How Much Does Hobby Lobby Custom Framing Cost?

Updated on August 12, 2026 | Written by Alec Pow
This article was researched using 10 sources. See our methodology and corrections policy.

Hobby Lobby custom framing commonly requires a budget of about $80-$300 for a standard photo, print, or artwork project, while large pieces, shadow boxes, jerseys, premium mouldings, multiple mats, and museum-glass projects can cost $400-$500 or more. Hobby Lobby does not publish a nationwide dollar-price chart for completed custom frames, so the exact amount comes from a free in-store quote.

The most important current Hobby Lobby pricing rule is official: custom frame mouldings are always 50% off the marked price. The discount applies to the frame portion only, not automatically to every part of the completed project. Matting, protective glazing, mounting requirements, and specialty presentation choices can therefore make the final bill considerably higher than half of the marked moulding price.

Hobby Lobby currently offers more than 400 custom frame mouldings and more than 300 archival-quality mat boards, along with UV-blocking glazing, reduced-glare museum glass, shadow boxes, and custom framing for photographs, prints, diplomas, flags, memorabilia, and other objects. That broad range of materials is also why two projects with the same artwork dimensions can receive very different quotes.

Article Highlights

• A reasonable 2026 planning range is about $80-$300 (at $30 per hour, earning that amount would take about 0.3 to 1.3 full-time workdays, before taxes) for many standard custom-framing projects, but Hobby Lobby does not publish one national project-price list.
• Hobby Lobby currently advertises custom frame mouldings at 50% off the marked price every day.
• The 50% discount applies to the frame portion only, not automatically to matting, glazing, mounting, or every other project component.
• Free custom-framing quotes are available in Hobby Lobby stores.
• Hobby Lobby currently carries more than 400 custom mouldings and more than 300 archival-quality mat boards.
• UV-blocking glazing is part of the available framing system, with reduced-glare museum glass offered as a premium option.
• A 24×36 project needs about 3.3 times as much linear frame moulding as an 8×10 before the added glass and mat area are considered.

Hobby Lobby Framing Prices

Framing cost or comparison	Current price	What it means
Hobby Lobby custom framing	About $80-$300+ (about 0.3 to 1.3 full-time workdays at $30 per hour)	2026 third-party planning range for a typical 16×20 project, not an official Hobby Lobby quote
Hobby Lobby custom frame moulding	50% off marked price	Official everyday frame-only discount
Hobby Lobby framing quote	Free	Current advertised in-store quote
Framebridge digital 12×18	$125	Published all-in online comparison
Framebridge digital 18×24	$175	Published all-in online comparison
Michaels standard 16×20 package	$129	Published everyday-value package comparison
Michaels standard 24×36 package	$179	Published everyday-value package comparison

Hobby Lobby’s current custom-framing page does not provide a completed-project price chart. Instead, customers select the moulding, matting, glazing, and presentation in-store and receive a project-specific quote.

A July 2026 custom-framing market comparison places a typical 16×20 Hobby Lobby project around $80-$300+. That is useful for budgeting, but it is an independent market estimate rather than a Hobby Lobby national rate.

Custom framing has also become more expensive across the wider industry. The Washington Post reported that framing prices have risen sharply as moulding, metal, acrylic, labor, utilities, and tariffs increased costs for frame shops.

The 50% Discount Is Frame-Only

Hobby Lobby’s most visible custom-framing promotion can easily be misunderstood. Its current weekly advertising says:

Custom frame mouldings: always 50% off the marked price.

The company’s current weekly advertising also states that the offer applies to the frame only and promotes free custom-framing quotes.

Consider an illustrative project with a moulding marked at $220 (about 7.3 hours of work at $30 per hour).

The frame discount is:

$220 × 50% = $110 discount

The discounted frame portion becomes:

$220 – $110 = $110

If other quoted project components total another hypothetical $100, the completed project would be:

$110 frame portion + $100 other components = $210 total

The customer would not pay $105 simply because the final project totaled $210 and Hobby Lobby advertises “50% off custom frames.” The published discount applies specifically to the marked frame price.

Hobby Lobby Uses In-Store Quotes

Hobby Lobby’s current custom-framing selection includes more than 400 mouldings made from materials such as wood, resin, and metal. A narrow contemporary moulding around a photograph and a wide decorative moulding around an oil painting can therefore use the same outside dimensions while carrying very different material costs.

The store also offers more than 300 mat boards. Hobby Lobby says all of its custom-framing mat boards are archival quality, acid-free, and lignin-free, with colored, textured, and fabric mats available. Cotton-rag museum mats are offered for more preservation-focused projects.

