Ask three providers what a website costs and you will get three answers ranging from €500 to €15,000. Frustrating — and unfortunately normal. This guide explains what actually drives the price, which follow-up costs are often left out of quotes, and which model fits which type of business.
A website is a service, not an off-the-shelf product. The price depends on scope: number of pages, custom design versus template, copywriting, photography, multiple languages, booking features or a shop. It also depends on who does the work — an agency with an office and a team calculates very differently from a freelancer working from home.
As a rough guide for 2026: a straightforward business website with 5 to 8 pages typically costs €1,500 to €4,000 from a freelancer and €4,000 to €10,000 from a traditional agency. Site builders such as Wix or Jimdo start at €15 to €40 per month — but you do all the work yourself.
For small businesses, four approaches have become established. Each offers a different balance of price, effort and outcome:
The purchase price is only half the story. A website generates ongoing costs that are often missing from quotes: hosting (€5–30/month), domain (€10–25/year), SSL certificate, technical updates, security patches and backups. Buy a €3,000 WordPress site and ignore maintenance, and two years later you often have a slow, vulnerable website.
Budget realistically for €30 to €100 per month in hosting and maintenance — or an agency maintenance contract that quickly runs €80 to €200 monthly. Then there are change requests: new opening hours, a new team photo or an additional service page are billed at €80 to €120 per hour by many providers.
Let us compare over three years. Freelancer website: €3,000 build plus roughly €50 per month for hosting and occasional care comes to about €4,800. Agency: €6,000 plus a €100 monthly maintenance contract comes to €9,600. Website subscription at €79 per month: €2,844 — including design, hosting, maintenance and changes.
A subscription is not automatically the best choice for everyone. If you need highly specialised custom development or want the website on your balance sheet as an asset, buying may suit you better. For most self-employed people and small firms, however, what matters is predictable costs, no €5,000 invoice up front, and one contact person who takes care of things.
Beyond the basic website, some features generate real revenue depending on your industry. Realistic price points:
Ask every provider three questions: What does the website cost over three years including all extras? Who handles updates, security and changes — and what does that cost? What happens if I cancel or want to switch? Serious providers answer these without evasion.
Be sceptical of offers under €500 for a "professional website", of lock-in contracts with 24-month minimum terms and vague deliverables — and of anyone promising you the number one spot on Google. Nobody can guarantee that.
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