What Does a Website Really Cost? The Honest 2026 Price Guide

“What does a website cost?” is the most common question we get. And almost every answer online is useless. “It depends” is not an answer. “Between 500 and 50,000 euros” isn’t either.

Here’s the honest version: a website in 2026 costs between 0 EUR and 30,000 EUR — and the difference comes down to three concrete factors you can understand in ten minutes. Who builds it, what exactly it needs to do, and how fast you need it online.

This guide walks you through all three. You’ll get concrete prices for every option, the real hidden costs, a three-year total cost comparison, and a checklist for spotting shady quotes. By the end you’ll know what a website should realistically cost for your business — without a salesperson talking you into anything.

Short on time? Jump straight to the FAQ for the most common questions, or check our website packages for concrete prices.

How Is a Website Price Built?

Every website consists of the same six building blocks. Whether it’s a 10-euro-a-month template or a 30,000-euro agency project — you always pay for these:

Design — how the site looks, logo work, colors, typography, imagery
Development — the technical implementation, the code that runs in the browser
Copy — what’s written on the pages (home, services, contact, legal)
Images and media — photos, icons, videos, illustrations
Technical infrastructure — domain, hosting, SSL, email accounts
Legal — GDPR-compliant privacy policy, legal notice, cookie banner

Whenever a vendor gives you a flat quote, ask: Which of these six items are included, and which are billed extra? In 90% of disputes, the answer lives right here.

One-Time Costs vs. Ongoing Costs

Every website has two price axes:

One-time — concept, design, development, copy, images. Paid once when the site is built.
Ongoing — domain (10-20 EUR/year), hosting (5-50 EUR/month), SSL (usually free), email, maintenance, content updates.

A common mistake: “The builder is only 15 euros a month, that’s cheaper than 2,000 euros upfront.” No, it isn’t. 15 EUR × 36 months = 540 EUR. Add three template upgrades, two plugin packs, and your own domain, and you’ll be past 1,500 EUR after three years. You’ll still have a site you don’t own — you rent it.

Why Is the Range So Wide?

Because “website” covers everything from a one-page business card to a 5,000-product store. A plumber’s site with 5 subpages doesn’t need 30,000 EUR. A cross-border B2B shop with ERP integration can’t be built for 3,000. Price scales with three things: complexity, design ambition, and time pressure.

Free consultation: Not sure which category fits your project? Drop me a short message — I’ll give you an honest assessment in 15 minutes.

The 5 Ways to Get a Website

There are five realistic paths — and the price differences are dramatic.

1. Website Builder (Wix, Jimdo, Squarespace, Webflow, IONOS)

Cost: 10-40 EUR/month + your time (at least 20-40 hours)

What you get: A template, a drag-and-drop editor, hosting, and a domain (often free in year one). You click the site together yourself.

What you don’t get: Real load speed — builder sites usually load in 3-5 seconds, while Google now demands sub-2.5 seconds. Custom design (thousands of others use your template). True technical SEO. Code ownership. You’re completely dependent on the vendor: if Wix doubles prices or disappears, so does your site.

Good for: Associations, hobby projects, temporary campaign pages, “just need anything online.”

Not good for: Businesses that want to win customers through Google. Builder sites almost never rank top 10 on competitive search terms.

Hidden costs: Premium templates (50-200 EUR), paid plugins (forms, bookings, shop features), custom domain, professional email. 15 EUR/month quickly becomes 50-100 EUR/month.

2. Traditional Agency

Cost: 5,000-30,000 EUR upfront, plus 100-500 EUR/month maintenance

What you get: Custom design, project management, a team — designer, developer, content strategist, project manager. Usually built on WordPress. Kickoff workshops, multiple design rounds, formal communication.

What you don’t get: Speed. Three to six months from kickoff to launch is normal. And direct contact with the developer — you talk to a project manager who talks to the designer who talks to the developer.

Good for: Medium and large companies with budgets above 10,000 EUR, project windows over three months, and multiple stakeholders in the decision.

Not good for: Solo founders, tradespeople, small businesses. You’re paying for overhead — offices, sales, meetings, billing departments — that your project doesn’t need.

Hidden costs: Maintenance contracts (mandatory for WordPress or your site gets hacked), change requests (“Logo swap? Two hours at 120 EUR”), plugin licenses, SSL upgrades, scope extensions.

3. Traditional Freelancer (No AI)

Cost: 1,500-5,000 EUR one-time

What you get: One direct contact, often better hourly rates than agencies, usually WordPress or a similar CMS.

