Website costs in 2026 range from about $200 a year for a simple site you build yourself to $35,000 or more for a custom site built by an agency. A do-it-yourself site on a builder such as Wix or Squarespace costs roughly $16 to $40 a month on an annual plan, while a self-hosted WordPress site can start under $5 a month for hosting plus a domain. Hiring a freelancer typically adds $1,500 to $8,000 up front, and every option carries ongoing costs for renewals, apps and maintenance.
This guide breaks down what each piece of a website costs, using published pricing as of October 2026, so you can budget before you build.
Updated October 2026.
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How much does a website cost in 2026?
The biggest factor in website costs is who builds the site. The same five-page business site can cost a few hundred dollars a year if you build it yourself or several thousand dollars if you hire someone. The table below summarizes typical 2026 ranges by build method.
| Build method | Up-front cost | Ongoing cost | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| DIY website builder (Wix, Squarespace, WordPress.com) | $0 | About $200 to $500 a year for most small sites | Small businesses, portfolios, simple stores |
| DIY self-hosted WordPress | $0 to $200 for a premium theme | About $100 to $500 a year for hosting, domain and plugins | Blogs and content sites, owners who want full control |
| Freelance designer or developer | About $1,500 to $8,000 | Hosting plus optional maintenance | Custom design on a modest budget |
| Boutique agency | About $6,000 to $12,000 | About $50 to $200 a month for maintenance | Growing businesses that need strategy and SEO |
| Full-service agency | About $12,000 to $35,000 or more | About $200 to $500 a month retainer | Complex sites, large catalogs, integrations |
The freelance and agency ranges come from 2026 industry pricing guides (see sources). Builder and hosting costs come from each provider’s published pricing in October 2026.
What are the essential website costs?
Every website, no matter who builds it, needs a few core components. Some are bundled together, so you will not always pay for each one separately.
Domain name
A domain name is your website address, such as yourbrand.com. A .com domain typically costs about $11 to $25 a year, depending on the registrar. Verisign, the .com registry operator, charges registrars a wholesale price of $10.26 per year, rising to $10.97 on November 1, 2026, plus a $0.20 ICANN fee. Registrars add their own margin on top. For example, Porkbun listed .com at $11.08 a year in October 2026.
Many builders and hosts include a free domain for the first year, including Wix, Squarespace (annual plans), Bluehost and Hostinger. After that, the domain renews at the standard rate. Before you buy, use Namechk to check whether your name is free as a domain and as a username on social networks, or try the domain name generator for ideas. Our guide to getting a free domain name covers the bundled offers in more detail.
Web hosting
Hosting is the server space that makes your site available online. Website builders include hosting in the plan price. If you use self-hosted WordPress, you pay a web host separately. Shared hosting is the cheapest option and is enough for most new sites.
| Host and plan | Intro price | Term | Renews at |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hostinger Premium | $2.49/mo | 48 months | $10.99/mo |
| Hostinger Business | $3.49/mo | 48 months | $16.99/mo |
| Bluehost Starter | $3.99/mo | 36 months | $9.99/mo |
| Bluehost Business | $6.99/mo | 36 months | $13.99/mo |
Intro prices require paying for the whole term up front. Renewal prices are often two to four times higher, so budget for the renewal rate, not the promotion. See our list of cheap web hosting providers for more options.
Website builder or CMS
A website builder or content management system (CMS) is the software you use to create and edit pages. WordPress.org software is free, but you pay for hosting. Hosted builders bundle software, hosting and security into one monthly fee.
| Platform | Price range (billed annually) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Wix | $17 to $159/mo | Free plan available with Wix branding; selling requires Core ($29/mo) or higher |
| Squarespace | $16 to $99/mo | Basic plan charges a 2% fee on store sales; Core and up charge 0% |
| WordPress.com | $4 to $45/mo | Personal $4, Premium $8, Business $25, Commerce $45 |
| Shopify | $29 to $299/mo | Basic $29, Grow $79, Advanced $299; card rates from 2.9% + 30¢ online on Basic |
Monthly billing costs more on every platform. For example, Wix, Squarespace and Shopify all charge noticeably higher monthly rates than their annual rates. If you are still choosing a platform, our guide on how to choose a CMS and our roundup of the best website builders compare them in depth.
