How Much Does a Website Cost in 2026: The Real Prices

The price of a website ranges from 0 euros (free no-code tool, with significant limits) to over 15000 euros for a complex custom site, with 1500 to 5000 euros at a standard agency or 99 euros excl. VAT per month in an all-inclusive subscription in between. There is no single price because there is no single type of "website": a 5-page brochure site, an online shop, and a web application have nothing in common in terms of work, and therefore cost.

Why "how much does a website cost" has no single answer

It's the most frequently asked and most poorly answered question in the industry. It's like asking "how much does a vehicle cost" without specifying whether you mean a scooter or a truck. A website can mean a simple presentation page, a product catalog with payment, a secure client area, or a complex business application. Each requires a radically different amount of work.

The second factor driving price variation is the provider's business model. An agency with offices, a sales team, and overhead costs charges more than a freelancer for the same service, not because the work is better, but because fixed costs are higher. A no-code tool, conversely, spreads development costs across millions of users and can therefore offer a very low price, in exchange for limited customization.

Finally, what's included after delivery changes everything. A 2000-euro site with no maintenance that charges 100 euros for every text change quickly ends up costing more over two years than a monthly subscription with changes included. Comparing only the entry price without looking at the total cost over time is the most common mistake when choosing.

The main website categories and their budgets

The brochure site presents a business without online sales: 4 to 8 pages, contact form, presentation of services. This is the most common format for a tradesperson, a self-employed professional, or a small business, and the least expensive to produce.

The e-commerce site adds a product catalog, a shopping cart, and secure payment. Technical complexity, and therefore price, rises with the number of products, logistics integrations, and specific needs (variants, multi-warehouse stock, subscriptions).

The web or mobile app goes further by managing user accounts, its own business logic, and often a dedicated server. This is full-fledged software development, not a variation on a brochure site.

Custom software addresses a very specific internal need (management, planning, a business-specific tool) with no standard off-the-shelf equivalent. The price reflects designing everything from scratch.

What makes the price vary within the same category

Even for a simple brochure site, two quotes can differ by a factor of 1 to 5. Several factors explain this variation:

The number of pages and depth of content. A 5-page site with text already written costs less than a 15-page site requiring full research and writing.

The level of graphic customization. A generic template adapted to the brand's colors costs less than a visual identity created from scratch.

Technical integrations. Appointment booking, chat, multi-step forms, connection to an existing business tool: each integration adds development and testing time.

Maintenance and future changes. A "site delivered, you're on your own after that" price is not comparable to a price that includes hosting, backups, and regular changes.

The provider's experience and specialization. A senior developer or an agency specialized in your sector generally charges more than a beginner generalist, in exchange for a lower risk of a failed project.

Comparative price table by website type

How to read a quote before comparing prices

Receiving several quotes for what seems to be the same project, with very different amounts, is almost the norm in this industry. Before deciding on price alone, a few systematic checks avoid unpleasant surprises.

Check the exact scope of the number of pages or screens. A quote may mention "brochure site" without specifying whether it covers 4 pages or 10, which significantly changes the actual amount of work.

Identify who writes the content. Some providers include copywriting in their price, others expect the client to supply content that's already ready. This difference can represent several days of work, billed or not.

Look at the commitment period and exit conditions. A monthly subscription with no minimum term is not comparable to a 24-month contract with cancellation penalties, even if the displayed monthly price looks similar.

Explicitly ask about the cost of a change after delivery. This is often the least spontaneously disclosed piece of information, yet it determines the actual cost of the site over several years of use.

Check who owns the site and the domain name. Some no-code tools or less scrupulous providers retain control over elements that should belong to you, which can be costly to unlock later if you want to change providers.

The mistake of under-scoping a project to save money upfront

Opposite to an inflated quote, there's a symmetrical trap: choosing the cheapest solution without checking that it actually covers the need. A site designed to remain a simple brochure, when the business actually needs online appointment booking or a client area, almost always ends up requiring a rebuild rather than a simple extension.

This premature rebuild generally costs more than if the real need had been identified from the start, because it involves reworking a technical structure designed for a simpler use. Taking the time, before requesting a quote, to list not only what the site needs to do today but also what it will likely need to do in the next twelve to twenty-four months avoids a good portion of these premature rebuilds.

Key takeaways

• There isn't one price but families of prices depending on the type of site: brochure, e-commerce, application, custom software.
• Free or nearly free no-code is a legitimate option for testing an idea with zero budget, as long as you accept its limits.
• Comparing two quotes requires comparing an equivalent scope: pages, maintenance, hosting, changes included or not.
• The total cost over two or three years (creation + changes + hosting) often matters more than the price displayed upfront.
• A more expensive provider isn't automatically better, but an abnormally low price almost always hides a reduced scope or undisclosed limits.
• Choosing the right budget depends first on what the site actually needs to do, not on what looks most impressive on paper.

Conclusion

Before requesting a quote, define precisely what your site needs to do: present a business, sell online, manage user accounts. This clarification, more than any price comparison, naturally points you toward the right budget and avoids paying for unnecessary features or, conversely, underestimating a project that's more complex than it appears. If your need matches a professional brochure site with no unpleasant price surprises down the line, VeryAppi's subscription website plan offers a fixed, all-inclusive rate, with no creation fee or repeated quotes.