How much does a website cost?

The short answer

A small business website usually costs $150 to $900 in the first year if you build it yourself, a few hundred to a few thousand as a monthly service, $1,500 to $6,000 from a freelancer and $6,000 or more from an agency, plus upkeep. These are rough US ranges, and the three-year total matters most.

What each route costs

So how much does a website cost? It depends mostly on who does the work. These are rough US ranges for a five-page site, our own estimate of what's commonly charged in 2026, and they aren't quotes. Prices vary by place and by what's included, so use them to pick a route, then get real numbers.

Those totals assume the work needed is in the setup price, and they leave out the extras below. Our website cost calculator changes them to fit your page count and what you need made.

Building it yourself

You pay a builder's subscription, and you do the work. Here's what some of them charged as of November 2026, from their own pricing pages. The last one, Shingle, is ours.

The subscription is the small part. The real cost is your time. A plain five-page site can take a weekend if you've done it before, and several evenings on top if you haven't, mostly spent writing words and finding photos. If your time bills at $75 an hour, a 20-hour site costs you $1,500 in time you could have spent on paid work.

AI builders change that sum, because they write a first draft for you, though you still have to check every line of it. See the best AI website builders and how to test one.

Good when: money is tight, your needs are simple and you don't mind learning.

Hiring a freelancer

One person builds the site, usually for a fixed price or by the hour. As a rough guide, you'd expect $1,500 to $6,000 for a small site.

Hourly rates explain the spread. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics puts the median pay of web developers and digital designers at $47.85 an hour in May 2025. That's what an employee earns. A freelancer also covers taxes, software, sales and unpaid admin, so they charge well above it. At $75 an hour, $3,000 buys you 40 hours of work.

Ask what those hours include. A quote may or may not cover writing the words, taking photos, setting up your domain and email, and changes after launch.

Good when: you want a real person responsible, and have a few thousand dollars and some time to give feedback.

Hiring an agency

An agency brings a team and a process: strategy, design, writing, photography, a project manager. As a rough guide, a small business site runs from $6,000 to $25,000 or more. You're paying for the thinking and for not having to manage it yourself.

For a one-location plumber that's more than most need. For a law firm with several practice areas, a multi-location clinic or a business where one new client is worth thousands, it can pay for itself.

Good when: the site has a lot to say, several people need to approve it, and a single customer is worth a lot.

A monthly website subscription

Someone builds your site and looks after it for a monthly fee, often with a small setup charge. Monthly plans are commonly somewhere between $50 and $300, as a rough range. No big bill up front, and someone to call when your hours change.

The risk is what happens when you stop paying. Before you sign, get answers in writing to these questions:

• Who owns the domain? It should be you.
• Who owns the words and pictures?
• If I leave, do I keep the site, or does it go dark?
• How many changes are included each month?
• Is there a minimum term?

Over three years, this route can cost as much as a freelancer. You're paying for the upkeep to be someone else's problem, and that's worth it if you know you'd never do it yourself. If you're on the other side of this, see website as a service.

Good when: you don't want a lump sum or a to-do list.

The costs people forget

This is where a cheap website stops being cheap. Add these up before you compare.

• Your domain. It renews every year, typically around $10 to $20 for a .com, as a rough range.
• Renewal prices. Introductory prices jump. Hostinger's $1.99 a month renews at $10.99, which is more than five times as much.
• Business email. An address at your own domain often costs extra, or goes free for a year and then doesn't. Google Workspace Business Starter lists at $7 a user a month on a one-year term.
• Payment fees. Wix Payments charges 2.9% plus 30 cents on most US cards. Squarespace adds a 2% store fee on its Basic plan.
• Apps and plugins. Booking, reviews, forms and backups may each carry a subscription of their own, so read what's included.
• Booking. Acuity Scheduling, Squarespace's scheduler, starts at $16 a month paid yearly on its own price list.
• Changes after launch. Who changes your hours in a year's time, and what do they charge?
• Security and backups. A self-hosted site needs updates, and someone has to do them.
• Things you may need made. See the table below.

Why two quotes for the same site can differ

When one person quotes $800 and another $8,000 for "a five-page website", they're usually quoting different things. Compare them on these points.

• Template or custom design. Most small businesses are fine with a good template.
• Who writes. Writing often takes longer than building. A quote that assumes you'll supply every word is cheaper for a reason.
• Photos. Stock photos are cheap. A half-day with a photographer isn't, and it often does more for you.
• Search setup. Does it include page titles, descriptions, structured data and redirects from your old site?
• Rounds of changes. Two rounds and unlimited rounds are very different jobs.
• What's left afterward. Do you get a site you can run, or one only they can change?

How much you should spend

There's no right small business website cost, but there's a sum you can do with your own figures.

Take the yearly cost of a route, and divide it by what one new customer is worth to you in profit. The answer is how many extra customers it needs to bring in each year to pay for itself. Say a route costs $1,200 a year. If a new customer is worth $400 in profit, that's three customers. If they're worth $20, it's sixty. That's why a roofer can justify more than a coffee shop.

Nobody can promise a site will bring those customers. The sum only shows how much risk you're taking on.

As a starting point:

• Just starting, or very tight on money. Build it yourself, or use an AI builder.
• Established, with no time to spare. A monthly website or a freelancer.
• High-value work and a lot to explain. A good freelancer or an agency.

Whichever you pick, spend on what customers see: true words, real photos and a phone number that works. Our list of what a small business website needs shows where the money should go.

Questions to ask before you sign

Whatever route you choose, get these answered first.

1. What's the total over three years, including renewals?
2. Is the domain registered in my name?
3. What exactly is included, and what costs extra?
4. Who writes the words, and who supplies the photos?
5. How do I make a small change, and what does it cost?
6. If I leave, what do I take with me?

Then run your own numbers in the website cost calculator. If you're also choosing a builder, read the best website builders for small business.