How much does a small business website cost in 2026?
Real numbers for site builders, freelancers, agencies and AI-managed sites, plus the costs people forget about after launch.
Rahul ChananaSellWell Studio ·
Key takeaways
- Site builders like Wix and Squarespace cost about $17–$99 a month, plus your time to build the site.
- Freelancers charge roughly $15–$180 an hour depending on where they are. A 5–10 page site often costs $800–$3,500.
- Agencies listed on Clutch typically charge $100–$149 an hour.
- The biggest hidden cost is changes after launch. Ask who makes them and what each one costs.
The quick answer
A small business website can cost anything from a monthly builder fee to many thousands of dollars. The price depends less on the website and more on who builds it and who changes it afterwards. Here are the four common routes, with real numbers.
1. Do it yourself with a site builder
Builders like Wix and Squarespace let you build a site from a template.
- Wix plans run from about $17 to $39 a month for Light to Business, billed yearly.
- Squarespace plans run from about $19 to $99 a month.
The real cost is your time. Designing, writing and setting up even a small site can take many evenings, and every later change is yours to make too.
2. Hire a freelancer
Freelance rates vary a lot by location and skill: roughly $15–$45 an hour in South Asia, up to $80–$180 an hour in the US and Canada. A typical 5–10 page brochure site often lands between $800 and $3,500.
Freelancers can be great value. The risk is what happens after launch: when they're busy or move on, changes wait.
3. Hire an agency
Agencies bring a team: strategy, design, development and project management. Clutch reports $100–$149 an hour as typical for the web design firms it lists. That team is worth it for big projects, but small edits after launch are usually billed too, or covered by a monthly retainer.
4. An AI-managed website
A newer option: a team builds a custom site, then sets it up so your AI assistant can make everyday changes. At SellWell Studio, a typical 5-page site with a contact form and map takes about 48–61 hours. At $25 an hour, that's about $1,200–$1,525. After launch, changes you make by chat cost nothing.
The costs people forget
Whichever route you choose, budget for these:
- Domain: usually about $10–$20 a year.
- Hosting: many small sites fit a free plan; bigger ones cost more each month.
- Changes after launch: the big one. A site that's cheap to build but costly to change can end up the most expensive.
- Your time: every hour you spend wrestling with an editor is an hour not spent on your business.
How to choose
If you love design and have time, a builder is a fine start. If you want a pro site and someone else to make every change, an agency or freelancer fits. If you want a pro site and to make changes yourself in minutes, look at an AI-managed site.
Want a number for your own site? Try our calculator. It shows every hour.
Sources: Website Builder Expert: Wix pricing · Capterra: Squarespace pricing · Project Cost Estimator: freelance website cost · Clutch: web designer pricing. Prices checked November 2026 and may change.
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