Glazing is another variable. Hobby Lobby says its framing glazing provides UV blocking, while museum glass adds reduced glare. Shadow boxes, flags, memorabilia, and objects with depth require a different frame package from a flat photograph.

Those choices make a single national “8×10 costs X” chart impractical. The art dimensions establish the approximate size, but the specifications establish much of the price.

24×36 Uses 3.3 Times More Moulding

Frame size affects cost in more than one way. The moulding runs around the perimeter, while glazing, backing, and mat board cover an area.

An 8×10 frame has a perimeter of:

8 + 10 + 8 + 10 = 36 inches

A 24×36 frame has a perimeter of:

24 + 36 + 24 + 36 = 120 inches

Compare the two:

120 ÷ 36 = 3.33

The 24×36 project therefore needs about 3.3 times as much linear moulding as the 8×10 before waste from cutting the corners is considered.

The difference in glazing area is even larger. An 8×10 surface covers 80 square inches, while 24×36 covers 864 square inches.

That means:

864 ÷ 80 = 10.8 times the surface area

This helps explain why oversized custom framing can rise much faster in price than the dimensions initially suggest.

Matting and Museum Glass

Matting is not merely decorative when a piece needs preservation-conscious framing. It can also help prevent the artwork from resting directly against the glazing.

The Library of Congress recommends preservation-quality matting and framing for valuable paper objects. Its guidance calls for chemically stable materials, suitable mat board, separation between the artwork and glazing, appropriate backing, and UV-protective glazing for preservation-focused display.

The National Archives similarly recommends acid-free or preservation-quality matting and spacing that prevents original photographs or documents from touching glass or acrylic.

Those features cost more than placing a replaceable poster in a basic ready-made frame, but they make more sense for signed prints, diplomas, heirloom photographs, limited editions, documents, and art with financial or sentimental value.

Even UV-filtering glazing does not make an object immune to light damage. Valuable artwork should still be kept away from strong direct sunlight.

$30 Print Can Cost $200 to Frame

The value of the artwork does not determine the amount of labor or material required to frame it. A $30 poster and a $3,000 print with the same dimensions can consume the same amount of moulding, mat board, glazing, backing, and assembly time.

That is why it is entirely possible to buy a print for $30 and receive a custom-framing quote around $150-$250. The customer is buying a made-to-size display and preservation package, not a percentage-based service tied to the original purchase price of the artwork.

For inexpensive mass-market posters, custom framing may therefore cost several times more than the art itself. For an original work, signed photograph, diploma, valuable print, or irreplaceable family item, the preservation and presentation can justify the larger framing bill.

Hobby Lobby vs. Framebridge

Framebridge makes a useful comparison because it publishes clear size-based prices. Its current digital-item pricing runs from $70 for prints up to 5×7 to $300 for prints up to 32×40.

Current digital tiers include:

• Up to 5×7: $70
• Up to 9×12: $90
• Up to 12×18: $125
• Up to 18×24: $175
• Up to 24×34: $225
• Up to 32×40: $300

Framebridge’s listed price is designed as an all-in size tier, while Hobby Lobby offers a much broader in-store component-selection process. That makes an exact comparison possible only after choosing similar mouldings, mats, and glazing.

Michaels also publishes some standardized framing prices. Its Everyday Value Package pricing currently starts at $79 for a standard 8×10 package, $129 for 16×20, $179 for 24×36, and $199 for 32×40. Those standard packages include a specified moulding level, UV-protective glass, one standard mat, and preservation mounting.

There is no reliable basis for saying Hobby Lobby is always exactly 10%-20% cheaper than Michaels. For a fair comparison, get both quotes for the same art size and similar moulding, mat count, glazing, and mounting requirements.

JOANN Is No Longer a Store Comparison

Older custom-framing guides frequently compare Hobby Lobby with JOANN. That comparison is no longer useful. JOANN announced in 2025 that it would close all of its stores after its bankruptcy sale, ending its nationwide brick-and-mortar operation. Reuters reported the nationwide shutdown after the retailer failed to find a buyer that would preserve the chain.

Current comparison shopping is better focused on Michaels, Framebridge, independent local framers, online made-to-order services, and ready-made framing when custom work is unnecessary.

Ready-Made vs. Custom Framing

A ready-made frame is usually the less expensive choice when the artwork already fits a standard size and does not need special mounting or preservation materials.

