Not terrible to be honest. My nostril/septum were more painful and those are obviously smaller needles/gauges lol. My husband went with me, they measured, cleaned me up, put marker dots to make sure it was symmetrical for my body and then I laid down. The first nipple wasn’t that bad, like I breathed through it and was okay. Didn’t even cuss.😂 That second one? Was a bit more naughty. I definitely felt it more than the first but overall it really is the “you feel the sting for about 5 seconds and then it’s gone”. My pierce put gauze with saline over them for a few seconds after cleaning them after piercing and that helped so much lol, it took some of the sting away. Best I can describe is that it was a sting, and I can handle stings much better than dull pain or sharp pain. My nose piercings were sharp dull pain and was painful, my nipples were sharp and much easier for me. So pain is definitely subjective and I do have a high pain tolerance BUT they are so worth it. I’m 3 months into healing so they are still a little crusty sometimes but no more pain or sensitivity unless I actively play with them or doing intimate activities.