Key findings
- Do-it-yourself website builders cost roughly $120–$300+ a year for a basic site, according to GoDaddy's 2026 cost guide, plus the owner's own time to build and maintain it.
- Published 2026 guides put a freelancer-built small-business website at about $2,000–$5,000 and an agency build at about $5,000–$15,000 (ProjectCostEstimator).
- Domains typically cost $0–$30 a year, around $20 on average, and hosting ranges from $5.99 to $300+ a month (GoDaddy guide).
- Ongoing upkeep is often extra: published guides list about $200–$500 a month for basic support and more for full-service retainers (ProjectCostEstimator).
Website builder plan prices (checked October 6, 2026)
| Builder | Plans and prices | Billing |
|---|---|---|
| Wix | Light $17.77, Core $29.77, Business $39.77, Business Elite $159.77 | Per month, yearly subscription paid up front |
| Squarespace | Basic $25 ($19 yearly), Core $39 ($29), Plus $65 ($49), Advanced $139 ($99) | Per month; yearly price in brackets |
| Shopify | Basic $29, Grow $79, Advanced $299, Plus from $2,300 | Per month |
| WordPress.com | Personal $9 ($4 yearly), Premium $18 ($8), Business $40 ($25), Commerce $70 ($45) | Per month; yearly price in brackets |
| Hostinger Website Builder | Premium $2.99 (renews $10.99), Unlimited $3.99 (renews $16.99), Cloud Startup $7.99 (renews $25.99) | Per month; intro price on a 48-month term |
Typical small-business plan, per month
Range from the entry business-ready plan to the mid plan, as published. Shopify Advanced and Plus, and Wix Business Elite, are outside this range.
First-year cost by approach
Published ranges, 2026
DIY builder per year (GoDaddy guide); freelancer and agency small-business builds, one-time (ProjectCostEstimator).
| Cost item | Published range | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Domain name | $0–$30 a year (about $20 typical) | GoDaddy guide |
| Web hosting | $5.99–$300+ a month | GoDaddy guide |
| Website builder | $9.99–$20.99+ a month | GoDaddy guide |
| Freelancer rates | $25–$150 an hour | ProjectCostEstimator |
| Agency rates | $60–$300 an hour | ProjectCostEstimator |
| Freelancer project (junior to senior) | $1,500–$12,000 | Pitchsite |
| Maintenance | $200–$500 a month basic | ProjectCostEstimator |
Where done-for-you fits
A builder is the cheapest option if you have the time to build and maintain the site yourself. A freelancer or agency does the work for you but usually costs thousands up front, with upkeep extra. Cheap Cheap Websites sits in between: websites from $399 one-time with the domain included, written and built for you, and Website Care at $30 a month for hosting, security, backups, weekly checks and small edits. See all packages or compare with the first-year cost tool.
Methodology
We collected list prices from each builder's public pricing page in US dollars on October 6, 2026, as shown to a US visitor. Freelancer, agency, domain, hosting and maintenance figures are ranges reported by the published guides listed below; we did not survey providers ourselves. Where a page showed both monthly and yearly billing, both are listed.
Limitations
- Prices change often and vary by location, promotion and term length.
- Intro prices (for example Hostinger) renew at higher rates.
- Third-party ranges are estimates from those publishers, not quotes.
- Some providers (including GoDaddy's plan pages) could not be retrieved directly, so only figures from GoDaddy's published cost guide are used.
