How much does a website cost to build?
How much does a website cost to build?
$50 – $1,000 basic upfront
$500 – $10,000 small business upfront
$10 – $300 maintenance per month
Average website cost
The average cost to build a website is $500 to $10,000 for a small business. Freelancers charge less than professional web development agencies to make a website. Custom sites cost more to create than CMS templates. The price to run or maintain a site is $10 to $300 per month.
| Business type | Average website cost | Annual maintenance cost |
|---|---|---|
| DIY / personal website | $50 – $1,000 | $0 – $250 |
| Small business website (8-16 pages) | $500 – $10,000 | $400 – $4,000 |
| Corporate website (25-75 pages) | $6,000 – $50,000 | $500 – $5,000 |
| Ecommerce website (100-1000 products) | $5,000 – $90,000 | $300 – $3,000 |
| Custom database-driven website | $20,000 – $100,000 | $1,000 – $35,000 |
Cost to build a website by type
| Type / service | Average cost | Details |
|---|---|---|
| DIY website builder software | $0 – $59 | Time consuming but affordable |
| Website hosting platform (CMS) | $0 – $2,000 | Convenient but limited functionality |
| Freelance website creator | $500 – $10,000 | Best for a small project or basic website |
| Professional web development agency | $1,000 – $50,000 | Best for a large project or high budget |
Website builder cost per month
A website builder costs $0 to $59 per month, depending on the plan. Free plans are typically basic with few features and add-ons. Premium and eCommerce plans feature customization, SEO optimization, or Google analytics.
| Type | Monthly cost | Features / details |
|---|---|---|
| Wix | $0 – $59 | Business and eCommerce plans, free SSL |
| Square space | $16 – $49 | Free domain, eCommerce plans, analytics |
| Weebly | $0 – $29 | Free hosting and SSL |
| Godaddy | $0 – $30 | eCommerce plans, custom domain, 24/7 support |
| WordPress.com | $0 – $45 | Free SSL and hosting, Google analytics, over 50,000 plugins |
| Jimdo | $0 – $24 | Free domain, business options |
Website hosting platform (CMS) cost
A website content management system (CMS) costs $0 to $2,000 per month depending on the site, package, and add-ons. WordPress is currently the most popular CMS site.
| Factor | WordPress | Shopify | Joomla | Drupal | Wix | WooCommerce |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CMS cost per month | $0 – $45 | $5 – $2,000 | Free | Free | $0 – $59 | $15 – $120 |
| Design themes cost | $0 – $200 | $0 – $350 | Free | Free | Free | $0 – $100 |
| Plugins & apps cost per month | $0 – $200 | $0 – $350 | $0 – $340 | Free | $0 – $40 | $0 – $300 |
| Ease of use | Easy, no coding required | Easy, no coding required | Moderate, some coding required | Hard, advanced coding required | Easy, no coding required | Easy, no coding required |
| Suitable for | Small business, simple website | Small and large businesses, eCommerce | E-commerce, blog, social networking | Large business, complex website | Small business or startup | Small e-commerce store |
| Choice of designs | 10,000+ themes | 100+ themes | 8,000+ templates | 2,500+ themes | 300+ templates | 20+ themes |
| Extensions and plugins | 50,000+ | 8,000+ | 7,000+ | 39,000+ | 200+ | 100+ |
| Popularity | 810 million websites | 4.4 million websites | 2.5 million websites | 1.5 million websites | 3.3 million websites | 7 million websites |
Freelancer charge to create a custom website
A freelancer charges $1,000 to $75,000 to create a custom website, depending on the site's size and complexity. Hiring a freelancer for a small job is more affordable than a professional agency but the project may take longer to complete. Many freelancers charge per hour or per page.
| Pages | Average cost |
|---|---|
| 1 to 100 pages | $1,000 – $10,000 |
| 100 to 250 pages | $10,000 – $75,000 |
Agency cost to create a professional website
A professional agency charges $1,000 to $50,000 to create a custom website. Hiring an agency can be expensive but eliminates the time and stress invested in a DIY or CMS website.
Cost calculator to make a website
| Factor | Average cost | Includes |
|---|---|---|
| Domain name & setup | $10 – $15 per year | URL, customized extensions |
| Website hosting | $30 – $100 per year | Keeps site accessible |
| SSL certificate | $0 – $200 per year | Provides security for online transactions and communications |
| Website running and maintenance | $100 – $4,000 per year | Keeps site functional and updates the CMS |
| Website content, SEO, and marketing | $500 – $50,000 per year | Text, videos, infographics, CRO, PPC |
| Website design template or theme | $0 – $100 | Visuals, design |
| Custom website design | $100 – $500 | Custom visuals |
| Website plugins or apps | $0 – $350 | Software that adds functionality |
| Custom website development | $2,000 – $25,000 | Custom site from the ground up |
Most CMS platforms offer free hosting, SSL certificates, themes, and plugins.
Cost to set up a website
The cost to set up and secure a website may include:
Security – Website security services cost $50 to $300 per year and prevent bots and threats from harming the site. Cloudflare, Wordfence, and Jetpack are popular security services.
Analytics – Website analytics cost $0 to $350 per month and generate insights into a website’s performance. Some CMS packages include basic security and analytics in their monthly subscription costs.
