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How much does a website cost in 2026?

A small-business website costs anywhere from $0 on a DIY builder to $30,000+ for a custom agency build. Most service businesses land in the middle: roughly $1,000–$5,000 for a freelancer, or $249–$1,750 a month for a managed plan that includes hosting and updates. The number swings on three things — custom versus template, how many pages and features, and whether you're paying once or paying monthly for someone to keep it working.

We run our own service companies — a cleaning company in Tucson and an HVAC company in Sacramento — on the same kind of site we build for clients. So this isn't a quote sheet guessing at numbers. It's what these things actually cost and what you get at each tier.

What the price tiers actually buy

DIY builder (Wix, Squarespace, etc.)

$0–$50/mo

You build and maintain it yourself on a template. Cheap and fine for a simple one-pager. The cost is your time and a ceiling on how well it can rank or convert. Good enough for a brand-new one-person operation testing the waters.

Freelancer build

$1,000–$5,000 once

A one-time custom build, usually a handful of pages. Quality swings hard with who you hire. Watch the after-launch gaps: hosting, updates, security, and the redesign you'll need in two years are usually extra or on you.

Agency build

$5,000–$30,000+ once

Custom design, strategy, and often integrations. The real thing — but priced for companies with budget, and the meter often keeps running on retainers. For a local service business this is frequently more than the job requires.

Managed monthly plan

$249–$1,750+/mo

A built-and-maintained site with hosting, updates, and lead capture rolled in, no big up-front check. Ours starts at $249/mo and you own the site and domain. This is the practical tier for a service business that wants it handled, not managed by them.

What actually moves the price

Two sites can carry the same price tag and do completely different work. The difference is here:

When you should not pay for a website

We'd rather tell you the truth than sell you something. Skip paying for a site for now if:

A website earns its cost when it captures leads you're otherwise missing. For most service businesses, one or two recovered jobs a month covers a $249 plan — but only once you're ready to catch the lead.

Where we fit

Our Start Getting Leads plan is $249/month — a hand-built site, AI lead capture, hosting, and updates, with no up-front build fee. Grow in Google at $597/mo adds the SEO content engine and lead attribution; Own Your Market from $1,750/mo adds a custom CRM and reputation automation. Month-to-month, and you own the site and domain.

Want the site to rank? See SEO for home services and what local SEO costs. Worried about missed calls? The AI receptionist is built in. For the build itself, see home services website design or our contractor website page.

We don't post stock testimonials. On a 15-minute call we screen-share the real dashboards behind our own businesses — live leads, rankings, and the exact page that produced each one. See the proof →

Common questions

How much does a website really cost?

$0–$50/mo DIY, $1,000–$5,000 for a freelancer, $5,000–$30,000+ for an agency, or $249–$1,750+/month for a managed plan with hosting and lead capture included.

Is monthly or one-time cheaper?

One-time looks cheaper until you add hosting, updates, and the rebuild you'll need in a couple years. Monthly spreads it and keeps the site current. It depends on whether you want to manage it yourself.

Do I own the site with you?

Yes — the site, the domain, and every lead are yours, with no contract. Ask any provider this before signing; many keep the website if you cancel.

See it before you pay

Send your company name and city — we'll confirm your market is open and build a working demo within 48 hours. Free, no card, no commitment.

Prefer email? [email protected]

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