How much does a website cost for a small business in 2026?

Before the numbers, the question worth asking first: what should the money get you? Not "a website". You can get one of those for free, with an ad on it. You want a site that makes a stranger think "these people are good" before they've met you, and then makes it easy to call.

So here is what a good small business site looks like, then what each way of getting one costs, with sources you can check.

What should a small business website get you?

Here are four we made. They're finished, working sites, not mockups, and you can click through every page right now:

Each one has one small idea that belongs to that business and nobody else's. Morning Loaf turns the bakery's daily board into a chart of the morning, every bake a bar from oven to sold out. Halvorsen, for a renovation crew, keeps the phone number on a red tab at the edge of every page, and a tape measure draws out to the next open start date. Studio Ferro lets you pick a stylist and every price on the list becomes theirs. Okkerlund, for an architecture studio, shows its photos clad in pine boards that come off one by one.

They were designed for businesses that don't exist (yet), by the people behind Koalition, a design studio since 2000. Every design is made once and goes to one business. Then we retire it, so nobody else gets it.

So what does a site like that cost?

$150 a month. That's the whole website, up to five pages, with no setup fee, month to month.

Take one and it comes off the market for good. We fit it to your business (your name, your words, your photos), set it up on your domain and host it. Hosting, security updates and backups, your email kept working, your own editor and a monthly check come with it.

Already have a site? Send it to us. In about a week you get a new one, finished and working, on a private preview link. Like it? It's yours for $150 a month. Don't like it? Walk away. We'll still be friends.

That's our answer. Here's everyone else's, so you can compare properly.

What does a small business website cost in 2026?

Builder prices are the lowest yearly plans without ads on wix.com/plans ($17.77 a month, billed yearly) and squarespace.com/pricing ($19 to $29 a month, billed yearly), both checked October 23, 2026. The WordPress, freelancer, agency, hosting and domain figures are from WebsiteSetup's 2026 cost guide; the care plan range is from their maintenance cost guide. Those are one publisher's estimates, so treat them as a range, not a quote.

What does it really cost to build it yourself?

The plan is the cheap part. Squarespace's Basic plan is $19 a month and Wix's Light plan is $17.77, both billed yearly, with hosting and a first-year domain included.

The real cost is your time. You pick a layout, write every page, find the photos and learn the editor. Then you come back when your hours change, or when a customer tells you the phone number on the contact page is wrong (it happens to everyone once).

Doing it yourself makes sense if you enjoy it and will keep it current. It makes less sense if the site sits half finished while you're out doing the work you actually get paid for.

What does a freelancer or an agency charge?

WebsiteSetup puts a typical freelancer at $50 to $95 an hour for 40 to 80 hours, which is where $2,000 to $7,600 comes from. An agency charges $5,000 to $15,000 for a complete small business site, because planning, design and project management are in the price.

Three questions to ask before you sign:

• What's included? Writing, photos, a contact form, getting set up on Google and moving your domain are often extras.
• Who hosts it, and for how much? About $40 to $250 a year on its own.
• Who fixes it next year? If the answer is "we can quote that", budget for it now.

A freelancer or agency is the right call for something big or specific: an online store with stock and shipping, a booking system tied to your calendar, a brand that has to be matched exactly.

What does a website cost after it launches?

The part most quotes leave out:

• Domain name: $12 to $50 a year.
• Hosting: $40 to $250 a year, unless it's included.
• Updates and care: $360 to $3,000 a year if you pay someone, says WebsiteSetup.
• The redesign: sooner or later the site looks old. Plan for it.

We do the five-year math in website subscription vs one-time build.

Which option is right for you?

• A builder if you have the time, like doing it, and need something simple. It's the lowest price there is.
• A freelancer or agency if you need a store, bookings or a big site, and someone to keep it running after.
• Sitestove if you want a site that looks like it was made for you, without doing the work, and you'd like to see it before you pay a cent.

We're honest about this: a $17 builder plan will always cost less than $150 a month. What the monthly fee buys is a properly designed site, and someone else doing the building and the looking after. See everything in the price.