Tap a spot on the body, or pick it from the list: how much a tattoo there is said to hurt, why, and whether it hides at work. Looking for somewhere gentle? Turn on a filter: less pain, easy to hide, a good first tattoo.
Tattoo pain chart
27 placementsTap a spot on the body, or pick one from the list: how much it is said to hurt, and why.
- Hurts least (reported)
- Outer forearm, 2–4 out of 10
- Hurts most (reported)
- Armpit, 9–10 out of 10
- Good for a first tattoo
- Shoulder & outer upper arm and outer thigh
- No medical source scores tattoo pain: these are the ratings tattoo artists and an aftercare maker publish, from their clients and themselves, and your own will vary with your pain tolerance, the size and style of the piece, and how long you sit. The medical sources agree on the pattern: thin skin over bone, and places with many nerve endings, hurt more; places padded with muscle or fat hurt less (Healthline).
See a doctor if…
Some redness, swelling or warmth right after a tattoo is normal. But after a new tattoo, see a doctor if you have:
- Redness that gets darker or spreads, instead of fading
- Pain that keeps going or gets worse, instead of easing
- A rash of itchy, red, painful bumps in the tattoo, bumps with pus, or an open sore
- Pus in the tattoo
- A fever, chills or shivering
- It doesn’t seem to be healing
See your doctor or a board-certified dermatologist right away, and tell your tattoo artist (AAD, FDA).
Get medical care at once if a reaction in the tattoo comes with trouble breathing, a racing heart, a tight chest, dizziness, intense swelling or hives.
Pain as tattoo artists report it (Tattooing 101, Saniderm, Hyper Inkers, Burned Hearts Tattoo) and Healthline; warning signs from the American Academy of Dermatology, the FDA and Cleveland Clinic. Checked 2026-09-19. This chart informs; it is not medical advice.
Quick answer: tattoos hurt least where muscle or fat pads the skin: the outer forearm (2–4 out of 10), the shoulder and outer upper arm (2–5), the upper back (3–5), the calf and the outer thigh. They hurt most over bone and nerves: the ribs (8–10), the inner thigh (8–10) and the armpit (9–10). Tap any spot on the body above for its pain and why.
How to use it
Tap a numbered dot on the body, front or back, or pick a placement from the list under it. You get the pain tattoo artists report for that spot, each chart’s own number beside it, why it hurts more or less, and whether it hides under everyday work clothes.
Still choosing? Turn on a filter. Hurt less keeps the placements that Healthline lists among the less painful places and that at least one chart rates 4 or under. Hide easily at work keeps what a T-shirt, trousers and closed shoes cover. Suit a first tattoo keeps the spots at least two of the charts suggest for a first one. Every result has its own link, and its own pin to save on Pinterest.
Tattoo pain chart: every placement, least to most painful
No medical source scores tattoo pain. These numbers are what tattoo artists and an aftercare maker publish, on a scale of 0 to 10, from their clients and themselves: Tattooing 101, Saniderm, Hyper Inkers and Burned Hearts Tattoo. Each placement’s range runs from the lowest to the highest number among the charts that rate it. It is never an average that nobody published.
