Website subscription vs one-time build: which is cheaper over five years?

The first year is easy to compare: one big bill against twelve small ones. The trouble starts in year two, when the one-time site still needs hosting, updates and the odd fix, and keeps needing them.

We sell subscriptions, so take our side of this with that in mind. We'll show you the five-year math anyway, every number sourced, including the cases where we lose.

What is the difference between a subscription and a one-time website?

With a one-time build, you pay a freelancer or agency to make the site, and then you own it. Hosting, the domain, updates, security and changes are separate, and they're yours to arrange.

With a website subscription, a company builds the site and runs it for a monthly fee. Hosting, updates and fixes are part of the price. You usually pay nothing up front, and the site usually stays with the company if you stop. Read that part of any contract before you sign; more on it below.

What should a subscription actually get you?

Here's the trap with a lot of monthly website plans: the price is often low because the site is generic. Same layout as the plumber two towns over, your logo swapped in.

It doesn't have to be. These are three of ours, finished and working right now:

Every one was designed by the people behind Koalition, a design studio since 2000, and has a detail that only fits its business: a phone number on a red tab at the edge of every page of Halvorsen, a price list in Studio Ferro that changes to whichever stylist you pick, a morning board in Morning Loaf that charts when each bake sold out.

And each is made once. It goes to one business, then we retire it. (Saltreach, the one for a swimming club, already sold. Yippee.)

Take one and we fit it to your business, set it up on your domain and host it, for $150 a month. Or send us your current website and in about a week we'll send back a better one on a private link. You see the whole thing working before you pay anything. Don't like it? Walk away. We'll still be friends.

What does each cost over five years?

How the totals add up: the build price once, then five years of hosting and domain (and care, where it says so); our total leaves out the domain, which you pay for in every option. Builder: Squarespace Core at $29 a month billed yearly, checked October 23, 2026. Build, hosting, domain and care ranges: WebsiteSetup's 2026 cost guide and maintenance guide. One cost the table can't price: the redesign when a one-time site starts to look old.

When is a one-time website cheaper?

When the site is simple and somebody keeps it running for free. Usually that's you, or a friend who builds websites and doesn't mind the call when something breaks. Then a $2,000 to $3,000 build plus hosting comes in well under us over five years.

It's also the better choice for a bigger project. An online store with stock and shipping, a booking system or a site with dozens of pages doesn't fit a small monthly plan, and you'll want to own what you paid a lot to have built.

When is a subscription the better deal?

When you'd otherwise pay someone to look after the site, the gap closes fast. A freelancer build with paid care starts around $4,060 over five years and can go well past $9,000, and you still paid the big bill on day one.

A good subscription is also easier to live with:

• Nothing up front. The money stays in the business when you need it most.
• One bill, one email address. No hosting company, no plugin updates, no "who set this up?"
• It doesn't go stale on its own. Updates, security and backups happen as part of the plan.
• You can still change things yourself. Hours, prices, photos, in your own editor (even at 2 a.m.).

What can a website subscription lock you into?

Ask any subscription company these three things, us included:

1. What happens to the site if you leave? With most, the design and code stay with them. You should at least keep your domain and get your words and photos back.
2. Is there a minimum term or a cancellation fee? Month to month is the standard to look for.
3. What happens if the company closes or is sold? Few contracts say.

Our answers, from our terms:

• If you leave, the site goes offline. You keep your domain, and within 30 days you can ask for your text, photos and logo as ordinary files. The design and code stay with us, and there's no buyout.
• Month to month, cancel by email, no cancellation fee.
• If we ever close, you get your whole site, free, to host anywhere. If Sitestove is sold, your plan and terms carry over unchanged.

So which should you choose?

• One-time if you have the skills or a person to keep it running, or you need a store, bookings or a large site.
• A builder if you want the lowest price and don't mind doing it all.
• A subscription if you want a finished site, looked after, for a steady monthly price. Pick one where you can see the site before you pay, so you know it's good. What's in our $150.