The most common question we hear on a first call is: “fine, but how much does it cost?”. We answer directly, because hiding prices behind a “custom quote” wastes everyone's time.
Price ranges in 2026
- Template / site builder ($500–1,500) - a site from a ready-made theme, up in days. Looks like thousands of others and usually loses in Google.
- Agency WordPress build ($2,000–4,000) - a custom design on someone else's engine. A compromise you pay for at every plugin update.
- Custom code (from $1,400) - a site written from scratch around your sales process. Our landing pages start at $1,400, company sites at $3,400, web apps at $7,200, and online stores at $13,900.
Where does the difference come from?
A website's price is really the price of three things: strategy (who should buy and why from you), execution (speed, design, copy) and a sales system (what happens to a visitor after they land). A template delivers only the second - in its economy version.
A $3,400 site that brings two premium enquiries a month pays for itself faster than a $1,000 site that brings none. Simple arithmetic: investment divided by client value.
How to check if it pays off
Divide the site's price by your average client value. The result is the number of clients after which the project breaks even. If a client is worth $2,500 to you, a $3,400 company site pays for itself after two clients.
We publish exactly that calculator - prices, extensions and ROI - on our site. No email gate, no sales call.
Red flags in quotes
- Hourly billing instead of a fixed price - the risk is shifted onto you.
- No questions about your clients before the quote - a sign you'll get a templated process.
- “Free SEO included” - technical SEO is a standard, not a bonus.
What exactly drives the price
Two sites "for similar money" can differ in everything. A quote really comes down to: the number and complexity of pages (five sections is not the same as an extensive site with many paths), content and copywriting (who writes the copy that sells - you or the builder), design (template vs a design for your brand), integrations (CRM, payments, bookings, newsletter), language versions, and automation and AI. The more of these elements actually have to work for sales, the higher up the cost scale you go.
That is why an honest quote never comes "out of thin air" - it follows a conversation about your business. If someone gives a price before asking who your clients are, they are probably selling you a templated process.
Maintenance cost, not just the build
The invoice price is only the beginning. A WordPress site generates costs across its whole lifetime: hosting, a premium theme, paid plugins, updates and security patching. Custom code in Next.js costs more upfront but needs almost no technical maintenance - there is no admin panel to hack and no plugins to update. After three years the "cheaper" option is often pricier. We break that difference down in Next.js or WordPress.
Website, app or store - what costs what
It is worth separating three things often lumped together. A company website presents and acquires - we start at $3,400. A landing page for one campaign is cheaper (from $1,400) because it has a single goal. A web app is its own category (from $7,200) and an online store from $13,900, because logic, user accounts, payments and integrations come into play. If you are thinking about selling online, we cover it in detail in How much does an online store cost.
How to talk to a builder about the quote
The best quotes come when you say not "I want a website" but "I want more enquiries from clients of type X". Then the conversation moves from button colours to what actually brings money. Ask for a fixed price instead of hourly billing, for exactly what is in scope (and what is missing), and for examples of real outcomes, not just a portfolio of "pretty sites".
What you get in the price of a custom site
The higher price of custom code is not a "brand surcharge" but a concrete scope a template simply does not have. It includes: strategy (a workshop on your clients, funnel and goals), a design for your brand instead of a bought theme, copywriting that sells, technical SEO and speed built in from the foundations (not bolted on with a plugin), structured data and bilingual support, and an acquisition system - forms, automatic follow-up, optionally an AI agent. You also get code that is yours: no fees, no performance ceiling and no monthly patching of someone else's plugins.
In other words: with a template you pay for looks, with custom code you pay for a sales tool. That is why two sites "at a similar price" can produce wildly different results.
A return-on-investment example, step by step
Let us put numbers on it. Say you run a business where one client is worth $2,500 on average, and a company site costs $3,400. If the new site generates just two extra enquiries a month and you close one in four, that is one new client a month - roughly $30,000 a year from an investment that paid for itself after fewer than two clients. Even on conservative numbers, the first-year ROI is many times over.
Now flip it: a $1,000 site that generates no enquiries is not "cheaper" - it is more expensive, because it is pure cost with no return. You can run exactly this calculation - with your own numbers - in the calculator on our site. And if you are thinking about selling online, see also How much does an online store cost.
Frequently asked questions
Why don't you give one upfront price? Because an honest quote depends on your goals and scope. That is why we publish a calculator where you assemble a ballpark cost from concrete elements yourself - no email required.
Is a cheaper site really not worth it? It is worth it if it genuinely brings enquiries. The catch is that the cheapest templates usually have no strategy or sales system - so they look nice and sell nothing.
How long does building a site take? Landing page: usually 2-4 weeks. Company site: 4-8 weeks. Apps and stores: from 8 weeks up, depending on integrations.
A website is an investment, not a cost. But only when someone designed it to earn.