| Placement | Reported pain | Each chart’s number | At work |
|---|---|---|---|
| Outer forearm | 2–4 out of 10 | Tattooing 101 4, Saniderm 3, Hyper Inkers 3 and Burned Hearts Tattoo 2–4 | Shows in short sleeves |
| Shoulder & outer upper arm | 2–5 out of 10 | Tattooing 101 5, Saniderm 4, Hyper Inkers 3 and Burned Hearts Tattoo 2–3 | Easy to hide |
| Upper back | 3–5 out of 10 | Tattooing 101 3, Saniderm 5, Hyper Inkers 3 and Burned Hearts Tattoo 3–4 | Easy to hide |
| Calf | 3–6½ out of 10 | Tattooing 101 6½, Saniderm 6, Hyper Inkers 4 and Burned Hearts Tattoo 3–4 | Easy to hide |
| Lower back | 3–7 out of 10 | Tattooing 101 3, Saniderm 5, Hyper Inkers 3 and Burned Hearts Tattoo 5–7 | Easy to hide |
| Outer thigh | 3–7 out of 10 | Tattooing 101 5, Saniderm 4–7, Hyper Inkers 3 and Burned Hearts Tattoo 3–4 | Easy to hide |
| Inner upper arm | 5–6 out of 10 | Tattooing 101 6, Saniderm 6, Hyper Inkers 5 and Burned Hearts Tattoo 5–6 | Shows in short sleeves |
| Stomach | 5–7 out of 10 | Tattooing 101 6½, Saniderm 5, Hyper Inkers 5 and Burned Hearts Tattoo 5–7 | Easy to hide |
| Wrist | 5–7 out of 10 | Tattooing 101 7 and Hyper Inkers 5 | Shows in short sleeves |
| Hip | 5–7½ out of 10 | Tattooing 101 7½, Hyper Inkers 6 and Burned Hearts Tattoo 5–7 | Easy to hide |
| Buttocks | 5–8 out of 10 | Tattooing 101 8, Saniderm 8 and Burned Hearts Tattoo 5–7 | Easy to hide |
| Chest | 5–8½ out of 10 | Tattooing 101 8½, Saniderm 7, Hyper Inkers 8 and Burned Hearts Tattoo 5–7 | Easy to hide |
| Ear & behind the ear | 7–7½ out of 10 | Tattooing 101 7½ and Hyper Inkers 7 | Hard to hide |
| Face | 7–7½ out of 10 | Tattooing 101 7½, Saniderm 7 and Hyper Inkers 7 | Hard to hide |
| Shin | 6–8½ out of 10 | Tattooing 101 8½, Saniderm 6 and Hyper Inkers 7 | Easy to hide |
| Sternum (under the bust) | 7–8½ out of 10 | Tattooing 101 8½, Saniderm 7 and Hyper Inkers 8 | Easy to hide |
| Head | 7–9 out of 10 | Tattooing 101 7½, Saniderm 9 and Hyper Inkers 7 | Hard to hide |
| Hand & fingers | 6–10 out of 10 | Tattooing 101 7, Saniderm 8, Hyper Inkers 6 and Burned Hearts Tattoo 8–10 | Hard to hide |
| Top of the foot | 6–10 out of 10 | Tattooing 101 7, Saniderm 9, Hyper Inkers 6 and Burned Hearts Tattoo 8–10 | Easy to hide |
| Ankle | 7–10 out of 10 | Tattooing 101 8½, Saniderm 9, Hyper Inkers 7 and Burned Hearts Tattoo 8–10 | Easy to hide |
| Elbow | 7–10 out of 10 | Tattooing 101 9, Saniderm 8, Hyper Inkers 7 and Burned Hearts Tattoo 8–10 | Shows in short sleeves |
| Knee | 7–10 out of 10 | Tattooing 101 9, Saniderm 10, Hyper Inkers 7 and Burned Hearts Tattoo 8–10 | Easy to hide |
| Neck | 7–10 out of 10 | Tattooing 101 7½, Saniderm 7, Hyper Inkers 7 and Burned Hearts Tattoo 8–10 | Hard to hide |
| Spine | 7–10 out of 10 | Tattooing 101 7½, Hyper Inkers 7 and Burned Hearts Tattoo 8–10 | Easy to hide |
| Inner thigh | 8–10 out of 10 | Tattooing 101 8, Hyper Inkers 8 and Burned Hearts Tattoo 8–10 | Easy to hide |
| Ribs | 8–10 out of 10 | Tattooing 101 9, Saniderm 9, Hyper Inkers 10 and Burned Hearts Tattoo 8–10 | Easy to hide |
| Armpit | 9–10 out of 10 | Tattooing 101 9½, Saniderm 9, Hyper Inkers 10 and Burned Hearts Tattoo 9–10 | Easy to hide |
Some charts give one number to a wider area. Tattooing 101, for one, rates the neck, head, face, ears and lips together at 7½. Where that happens, the tool says so under the result. “At work” is our own sorting, by what a T-shirt, trousers and closed shoes cover. It is not a source’s.
Why some places hurt more than others
Healthline (medically reviewed) explains the pattern. It hurts more where you have many nerve endings, where bone sits close under the skin without much fat, and where the skin is very thin. It hurts less where the skin is padded with some fat, pulled tight, has few nerve endings and is not close to bone. The charts agree: every spot rated 8 or more by at least one of them is over bone, a joint or a dense run of nerves. Healthline lists the ribs, spine, armpit, elbows, wrists, knees, shins, ankles and feet among the places that hurt more. The forearm, upper arm and shoulder, back, outer thigh and calf are among the places that hurt less.
Two places surprise people. The stomach varies more from person to person than anywhere else, because it depends on body fat and how taut the skin is (Hyper Inkers, Tattooing 101). And the buttocks: Saniderm raised its rating from 3 to 8 after its writer had one done, because the muscles flinch while you are tattooed.
