Data
$5,500 is the PCE Index: the median cost of a standard WordPress business site, blended freelancer/agency, Western Europe baseline rates. Project type and market shift it across our 7-type, 6-market Cost Index. The full range runs $300 for a freelancer-built landing page to $50,000+ for an agency-built web application, and identical scope swings 4.27× by market (0.30× in South/SE Asia to 1.28× in the United States). Source: the Website Cost Index — 7 project types and 6 geographic markets, computed from the engine configuration behind our calculator and calibrated against 600+ project quotes and public rate benchmarks (how the data is built). CC BY 4.0.
Last updated: July 2026 · All prices in USD · Freelancer rates at 1.0× base
Quick Answer
Website costs in 2026 range from $300 (basic landing page) to $50,000+ (custom web app). Our engine applies six geographic multipliers on identical scope: South Asia 0.30×, Eastern Europe 0.51×, Western Europe 1.00×, UK 1.10×, Australia 1.10×, US 1.28× — a 4.27× swing top to bottom.Hourly rates (freelancer, USD): SA $12–$47, EE $22–$72, WE $50–$130, UK $58–$145, AU $58–$145, US $65–$175. Median business site $5,500; median ecommerce store $13,750. Based on our dataset of 600+ project quotes and public rate benchmarks across 6 markets.
The PCE Index
Index period: August 2026
$5,500
Median cost of a standard business website (5–10 pages, WordPress, Western Europe baseline rates), blended freelancer/agency. Drawn from the same 600+ project-quotes and rate-benchmark dataset as the wider Cost Index below, and recalculated whenever our underlying rate/complexity configuration changes — each change dated, never a fixed-calendar promise.
Cite as: Project Cost Estimator, “PCE Index” (August 2026): $5,500 — projectcostestimator.com/cost-index#pce-index (CC BY 4.0).
Cite this dataset · free (CC BY 4.0)
The 2026 Website Cost Index is free to cite, quote, and republish under Creative Commons BY 4.0 — just link back. Machine-readable JSON: /api/cost-data. Mirrored as an open dataset on Hugging Face (JSON + CSV) and Kaggle.
Cite as: Project Cost Estimator, “2026 Website Cost Index”, projectcostestimator.com/cost-index (CC BY 4.0).
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See sponsorship details →| Project Type | Freelancer | Agency | Timeline | Top Platform |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Landing Page | $300 – $1,500 | $800 – $3,000 | 1 – 3 weeks | WordPress |
| Presentation Site | $300 – $1,200 | $800 – $3,000 | 2 – 5 weeks | WordPress |
| Portfolio | $300 – $1,000 | $700 – $2,500 | 2 – 4 weeks | WordPress |
| Blog | $400 – $1,500 | $1,000 – $3,500 | 3 – 6 weeks | WordPress |
| Ecommerce Store | $800 – $5,000 | $2,000 – $12,000 | 5 – 16 weeks | Shopify |
| Marketplace | $3,000 – $15,000 | $8,000 – $40,000 | 12 – 30 weeks | Magento / Custom |
| Web Application | $2,000 – $20,000 | $6,000 – $50,000 | 8 – 24 weeks | Custom |
Ranges reflect minimum (basic config, template design) to maximum (full features, custom design) for Western Europe rates.
Cost bands by project type — freelancer vs agency
USD, log scale. Bar = stated minimum to maximum; white tick = a published median.
src/components/charts/data/costIndexBands.ts, the same array that renders it). Western Europe rates, freelancer at 1.0× base; bar ends are the stated minimum and maximum, no median is drawn because none is published per type. Index period August 2026. CC BY 4.0.| Project type | Freelancer min | Freelancer max | Agency min | Agency max |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Landing Page | $300 | $1,500 | $800 | $3,000 |
| Presentation Site | $300 | $1,200 | $800 | $3,000 |
| Portfolio | $300 | $1,000 | $700 | $2,500 |
| Blog | $400 | $1,500 | $1,000 | $3,500 |
| Ecommerce Store | $800 | $5,000 | $2,000 | $12,000 |
| Marketplace | $3,000 | $15,000 | $8,000 | $40,000 |
| Web Application | $2,000 | $20,000 | $6,000 | $50,000 |
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From $79/mo →Eastern Europe
0.51×
Hourly: $22 – $72
Best value for budget-conscious projects
Western Europe
1.00×
Hourly: $50 – $130
Baseline rates, strong talent pool
United Kingdom
1.10×
Hourly: $58 – $145
Same freelancer band as Australia
United States
1.28×
Hourly: $65 – $175
Highest rates, largest market
Australia
1.10×
Hourly: $58 – $145
Same freelancer band as the UK
South / SE Asia
0.30×
Hourly: $12 – $47
Lowest rates; India, Philippines, Vietnam, Pakistan
Geographic multiplier by market — what the engine applies to identical scope
Western Europe = 1.00× baseline. Top to bottom the swing is 4.27×.