What you risk: Quality swings are enormous. One freelancer has coded for ten years; the next watched their first YouTube tutorial last week. Without references and a written contract, this can end badly — half-finished site, developer vanishes, you’re left with undocumented code.

Good for: Projects with manageable scope, if you have time to vet good freelancers carefully.

4. Freelancer with AI Tooling (Modern Approach)

Cost: 990-4,500 EUR one-time

What you get: Custom design, modern tech stack (Astro, Tailwind — not WordPress), load time under one second, personal point of contact, delivery in 1-3 weeks. You own the code (Git repository).

Why it’s cheaper than an agency: Because a well-equipped freelancer with AI assistance finishes tasks in two hours that used to take two weeks — boilerplate code, component setup, base layouts. The human handles strategy, design decisions, fine-tuning, and content. The machine handles the repetitive work.

Important to understand: AI doesn’t replace experience. Anyone typing “ChatGPT, build me a website” without a plan gets a generic page that’s worse than a builder site. The value sits in the human craft that AI accelerates — not in the raw AI output.

Good for: Small and medium businesses, tradespeople, solo founders who want a professional site fast and affordably.

5. Build It Yourself (WordPress, AI Generators like Lovable, Framer AI, v0)

Cost: 0-300 EUR in direct outlay, plus 40-80 hours of your time

Realistic take: The new AI generators (Lovable, Framer AI, v0 by Vercel) can produce impressive prototypes. For a business that wants to win customers through Google, this isn’t enough in 2026 yet. You’re missing SEO fundamentals, consistent branding, GDPR-compliant implementation, structured HTML for search engines, and intent-covering content.

Building on WordPress yourself is the classic route. Real money spend is low — hosting (5-15 EUR/month) and a theme (0-100 EUR). But it costs you weeks of learning — and the result usually looks like it.

Good for: Tech-savvy people who have time instead of money and are willing to learn.

What Does a Website Cost by Type?

Site type is the second major price driver. Realistic 2026 numbers for a freelancer using AI tooling:

A single page with clear message, one primary CTA, services block, about section, contact. Ideal for solo founders just starting out or campaigns (Google Ads landing pages, product launches).

Business Website (5-10 pages) — 2,000-8,000 EUR

Home, services (one page per offering), about, case studies or references, FAQ, contact, legal pages. The classic setup for trades, services, and small businesses.

Website with Blog — +500-1,500 EUR

Blog engine, index page, article templates, categories, SEO meta tags, RSS feed. Worth it if you actually intend to publish regularly. Otherwise it’s wasted money.

Multilingual Website — +30-50%

German plus English is the cheapest combination (hreflang setup, translations, duplicated structures). Each additional language scales roughly linearly. Ten languages isn’t ten times harder than two — the system is already there, but content still needs translation.

Website with Booking System — +1,000-3,000 EUR

Integration with Calendly, Cal.com, or a custom implementation. Makes sense for tradespeople (on-site appointments), doctors, hairdressers, coaches.

Online Shop — Its Own Universe

Shopify: 500-3,000 EUR setup plus 29 USD+/month. WooCommerce (WordPress): 2,000-8,000 EUR plus hosting. Custom shop (Shopware, Medusa, bespoke build): 5,000 EUR up to six figures. A shop isn’t “a bit more than a website” — it’s a separate project with its own rules (payment providers, inventory, shipping, returns, tax).

What About Marketplaces (Etsy, Amazon Handmade, eBay)?

For small catalogs or hand-made products, a marketplace can be a faster start than a full shop. Etsy charges 0.20 USD per listing + 6.5% transaction fee. Amazon Handmade: 15% referral fee. eBay: insertion fees + 10-12% final value fee. No upfront build cost, built-in traffic, payment and returns handled by the platform. Trade-off: you don’t own the customer relationship, you compete on price with thousands of sellers, and the marketplace can shut your shop down overnight. Marketplaces work well as a first distribution channel alongside your own website — not as a replacement.

What Does a Website Cost by Industry?

Industries have quirks that shift the price.

Trades Website (Painter, Electrician, Plumber, Roofer)

Realistic price: 990-3,500 EUR

A tradesperson’s website converts local search queries into customers — that’s the only job. It needs: clear service descriptions (one subpage per main service so Google can find them), real references with before/after photos, contact form with a WhatsApp alternative, embedded Google Maps, and mobile-first design (80% of your leads come from phones).

