The question sounds simple, and the answer almost never is. Two studios can advertise exactly the same hourly rate and end the same shoot day hundreds of shekels apart.
The gap isn't dishonesty. It's that the advertised number is only one of four variables - and the other three are almost never printed next to it.
1. VAT - where most comparisons break
One studio advertises ₪250 an hour. Another advertises ₪250 an hour "before VAT". The gap is 18 percent, close to ₪45 an hour - and over an eight-hour day that is already hundreds of shekels. In a list of search results the two numbers look identical.
So the first question isn't "what does it cost" but "what will the card be charged". Ask for the final amount, not the rate. At ALTAYKA every price on the site includes VAT: the number shown is the number charged, with no further calculation at the end.
2. What the price includes, and what is added to it
After VAT, this is the second largest factor. A changing room, backdrops, artificial lighting, a charge per person on set and a cleaning fee can each be inside the rate or appear as a separate line. A cheap hourly rate with four extras costs more than an expensive one with none.
The simple way to check is to ask for a written list of what's included rather than accept a general answer. At ALTAYKA the changing room is included, white, grey and black backdrops are included and you can swap them yourself, there is artificial lighting alongside the natural light, and there is no charge per person on set - up to twelve.
3. Flat rate versus tiered pricing
Most studios price one of two ways. A flat rate: multiply the hourly price by the hours. Tiered pricing: the price per hour falls as the booking gets longer. The difference is negligible on a one-hour booking and considerable across a full shoot day.
In practice: for one or two hours a flat rate is usually cheaper. For six hours or more, tiered pricing almost always wins. ALTAYKA is tiered - ₪250 for a single hour, ₪1,950 for ten, which works out at ₪195 an hour. The honest comparison is the final amount against the number of hours you actually need.
4. What you pay up front, and what happens if you cancel
Some studios take a deposit and the balance on the day; others take everything up front. This isn't only about cash flow: a cancellation policy is measured against what was actually collected. "20 percent on cancellation" out of a ₪200 deposit is ₪40, and the same 20 percent out of a full payment is a very different number.
So read the two clauses together rather than separately. At ALTAYKA payment is in full and up front, with nothing left to pay on the day. Cancelling more than 72 hours ahead is refunded in full; under 72 hours, 80 percent is refunded, or the booking can move to another free date for a 20 percent surcharge.
5. The hours you aren't shooting in
The real cost per shooting hour also depends on how much of your booked time goes on setting up and clearing out. If the booking before yours ends exactly when yours starts, you set up on your own time - and an hour that costs less but yields forty minutes of shooting isn't actually cheaper.
That variable is hard to see in a price list, which is why it is worth asking about directly. At ALTAYKA there are fifteen minutes between bookings, and the last five minutes of each booking are for clearing out.
The short version
Don't compare hourly rates. Compare the final amount, against the number of hours you actually need.