How much does a small business website cost in the US in 2026? Ranges by build, and what it costs to keep
What a US small business website costs in 2026 by type of build, what it costs to keep running each year, and what moves a quote up or down.
A small business website in the US costs from under $400 a year on a website builder to $20,000 or more for a custom build by an agency. For a basic site built by a firm, 60 percent of the web development firms in GoodFirms’ 2026 survey quoted $1,000 to $3,000 (GoodFirms).
A survey of buyers points the same way. WebFX asked 250 US marketing professionals what their companies spend, and reports $1,000 to $30,000 or more for the design (WebFX). The build is one bill. Keeping the site running is a second one, and it arrives every year.
The short version
- A website builder plan costs about $17 to $39 a month. Wix lists its Light, Core and Business plans at those prices on yearly subscriptions.
- A basic website built by a firm most often costs $1,000 to $3,000, the range 59.9 percent of firms gave in GoodFirms’ 2026 survey of more than 300 firms in 31 countries.
- A mid-sized business website most often costs $5,000 to $20,000 in the same survey, and an ecommerce site $5,000 to $50,000.
- US web development firms typically bill $50 to $100 an hour, according to the GoodFirms country table. Freelance web designers on Upwork typically charge $15 to $30 an hour worldwide.
- Upkeep is a separate bill. About 58 percent of firms in the GoodFirms survey price a monthly retainer at $500 to $3,000.
- Mavix does not publish a price list. Mavix quotes after a free review of your current site and what it needs to do.
How much does a small business website cost by type of build?
It depends on who builds it. There are four common routes, and each has a published price range from a named source.
| Route | Published 2026 range | Source and what it measures |
|---|---|---|
| Build it yourself on a website builder | $17 to $39 a month on Wix. $4 to $45 a month on WordPress.com, billed yearly | The vendors’ own price pages, read 2 October 2026 |
| AI website builder, set up by a firm | $500 to $1,500 was the top band, chosen by 33.5 percent of firms | GoodFirms survey of firms |
| Freelance web designer | $15 to $30 an hour | Upwork’s typical rates from historical contracts worldwide |
| Basic website built by a firm | $1,000 to $3,000, chosen by 59.9 percent of firms | GoodFirms survey of firms |
| Mid-sized business website | $5,000 to $20,000, chosen by 53.9 percent of firms | GoodFirms survey of firms |
| Ecommerce website | $5,000 to $50,000, chosen by 74 percent of firms | GoodFirms survey of firms |
The builder prices come from Wix and WordPress.com. Wix lists Light at $17, Core at $29 and Business at $39 a month on yearly subscriptions. WordPress.com lists Personal at $4, Premium at $8, Business at $25 and Commerce at $45 a month when billed yearly. The freelancer rate is from Upwork, which also puts web developers at $15 to $50 an hour (Upwork).
The GoodFirms ranges come from firms in 31 countries, so they are not US-only. The US detail in that survey is the hourly rate. Its country table puts US firms at $50 to $100 an hour, against $10 to $15 for firms in India. A quote from a US firm for the same scope is likely to sit toward the top of each range for that reason.
Why do published website prices disagree?
They disagree because they measure different things. Three sources are worth reading together, and each one answers a different question.
| Source | Who answered | Headline figure |
|---|---|---|
| GoodFirms, 2026 | More than 300 web development firms in 31 countries | 63 percent quote fixed-price projects between $1,000 and $15,000 |
| WebFX, 2026 page | 250 US marketing professionals, describing what their companies spend | $1,000 to $30,000 or more for web design |
| Clutch, updated 21 September 2026 | Client reviews and listings for more than 79,260 web design agencies | $2,000 to $100,000. Most reviewed projects cost less than $10,000 |
GoodFirms reports what builders say they charge. WebFX reports what buyers say they spend. Clutch reports what reviewed projects cost on its own marketplace. None of them audited an invoice.
They agree on the part that matters to a small business. In the GoodFirms data, 33 percent of firms quote fixed-price projects at $1,000 to $5,000, and another 30 percent quote $5,000 to $15,000. Clutch says most of the web design projects reviewed on its site cost less than $10,000. On both sources, a small site from a firm lands in four figures more often than five.
Hourly rates disagree more. Clutch says the web design companies shortlisted on its site charge around $100 to $149 an hour. GoodFirms puts US firms at $50 to $100. Clutch’s figure covers the agencies it shortlists, which is a narrower group than every firm in a survey. One large agency publishes its own range as $2,500 to $100,000 per website (WebFX).
Photo: picjumbo.com on Pexels.
What does a website cost to keep running?
Running costs range from a few hundred dollars a year on a builder to several thousand a month on a retainer. WebFX’s survey found most businesses spend $501 to $5,000 each year on ongoing web design (WebFX).
| Ongoing cost | Published figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Builder plan, hosting included | $204 to $468 a year on Wix Light to Business | Wix, yearly subscriptions |
| Domain name | $0.95 to $12 | WebFX’s cost table, billing period not stated |
| SSL certificate | $0 to $1,500 | WebFX’s cost table, billing period not stated |
| Hosting | $24 to $24,000 | WebFX’s cost table, billing period not stated |
| Maintenance retainer from a firm | $500 to $1,500 a month at about 30 percent of firms. $1,500 to $3,000 at another 28 percent | GoodFirms survey |
| Yearly web design spend, 1 to 10 employees | $501 to $1,000, the range 31 percent chose | WebFX survey |
The Wix yearly figures are our arithmetic: twelve times the monthly price. Wix also says its paid plans include a free domain for the first year. After that the domain is a yearly charge.
