most tattoo artists charge 100-250 dollars an hour, depending. Color is also a factor in the price. Some tattoo artists will charge by piece if you are planning on specific tattoos and know exactly what you want.

yea alot of them charge 120-150 an hour in new zealand

Do some research- search out reputable shops in the area. It isn’t about size so much as the artists hourly rate. Seriously, if your friend is bent on getting a tattoo, he needs to get out there and do some research. Go to the shops, bring the image, view some artists portfolios, figure out the best person to do it, get a price estimate, and most importantly- make sure the image chosen is something that was researched and has time and thought put into it- so many idiots with stupid tattoos. Going by the size though, definitely upwards of a thousand. By the way, what flag is he getting?

your boyfriend sounds about right, if he goes to a good place to get it

answer mine please?

Well, what you’re really paying for is the tattoo artist’s time. That sounds large and costly. Your bf’s figure sounds way closer to what it’ll probably end up costing.