CDN – A content delivery network (CDN) costs $20 to $220 per month for the first 2.5 TBand is used by large websites to provide users with a fast, consistent experience. Popular CDN providers include Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft Azure.
Website hosting & database setup charge
Web hosting costs $2 to $200 per month, depending on the type:
Premade CMS websites typically use cheaper shared or managed hosting.
Large corporate businesses use dedicated hosting.
VPS or cloud-based hosting is best for eCommerce sites.
| Type | Average cost per month | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Shared hosting | $2 – $10 | HostGator, InMotion, DreamHost, Hostinger, GoDaddy, A2, Hostwinds |
| Dedicated hosting | $50 – $200 | Bluehost, Liquid Web, SiteGround, A2, InMotion, DreamHost |
| eCommerce / VPS hosting | $5 – $50 | Shopify, Bluehost, SiteGround, Cloudways, IONOS |
Other setup charges may include:
Database integration – Merging a pre-existing site or theme with a premade CMS like WordPress will increase final costs.
Database setup – Large custom websites may require additional help with database setup.
Website design
Website design costs $3,000 to $10,000 on average for a small business site or $10,000 to $40,000 for a medium-sized site. Pricing depends on the size, features, and customization. A professional web designer or agency charges $30 to $100+ per hour.
The terms "website design" and “website development" are often used interchangeably. However, companies sometimes use "web design" to refer to a creating site's visual appearance.
| Service | Average cost | Details / Best for |
|---|---|---|
| DIY website design template | $20 – $200 | Very small business, 1 to 5 pages, short on time |
| DIY website drag-and-drop design service | $4 – $60 per month | Very small business, 1 to 5 pages, short on time |
| Freelance designer to customize an off-the-shelf template or theme | $200 – $1,000 | Small business, limited time and budget |
| Freelance designer for simple website | $1,000 – $5,000 | Small business, mid-range budget |
| Freelance designer for a professional website | $5,000 – $20,000 | Mid-size business and budget, more features |
| Design agency for small custom website | $8,000 – $25,000 | Established business, large budget |
| Design agency for large custom website | $25,000 – $100,000+ | Established business, large budget, complex features |
Web design may involve one or more of the following costs:
Wireframes / mockups – Professionals typically provide mockups of the website's user interface (UI) before completion to ensure that the work meets the client’s expectations.
Graphics / illustrations – A graphic designer charges $20 to $150 per hour to create and integrate custom visuals.
Custom logo cost – Logo design costs $100 to $1,000 from a freelance designer or $1,000 to $5,000 from a professional designer, depending on their experience and location. A professional graphic designer can create a logo that matches the site’s style and colors.
Stock photos – Stock photo companies charge $1 to $50+ per photo, depending on the photographer, style, and permitted usage.
Interactive media – Interactive animations, surveys, games, and social media sharing increase user engagement.
Custom website development costs
| Region | Average hourly rates |
|---|---|
| Australia | $80 – $150 |
| USA | $50 – $350 |
| UK | $50 – $170 |
| Western Europe | $70 – $170 |
| Eastern Europe | $40 – $80 |
| India | $10 – $80 |
Back-end development – Custom back-end development includes eCommerce functionality, login creation, subscription services, and third-party integration.
Front-end development – Custom front-end development includes user interface (UI) and user experience (UX), responsiveness, and rendering.
App development – App design costs $3,000 to $30,000+, depending on the complexity, features, and customization. App development costs $50,000 to $175,000 and includes research and planning, design, programming, testing, launching the app, and ongoing maintenance.
Cost to run and maintain a website
Website maintenance costs $10 to $300 per month or $100 to $4,000 per year on average and includes:
Hosting
Patching software issues
Security
Backing up the site
Marketing / ads
Some website developers provide copywriting or search engine optimization (SEO) as part of their maintenance plan. However, most companies charge separately for these services.
Website creating cost FAQs
How much does a website cost per month?
A website costs $10 to $300 per month to run and maintain, depending on the size and type of site.
How much does a website cost per page?
Website creation costs $100 to $300 per page on average, depending on the design complexity and the freelancer’s or company’s experience.
How long does it take to build a website?
Building a website takes 50 to 200 hours for a simple small business site and 100 to 500 hours on average for a large professional site. Creating a small site with a DIY website builder takes 10 to 100 hours.
What is the cheapest way to make a website?
The cheapest way to make a website is to use a CMS site builder that comes with a free domain, SSL certificate, hosting, and themes. WordPress costs $0 to $45 per month and is the most popular site builder.
Getting estimates and hiring a website builder
Before you hire a website developer, be sure to:
Check out their portfolio of previous projects. Examine their visual design, navigation, and user experience (UX).
Read their reviews on Thervo and Google.
Interview the developer and discuss your business goals and vision for the website.
Get a detailed contract, timeline, and payment schedule in writing before the project begins.
Confirm who retains ownership of the final website design.
Be wary of extremely low prices, which often translate to poor design or hidden fees.
Questions to ask
How long have you been in business?
How many websites have you built?
Can I see a portfolio of websites you’ve built?
Can you provide references from previous clients?
How many people are on your team?
Will you outsource any part of the project?
Will you create custom logos, icons, or other visuals for my site?
How long will the project take?
How will you ensure my website is finished on time?
Can you explain your fees and payment terms?
What is your hourly rate?
What site maintenance do you provide, and how much does it cost?