How Much a Mini Facelift Costs in 2024 - RealSelf (2024)

The average cost of mini facelift surgery is $7,525, according to hundreds of recent reviews on RealSelf. The prices they paid range from $2,900 at the low end to as much as $18,000, more than the average cost of a full facelift.

Elective cosmetic plastic surgery procedures like this aren't covered by insurance, but most providers offer payment plans or accept financing.

Read on to learn why the prices can vary so much—and whether real patients say their results are worth what they paid.

Related: Everything You Need to Know About a Mini Facelift

What should your price quote include?

If you ask for a price quote over the phone, the practice may give you a range or only tell you the surgeon’s fee.

You’ll get a much more accurate estimate from having a consultation, either virtually or in person. There, your prospective surgeon should detail their recommended treatment plan before giving you a personalized, total cost quote.

It should include:

• The consultation fee (typically applied to your procedure)
• Any pre-op medical tests or clearance
• Their surgeon’s fee
• The facility fee
• Anesthesia fees
• Follow-up appointments

You may also need to budget for recovery supplies, including pain medication for the first few days post-op.

Are mini facelift results worth the money?

Mini facelift surgery has a 93% Worth It Rating from reviewers on RealSelf, higher than nonsurgical skin tightening treatments like FaceTite and Thermage.

If you're a good candidate, with mild to moderate skin laxity in the lower face and along the jawline, there's a good chance you'll be happy with your investment—especially if your procedure is performed by an experienced, board-certified facial plastic surgeon.

Noninvasive facial rejuvenation treatments—including injectables like dermal fillers and Botox injections, energy-based treatments, or thread lifts—are a cheaper option in the short-term, but results are temporary and require ongoing maintenance treatments. Because mini lift results last up to 10 years, a surgical procedure may actually be a more cost-effective option in the long run.

What affects the cost of a mini facelift?

These are the biggest factors that will affect your mini facelift cost.

1) The credentials and expertise of your plastic surgeon

Board-certified plastic surgeons, facial plastic surgeons, or maxillofacial surgeons who have specialized in facelift surgery and mini lifts for many years (or even decades) will be able to charge higher surgeon’s fees than a physician who's just starting out.

Even so, this isn’t an area to cut corners for the sake of savings. While a mini lift is a less complex surgery than a full facelift, it’s still much better to have it done right the first time than to risk a poor result and revision surgery (at additional expense).

You'll be far more likely to get good mini facelift results from an experienced surgeon with advanced training.

2) Their practice location

It probably won’t surprise you to hear that the cost of a mini facelift tends to be higher in major metro areas than smaller cities. Especially if they have a luxury practice in a desirable neighborhood, providers who practice in places like New York and LA have higher overhead for rent, staff salaries, and other expenses—and that gets passed on to patients.

Practice size and the ratio of qualified surgeons to the demand for cosmetic surgery also play a role in pricing. That’s why it can be worth your time to get personalized price quotes from more than one qualified provider, in different parts of town or even different cities, if you’re willing to travel and think the savings could outweigh travel expenses.

3) Where your surgical procedure is performed

Most mini facelift surgery is performed in an outpatient surgical center (at either a shared facility or their private practice), which has lower facility fees than a hospital operating room.

4) The type of anesthesia you have and who administers it

Mini facelifts can be performed under local anesthesia with oral sedation (so you’re relaxed and comfortable) or general anesthesia, so you’re fully unconscious.

Local anesthesia can be administered by your surgeon, which can save you anywhere from 10–25% on your total bill. If your surgeon expects that your procedure will be relatively simple and quick, this can be one of the best ways to save.

General anesthesia or twilight anesthesia (also called conscious sedation) is usually more expensive because it's always administered by anesthesiologist (an MD) or a certified registered nurse anesthetist (a CRNA), who monitors you throughout your surgery for any changes to heart rate, blood pressure, or breathing.

An anesthesiologist has more training, so their fee will be higher. An experienced CRNA is more affordable, and they can still be a good choice if you don't have medical conditions that put you at a higher risk of complications.

Related: Yes, You Can Have a Facelift Under Local Anesthesia

5) The extent of your procedure

A mini facelift procedure is an abbreviated version of a traditional facelift. For people with mild skin laxity in the lower face (such as a softening jawline or mild jowls), it removes excess skin and tightens the remaining tissue with smaller incisions and a faster recovery time than a full facelift.

Each procedure is customized to the needs and aesthetic goals of the patient, so some are more involved than others.

Depending on your goals and situation, your provider may even recommend combining a mini facelift surgery with other cosmetic procedures like a mini neck lift, brow lift, or eyelid surgery.

Adding these surgeries can increase your total bill by thousands of dollars, but if you want more complete facial rejuvenation and plan to have additional procedures, it's cheaper to combine them in one operation than to have them individually. This way, you save on the surgeon’s fee, anesthesia fees, and facility fees (along with minimizing your recovery period and overall downtime).

The best way to get a true estimate of your cost is to have a consultation with at least two qualified plastic surgeons, so you can compare treatment plans and price quotes.

Mini facelift costs in U.S. states

Browse average mini facelift costs and ranges by state, according to the 91 most recent RealSelf reviews as of March 2023. (Note: States not included don't have enough recent data to display.)

Mini facelift costs in major U.S. metros

Average costs according to patient-reported data. As of July 2023, the cheapest metro area in the U.S. to get a mini facelift is Flint, MI, while people tend to pay the most in San Francisco. Cities not listed did not have enough data to include.