Web Design
How Much Does a Website Cost in 2026? Complete Guide
11 min read
Adam Khaled
Founder, Web25
Quick answer: How much does a website cost? Anywhere from under $100 a year on a DIY builder to over $100,000 for a large custom build, per Network Solutions. Most small businesses land in one of three tiers: a DIY builder at $18–$40/month, a freelancer priced by scope, or a full-service build that bundles design, development, and the maintenance a DIY site never gets. Which tier fits depends on what you actually need, not on which one sounds cheapest today.
Key takeaways
- Website costs span from under $100 to over $100,000, depending on whether you build it yourself or hire someone.
- DIY builders like Wix run $18–$40/month for most small-business plans. For a simple brochure site with no custom functionality, that’s often the right call, not a compromise.
- Page count, custom design, and integrations are the three things that actually move a freelance or agency quote up or down.
- A mid-size custom build (roughly 8–15 pages with some custom work) typically runs 4–6 weeks from a shop like Web25, not because the pages take that long individually, but because integrations and content review eat the middle of the timeline.
Table of contents
- How much does a website cost on average?
- What actually affects website cost?
- DIY builder cost (Wix, Squarespace, GoDaddy)
- Freelance developer cost
- Small agency vs. full-service agency cost
- What a full-service build actually includes
- How to budget for a website without overpaying
- FAQ
How much does a website cost on average?
There’s no single average, because a website isn’t one product. Costs range from under $100 to more than $100,000, according to Network Solutions, and the gap comes down almost entirely to who builds it and how much custom work is involved.
The clearer way to think about it is by tier: what you’d pay on a DIY builder, what a freelancer charges for a scoped project, and what a full-service shop charges when design, development, and ongoing care are bundled together. Each tier solves a different problem, so comparing their prices directly usually misses the point.
What actually affects website cost?
Four things move the price more than anything else, and they’re the same four whether you’re talking to a freelancer or an agency.
- Page count and content depth. A five-page brochure site is a different job than a 30-page site with a blog and a service page for every location you cover.
- Custom design versus a template. Designing a layout from scratch takes real hours. Adapting an existing template doesn’t.
- Integrations. Connecting a site to a CRM, an ERP, or a payment processor is usually the single biggest line item on a quote that otherwise looks expensive. When Web25 built GentleMano’s ecommerce site, the work that actually drove the timeline wasn’t the product pages, it was wiring configurable garments, appointment booking, and checkout into one coherent flow across two languages. That kind of integration work is where a quote stops looking like a page-count math problem.
- Ongoing maintenance. A build price and a monthly care plan are two separate budgets. Skip the second one and something eventually breaks with nobody watching for it.
DIY builder cost (Wix, Squarespace, GoDaddy)
Wix’s published pricing (checked September 2026) runs $17.77/month for its Light plan, $29.77/month for Core, $39.77/month for Business, and $159.77/month for Business Elite, all billed yearly. Squarespace and GoDaddy price their comparable small-business plans in a similar $16–$40/month range.
| Tier | Typical monthly cost | Good fit for |
|---|---|---|
| Free / trial plan | $0 | Testing an idea, no real domain |
| Entry paid plan | ~$18–$20/mo | A simple brochure site, no ecommerce |
| Business plan | ~$30–$40/mo | Small stores, booking forms, basic marketing tools |
| Top-tier plan | $100+/mo | Larger stores needing advanced ecommerce features |
If you need a straightforward brochure site with no custom functionality, a DIY builder genuinely is the better choice, not just the cheaper one. You’ll spend your own time on design and upkeep instead of money, and for a lot of small businesses that trade makes sense. The point where it stops making sense is custom functionality: a real ERP integration, for example, generally isn’t something these platforms can do at all.
Freelance developer cost
Freelancers typically price by scope rather than a flat rate, so two quotes for what looks like “a website” can land far apart depending on page count, design complexity, and whether any custom functionality is involved. A simple brochure site takes noticeably fewer hours than a site with a custom booking system or an API integration, and that difference shows up directly in the number.
The detail worth asking about isn’t the price, it’s what happens after launch. A lower quote that doesn’t include any post-launch support can end up costing more over a year, once you count the hours you spend fixing things yourself or paying someone else per incident.
