An entry fee is the amount an organiser charges to consider an application, and it is the first number an artist can compare across opportunities. It is also the least complete one. Of the 220 open records in this index, 19 state a fee of zero, 18 publish a fee above zero, and 183 — 83% of the index — state no fee anywhere on the organiser's own page.
That last figure is the one worth sitting with. An unstated fee is not a free one. It is a call whose cost you cannot know until you are far enough into an application to reach the payment step.
What organisers charge
Compare fees within the same currency and submission size. A figure in euros cannot be combined with a figure in US dollars into a meaningful market median without a stated conversion method and date. This guide therefore uses the published fee on each record and the labelled worked example below.
The live index distinguishes explicit zero fees, published positive fees and fees not stated in the recorded evidence. None of those counts establishes a market-wide average or explains why a particular organiser charges.
What the fee usually covers
A fee typically pays for some combination of the jury's time, the platform the call runs on, the administration of a submission process, and in some cases part of the prize fund. Organisers who explain this on the call page tend to be the ones worth trusting: the explanation is cheap to give, and its absence is informative.
What a fee almost never covers is anything that happens after selection. Framing, crating, shipping in both directions, insurance, installation and the commission a venue takes on a sale are all separate, and together they are usually the larger number.
How many works a fee buys
Read whether the fee is charged per application or per work. A call charging a flat amount for up to five images and one charging the same amount per image are not comparable prices, and the second is where an application quietly becomes expensive. Many organisers add a smaller charge for each work beyond the first; that per-additional-entry figure belongs in your calculation before you decide how many pieces to submit.
When the fee is not stated
A call with no published fee falls into three groups, and they are very different. Some are genuinely free and simply do not say so. Some collect payment at the submission platform rather than on the call page, so the number exists but lives one click further on. And some publish nothing because the fee is set later or varies by category.
This index records an unstated fee as unstated. Converting it to zero would be the single most useful lie a listing site could tell, and it is the reason artists arrive at a payment screen they did not expect.
Compare fee structures with the same number of works
An entry-fee comparison needs a fixed submission size. The lowest advertised fee can become the most expensive option once you add the works you intend to enter.
| Fee structure | Calculation | Total to enter |
|---|---|---|
| Flat application fee | £25 includes up to three works | £25 |
| Per-work fee | £12 × three works | £36 |
| First work plus additions | £20 + £6 + £6 | £32 |
| Members-only entry | £40 membership + £10 entry | £50 if joining only for this call |
Do not pay for extra works merely because the unit price falls. The fourth image is useful only if the rules permit it and it improves the submission. Distinguish an additional artwork from a permitted detail photograph: the organiser may count them differently.
If you are already a member for another reason, the membership cost may not be caused by this application. If you would join solely to enter, it belongs in your comparison. Keep the calculation consistent across calls.
Ask about waivers and record the checkout terms
A fee waiver removes or reduces an application charge under the organiser's policy. Look for access support, hardship waivers, local-artist rates or early-entry rates, and check whether a request has to arrive before the main deadline. Do not infer a waiver from the call being publicly funded.
A useful request states the call title, quotes the advertised fee and asks whether a waiver or reduced rate is available. Provide only information the policy requires. If a code is issued, confirm the total changes before completing payment.
At checkout, record the currency, number of works, compulsory processing charges and optional products. A catalogue purchase or membership renewal should not quietly become part of your entry because it was preselected. Save the terms that apply to cancellation, withdrawal and duplicate payment.
The entry fee is the cost of an attempt. Framing, shipping and any exhibition charges are the cost of accepting an outcome. Keep those separate when deciding how much risk to take across several applications.
What should an artist do about a fee?
Decide the outcome that would justify the cost before you look at the fee, not after. A fee is worth paying when the credible result — a sale, a jury you want to be read by, a venue that matters to your practice, an award large enough to change what you can make next — is worth more than the fee plus everything selection would cost you.
How do you compare two calls with different fees?
Compare the total cost of being selected, not the cost of applying. A free call that requires professional framing and two-way insured shipping can cost several hundred more than a paid call that exhibits digital files. The true cost of applying is the comparison that actually decides it.
Is a high entry fee a warning sign?
Not by itself. A high fee attached to a named jury, a real venue, a published award and a visible history is a price. A high fee attached to none of those is a business model, and the difference between the two is what to look at rather than the number.
Can entry fees be refunded?
Read the organiser's refund and cancellation terms before paying. Withdrawal, rejection, duplicate payment and organiser cancellation can have different rules. Applicable consumer protections may also matter; do not assume that every cancellation is non-refundable.
When there is no fee at all
19 records here are explicitly free to enter, and free calls deserve the same reading as paid ones. Ask what the organiser gets. Some free calls are funded programmes with real budgets; some are exhibitions where the artist carries every cost after selection. Free at the door is not free overall.