How Much Does a Website Cost in 2026? Real Prices by Type and Builder
Website prices range from a few dollars a month to six figures. This guide breaks the range down by who builds it and what the site has to do, and lists the running costs most quotes leave out.
By the Solman Digital engineering team · Updated 13 October 2026 · 7 min read
Website cost by who builds it
The single biggest factor in the price is not the design, it is who does the work and how much of their time you are buying. The same five-page site can be a weekend of your own time on a builder, a week for a freelancer or a month of meetings and revisions at an agency. None of these is wrong; they buy different amounts of strategy, design and support.
- Do it yourself on a website builder (Wix, Squarespace, Shopify): $0–$500 up front, then $15–$50 per month for the plan
- Freelance web designer: $500–$5,000 for a small business site, depending on experience and number of pages
- Small studio or AI-assisted developer: $150–$3,000 for a fixed-scope site — the newest and fastest-growing option
- Traditional agency: $3,000–$15,000 for a small business site, $15,000–$75,000+ for larger or custom work
Website cost by type of site
What the site has to do sets the floor of the price. A site that only shows information is cheap to build at any quality level. Every feature that lets visitors do something — buy, book, log in, search — adds design, building and testing time.
- One-page landing page: $150–$2,000
- Small business website (5–10 pages, contact form, maps, reviews): $500–$8,000
- Online store: $2,000–$30,000, mostly driven by the number of products and payment, shipping and tax rules
- Booking or membership site: $3,000–$25,000
- Custom web application with logins, dashboards and integrations: $10,000–$75,000+
What makes a website cost more
Two quotes for “a website” can differ tenfold because they assume different work. Before comparing prices, check how each quote treats the items below. They are the usual reasons a cheap quote grows after the project starts.
- Writing the text and sourcing photos — if you do not supply them, someone has to
- Custom design versus a template — a tailored design takes days, a good template takes hours
- Number of languages — each one adds translation, layout checks and SEO work
- Integrations — booking engines, CRMs, payment providers and newsletter tools
- Rounds of revisions — unlimited revisions are always priced in somewhere
Need a website? We build them from $150 with a fixed, written quote, and reply within an hour.
Get a website quoteYearly running costs
A website is not paid for once. Budget for the items below every year, whoever builds it. Builders bundle most of them into the monthly plan; with a custom site you pay them separately, which is usually cheaper but less hands-off.
- Domain name: $10–$30 per year
- Hosting: $0–$50 per month for a typical small business site (many modern hosts are free at small scale)
- Business email: $6–$12 per user per month
- Maintenance, updates and small changes: $0 if you do them, $50–$500 per month if someone else does
How to get an accurate website quote
Send every builder the same short brief: what the site is for, the pages you need, who provides the text and photos, which tools it must connect to, and your deadline. Ask for a fixed price with what is excluded written down. A quote that only lists a number, with no scope behind it, is the one most likely to change.
How our prices compare to these ranges
We build websites from $150 and online stores and custom sites on a fixed, written quote. AI handles much of the build under a senior developer's review, which is why the price sits at the bottom of these market ranges without a template look. You own the domain, the code and every account from day one.
| Option | Up-front cost | Monthly cost | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| DIY website builder | $0–$500 | $15–$50 | Very small budgets, simple sites you will edit yourself |
| Freelancer | $500–$5,000 | $0–$100 | Small business sites with a clear brief |
| Small studio / AI-assisted developer | $150–$3,000 | $0–$100 | Fast, fixed-price sites without a template look |
| Traditional agency | $3,000–$75,000+ | $100–$1,000 | Brand strategy, large or complex sites |
Frequently asked questions
How much does a website cost for a small business?
Usually $500–$8,000 for a 5–10 page site built by a freelancer or small studio, or $3,000–$15,000 from a traditional agency. Doing it yourself on a builder costs $15–$50 per month. Add $100–$1,000 per year for the domain, hosting and email.
How much does it cost to build a website yourself?
On a builder like Wix, Squarespace or Shopify, $0–$500 to start (themes, apps, a domain) and then $15–$50 per month for the plan. The hidden cost is your own time: most owners spend 20–60 hours on a first site.
Why do website quotes vary so much?
Because “a website” covers very different amounts of work. Quotes differ on who writes the text, custom versus template design, the number of pages and languages, integrations like booking or payments, and how many revisions are included. Compare quotes against the same written brief.
How much does website maintenance cost per year?
The fixed part — domain, hosting and email — is roughly $100–$1,000 per year for a small business. Paid maintenance, if you want someone to handle updates and changes, adds $50–$500 per month.
Is a cheap website worth it?
It can be, if the price is low because the process is efficient rather than because steps are skipped. Check that you will own the domain and code, that the site loads fast on mobile, and that basic SEO and analytics are set up. Those are the corners cheap sites usually cut.
About the author
Written by the engineering team at Solman Digital, a software studio in Istanbul, Türkiye. We quote and build these projects for clients in the US, UK and Europe — the numbers here are the ones we use in real proposals.