SSL certificate
An SSL certificate encrypts traffic and shows the padlock in the browser. In 2026, a basic SSL certificate is free on almost every builder and host, usually through Let’s Encrypt. You only pay for SSL if you need an organization-validated or extended-validation certificate, which most small sites do not. Our guide on how to enable an SSL certificate explains the setup.
Business email
A custom email address, such as [email protected], is not always included. Google Workspace Business Starter and Microsoft 365 Business Basic both list at about $7 per user per month on an annual plan in 2026. Some hosts include basic email accounts or offer a free trial.
How much does it cost to build a website yourself?
Building a website yourself is the cheapest option. For most small sites, you will pay $200 to $500 in the first year, and the main cost is time.
With a hosted builder, your costs are the plan fee plus anything you add later. A Squarespace Basic site billed annually costs about $192 a year, and a Wix Light site about $204 a year, each with a free domain for the first year. With WordPress, you can start on Hostinger Premium at $2.49 a month for 48 months, but plan for the $10.99 monthly renewal rate when the term ends.
DIY works best when your site is a standard format, such as a portfolio, a small business site or a simple store. It gets harder when you need custom functionality, complex integrations or a highly specific design.
How much does a web designer or developer cost?
Hiring a freelancer makes sense when you want a custom design but do not need a full agency team. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports a median wage of $47.85 an hour ($99,520 a year) for web developers and digital designers as of May 2025. Freelance marketplace rates vary widely: Upwork’s 2026 rate guide lists a typical range of about $15 to $50 an hour for web developers, with specialized work at $75 to $150 or more.
For a whole project, 2026 pricing guides put a small business site from a freelancer at about $1,500 to $8,000. The final price depends on the number of pages, whether the designer writes copy, and how much custom code is involved.
Before hiring, ask which platform the freelancer will use. Many build on Wix, Squarespace or WordPress, which is fine, but you should own the accounts, the domain and the hosting so you can make changes or switch providers later.
How much does a web design agency cost?
An agency costs more than a freelancer because you get a team, usually a strategist, designer, developer, copywriter and SEO specialist. 2026 industry pricing guides put boutique agency projects at about $6,000 to $12,000 and full-service agency projects at about $12,000 to $35,000 or more, with complex e-commerce builds at the top of that range.
Agencies also tend to sell ongoing retainers for maintenance, SEO and content. Those typically run from about $50 a month for basic upkeep to $500 a month or more for active marketing support.
An agency is worth considering if your website is a primary sales channel, you need integrations with inventory or CRM systems, or you do not have the time or skills to manage a site yourself.
How much does each type of website cost?
The type of site you build also shapes website costs. The estimates below assume a DIY build and use published October 2026 prices for the first year. They exclude taxes and your own time.
| Website type | Example setup | Estimated first-year cost |
|---|---|---|
| Portfolio | Squarespace Basic, annual billing, free first-year domain | About $192 |
| Small business (4 to 5 pages) | Wix Light, annual billing, free first-year domain, one Google Workspace mailbox | About $288 |
| Blog | Self-hosted WordPress on Hostinger Premium, free theme and plugins | About $30 for year one, prepaid as $119.52 for 48 months |
| Nonprofit | Squarespace Core, annual billing, free first-year domain | About $276, plus payment processing fees on donations |
| Online store | Shopify Basic, annual billing, plus a .com domain and a few paid apps | About $350 to $600, plus card fees |
A larger online store or membership site can cost much more once you add paid apps, premium themes, product photography and marketing. Shopify card rates start at 2.9% + 30¢ per online transaction on the Basic plan in the United States, and those fees scale with your sales.
What ongoing website costs should you budget for?
