“How much does a website cost?” is the first question on almost every discovery call, and the honest answer is a range. Platform prices changed in 2026, AI tools changed how fast some work gets done, and buyers now expect sites to be ready for AI search as well as Google. This guide breaks the range down by website type, platform and the factors that move the number, using current platform pricing and what we see across our own projects.
The quick answer
In 2026, a professionally built marketing website for a startup or SaaS company typically costs between $2,500 and $15,000. A single landing page starts around $850 to $1,500. Ecommerce, membership and custom web applications start around $10,000 and scale with complexity.
| Website type | Typical cost | Timeline |
|---|---|---|
| Single landing page | $850 to $2,000 | 1 to 2 weeks |
| Startup marketing site (5 to 8 pages) | $2,500 to $6,000 | 2 to 4 weeks |
| Growth-stage site with CMS (10 to 25 pages) | $6,000 to $15,000 | 4 to 8 weeks |
| Ecommerce or membership site | $10,000 to $30,000 | 6 to 12 weeks |
| Custom web application | $15,000+ | 8+ weeks |
These ranges assume a professional team with design, development, SEO setup and QA included. Freelancers can come in lower for simpler work; large agencies and enterprise projects with research, stakeholder workshops and accessibility audits come in well above.
What drives the cost
- Number of unique templates. Ten pages built from three templates cost less than five completely different layouts. Ask agencies to quote by template, not by page.
- Design depth. Custom illustration, motion design and a full design system add time compared with a clean, component-based design.
- CMS complexity. A blog is simple. Multi-reference collections, filtering, gated content and localization take longer to model, build and test.
- Integrations. Connecting forms to a CRM is quick. Syncing product data, memberships or payments with external systems takes real engineering.
- Content readiness. Projects move faster and cost less when copy and assets are ready before design starts. Waiting on content is the most common reason timelines slip.
- Migration. Moving from an existing site adds content transfer, URL mapping and redirect work. A 300-post blog migration can add one to three weeks.
- SEO and AI search readiness. Schema markup, metadata, redirects, sitemaps and an llms.txt file are part of a professional build. When they are skipped, you pay for them later.
What platforms cost to run in 2026
Platform pricing changed this year, so older guides are out of date. These are the current entry prices per site, billed yearly:
| Platform | Plan | Price per month | What you get |
|---|---|---|---|
| Webflow | Basic | $15 | Custom domain, 300 static pages, 10 GB bandwidth, no CMS |
| Webflow | Premium | $25 | 20,000 CMS items, 40 collections, site search, scalable bandwidth |
| Framer | Basic | $10 | 30 pages, 2 CMS collections, 1,000 items, 50 GB bandwidth |
| Framer | Pro | $30 | 150 pages, 10 collections, 2,500 items, 100 GB, paid add-ons beyond that |
| WordPress | Managed hosting | ~$14 to $35+ | Cloudways from ~$14, WP Engine ~$30, Kinsta ~$35 for one site |
| Astro + Sanity | Netlify or Cloudflare + Sanity | $0 to $50+ | Free tiers cover many marketing sites; Sanity Growth is $15 per seat |
Webflow and Framer also charge for workspace or editor seats. Framer adds $20 per additional editor, and Webflow’s Core, Growth, Freelancer and Agency workspace plans run from $16 to $49 per month for teams who build and stage sites.
Cost by platform
| Platform | Build cost | Monthly running cost | Maintenance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Webflow | $850 to $10,000 | $15 to $25 site plan, more for large traffic | Minimal |
| WordPress | $850 to $12,000 | $14 to $35+ hosting, plus premium plugins | Monthly updates and security |
| Framer | $850 to $6,000 | $10 to $30 plus add-ons and seats | Minimal |
| Astro + Sanity | $2,000 to $15,000 | $0 to $50+ hosting and CMS | Light, developer-led |
WordPress is the only option on this list where maintenance is a real line item. Patchstack recorded 11,334 new vulnerabilities in the WordPress ecosystem in 2025, 91% of them in plugins. Someone has to apply updates every week, which is why care plans typically cost $50 to $300 per month.
Costs people forget
- Platform or hosting subscriptions, plus editor and workspace seats
- Premium plugins, fonts, stock photography and icon licenses
- Copywriting, keyword research and content for launch
- Integration tools: Zapier starts at $19.99/month billed yearly, Make at $9/month, n8n Cloud at €20/month
- Analytics, cookie consent and A/B testing tools
- Ongoing support for new pages, fixes and improvements after launch
Prices outside the US
The ranges above are in US dollars. Three things change the total in other markets:
- Sales tax and VAT. Australian invoices add 10% GST, UK invoices 20% VAT and Dutch invoices 21% BTW for most businesses. Quotes are often shown before tax, so compare totals.
- Platforms bill in US dollars. Webflow and Framer plans move with the exchange rate. At October 2026 rates, a US$25 Webflow plan is about A$36 a month.
- Local rules. EU and UK visitors need opt-in consent before analytics and ad cookies, and online shops selling to EU consumers must meet the European Accessibility Act. Budget for both if those markets matter to you.
For Australian figures in AUD, see our Australian website pricing guide.
Where AI changes the budget in 2026
AI has made some parts of a website project faster: first-draft copy, content migration, QA checks, alt text and schema generation. It has not removed the expensive parts, which are strategy, information architecture, design judgment, integration engineering and review. In practice, AI lowers the cost of content-heavy work like migrations and lets teams spend more of the budget on design and conversion.
AI also raised the bar on what a site needs. With Google AI Overviews lowering the top result’s click-through rate by 58% on average, according to Ahrefs, sites now need clear answers, FAQ sections and structured data so AI assistants can cite them. Budget for that as part of SEO, not as an extra.
Template vs custom design
| Option | Upfront cost | Best for | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Template, self-built | $0 to $150 + your time | Testing an idea, side projects | Looks generic, hard to scale |
| Template, customized by a pro | $1,000 to $3,000 | Early-stage startups on a budget | Template code and SEO limits |
| Custom design on a component system | $2,500 to $15,000 | Funded startups and SaaS | Needs content ready on time |
| Custom design plus custom code | $10,000+ | Complex products and integrations | Needs ongoing developer support |
How to budget for your website
- Define the goal. Leads, sign-ups, sales or credibility for a fundraise. The goal decides which pages and integrations matter.
- List must-have integrations. CRM, analytics, booking, payments, product data. Each one affects scope.
- Count templates, not pages. Ask how many unique layouts you need and design reusable sections.
- Pick the platform for the team that will run it. The cheapest build on the wrong platform is the most expensive site you will own.
- Plan for after launch. Set aside 10 to 20% of the build budget per year for improvements, testing and new pages.
“The cheapest quote is rarely the cheapest website. Rework, slow pages and a site your team cannot edit cost more than a better build.”
Sources
- Webflow pricing, October 2026
- Framer pricing, October 2026
- Sanity pricing, October 2026
- WP Engine vs Kinsta vs Cloudways pricing comparison, 2026
- Patchstack: State of WordPress Security in 2026
- Ahrefs: AI Overviews reduce clicks, February 2026
- Zapier pricing and n8n pricing, October 2026