Website cost statistics 2026: what small businesses really pay

What does a website cost to build in 2026?

• A typical small business website costs $100 to $5,000 to build, while ecommerce and large websites run $10,000 to $50,000 or more, according to WebFX (2026).
• In a survey of more than 300 web development firms across 31 countries, 33% quote fixed-price website projects at $1,000 to $5,000 and another 30% at $5,000 to $15,000, together nearly two thirds of the market, per GoodFirms (2026).
• 60% of surveyed web development firms estimate a basic website at $1,000 to $3,000, and 71% say the build takes 2 to 4 weeks, per the same GoodFirms survey (2026).
• The average cost of designing a website with basic features is about $3,200, per earlier GoodFirms research (2021).

For a range tailored to your own project, the website cost calculator turns these numbers into a live estimate in about a minute, and our website cost guide explains what drives the price.

What do freelancers and agencies charge?

• Hiring a freelancer for website design typically costs $500 to $10,000 or more, while agency-designed websites run $3,000 to $30,000 or more, per WebFX (2026).
• Freelance web designers on Upwork typically charge $15 to $30 per hour at the entry level, with experienced designers averaging $45 to $75 or more per hour, per Upwork (2025).
• The median hourly rate for web developers on Upwork is about $30, with a typical range of $15 to $50 per hour, per Upwork (2025).

What do DIY website builders cost?

• DIY website builders cost roughly $17 to $500+ per month depending on plan and features, per WebFX (2026).
• Wix premium plans run from $17 per month (Light) to $159 per month (Business Elite) on annual billing, per Website Builder Expert's pricing breakdown (2026).
• Squarespace plans cost $16 (Basic) to $99 (Advanced) per month on annual billing, rising to $25 to $139 on monthly billing, per Squarespace (2026).

The subscription is only part of the picture: you also supply the hours. Our Wix vs custom guide walks through the real tradeoff.

What are the ongoing costs of a website?

• Website maintenance averages $3,600 to $50,000 per year depending on site size and complexity, per WebFX (2026).
• Website hosting ranges from about $2 to $1,000 per month depending on hosting type and traffic, per WebFX (2026).
• A standard .com domain name typically costs $10 to $25 per year, though many registrars advertise a cheap first year and raise renewal prices, per Shopify's domain pricing guide (2026).
• In a Databox survey of 145 small and medium companies, 49% had completely redesigned their website within the past two years (Databox, 2022, via Huemor).
• The average website lifespan before a redesign is roughly 2 years and 7 months for typical business sites, per Orbit Media (2016).

Our monthly cost guide breaks down which of these you must pay and which are optional.

How much does an online store cost?

• Adding ecommerce functionality costs about $3,000 to $10,000 for smaller sites and $40,000 to $100,000 or more for larger operations, per WebFX (2026).
• A professionally built online store from a freelancer commonly lands in the $1,500 to $5,000 range, while agency ecommerce builds usually cost $5,000 to $25,000 or more, per Shopify's ecommerce cost guide (2026).
• Ecommerce accounted for 20.5% of total global retail sales in 2025, up from 19.9% in 2024, per eMarketer (2025).

The full breakdown of store pricing, including what drives it up, is in our ecommerce cost guide.

What does FineWright charge?

For contrast with the survey ranges above, FineWright's prices are fixed and public: custom single-page websites are $599, multi-page websites start at $1,499, online stores start at $2,999, web apps and dashboards start at $4,500, and care plans that bundle hosting, security, and edits start at $49 per month. Every price is listed on the pricing page; there are no hourly meters and no hidden fees.

How much website spend is being wasted?

Price is only half the cost question; the other half is what businesses get for the money. According to FineWright's 2026 study of 688 small business websites, 10.5% of listed small-business websites fail to load entirely (63 of 602), meaning roughly one in ten businesses with a site is paying for hosting that leads nowhere. The same study found 86.9% of listed sites look dated or weak (523 of 602), 48.8% of loading sites run on a detected site builder (263 of 539), and only 2.7% qualify as genuinely modern (16 of 602). The full findings are in the state of small-business websites in 2026.

Frequently asked questions

How much does a small business website cost in 2026?

A typical small business website costs $100 to $5,000 to build according to WebFX (2026), and nearly two thirds of web development firms quote fixed-price projects between $1,000 and $15,000 according to GoodFirms (2026). FineWright builds custom sites from $599 for a single page and $1,499 for a multi-page site.

How much does website maintenance cost?

Website maintenance averages $3,600 to $50,000 per year depending on size and complexity, according to WebFX (2026). For a typical small business site the practical range is far lower: FineWright care plans, which bundle hosting, security, and edits, start at $49 per month.

How much does an ecommerce website cost?

A professionally built online store from a freelancer commonly lands in the $1,500 to $5,000 range, while agency ecommerce builds usually run $5,000 to $25,000 or more, according to Shopify (2026). WebFX (2026) puts ecommerce functionality at $3,000 to $10,000 for smaller sites. FineWright builds custom online stores from $2,999.

How much do freelance web designers charge?

Freelance web designers on Upwork typically charge $15 to $30 per hour at the entry level, with experienced designers averaging $45 to $75 or more per hour (Upwork, 2025). As a project price, hiring a freelancer for website design typically costs $500 to $10,000 or more, according to WebFX (2026).

Keep reading: the companion roundup of web design statistics 2026, our plain-language website cost guide, what a website costs per month, or the original research in the state of small-business websites in 2026.