The retainer row needs a note. GoodFirms describes those retainers as often covering maintenance, content updates and minor feature work. In our view a small brochure site rarely needs a retainer at that level. A builder plan and an hourly arrangement for changes can be enough.
The two surveys sit far apart here too. A firm’s retainer of $500 a month is $6,000 a year. In the WebFX survey, the smallest businesses most often reported $501 to $1,000 a year. Firms describe what they sell, and small buyers describe what they spend.
What does the first year cost in total?
Add the build to twelve months of running costs. The three cases below are our arithmetic on the published figures above, and they are not quotes.
| Case | Build | Year one running cost | First-year total |
|---|---|---|---|
| You build it on Wix Core | Your own hours | $348 | $348 plus your time |
| A firm builds a basic site, hosted on WordPress.com Business | $1,000 to $3,000 | $300 | $1,300 to $3,300 |
| A firm builds a mid-sized site and keeps a $500 to $1,500 retainer | $5,000 to $20,000 | $6,000 to $18,000 | $11,000 to $38,000 |
The middle case leaves out content. WebFX’s cost table lists site copywriting at $60 to $300 a page, so ten pages of copy would add $600 to $3,000 at that rate. Photography is extra.
The third case shows why the retainer matters as much as the build. Over three years, a $1,000 monthly retainer costs $36,000. Ask what the retainer covers before you compare build prices.
Photo: Kampus Production on Pexels.
What moves the price of a website up or down?
Scope moves it most. GoodFirms asked firms how they split a project budget, and development took the largest share.
- Development work. Front-end and back-end development together typically take 50 to 70 percent of a project budget in the GoodFirms survey. Design usually takes 10 to 20 percent.
- Selling online. An ecommerce site most often costs $5,000 to $50,000 in the survey, against $1,000 to $3,000 for a basic site.
- Where the builder is based. The same survey puts US firms at $50 to $100 an hour and firms in India at $10 to $15.
- Content. Copy at $60 to $300 a page, in WebFX’s table, is a real line on a ten-page site.
- Time. In the survey, 71 percent of firms deliver a basic site in two to four weeks, and half deliver a mid-sized site in four to eight weeks.
AI has lowered the entry price. GoodFirms reports that AI builder projects cluster below $1,500. Firms in the same survey said custom work and integrations have held their price.
For the questions that make two quotes comparable, read our Texas website cost post. It lists ten questions to ask every builder, and they apply in any state.
How do you make sure the site earns its cost?
Decide what the site has to produce before you choose a route. A site that brings in calls, forms or orders pays for itself, and one that does not is a cost at any price.
Three checks help before and after launch. First, run the current site through our free website audit tool to see what is broken today. Second, use the website launch checklist so tracking, redirects and forms work on day one. Third, check page speed against the Core Web Vitals thresholds.
If the site already gets visitors and few of them enquire, a rebuild may be the wrong spend. Our conversion audit checklist covers what to test first. The conversion optimization service page explains how we work on a page that is already live. Where the problem is crawling or indexing, the technical SEO service is the relevant one. Mavix quotes after a free review.
The bottom line
A website has two prices: the build and the upkeep. Published build prices for a small business sit mostly between $1,000 and $15,000. Upkeep runs from a few hundred dollars a year to a few thousand a month. Work out the first-year total for each quote, and compare those.
Questions people ask about this
How much does a basic small business website cost in 2026?
In GoodFirms’ 2026 survey of more than 300 web development firms, 59.9 percent quoted $1,000 to $3,000 for a basic website or MVP. That sample covers 31 countries. US firms in the same survey typically bill $50 to $100 an hour, so a US quote for the same scope is likely to sit toward the top.
How much does a website cost per month to run?
A builder plan with hosting costs about $17 to $39 a month on Wix, on yearly subscriptions. A maintenance retainer from a firm costs $500 to $3,000 a month at about 58 percent of the firms GoodFirms surveyed. In our view a small brochure site needs the first and only occasional paid help on top.
Is a website builder cheaper than hiring a designer?
In cash, yes. Wix Core is $29 a month on a yearly subscription, which is $348 a year. A basic site from a firm most often costs $1,000 to $3,000 before running costs. The builder route costs your own hours, and you take on the design, copy and setup yourself.
How much does an ecommerce website cost?
An ecommerce website most often costs $5,000 to $50,000, the range 74 percent of firms gave in GoodFirms’ 2026 survey. The same survey puts the common timeline at 8 to 28 weeks. A store adds payment setup, a product catalogue and shipping rules to the work of a basic site.
Why do website quotes vary so much?
The quotes usually describe different work. In the GoodFirms survey, development takes 50 to 70 percent of a project budget, so the features you ask for move the price most. The builder’s location matters too. US firms typically bill $50 to $100 an hour, and firms in India $10 to $15.
How long does it take to build a small business website?
In GoodFirms’ 2026 survey, 71 percent of firms said a basic website takes two to four weeks. Half said a mid-sized business site takes four to eight weeks. AI builder projects were faster, with about two-thirds finished within two weeks.
What does Mavix charge to build or fix a website?
Mavix does not publish a price list. Mavix quotes after a free review of your current site. The review looks at what the site has to produce, what is broken today and whether a rebuild is needed at all. Sometimes fixing the existing pages is the better spend.
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