There have been 14 seasons of Ink Master so far, but some seasons are better than others. When Ink Master debuted in 2012, the competition-based reality show format had already been well established by other shows. Ink Master successfully applied that format to the world of tattoo artists, creating a fun and drama-filled show. While the show was initially canceled after 13 seasons, Ink Master returned for season 14.

Ink Masters underwent a number of changes throughout its history. The series has never been afraid to try something new and shake up the format by introducing new challenges and themes, resulting in many unique seasons, with some more successful than others. While some aspects of Ink Masters are fake, it's entertaining nonetheless. Which seasons are best and worst?

Season 8

In an attempt to find more ways to reinvent the show's format, season 8 was titled Ink Master: Peck vs Nuñez and divided the contestants into two teams coached by either Oliver Peck or Chris Nuñez. The winning contestant, fan-favorite Ryan Ashley, received a guest spot at her coach's tattoo shop.

The theme for the season is a good idea, but the show does not fully commit to it and would find more success with other, better-executed themes. While it is the lowest-rated season of the show, it is far from a bad batch of episodes and still provides some great moments like the Electricity Challenge, considered one of the most difficult Flash Challenges on Ink Master.

Season 9

In an attempt to synthesize the themes of previous seasons, Ink Master: Shop Wars featured teams of two from various tattoo shops competing against each other in a tag-team style competition with some of the teams made up of new contestants and some made up of returning veterans. Unfortunately, the theme got muddled. Mixing the shop teams with returning veterans is unnecessarily convoluted, and the season could have just focused on delivering on its premise of competing tattoo shops.

Season 12

Continuing with the team format, season 12 was known as Ink Master: Battle of the Sexes and saw the contestants split into two teams based on gender. The teams were coached by returning veterans Ryan Ashley and DJ Tambe. Many of the previous seasons had been predominantly focused on male contestants, with Ryan Ashley as the only previous female winner, so watching the female team dominant this season and claim the victory was a refreshing change of pace for the show.

Season 5

Season 5 shook up the format of the show and introduced the concept of themed seasons, a trend that the show would continue to incorporate into future seasons. This season was branded Ink Master: Rivals and pitted rival tattoo artists against one another. By season 5, the show had become overly formulaic and was in need of tweaking. The season provided the show with the new energy it needed, but future seasons would make better use of the themes.

Season 14

The latest iteration of Ink Master was branded as a triumphant return. The lead vocalist of Good Charlotte, Joel Madden, stepped in as a replacement for Dave Navarro. Additionally, three new judges replaced Chris Núñez and Oliver Peck: Ryan Ashley, Ami James, and Nikko Hurtado. The twists in this season included ten returning tattoo artists, four winners from previous seasons, and the shortening of elimination tattoos from six to five hours. Contestants also engaged in back-to-back twelve-hour tattoo marathons. Two-time winner DJ Tambe took home the grand prize.

Season 4

Season 4 mostly adhered to the familiar format established in the first three seasons and continued to feature new and returning challenges. One of the highlights is an episode in which Hugh Jackman guest judges X-Men tattoos. Season 4 was the last season before the show moved to brand each season as a specific theme. As a result, it does not feel quite as new as the first three seasons nor as inventive as the following seasons that had their own spin. While it's still entertaining and dramatic, the show is at this point not as unique or fresh as the three previous iterations.

Season 6

Subtitled Ink Master: Master vs. Apprentice, season 6 saw masters and their apprentices compete with and against each other. The show also increased the prize package by gifting a new car to the top artist, giving an extra incentive for winning. Like season 5, bringing contestants with history on the show led to more fighting and drama than other seasons. It is a fun season that takes the twist from season 5 and continues to improve upon it.

Season 13

Season 13, Ink Master: Turf War, found yet another way to divide contestants into teams, this time splitting up the artists by geographical region with a returning veteran coaching each of the different regions. Unfortunately, this season was disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic before the live finale occurred, resulting in the season concluding without crowning a champion.

Ink Master: Turf War was on its way to being one of the better seasons in the show's history before it abruptly ended. While the conclusion is somewhat disappointing, the season is still an enjoyable new angle on the show's now-tired format.

Season 10

Season 10, Ink Master: Return of the Masters, revisited the concept of teams introduced in season 8, but this time, the teams were coached by previous Ink Master champions. The season also had the coaches competing against each other, ending with a Master Face-Off during the finale.

Ink Master: Return of the Masters was a much better execution of the team concept than season 8. By bringing in coaches who were recognizable fan-favorites and allowing them to focus on coaching, the show finally successfully delivered on the central premise of amateur artists getting advice and learning from experienced tattoo masters.

Season 11 (7.2)

Following up on the success of the team format in season 10, Ink Master: Grudge Match - Cleen vs. Christian once again divided the contestants into competing teams. This time, the teams were coached by returning veterans and rivals Cleen Rock One and Christian Buckingham, both of whom are among the most talented contestants on Ink Master.

Season 11 successfully brings back all the elements that worked in season 10 and adds the extra dimension of the bad blood between Cleen and Christian. The two coaches help make this one of the most dramatic and conflict-filled seasons in the show's history.

Season 2

Season 2 brought back the judges to preside over a new group of contestants who competed in challenges such as carving an image into a rifle butt, blending women into the side of a building, and shaving designs into people's heads, in addition to many of the same tattoo categories from season 1.

This season had the tall task of following up on the well-received season 1, but it did not disappoint. With more episodes and experience from season 1, season 2 was a little more polished as the show brought back elements from previous episodes while introducing new challenges as well.

Season 7

Season 7, known as Ink Master: Revenge, pitted new contestants against eight returning veterans from previous seasons. While the veterans had the upper hand early, the rookies battled back to make it a competitive and intriguing season.

This format was the perfect way to introduce new contestants while bringing some of the biggest fan favorites in the show's history including Cleen Rock One, Sarah Miller, and Sausage. The show did a great job of selecting veterans from each of the previous seasons to create a unique mix of personalities, resulting in several of the best episodes in Ink Master history.

Season 1

While some shows take a few seasons to find their footing, Ink Master hit the ground running and immediately produced one of its best seasons ever right out of the gate. The season introduced audiences to the personalities and challenges that would become a staple of the show. At just 10 episodes, season 1 is the shortest in the show's history, but the show wastes no time and packs a lot of drama into a more compact schedule. Because it is the first, the season feels fresh and exciting in a unique way that helps set it apart from other later seasons that feel more jaded.

Season 3

Season 3 introduced the recurring game element of bringing back former contestants to compete again by bringing Tatu Baby back from season 2. This twist added some energy to the show and opened the door for more fan favorites to return in the future.

As the peak of Ink Masters, season 3 is the perfect blend of fresh and polished as it aired early enough in the show's run that it still felt new and original but had two previous seasons to develop and perfect the format. In addition, this season also featured one of the most memorable moments in show history as contestants had to tattoo prisoners in a challenge.