How much does a professional website cost in 2026?
How much does a professional website really cost? Real prices for agencies, freelancers and DIY, what actually drives the cost, and how to judge a quote.
“How much does a website cost?” is the question I get asked most. And the honest answer is: it depends what you mean by website. A static shop window nobody visits and a site built to bring you clients look the same on a screen, but they do two completely different jobs — and they cost differently.
In this article you’ll find real market prices in 2026, what actually drives the cost, and how to tell whether a quote makes sense for your business.
The three ways to get a website (and what they cost)
1. DIY — €0 to €30/month
With tools like Wix, Squarespace or an off-the-shelf WordPress theme you can put something online over a weekend. The hard cost is low: domain, hosting and little else.
The problem isn’t the price, it’s the hidden cost: the hours you put in, and above all the fact that a generic site is rarely built to convert. It works if you only need to “be there”. It doesn’t work if you need the site to bring you enquiries.
2. Agency — €5,000 to €20,000
An agency structures the project, involves several people (project manager, designer, developers, copywriter) and follows formal processes. Quality can be high, but you also pay for the structure: long timelines (2–4 months) and quotes that climb with every extra request.
It’s the right choice for companies with complex needs. For a single professional it’s often oversized.
3. Specialist freelancer — €1,500 to €4,000
A freelancer working in a specific niche already knows your sector, your clients and what makes them decide. They skip the “studying the problem” phase and get to the result sooner, at a fixed price and on a short timeline.
That’s the range I work in: the Conversion Site Pro package costs €2,900 + VAT, at a fixed price and delivered in 10 days.
What really pushes the price up (or down)
The number of pages matters less than you’d think. What really counts is:
- The copywriting. Writing words that convince is half the job. A site that’s “pretty but mute” costs little and returns even less.
- The conversion strategy. The structure of the pages, where you ask for contact, how you handle objections: this is where a website becomes a client-acquisition tool.
- Compliance and technical work. GDPR, speed (Core Web Vitals), technical SEO, mobile. Agencies often count these as extras.
- Post-launch support. A site needs monitoring and optimising in the first weeks, when the first real data arrives.
A website isn’t a one-off cost: it’s an investment that works every day. The right question isn’t “what does it cost”, but “what does it earn me”.
How to tell whether a quote is worth it
Do some simple maths. What is a new client worth to you? For many professionals a single client is worth between €200 and €2,000 over the life of the relationship. If a €2,900 website brings you even just 2–5 new clients, it has already paid for itself — and then it keeps working for years.
The worthwhile quote isn’t the lowest one: it’s the one that brings you qualified enquiries at the most sustainable cost.
In short
| DIY | Agency | Specialist freelancer | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | €0–30/month | €5,000–20,000 | €1,500–4,000 |
| Timeline | Weeks (yours) | 2–4 months | ~10 days |
| Strategic copy | No | Sometimes | Yes |
| Built to convert | Rarely | Depends | Yes |
If you want to work out which option makes sense for your business — with nobody hard-selling you anything — book a free call: in 30 minutes I’ll tell you what I’d do in your specific case.