How much does a business website cost in 2026?
In 2026 the median published starting price for a small-business website in the US is $1,500, and agencies start at a median of $4,500. Custom sites from agencies that publish prices run from about $4,000 to $18,000, and the running costs of hosting and updates can matter as much as the build.
Written by the nextwebsite.co team, and last checked on November 7, 2026.
What the market charges in 2026
Most price guides quote ranges so wide they don't help. Three 2026 studies that show their method narrow it down.
Published starting prices. A survey of 1,019 US web designers and agencies found that 65% show a price on their own site. The median lowest one-time price was $1,500, with the middle half between $625 and $3,000. By seller type, solo freelancers started at a median of $1,000 and agencies at $4,5001.
Custom small-business sites. Among agencies with first-party price lists, the median custom small-business website was $7,000 in the US, ranging from $4,000 to $18,000. The same study found that 78.6% of directory-listed agencies publish no prices at all2.
What agencies quote. In a survey of more than 300 web development firms, 33% quoted fixed-price projects between $1,000 and $5,000, and another 30% between $5,000 and $15,0003.
What drives the price
- Pages and templates. Ten pages that share two layouts cost less than ten that are all different.
- Features. Booking, multiple locations, a product catalogue, a members' area.
- Content. Whether you supply the words and photos, or the agency writes and shoots them.
- Migration. Carrying content across from an old site, and redirecting every URL that ranks.
- Quality targets. Speed and accessibility written into the contract take testing time.
The running costs people forget
The build is paid once; the running costs are paid every month. A WordPress site needs hosting, plugin licences and someone to apply security updates. Agency care plans for WordPress run $199 to $499 a month4, which over three years can be more than the build. A static site on a free hosting tier removes most of that bill.
Our prices, as one data point
We publish ours: Launch from $2,900 for up to 10 pages, Practice from $6,500 for up to 40 pages with forms, booking and locations, and Catalogue from $12,000 for hundreds of product or listing pages. Hosting on Cloudflare's free tier costs nothing, and an optional care plan is $149 a month. Every quote is fixed, after a free scan of your current site.
Checklist
- Compare like with like: number of pages, forms, booking, locations and content migration.
- Ask what's fixed and what's billed by the hour.
- Add up three years of running costs: hosting, care plan, plugin licences and updates.
- Check what happens to your rankings: is there a redirect plan?
- Check who owns the site, and whether you can take it elsewhere.
Check your own site
The free scan reads what any visitor can see: security, speed on a phone, accessibility and search. It takes under a minute.
Read next
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Joomla 3 and 4 are past end of life, and site builders trade ownership for convenience. How to tell when it's time to move, and what a move costs.
More on choosing an agency, and what we build for dental clinics, law firms, accounting firms, home services and boutique hotels.