How much does a small-business website cost in 2026?

Here is the short answer: a simple one-page small-business website usually costs around $499, a full multi-page custom site runs about $1,200 to $2,500, and an online store starts around $2,500. Freelancers and small studios sit at the lower end. Agencies often quote $5,000 to $15,000 for the same kind of site, mostly because of their overhead, not because the work is better.

Typical price ranges

• One-page site ($499 and up): a clean single page with your services, photos, and a contact form. Great for a brand-new business or a simple local service.
• Full custom site ($1,200 to $2,500): several pages, a custom design built around your brand, editable content, and lead forms. This is what most small businesses actually want.
• Online store ($2,500 and up): product pages, a cart, and secure checkout with payments. Price scales with how many products and features you need.
• Care plan ($49 a month and up): optional. Covers hosting, security, backups, and small edits so you are not paying by the hour for a phone-number change.

What changes the price

The number moves based on a few real factors:

• Number of pages and how custom the design is. A template looks like a template. A custom design costs more because it is built for your business.
• Features. Online payments, booking, customer logins, donations, and custom tools each add scope.
• Content. If you have your text and photos ready, the project moves faster. If you need copywriting or photography, that adds cost.
• Who builds it. A solo studio and a 30-person agency can deliver the same quality site at very different prices.

Why agency prices are so much higher

Agencies carry sales teams, account managers, and office overhead, and they build all of that into your quote. A small studio doing the same quality of work has almost none of that overhead, so the price can be a fraction of an agency's without cutting corners on the actual site. That is the whole reason a $12,000 agency build and a $3,000 studio build can look identical.

What to watch out for

• Sites you don't own. Some builders lock your site to their platform. Make sure the finished site and domain are yours.
• Surprise hourly billing. Ask for a fixed project price up front, and know what a care plan does and does not include.
• "Cheap" template mills. A $99 template site often costs more in lost customers than a fair custom price would have.

A realistic budget

For most small businesses, a fair, complete custom website lands between $1,200 and $3,000 one time, plus an optional $49 to $99 a month if you want someone to keep it running. See our pricing for exact starting numbers, or get a free quote for your specific project.

Related reading: custom website vs. a template and nonprofit website guide.