How Much Does a Website Cost for a Small Business in 2026? Real Price Ranges in US Dollars
Website pricing for small businesses in 2026, in US dollars: by type of site, by who builds it, and the yearly costs of domain, hosting and maintenance.
If you ask three providers for a quote, expect three very different numbers. Almost always it’s because each one is pricing a different job: a different number of pages, with or without copywriting, with or without ongoing maintenance afterwards.
This article covers what a website costs by type and by who builds it, what you pay every year to keep it online, and how to compare proposals with some judgment. All amounts are in US dollars.
In short: a simple corporate website for a small business costs roughly $600 to $2,200 in lower-rate markets, and $1,500 to $7,000 in higher-rate markets. On top of that, budget $300 to $1,000 a year for domain, hosting and basic maintenance.
Why the same job can cost two or three times as much
The price depends mostly on where the person building it works, not on where your business is. A freelancer in much of Latin America and one in the United States can deliver an equivalent site at very different rates, because their cost of living and their market are different.
Since almost the whole process happens remotely today, you can hire in any market. That said, time zone, language, and how easy it is to pay and invoice are worth weighing.
Price by type of website
These ranges summarize price guides published in 2026 by studios and freelancers in different markets. They’re indicative and meant to orient you, not to set an exact price.
| Type of website | Lower-rate markets (e.g. much of LATAM) | Higher-rate markets (e.g. the US) |
|---|---|---|
| Landing page (single page) | $300 – $1,200 | $1,000 – $3,000 |
| Basic corporate site (5 to 8 pages) | $600 – $2,200 | $1,500 – $7,000 |
| Custom site or feature-heavy build | $3,000 – $10,000+ | $8,000 – $15,000+ |
| Online store | $1,500 – $4,000+ | $5,000 – $15,000 with a freelancer; considerably more with an agency |
Note: always confirm whether the quote includes taxes (VAT or whatever applies in your country) and which currency it’s billed in. A 16 to 21% difference changes the comparison quite a bit.
Who builds it
- Yourself with a site builder (Wix, Squarespace, WordPress with a template). From $0 on limited free plans to about $15 to $50 a month. It’s the cheapest way to start, but it costs you time and the fee keeps running for as long as the site exists.
- Freelancer. Between $400 and $1,500 in lower-rate markets and between $1,500 and $7,000 in higher-rate ones. A direct relationship and a good price-to-quality ratio. The risk is depending on a single person.
- Agency. From about $1,200 to $3,000 in cheaper markets and from $6,000 to $15,000 or more in higher-rate ones. You get a team, processes and continuity, in exchange for higher cost and longer timelines.
There’s no universally better option. For an independent professional with a clear service, a good freelancer is usually enough. For a business with several locations, complex bookings or a rebrand, an agency starts to justify its price.
What you pay every year
A website keeps costing after it launches. These are the recurring expenses:
| Item | Approximate cost |
|---|---|
| Domain (.com or another extension) | $10 – $25 per year |
| Hosting | $60 – $300 per year, depending on type and quality |
| SSL certificate (the browser padlock) | Usually $0, included with hosting |
| Professional email on your domain | $1 – $6 per mailbox per month |
| Basic maintenance (updates and backups) | $20 – $60 per month |
| Maintenance with support and content changes | $100 – $500 per month |
Maintenance is the line item that varies most, because it depends on what it includes and on the hourly rate (across markets, roughly $20 to $150).
Watch out for all-inclusive monthly fees. A $20 to $50 a month subscription looks cheap, but it adds up to $720 to $1,800 over three years. Compare it against a one-time payment plus the maintenance you actually need.
An example with numbers
A services business with a 5-to-8-page site, built by a mid-range freelancer:
| Item | Year 1 | From year 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Design and development | $1,500 | $0 |
| Domain | $15 | $15 |
| Hosting | $120 | $120 |
| Basic maintenance ($40/month) | $480 | $480 |
| Total | $2,115 | $615 |
The site “costs” $1,500, but you spend considerably more in year one, and every year after that is about $600 just to keep it running.
What pushes the price up or down
- Number of pages. More pages mean more design, more copy and more review.
- Template or custom design. Adapting a template costs far less than designing from scratch.
- Features. Bookings, a store, a client area, multiple languages or integrations with other tools multiply the work.
- Copy and images. If you supply them, you save. If the provider commissions them (writing, photography, video), the price goes up.
- SEO. Getting the site ready to rank on Google takes additional work.
- Timelines. Rush deliveries usually cost more.
What many quotes leave out
Before you accept, check whether these are included or billed separately:
- Copywriting.
- Professional photography.
- Legal pages: privacy policy, terms and cookie policy, per the data protection laws that apply to your audience.
- Basic SEO setup.
- Training so you can edit content yourself.
- How many rounds of changes are included in the price.
- Whether the domain and hosting end up in your name.
How to compare quotes
A checklist to use with every proposal you receive:
- It’s broken down by line item: design, copy, SEO, legal pages, training.
- It details exactly which pages and features are included.
- It states whether the price includes taxes and which currency it’s billed in.
- It sets a delivery date.
- It explains what happens afterwards: maintenance, support and changes.
- The domain and the website end up in your name.
- You can take the site with you if you ever change providers.
If a proposal doesn’t answer half of these, it’s not necessarily bad, but you’re missing information to compare it against another one.
Frequently asked questions
Can I get a website for free?
Yes, with the free plans some site builders offer. They come with clear limits: platform advertising, an address that isn’t yours (something like yourbusiness.platform.com) and very few design options. If you want to convey trust, a domain of your own is the minimum.
Is it better to pay once or to subscribe?
It depends on how much control you want. With a one-time payment the site is yours and you can take it with you, but hosting and maintenance are billed separately. A subscription bundles everything into one fee, though the cost accumulates month after month and switching providers tends to be harder.
Is maintenance mandatory?
No, but it’s recommended. A site that never gets updated accumulates security flaws and performance problems. If you don’t buy it, at least clarify who handles backups and who steps in when something breaks.
Why are quotes for the same website so different?
Because it’s rarely the same website. Working hours, template versus custom design, whether copy and SEO are included, and post-launch support all vary. The price tells you how much work you’re buying; it doesn’t guarantee the site will perform.
Wrapping up
For a small business, a professional corporate website costs roughly $600 to $7,000 depending on the market where the person building it works, plus about $300 to $1,000 a year to keep it running. If a proposal sits far below those ranges, find out what was left out. If it sits far above, look at what you’re overpaying for.
In the next article I cover what to prepare before hiring anyone, so proposals are comparable and you don’t pay for what you don’t need.
Want a detailed quote for your business? Tell me what you need and we’ll build it line by line.
Prices reviewed in October 2026 from guides published by studios and freelancers across several markets. These are indicative ranges: the real cost depends on each project.