How much does a website cost in 2026?

By Dominic Binotubo · 9 October 2026 · 6 min read

"How much is a website?" is a bit like "how much is a car?" The honest answer is that it depends, but it depends on a handful of things you can understand in a few minutes. Here's the breakdown I give my own clients.

Typical starting prices

These are my own starting prices, shown in your currency and adjusted for your region. Other developers will differ, but the steps between them are typical.

• Digital invitation (one animated page for an event): from $150.
• Landing page (1–3 pages for a product, campaign or personal brand): from $450.
• Business website (up to 8 pages, editable content, SEO setup): from $1,200.
• Online store (products, payments, orders and shipping): from $2,500.
• Cinematic site or custom web app: from $5,000.

What moves the price

Number of unique page layouts. Ten pages that share one layout cost much less than ten pages that each need their own design.

Features. Payments, bookings, logins and dashboards involve real engineering, testing and security. This is usually where most of the cost is.

Design and motion. A clean, modern site costs less than one with scroll storytelling, video and 3D. Both can be right; it depends on what your brand needs.

Content. If your text and photos are ready, the project moves faster and costs less. Copywriting and photography are extra work.

Integrations. Connecting to CRMs, email marketing, delivery services or custom APIs ranges from minutes to weeks.

Timeline. Need it urgently? Moving a project to the front of the queue usually costs more.

The running costs people forget

• Domain name: usually around $10–$20 a year.
• Hosting: from free for simple sites up to about $25 a month, depending on the site.
• Platform fees: some platforms, such as Shopify, charge a monthly fee and sometimes a fee per sale.
• Maintenance: updates, backups and small edits, either on a monthly care plan or paid as needed.

Cheap vs. expensive: what's the real difference?

A cheap website often uses a template with your logo dropped in. That can be fine to start. The problems show up later: slow pages on mobile, a site that looks like your competitors', no plan for being found on Google, or a developer who disappears and leaves you locked out of your own domain.

Whatever you pay, make sure that you own your domain and hosting accounts, that the site is fast on a phone, and that you can update the basics yourself.

How to get a fair quote

1. Write down what the website must achieve: calls, sales, bookings or credibility.
2. List the pages and features you need, and two or three websites you like.
3. Ask every developer for a fixed, itemised quote and a payment schedule tied to milestones.
4. Ask who owns the code, domain and hosting at the end.

Want a number for your own project? Try my instant price estimator, or send me your details for a fixed quote.