Custom framing makes sense if:

• The artwork has a nonstandard size.
• You want a particular moulding and mat combination.
• The piece needs a shadow box or object mount.
• You are framing a diploma, signed print, jersey, flag, heirloom, or valuable photograph.
• Preservation-quality matting and UV-blocking glazing matter.

A ready-made frame makes more sense if:

• The piece fits a common 5×7, 8×10, 11×14, 16×20, or similar retail size.
• The artwork is inexpensive and replaceable.
• You do not need custom mat openings or specialty mounting.
• Your priority is spending as little as possible.

Do not compare a $15 ready-made shelf frame directly with a complete custom-framing quote. They are different products with very different material and labor requirements.

Three Hobby Lobby Quote Scenarios

Case 1: simpler print project. Imagine the selected moulding has a marked frame price of $120. Hobby Lobby’s frame-only discount reduces that portion to $60. If all remaining quoted components total an illustrative $45, the completed project would be $105.

Case 2: medium framed artwork. A moulding marked at $220 falls to $110 after the 50% frame discount. Add an illustrative $100 for the remaining quoted components and the total becomes $210.

Case 3: specialty display. A large or decorative moulding marked at $300 would have a discounted frame portion of $150. If a shadow-box-style project, specialty mounting, matting, and premium glazing added an illustrative $270, the total would become $420.

These are calculation examples rather than Hobby Lobby’s published prices. Their purpose is to show why the current 50%-off frame offer does not mean every final custom-framing invoice is cut in half.

Coupons and Price Matching

Old advice telling customers to wait for a 40%-50% off coupon is no longer a useful custom-framing strategy. Hobby Lobby currently advertises its custom-frame discount as an everyday 50% off the marked frame price.

Competitor price matching is also narrower than many older guides imply. Hobby Lobby’s current competitor-ad policy says stores may honor a competitor’s specific advertised price when Hobby Lobby carries the exact same item.

However, Hobby Lobby specifically says it does not honor competitors’ percentage-off advertisements or coupons. Because a custom frame is assembled from chosen components, another retailer’s blanket framing promotion is not automatically something Hobby Lobby will match.

What We Verified

• Checked: Hobby Lobby currently advertises custom frame mouldings at 50% off the marked price, with the discount applying to frames only.
• Confirmed: Hobby Lobby currently offers free framing quotes, more than 400 custom mouldings, and more than 300 archival-quality mat boards.
• Cross-referenced: current competitor prices show Framebridge digital framing from $70-$300 across its main size tiers, while Michaels publishes standardized packages beginning at $79.
• Verified: preservation authorities recommend suitable acid-free or chemically stable matting and separation between valuable artwork and glazing, supporting the value of preservation-focused custom-framing materials.

Related Framing Costs

Sports memorabilia requires deeper mounting and more specialized presentation than an ordinary print. Our guide to the cost to frame a jersey or T-shirt explains what those shadow-box-style projects can cost.

If you are comparing Hobby Lobby directly with its largest craft-store competitor, see the cost of Michaels custom framing for current package and customization pricing.

Collectors framing trading cards may also want to account for authentication before choosing a display. Our guide to the cost of PSA card grading covers the grading expense separately from the final frame or display case.

Answers to Common Questions

How much does Hobby Lobby charge for custom framing?

Hobby Lobby does not publish one national completed-project price chart. A useful 2026 planning range is about $80-$300 for many standard projects, while large, premium, or specialty framing can reach $400-$500+. Get a free in-store quote for the exact piece.

Is Hobby Lobby custom framing always 50% off?

The company currently advertises its custom frame mouldings at 50% off the marked price every day. The offer applies to the frame portion only, so it does not mean the entire finished framing project is automatically half price.

Does Hobby Lobby give free custom-framing estimates?

Yes. Hobby Lobby currently advertises free quotes for its custom-framing service.

What comes with a Hobby Lobby custom frame?

Hobby Lobby says its custom frame package includes the moulding, matting, protective glass front, an acid-free dust cover on the back, and the hangers needed to mount the finished frame. Exact specialty selections depend on the project.

Does Hobby Lobby use archival matting?

Hobby Lobby says all of its custom-framing mat boards are archival quality, acid-free, and lignin-free. Cotton-rag museum mats are also available for more preservation-focused projects.

How long does Hobby Lobby custom framing take?

Hobby Lobby does not currently publish one nationwide completion time on its main custom-framing page. Timing can depend on the materials and project, so ask the framing specialist for the expected pickup date when the quote is prepared.