What it doesn’t need: overdesigned layouts, animations that distract, or a mandatory blog strategy without resources behind it.

Medical and Dental Practice Website

Realistic price: 2,000-6,000 EUR

GDPR requirements are especially strict here. Online booking needs a Data Processing Agreement with the provider. Embedding reviews is legally tricky. In Germany, the Heilmittelwerbegesetz (HWG) limits what you can promise in medical advertising. The premium comes less from tech, more from legal care.

Hospitality (Restaurant, Café, Bar)

Realistic price: 1,200-4,000 EUR

Menu as its own page (not just a PDF!), reservation system (OpenTable, Resmio, Quandoo), opening hours structured for Google Business Profile, gallery, directions block. For delivery: Lieferando/Wolt/Uber Eats integration.

Professional Services (Lawyer, Accountant, Coach)

Realistic price: 1,500-5,000 EUR

Trust signals are everything: qualifications, memberships, specializations, detailed profiles. Serious tone, no marketing fluff. Lawyers need to respect their jurisdiction’s advertising rules (no sensationalism, correct titles, no misleading claims).

Need a website for your trade? Lomageek builds trade websites from 990 EUR — delivered in 1-3 weeks, GDPR-compliant, load time under one second. Get in touch →

The Hidden Costs Nobody Mentions

Advertised prices — whether “from 15 EUR/month” or “flat rate 5,000 EUR” — never show the full picture. These almost always come on top:

Domain, Hosting, SSL — The Small But Constant

Domain: 10-20 EUR/year (.de), 15-40 EUR/year (.com, .eu)
Hosting: 3-50 EUR/month depending on provider and traffic
SSL certificate: Usually free now (Let’s Encrypt), though some hosts still charge 50 EUR/year

Total: 100-500 EUR/year that vendors conveniently “forget” to mention.

Branded Email Address

info@yourcompany.com isn’t a luxury — it’s the baseline. Anyone showing up with paulsmith_73@gmail.com loses trust. Costs 2-10 EUR/mailbox/month (Mailbox.org, Google Workspace, Microsoft 365).

Maintenance Contract

Agencies often require it: 100-500 EUR/month. Covers WordPress plugin updates, backups, small changes. Static sites (Astro, Next.js) need almost no maintenance — you can book it optionally or skip it entirely.

WordPress Plugin Updates

WordPress lives and dies by plugins. Plugins are also the main attack vector for hackers. Every plugin needs regular updates. Skip them and your site lands on Google’s malware blacklist within weeks. That’s why WordPress maintenance is expensive — and non-optional.

Change Requests

“Can you swap the logo real quick?” at an agency: 2 hours at 120 EUR = 240 EUR. At a freelancer with AI tooling: 15 minutes, often free as support. Ask upfront how revisions are billed.

Content Maintenance

New prices, new services, new project photos — they need to go in regularly. Either you do it yourself (costs time) or you book support hours (30-120 EUR/hour).

Via generator (iubenda, Termly, eRecht24): 0-20 EUR/month
Via lawyer (individually reviewed): 300-1,500 EUR one-time

The generator is the minimum, not the optimum. If you use Google Analytics, Meta Pixel, chat widgets, or booking systems, you need a matching privacy policy — otherwise you’re one warning letter away from a fine.

Who Owns the Code?

This is the most underrated point. Ask every vendor: “Do I get access to the source code and admin?” Builders: never. Agencies: partial (customer dashboard), but the source often stays with the developer. Professional freelancers: yes — you get the complete Git repository and can switch vendors anytime.

Technology and Price — Why Modern Sites Can Be Cheaper

Many people still believe WordPress is “the safe default.” In 2026 that’s no longer true.

WordPress vs. Modern Static Sites (Astro, Next.js)

WordPress runs as a PHP application on a web server. Every page view generates HTML live from a database. This is slow, vulnerable, and maintenance-heavy.
Astro or Next.js (SSG mode) generate static HTML at build time. The output is plain HTML files served from a CDN like Cloudflare — no database, no PHP, no plugin risk.

Result: sub-second load times, almost zero maintenance, no hacking risk. At the same or lower price, because the developer doesn’t burn hours setting up maintenance infrastructure.

Core Web Vitals and Google Rankings

Since 2021 Google has ranked sites partly by three performance metrics: LCP (load time), INP (input responsiveness), CLS (visual stability). Missing these numbers means losing positions. A builder site or an unoptimized WordPress with 20 plugins almost never passes.