Small agency vs. full-service agency cost
A small agency and a full-service agency are solving different problems, which is why they’re priced differently. A small agency usually quotes the build itself, design and development, as a standalone project. A full-service agency prices the build alongside what happens after launch: maintenance, security updates, and in Web25’s case, ongoing work on AI-search visibility (AEO/GEO).
For reference, a mid-size Web25 build with some custom work, something in the 8–15 page range with a couple of custom sections or a light integration, typically runs 4–6 weeks. Most of that time isn’t spent on any single page. It’s spent on integration work, content review, and the back-and-forth that makes the final site actually match what the client needs, not just what was in the original brief. Smart Builder 360’s rebuild is a good example of why timelines stretch: moving from a Webflow export to a custom-maintained platform meant rebuilding the site’s foundation, not just its pages, so the client could keep adding features without hitting the limits of a page builder.
What a full-service build actually includes
A full-service build typically bundles four things a DIY builder or a one-off freelance project usually doesn’t: custom design, development including any integrations, ongoing care and maintenance, and visibility work, meaning classic SEO alongside newer AI-search optimization (AEO/GEO) so the site keeps showing up as more people search through AI assistants and not just Google.
Web25 is our agency; this guide covers it alongside DIY and freelance alternatives. We don’t publish a flat starting price here because the honest answer depends on your page count and whatever integrations you need. What we can tell you is the shape: most mid-size builds with some custom work land at 8–15 pages and 4–6 weeks. If that’s smaller or larger than what you’re picturing, that’s worth talking through on a discovery call before you commit to any path, DIY included.
How to budget for a website without overpaying
- Start with your real page count. Don’t scope 20 pages if you need five to start. You can add more later once you know what’s actually getting used.
- List every integration you actually need right now. A CRM or payment integration you don’t need yet shouldn’t be in your first quote.
- Budget for maintenance separately from the build. A one-time build price without a maintenance plan is an incomplete budget. Something will eventually need updating, patching, or fixing.
- Compare quotes on scope, not just the total. A lower quote that excludes post-launch support isn’t necessarily cheaper once you add up a year of DIY fixes.
- Don’t assume you need an agency. If your needs are simple, a DIY builder or a freelancer is often the right answer, and a good agency should tell you that plainly rather than talk you into more than you need.
FAQ
How much does a small business website cost to build?
It depends on the path: a DIY builder runs roughly $18–$40/month, while a freelancer- or agency-built site is quoted by scope, meaning page count, custom design, and any integrations, so there’s no single fixed number across the board.
Is a DIY website builder cheaper than hiring a developer?
Yes, in raw monthly cost. Wix’s paid plans start around $18/month versus a scoped freelance or agency quote. The trade-off is your own time spent building and maintaining it, and DIY builders typically can’t support custom integrations like connecting to a CRM or ERP.
What makes a website more expensive?
Page count, custom (non-template) design work, and integrations are the three biggest cost drivers. Connecting a site to a CRM, ERP, or payment processor usually adds the most development time of any single item on a quote.
Does website cost include ongoing maintenance?
Not usually, and that’s a common budgeting mistake. A build price and a monthly care or maintenance plan are typically two separate line items. Skipping the second one is a common reason sites go stale or break.
Should I hire a freelancer or an agency for my website?
A freelancer often costs less for a straightforward build with no ongoing support included. A full-service agency costs more upfront but usually bundles maintenance and visibility work (SEO/AEO) that a freelance-only engagement leaves entirely on you after launch.
How long does a mid-size website build usually take?
For a build in the 8–15 page range with some custom work, expect roughly 4–6 weeks. Most of that time goes to integrations and content review, not to any single page, so a build with heavier integration needs will run longer regardless of page count.
What to do next
If you’re weighing a DIY builder against hiring help, start by listing your real page count and any systems you’d want the site connected to. That’s the fastest way to tell which tier actually fits, and it’s worth doing honestly even if the answer points away from hiring an agency. If you want a scoped number instead of a generic range, book a discovery call and walk through it directly.
Written by Adam Khaled, Founder, Web25. Last updated September 2026.