Worked examples
- A small first tattoo, easy to cover for work: turn on Suit a first tattoo and Hide easily at work. Two placements stay lit: the shoulder and outer upper arm (2–5 out of 10) and the outer thigh (3–7). See NeedleStyle’s shoulder tattoos for women and shoulder cap tattoo ideas.
- A sleeve, and you worry about the pain: the outer forearm is the gentlest place on the chart, at 2–4. The inner upper arm is 5–6 and the elbow 7–10, so most of a sleeve is manageable and the elbow is the hard part. For designs, see the biblical sleeve tattoos NeedleStyle readers love.
- A foot or ankle piece: the top of the foot is 6–10 and the ankle 7–10. Saniderm and Hyper Inkers both say a foot tattoo is harder to heal, because shoes rub it. Ideas: feet tattoos for women.
- A leg sleeve: the calf (3–6½) and the outer thigh (3–7) are gentler than the shin (6–8½) and the knee (7–10). Ideas: leg sleeve tattoos for women.
Common mistakes
- Choosing the ribs for a first tattoo. Tattooing 101 notes that many clients want their first tattoo on their rib cage, and it is one of the most painful spots on every chart (8–10).
- Reading “the forearm” as one place. The outside is among the gentlest spots (2–4). Saniderm rates the inside 8.
- Forgetting that hand tattoos fade. Saniderm and Hyper Inkers both say hand and finger tattoos fade faster than most places and often need touch-ups.
- Treating a number as a promise. Your own pain depends on your tolerance, the size and style of the piece, how long you sit and the artist (Healthline, Tattooing 101).
See a doctor if…
Some redness, swelling or warmth right after a tattoo is normal (American Academy of Dermatology, U.S. FDA). See your doctor or a board-certified dermatologist right away, and tell your tattoo artist, if you have:
- Redness that gets darker or spreads, instead of fading
- Pain that keeps going or gets worse, instead of easing
- A rash of itchy, red, painful bumps in the tattoo, bumps with pus, or an open sore
- Pus in the tattoo
- A fever, chills or shivering
- It doesn’t seem to be healing
Get medical care at once if a reaction in the tattoo comes with trouble breathing, a racing heart, a tight chest, dizziness, intense swelling or hives. Sources: the American Academy of Dermatology, the FDA and Cleveland Clinic. This chart informs; it is not medical advice.
FAQ
What does a tattoo pain chart show?
How much a tattoo is said to hurt on each part of the body, on a scale of 0 to 10. No medical source scores tattoo pain, so a pain chart shows what tattoo artists report from their clients. This one puts four published charts side by side and shows the range they give for each placement.
Where is the least painful place to get a tattoo?
The outer forearm, at 2 to 4 out of 10 across the charts, then the shoulder and outer upper arm (2 to 5) and the upper back (3 to 5). Muscle or fat pads the skin in all three, and Healthline lists them among the places that hurt less.
What is the most painful place to get a tattoo?
The armpit, at 9 to 10 out of 10, then the ribs and the inner thigh (8 to 10). The knee, elbow, ankle, neck and spine reach 10 on at least one chart. They are all over bone, a joint or a dense run of nerves.
Where should I get a tattoo?
If it is your first, start where it hurts less and is easy to cover. At least two of the charts suggest the shoulder and outer upper arm, and the outer thigh. Beyond pain, think about who will see it at work and how it will look as you move. Turn on the filters above to see what fits.
Where should I get my first tattoo?
The shoulder and outer upper arm is the spot the charts suggest most: Saniderm, Burned Hearts Tattoo and Hyper Inkers all name it. The outer thigh is the other one, suggested by Burned Hearts Tattoo and Hyper Inkers. Both hurt less than most places, and both hide under a T-shirt and trousers.
Do tattoos hurt more on bone?
Yes. Healthline lists places close to bone without much fat among those that hurt more, and every spot the charts rate 8 or more is over bone, a joint or dense nerves: the ribs, sternum, spine, elbow, knee, shin, ankle and feet.
When should I see a doctor about a new tattoo?
Some redness and swelling is normal at first. See a doctor or a dermatologist right away if the redness darkens or spreads, the pain keeps getting worse, you see pus or an open sore, or you get a fever or chills (American Academy of Dermatology, FDA). Get medical care at once for trouble breathing, a racing heart or hives.