Accessibility (EAA / ADA)

In the EU, the European Accessibility Act (EAA) took effect on June 28, 2025. For certain businesses (e-commerce, service providers above a revenue threshold), WCAG 2.1 AA conformance is now mandatory. In the US, ADA-related lawsuits against inaccessible websites keep rising. Retrofitting costs 500-3,000 EUR. Building with accessibility from the start: 0-500 EUR extra.

How AI Has Changed Pricing

AI coding tools (Claude Code, GitHub Copilot, Cursor) have raised experienced developers’ productivity by a factor of 3-5 on standard tasks. What used to take three weeks now takes one. That’s why serious freelancers in 2026 can offer prices that were impossible five years ago.

Important: This only works with experienced developers. AI amplifies skill — it doesn’t replace it. A beginner with AI writes worse code than they did three years ago, because they no longer see the mistakes.

How Long Does a Website Take?

The third major price lever: time.

Builder (DIY): 1-5 days of focused work. Template-quality result.
Agency: 3-6 months from kickoff to launch. Many meetings, approvals, team coordination, feedback loops.
Freelancer with AI: 1-3 weeks. Fewer meetings, direct communication, fast iteration.
Freelancer without AI: 3-8 weeks. Honest craftsmanship without machine help.

When Do the First Inquiries Come In?

Being online isn’t the goal — winning customers is. Realistic timelines:

Right after launch: If you print the URL on business cards, vehicles, and invoices — yes, day one.
Via Google organic: 2-6 months until the site is indexed and building rankings. Local searches (tradespeople in your town) often faster; competitive national terms slower.
Via Google Ads: Within days — if you spend money on it.

Does a Website Actually Pay Off?

A worked example for a tradesperson:

Investment: 2,000 EUR one-time
Additional inquiries: realistically 2-4 new leads per month (with decent local SEO foundations)
Close rate: around 40% from qualified leads
Average job value: 3,000 EUR (painting, electrical renovation, heating inspection)

Math: 2-4 leads × 40% = 1-2 new jobs/month × 3,000 EUR = 3,000-6,000 EUR/month in additional revenue. The website amortizes in the first month.

This math only works if the site actually gets found on Google. A technically broken site (builder, unoptimized WordPress) won’t hit these numbers.

Website vs. Google Ads

Google Ads delivers clicks immediately — but you pay for every single one. Average click price for trade keywords in 2026 sits at 3-12 EUR. At 500 clicks/month that’s 1,500-6,000 EUR in ad spend. Every month. An organic website is paid for once and works for years.

Good combination: website for long-term organic growth, ads for a quick kickstart in the first 6 months.

Both, not one or the other. Social media builds relationships and awareness; the website converts to paying work. More in the deep-dive article: Website or Social Media — what you actually need.

Concrete quote for your project: Book a 15-minute call. No sales pitch, no hidden costs — just an honest assessment.

How to Spot a Fair Price: Red and Green Flags

Red Flags (Walk Away)

Flat quote without a briefing call — anyone offering “Website from 499 EUR” without asking about your business is selling templated mass output.
Monthly contracts with 3+ year mandatory terms — lock-in trap. Serious vendors work with flat one-time fees or cancellable maintenance.
“SEO guarantee: Top 1 on Google” — impossible. No one can promise that. Google doesn’t sell rankings.
Code you’ll never see — if you can’t access the Git repository, you’re locked in.
No references, no live examples — be very cautious.
Full prepayment with no contract — never.

Green Flags (Trustworthy)

Written brief before the quote — the vendor wants to understand what you need.
Flat price after scoping conversation with clear deliverables.
Access to the code and all accounts (domain, hosting, Git repository).
References with live URLs you can actually check — like our portfolio of past projects with load time metrics and tech stack per case.
Transparent maintenance options — optional, never mandatory.
Milestone-based payment instead of full upfront (e.g., 50% at start, 50% at delivery).

What Must Be in Every Contract

If any of the items below are missing from a quote or contract, push back before signing.

Contract item	What it covers	Why it matters
Scope	Exact pages, sections, features (e.g. “5 pages, contact form, blog with 3 categories”)	Prevents “we didn’t agree on that” fights mid-project
Revision rounds	How many feedback cycles are included (typical: 2-3)	Extra rounds often billed at 80-120 EUR/hour
Delivery date	Concrete launch date or milestone schedule	Without it, “next month” can stretch to six
Change request pricing	Rate for out-of-scope work (hourly or fixed)	Avoids surprise invoices for small tweaks
Code ownership	Who owns the Git repository after launch	Decides if you can switch vendors later
Design assets	Ownership of Figma files, logos, illustrations	Same issue as code — lock-in risk otherwise
Content delivery	Who provides copy and images, by when	Missing content is the #1 reason projects slip
Payment schedule	50/50, 30/40/30, monthly — in writing	Protects both sides; avoid 100% prepayment
Kill-switch clause	What happens if you cancel mid-project	Fair split usually covers work done + small buffer

What Does a Website Cost at Lomageek?

