How much does a small business website cost in 2026? Real prices, no traps
Ask three providers for a website quote and you’ll get three numbers that look unrelated: €600, €2,400, “from €90 a month”. All of them can be “right” — the problem is each one hides different things. Let’s put them side by side.
The three models (and what they actually cost)
1. Traditional agency or freelancer: one-off project
You pay for the project and the website is “yours”. Typical published ranges in Europe: a basic business site (5-8 pages) runs €800–2,500, an advanced one €2,500–6,000, an online store €1,800–12,000.
That’s what the quote says. Here’s what it usually doesn’t: the domain (€10-40/year), hosting (€100-300/year) and above all maintenance — updates, security, backups and small changes — which the market charges at €50-150/month. Without it, a WordPress site ages badly: outdated plugins, security holes, growing slowness.
Real 3-year cost of a “€1,500 website”: €2,500–6,000. And every content change is a separate mini-quote if you skip maintenance.
2. Pay-monthly website (website as a service)
The fastest-growing model: one monthly fee covering build, hosting and maintenance. Typical fees run €30–90/month + VAT, with wildly variable fine print: some charge a setup fee of €79–399, some require 12 or 24-month lock-ins, and some include just one hour of changes per month (or one change per quarter).
Real 3-year cost: €1,100–3,600 depending on the provider — similar to a one-off project, but spread out, with no surprises and a website that never goes stale. Before signing, check three things: setup fee, lock-in length, and whose name the domain is registered in.
For transparency, my version of this model: no setup fee, published prices (from €49.95/month + VAT in year one), 10-20 hours of changes per month, and the domain always in your name. The initial commitment is 12 months — stated here as clearly as on the pricing page.
3. DIY: Wix, Squarespace and friends
The “serious” plans (no ads, custom domain) cost €14–34/month. Unbeatable — until you count what’s not in the price: your hours. Learning the editor, writing copy, choosing images, fighting the mobile layout, attempting SEO… easily 20-40 hours for a first version. If your hour is worth €30-60, that “cheap” website costs €1,000-2,500 of the most expensive asset you own. And there’s the exit trap: most builders don’t let you export your site. Leaving means starting over.
The summary table
| One-off (agency) | Pay-monthly | DIY builder | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Upfront | €800 – 6,000 | €0 – 399 | €0 |
| Monthly | “Nothing”… + €50-150 maintenance | €30 – 90 + VAT all-in | €14 – 34 |
| Content changes | Quoted separately | 1 h/month… up to 20 h/month | Your time |
| Real 3-year cost | €2,500 – 6,000 | €1,100 – 3,600 | €500 – 1,200 + your hours |
| Typical risk | Site abandoned after delivery | Fine print (setup, lock-in, domain) | Amateur result and lock-in |
The 5 questions that expose any quote
- Is the domain registered in my name? Anything short of a written “yes” is the #1 cause of hijacked websites.
- What does changing a text or photo cost next month? This is where the real 3-year cost hides.
- Setup fee and lock-in — how much, how long? Neither is evil, but both must be published, not discovered on an invoice.
- Does the price include copy, images and GDPR legal pages? “No” means weeks of delay and unbudgeted work for you.
- How fast will it load? Ask for a live example and test it in PageSpeed. Slow websites lose customers and rankings.
So what should you pay?
It depends — and I’m not always the answer. If you enjoy tinkering and have spare time, a builder can do for a start. If you need something deeply custom and have €3,000 plus someone to maintain it, a good traditional agency works.
But if you’re a small business that wants a professional website, always up to date, without dropping thousands upfront, the 2026 sweet spot is a €50-100/month all-inclusive subscription with no fine print. Which is, precisely, what I do.