Website costs do not stop after launch. Budget for these recurring items:
- Renewals: domain renewals after the free first year, and hosting renewals at the regular rate after your intro term ends.
- Plan upgrades: more storage, e-commerce features or lower transaction fees as you grow.
- Premium themes and plugins: WordPress premium themes often cost $0 to $200, and many plugins charge annual licenses. For example, Yoast SEO Premium is sold as a yearly subscription, while the base Yoast SEO plugin is free.
- Maintenance: 2026 pricing guides put maintenance packages, covering updates, backups, uptime monitoring and security patches, at about $50 to $500 a month if you outsource them.
- Content and marketing: copywriting, photography, SEO tools and paid ads are often the largest ongoing cost for sites that need to generate leads.
How can you lower your website costs?
You can keep website costs down without cutting corners on quality:
- Pay annually or for longer terms on builders and hosts, but calculate the renewal rate before you commit.
- Claim the free first-year domain that comes with many builder and hosting plans, then compare renewal prices with standalone registrars.
- Start with a template and customize it, rather than paying for a fully custom design on day one.
- Use free plugins and tools until you know which paid features you need.
- Write your own copy for core pages, then hire help for design or SEO where it makes the biggest difference.
- Try a free plan first. Our guide to the best free website builders lists options for testing before you pay.
Which option should you choose?
If you want the lowest cost and can spend a weekend on setup, a DIY builder such as Squarespace or Wix is the simplest path. If you want more control and lower long-term software costs, self-hosted WordPress on a host like Hostinger or Bluehost is a good fit. If your website drives most of your revenue, hiring a freelancer or agency usually pays for itself.
Whatever you choose, secure your name first. Check domain and social handle availability with Namechk before you start building.
FAQs
How much does a basic website cost in 2026?
A basic website you build yourself costs about $200 to $500 in the first year in 2026. That covers a website builder plan such as Squarespace Basic (about $16 a month billed annually) or Wix Light (about $17 a month), usually with a free domain for the first year. Hiring a freelancer for the same site typically costs $1,500 to $8,000 up front.
How much does a domain name cost per year?
A .com domain typically costs about $11 to $25 a year in 2026, depending on the registrar. Verisign’s wholesale .com price is $10.26, rising to $10.97 on November 1, 2026, and registrars add an ICANN fee and their own margin. Many website builders and hosts include a free domain for the first year, after which it renews at the standard rate.
Is it cheaper to use WordPress or a website builder?
Self-hosted WordPress is usually cheaper in software costs because the WordPress software is free and shared hosting starts at a few dollars a month on long intro terms. However, you handle updates, security and backups yourself. Website builders such as Wix and Squarespace cost more per month but bundle hosting, security, templates and support into one predictable fee.
How much does it cost to maintain a website?
If you maintain a website yourself, ongoing costs are mainly renewals for your domain, hosting or builder plan, plus any paid plugins or apps, often a few hundred dollars a year. If you outsource maintenance, 2026 pricing guides put packages covering updates, backups, monitoring and security patches at about $50 to $500 a month.
How much does a web designer charge per hour?
Web designer and developer rates vary widely. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports a median wage of $47.85 an hour for web developers and digital designers as of May 2025. On freelance marketplaces, Upwork’s 2026 guide lists a typical range of about $15 to $50 an hour, with specialists charging $75 to $150 or more.
How much does an e-commerce website cost?
A small e-commerce website built yourself on Shopify Basic costs about $29 a month billed annually, plus a domain, paid apps and card fees starting at 2.9% + 30 cents per online sale in the U.S. Expect roughly $350 to $600 in the first year before fees. Agency-built online stores commonly cost $5,000 to $35,000 or more depending on complexity.
Do I need to pay for an SSL certificate?
Most websites do not need to pay for an SSL certificate in 2026. Almost every website builder and web host includes a free SSL certificate, usually issued by Let’s Encrypt, and renews it automatically. Paid certificates with organization or extended validation are mainly used by larger businesses and are not required for search rankings or the browser padlock.
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