Transparent and honest:

Landing Page (1 page): from 990 EUR — quick starts, campaigns, solo founders
Business Website (up to 5 pages): from 2,490 EUR — the complete package for trades and services
Premium Website (up to 10 pages): from 4,490 EUR — including blog, animations, integrations

All prices one-time. No subscription. No lock-in.

Included: concept, custom design, Astro-based development (sub-second load times), GDPR-compliant implementation, legal notice and privacy policy generator setup, contact form, SEO basics, 2 revision rounds, full handover including Git repository.

Optional add-ons: AI chat widget from 149 EUR/month, maintenance from 49 EUR/month, Google Analytics setup, additional languages.

Delivery time: 1-3 weeks, depending on scope and how fast you provide content.

More detail on what’s included: See packages → · Examples of finished projects: Portfolio

The Honest 3-Year Math

What does each option really cost over 36 months?

	Builder (Wix Premium)	Agency + Maintenance	Lomageek (Business)
Upfront	0 EUR	8,000 EUR	2,490 EUR
Monthly	25 × 36 = 900 EUR	200 × 36 = 7,200 EUR	0 EUR (optional 49/mo)
Extras	Premium template 120, plugins 400, domain 60	Change requests ~1,500, extensions 500	Domain 60, hosting 180
3-year total	1,480 EUR	17,200 EUR	2,730 EUR
Load time	3-5 seconds	2-4 seconds	under 1 second
Code ownership	No	Partial	Yes
Dependence	Total on vendor	On maintenance contract	None

The builder looks cheap but costs more over three years than the professional option — with significantly worse output. The agency isn’t worth its price tag unless your project is genuinely large.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I get a website completely free? Only with major compromises. Free builder tiers carry ads, third-party subdomains (yourcompany.wix.com), and no custom domain. Unsuitable for a serious business. Minimum for a credible presence: 100-200 EUR/year for domain + hosting + basic setup.

What does website maintenance cost per month? Builders: included but limited. Agencies: 100-500 EUR/month. Modern static sites: optional from 49 EUR/month, often not needed at all.

Is WordPress still worth it in 2026? For content-heavy sites with 50+ editors publishing daily: yes. For business sites, tradespeople, and solo founders: mostly no. Astro, Next.js, and similar are faster, safer, and cheaper to maintain.

Do I need a mobile app or is a website enough? A website is enough in 95% of cases. Apps cost 30,000 EUR and up and need ongoing App Store and Play Store maintenance. Only makes sense if push notifications, offline functionality, or complex interactions are central.

How much should a tradesperson spend on a website? Realistically 1,500-3,500 EUR for a business site with 5-7 pages, local SEO foundation, and Google Maps embed. Less than 990 EUR is usually mass-template output. More than 5,000 EUR is rarely justified for a single-location trade business.

Can I migrate my Wix or Jimdo site to a real website later? Content (copy, images) can be transferred manually — the design system, page structure, and internal linking all need rebuilding. Plan for the effort of a fresh build plus one extra day for content import.

How do I know if a price is fair? Get multiple quotes, compare scope (not just bottom-line prices), check references, and talk to the actual developer (not just sales). Fair vendors explain transparently what you get for the money.

How much extra does a multilingual website cost? Budget 30-50% more for the second language (structure, hreflang, translations). Additional languages scale more gently because the system is already built.

Bottom Line

The cheapest price is rarely the lowest. A builder at 15 EUR/month that brings in zero leads is more expensive than a 2,490 EUR site that delivers two new customers a month. An 18,000 EUR agency project where you wait on team members can simultaneously be the wrong choice if your project is small.

The right question isn’t “What does a website cost?” — it’s “What does it cost me not to have a good website?”. The answer is usually: far more than a good website ever would.

If you want a concrete number for your project: reach out and I’ll give you an honest 15-minute assessment — no sales pitch, no hidden follow-up costs.

Keep reading: Website or Social Media? · 5 Mistakes on Trade Websites · See packages & pricing