Compare · Cost
What a website should cost, with actual numbers.
Real ranges rather than "it depends", what moves the number, and the questions that separate a well-priced build from an overpriced one.
How much should a small business website cost?
In 2026, expect roughly $500 to $2,000 for a DIY builder site you assemble yourself, $2,000 to $6,000 from a freelancer, $6,000 to $20,000 from a small agency for a custom marketing site, and $25,000 upward from larger agencies. Our own builds run $3,500 to $12,000 depending on page count, or about $8,600 in year one for a six page site with care.
- Typical freelancer range
- $2k to $6k
- Custom marketing site
- Typical small agency range
- $6k to $20k
- Custom marketing site
- 4th Street, build price
- $3,500+
- Five pages, rising by page count
What actually moves the number
Price differences in this category are rarely about design hours. They are about how much thinking, infrastructure and aftercare is included.
- Page count, which is most of it. Ours is priced directly on it, at $250 to $750 a page beyond the tier you pick
- Whether strategy is included or you arrive with the structure and copy already decided
- Who writes the copy. It is the single most common hidden cost in a quote
- Integrations, booking systems, CRMs, payment flows and custom functionality
- Whether tracking and search are in scope, or sold back to you afterwards
- What happens after launch, which is where cheap builds get expensive
When spending less is the right decision
Plenty of businesses should not buy a custom site, and we would rather say it than take the work.
- You are pre-revenue and testing an idea. A $1,000 builder site answers the question you actually have
- The site is a formality, because all your work comes through one channel that is not search
- You need one page, not a site. Pay for one page
- Cash is tight. A cheap site now beats a good site that strains the business
How to tell expensive from overpriced
An expensive site that returns more than it cost is cheap. The test is not the number, it is whether anyone can tell you what the number is supposed to produce. Ask what the site is expected to change, how that gets measured, and what happens if it does not. A quote that cannot answer those is a design invoice wearing a business case.
- Ask what you own at the end: site, domain, files. If the answer is hedged, that is your answer
- Ask what happens after launch, and what it costs
- Ask to see results, not just portfolio screenshots
- Ask who writes the copy, before it becomes a surprise line item
- Be suspicious of both extremes. A $499 custom site and a $60,000 brochure site are usually both wrong
Want a number for your situation?
Tell us what the site has to do and you will get a straight scope and price, before anything starts.
Book site reviewCost questions.
Why is there such a wide range?+
Because "website" covers everything from a one-page template to a system with booking, tracking and a content operation behind it. The range is wide because the products are genuinely different, not because pricing is arbitrary.
Are monthly website plans a scam?+
Not inherently, but read the ownership terms. The problem is not paying monthly, it is paying monthly for something you never own and cannot take with you. Ours is financing on a build you own from day one: stop early and the remaining balance comes due, and you keep the site. That is the distinction that matters.
What does 4th Street charge?+
Builds are $3,500 for five pages, $5,000 for six, $9,000 for up to sixteen and $12,000 for twenty or more. A build usually takes three to four weeks, though that depends on how quickly content and decisions come back from you. A six page build with care is about $8,600 in year one, or $10,200 financed over twelve months. No setup fees, and additional pages run $250 to $750.
Is a cheap website worse for SEO?+
Not automatically. Cheap sites tend to underperform because nobody planned the structure or wrote for search, not because of the price. A cheap site built thoughtfully beats an expensive one built as a brochure.