Haircut and Colour Prices in Toronto (2026) — and the Register Nobody Checks
Your hairstylist holds a provincial certificate that expires yearly. The salon is inspected annually. Both are public.
In short
A men’s cut at a standard Toronto barbershop runs $25 to $50, with the city average around $34; high-end shops charge $60 to $100 or more. A women’s cut at a salon runs $40 to $90, and a cut with wash and style reaches $75 to $150.
Colour is the variable one and always needs a consultation price. Add 15 to 20 per cent for tipping, which closes most of the gap between two salons that looked differently priced.
The part almost nobody knows: hairstylist is one of Ontario’s 23 compulsory trades. Your stylist needs a Certificate of Qualification, renewed annually, and you can look them up. The salon’s health inspections are published too.
How much does a haircut cost in Toronto?
Two separate markets with two separate price structures, which is why comparing them is usually an argument rather than a calculation.
| Service | Typical Toronto price | What moves it |
|---|---|---|
| Men’s cut, standard barbershop | $25–$50 (average about $34) | Neighbourhood, whether a beard trim is included |
| Men’s cut, high-end shop | $60–$100+ | Time per client, hot towel, booking system |
| Women’s cut, salon | $40–$90 | Length, whether wash and blow-dry are included |
| Cut, wash and style | $75–$150 | Hair length above all |
| Colour and balayage | Quoted at consultation | Length, starting colour, number of sessions needed |
Toronto and Vancouver sit at the top of Canadian pricing, which tracks the cost of running a chair rather than the skill of the person in it.
Why do women’s cuts cost more?
Mostly time and length — longer hair takes longer to cut, wash and finish, and a salon price usually includes a consultation, shampoo and blow-dry that a barber’s price does not.
That is the honest explanation for most of the gap. It does not explain all of it, and pricing by gender rather than by the length and time of the actual service has been criticised for years. A short cut is a short cut.
The practical version: if you have short hair, ask to be priced by the service rather than by the menu category. Plenty of salons will.
Is a hairstylist licensed in Ontario?
Yes, and it surprises almost everyone. Hairstylist sits alongside electrician and plumber as one of Ontario’s 23 compulsory trades, which means working as one requires a Certificate of Qualification.
Journeypersons in compulsory trades renew that certificate every year, so it can lapse. You can check any individual on the Skilled Trades Ontario public register by name, free, in about a minute.
Worth holding next to the fact that the person who inspects a house you are about to buy for half a million dollars needs no licence at all. Regulation in Ontario follows physical risk, not money.
Are salons inspected?
At least once a year. Hair salons and barbershops are personal service settings under Ontario Regulation 136/18, inspected by public health for cleaning, disinfection and sterilisation.
In Toronto the results are published and searchable by business name or address, and the outcome is one of three: pass, conditional pass, or closed. Our guide to checking a salon’s health inspection covers how, and what the honest interpretation is — almost everything passes, so the database is more useful as a list of what the inspector looks at than as a way of catching anyone.
Two things visible from the chair: whether razors and blades are single-use, and whether there is a separate sink for instruments rather than one sink doing every job.
What will you actually pay?
Add the tip before you compare anything. Tipping is customary in Canadian salons and barbershops at 15 to 20 per cent, and it is applied to the total including colour.
A $90 colour and a $110 colour are $104 and $127 once tipped — closer than the price lists suggest, and both further from the budget you had in mind. On a large colour appointment the tip alone is the price of a men’s cut.
Red flags
What to do next
For a cut, book and go. For colour, book a consultation first and ask two questions: what is the range, and what would push it to the top. A good colourist answers both precisely and is pleased to be asked.
Compare beauty and wellness businesses in Ontario on Ontario24 and contact salons directly. Ontario24 is a classified directory — we help you find and compare, and we do not vet anyone, which is why the two public records above are worth a minute each; our safety tips cover the habit.
Also in this category: massage therapy cost and why RMT status decides your insurance receipt.
Before you call anyone, it helps to know what this job should cost and what the next one will. What things cost in Ontario in 2026 puts 75 service prices in one table.
Frequently asked questions
A men’s cut at a standard barbershop runs $25 to $50, with high-end shops charging $60 to $100 or more; the Toronto average sits around $34. A women’s cut at a salon typically runs $40 to $90, and a cut with wash and style reaches $75 to $150.
Length and time, mostly — longer hair takes longer to cut, wash and finish, and a salon cut usually includes a consultation, shampoo and blow-dry that a barber’s price does not. Pricing purely by gender rather than by service length has been criticised for years.
Colour work is the most variable service on any price list, and balayage sits at the top end. Expect well above the cost of a cut, with length, starting colour and how many sessions are needed to reach the target all moving the number. Always ask for a quote at consultation.
Tipping is customary in Canadian salons and barbershops, commonly 15 to 20 per cent. It is worth factoring into your budget, because a $90 colour and a $110 colour are much closer once tips are included than the price lists suggest.
Yes. Hairstylist is one of Ontario’s 23 compulsory trades, requiring a Certificate of Qualification that is renewed annually. You can verify an individual on the Skilled Trades Ontario public register, which most people do not realise is available.
Yes. Hair salons and barbershops are personal service settings under Ontario Regulation 136/18 and are inspected by public health at least once a year. In Toronto the results are published and searchable by business name or address.
Usually because more product or more time was needed than the consultation allowed for, particularly on long or previously coloured hair. Ask at consultation for the price range and what would push it to the top of that range — a good colourist answers precisely.
Sources
Price ranges are drawn from published 2026 Canadian salon and barbershop pricing guides and Toronto shop price lists, checked 17 September 2026; every chair sets its own rates, so treat these as the market rather than a quote. Hairstylist’s status as one of Ontario’s 23 compulsory trades, the Certificate of Qualification and its annual renewal are published by Skilled Trades Ontario. Inspection requirements for personal service settings are set out in Ontario Regulation 136/18, with results published by Toronto Public Health. Ontario24 is a classified directory and does not vet, certify or recommend any salon.