It depends on who does the work. You either pay with your own time or pay someone else, and the bigger cost is usually what happens every month after launch. The ranges below come from what the big builders list on their pricing pages today, and from the ranges most 2026 pricing guides give for freelancers and agencies.
The short answer
| Path | Up front | Every month | Who does the work |
|---|---|---|---|
| Do it yourself | $0 | About $17 to $40, plus extras | You |
| Freelancer | $1,500 to $8,000 | About $35 to $250, if offered | Them, then usually you |
| Agency | $6,000 to $30,000+ | $100 to $500 for care, plus $1,500 to $3,000 for SEO | A team |
These are typical ranges, not quotes. Where you land inside them depends on a handful of things, covered further down.
01Do it yourself
Website builders like Wix and Squarespace cost roughly $17 to $40 a month for the plans most small businesses use, when you pay a year at a time. Paying month to month costs more.
A custom domain after the first year, business email, paid apps and booking add-ons, and the biggest one: your hours. Expect several weekends to get a site that looks decent, and you still have to figure out how to get it found on Google.
You’re just starting, money is tight, and you enjoy tinkering. A clean builder site beats no site at all.
02A freelancer
Most freelancers charge about $1,500 to $8,000 for a custom small business site, often built on a theme or a builder. Hosting and upkeep are usually extra, roughly $35 to $250 a month if they offer it at all.
What happens after launch. Many freelancers hand over the site and move on, so updates, security, and getting found on Google fall back to you. Quality varies a lot, and so does how fast they reply a year later.
You want a professional look, you can maintain the site yourself afterward, and you’ve seen real work from the person you’re hiring.
03An agency
Agencies usually charge $6,000 to $30,000 or more for a small business site. Small studios sit at the low end, and established agencies often go well past it. Monthly care plans commonly run $100 to $500, and SEO is a separate retainer on top. For a single-location business that’s typically $1,500 to $3,000 a month, and many agencies charge more.
Speed and simplicity. Projects often take one to three months, with discovery meetings and review rounds. You pay for account managers and overhead, and you rarely talk to the person who actually builds your site.
Your site is complex, like a large online store or many locations, or you need brand strategy and copywriting from a full team.
What pushes the price up
Two quotes for “a website” can be thousands of dollars apart because they’re quoting different jobs. These are the things that move the number most:
- Number of pages. A five-page site and a twenty-page site are different projects. Each service you offer usually deserves its own page.
- Selling online. A store with products, payments, shipping, and taxes costs far more than a site that gets people to call or book.
- Who writes the words. Supplying your own copy saves money. Having it written for you, around what customers actually search, costs more and usually performs better.
- Photos. Your own phone photos are free. A professional shoot is a separate cost, and often the best money you’ll spend on the site.
- Booking and integrations. Connecting a booking engine, a reservation system, or a CRM adds setup time.
- The small recurring bills. A domain typically runs about $10 to $25 a year, and business email is often a few dollars per person per month.
What happens after launch
A low monthly price often means you’re still doing the work. Before you compare quotes, check who handles each of these once the site is live:
Hosting, security, and backups. Someone has to keep the site online, updated, and recoverable if something breaks.
Changes. New hours, a price change, a new photo. Find out how you request them, how fast they happen, and whether each one is billed.
Your Google Business Profile. For a local business it matters as much as the website, and it needs regular attention.
SEO. Getting found isn’t a one-time setup. Ask whether anyone will keep tuning the site, or whether that’s a separate retainer.
Reporting. Will anyone tell you how many people found you and called? If not, you’re paying without knowing whether it works.
The real question isn’t which option is cheapest. It’s which one actually brings you customers. A site nobody finds is the most expensive one you can buy, because it costs money and earns nothing.
Questions to ask any quote
- Do I own the domain, the design, and the files? If you leave, you should be able to take everything with you.
- What exactly does the monthly fee cover? Hosting only, or changes, security, and SEO too?
- Who makes changes, and how fast? “Submit a ticket and wait” and “done today” are very different.
- Is my Google Business Profile part of the job?
- What happens if I cancel? Look for no penalties and a clean handover.
- Can I see the finished site before I pay? Most will say no. Ask anyway.
Where we fit
Many agencies won’t put prices on their website. Here are ours: $2,500 for the build, then $250 a month. Nothing else gets billed.
A custom site coded by hand, written around what your customers search, your Google Business Profile set up, your booking system or contact form connected, plus domain, hosting, and launch. Live in about a week.
Hosting, security, and backups. Same-day changes. Your Google listing kept current, and a plain-English report every month that I use to tune the site.
You see the finished site before you pay anything. Love it, or pay nothing. We’re not the right fit for a large online store with hundreds of products. For that, a commerce platform or an agency will serve you better.
Want to see yours first?
It’s the same price for everyone: $2,500 to build, $250 a month to run. You see the finished site at a live link before you pay a cent. Love it, or pay nothing.