booking link, so the request lands in your inbox with size, placement and references. It can also show your Instagram DMs next to your texts. It doesn't do WhatsApp or email. If you want every channel in one thread and to book inside it, Apprentice fits better.

Which one is cheaper for a shop?

On the subscription, Apprentice, for any shop under 20 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, and chair 9 and up are free, so coil never passes $392 a month. At 8 chairs that's $159.94 on Apprentice against $392 on coil; at 20 chairs it's $399.82 against $392. Apprentice also takes 2% of every card payment, so a busy shop can pay more there well before 20 chairs.

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 $59 a month solo, $49 a chair in a shop, and chair 9 and up are free. Both can change; check before you decide.

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coil vs Apprentice. Same pitch. Different money.

Apprentice is free to start and takes 2% of what you take.

coil is flat and takes nothing.

Apprentice collects your DMs. coil answers them.

The price difference.

Feature by feature.

What people ask.

See coil with your own work.