Website Cost Calculator

Pick the kind of site and the features you need. The calculator shows the hours behind the price, so you can compare quotes from freelancers and agencies, or plan your own budget.

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The site
Features
Who builds it

These rates are examples for comparison, not market data. Put in the rate from your own quotes.

Why website prices vary so much

A quote is mostly hours × hourly rate. The same five-page site can be quoted at a few hundred dollars by a freelancer using a template and at many thousands by an agency doing custom design, copywriting and testing. Both can be fair; they are different amounts of work. This calculator makes the hours visible so you can see where a quote comes from.

What drives the hours

  • Custom design instead of a template: more meetings, mockups and revisions.
  • Online payments, booking and user accounts: each needs setup, testing and security work.
  • Integrations with a CRM, ERP or payment gateway: often the least predictable part.
  • Content: writing the text and preparing images takes longer than most people expect. If you supply final text and photos, quotes go down.
  • Extra languages: each language means translated content and, for Arabic, a right-to-left layout check.

The costs after launch

Every site needs a domain and hosting each year, plus someone to apply updates, keep backups and make small changes. Online stores and web apps need stronger hosting and more upkeep. Budget for these from the start; a cheap build with no care plan often costs more within two years.

How to compare quotes

  1. Ask each provider for the hours behind the price and what is included (pages, revisions, content, training).
  2. Check who owns the domain, the hosting account and the code after launch.
  3. Ask what yearly support costs and how fast they respond.
  4. Put their hours and rate into this calculator and compare like for like.

FAQ

How much does a small business website cost?
It depends on pages, design and features. A template-based 5 to 10 page site is a few dozen hours of work; multiply by the hourly rate you are quoted. Use the calculator with your own rate for a realistic range.
Why is a custom web app so much more expensive than a website?
A web app has logic: user accounts, data, permissions, reports. Each screen needs building and testing, so the hours are several times those of a content site.
Are the hourly rates real market prices?
No. The preset rates are round examples to compare scenarios. Rates vary by country, experience and agency size; enter the rates from the quotes you receive.
What yearly costs should I expect?
A domain, hosting, and maintenance (updates, backups, small changes). The calculator shows rough ranges; your hosting plan and support contract decide the exact amount.

Related guides

Found it useful? Put a link in your docs, README or forum answer so others can use it too:

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<a href="https://headsntail.com/tools/website-cost-calculator">Website Cost Calculator</a> (free, by HeadsNTail)
Markdown (GitHub, Stack Overflow, dev.to)
[Website Cost Calculator](https://headsntail.com/tools/website-cost-calculator)

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