How Much Does a Website Cost in 2026?
Website pricing ranges from $100 to $100,000. An honest breakdown of what each tier actually gets you — and what most small businesses really need.
How much does a website cost? The honest answer: anywhere from $100 to $100,000+, depending on what you need. Most articles on this topic are written to sell you something. This one isn't — here's a real breakdown of every price tier so you can make an informed decision.
DIY tier ($100-$500/year): Domain + hosting + a Squarespace or Wix subscription. Fine for personal portfolios, side projects, or businesses that just need an online business card. Limitations: hard to customize, limited SEO control, and you're locked into the platform.
Freelancer tier ($800-$3,000 one-time): A solo designer or developer builds you a custom site on WordPress or a similar platform. Quality varies wildly. Make sure they show you 3+ live sites they've built, explain how SEO is handled, and offer at least 30 days of post-launch support.
Custom website design agency tier ($3,000-$15,000 one-time + $50-$300/month): A professional agency handles strategy, design, development, copywriting, SEO setup, and ongoing maintenance. This is the sweet spot for most growing small businesses. You get conversion focused web design, real SEO infrastructure, and a partner who keeps the site alive.
Enterprise tier ($20,000-$100,000+): Custom-built websites for companies with complex needs — e-commerce at scale, custom integrations, multilingual support, advanced security, dedicated infrastructure. Usually overkill for small businesses.
Hidden ongoing costs to budget for: domain renewal ($15/year), hosting ($10-$200/month), SSL (often free), backups, security plugins, content updates, and the occasional design refresh every 2-3 years.
What you should actually spend: if your website needs to generate leads, customers, or revenue, budget at least $3,000-$5,000 upfront and $100-$200/month ongoing. Trying to save money with a $500 site usually costs more in lost business than the savings.
A useful framing: your website is a 24/7 salesperson. A bad one costs you customers every day. A great one earns its cost back many times over. Don't optimize for the cheapest option — optimize for ROI.