South / SE Asia
$12–$47/hr freelancer
Eastern Europe
$22–$72/hr freelancer
Western Europe
$50–$130/hr freelancer
United Kingdom
$58–$145/hr freelancer
Australia
$58–$145/hr freelancer
United States
$65–$175/hr freelancer
src/config/marketRates.json — wordpress.<region>.freelancer.median ÷ wordpress.western_europe.freelancer.median. The pricing engine has no separate geographic factor: a market only changes which rate row is read, so this ratio is the multiplier it applies. Data version 2026-07-16.| Market | Multiplier vs Western Europe | WordPress freelancer low ($/hr) | median | high |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| South / SE Asia | 0.30× | $12 | $25 | $47 |
| Eastern Europe | 0.51× | $22 | $42 | $72 |
| Western Europe | 1.00× | $50 | $82 | $130 |
| United Kingdom | 1.10× | $58 | $90 | $145 |
| Australia | 1.10× | $58 | $90 | $145 |
| United States | 1.28× | $65 | $105 | $175 |
Hourly rate by platform — United States, low to high with the median marked
USD per hour. Bar = published low to high; white tick = median; the number after each bar is the median. Sorted by freelancer median.
src/config/marketRates.json — <platform>.us.freelancer / agency low, median, high; 12 platforms, one region. The same table the estimation engine reads at calculation time. Data version 2026-07-16. CC BY 4.0.| Platform | Freelancer low | Freelancer median | Freelancer high | Agency low | Agency median | Agency high |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shopify Plus | $95 | $142 | $232 | $160 | $247 | $406 |
| Magento 2 / Adobe Commerce | $88 | $135 | $218 | $145 | $240 | $406 |
| Custom / full-stack | $88 | $135 | $218 | $145 | $232 | $385 |
| Magento 1 | $80 | $128 | $203 | $138 | $225 | $363 |
| Shopify | $65 | $105 | $190 | $124 | $195 | $319 |
| WordPress | $65 | $105 | $175 | $120 | $185 | $290 |
| WooCommerce | $65 | $105 | $175 | $120 | $185 | $290 |
| BigCommerce | $65 | $105 | $168 | $116 | $185 | $283 |
| Webflow | $65 | $105 | $175 | $116 | $185 | $290 |
| PrestaShop | $58 | $90 | $145 | $102 | $158 | $247 |
| Wix | $44 | $68 | $110 | $72 | $120 | $190 |
| Squarespace | $44 | $68 | $110 | $72 | $120 | $190 |
| Platform | Hosting | SaaS Fee | Maintenance | Total /mo |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| WordPress | $15 | $0 | $50 | $115 – $165 |
| Shopify | $0 | $36 | $30 | $95 – $140 |
| WooCommerce | $25 | $0 | $60 | $145 – $210 |
| Magento | $80 | $0 | $150 | $320 – $450 |
| Custom | $40 | $0 | $100 | $200 – $300 |
Includes hosting, SaaS fees, security, backups, plugin licenses, domain, email, and basic maintenance. Does not include SEO or marketing.
The Website Cost Index is a free, CC BY 4.0-licensed dataset of 2026 website and web-app cost benchmarks — freelancer vs agency price ranges and delivery timelines across 7 project types, plus geographic market multipliers and hourly-rate ranges across 6 markets. It is calibrated against 600+ project quotes and public rate benchmarks and refreshed regularly.
The PCE Index is our single branded headline figure inside the wider Cost Index: the blended freelancer/agency median cost of a standard business website (5–10 pages, WordPress, Western Europe baseline rates). As of August 2026 the PCE Index stands at $5,500 — the same median business-site figure used consistently across our cost pages, drawn from the same 600+ project-quotes and rate-benchmark dataset behind the Cost Index. It is recalculated whenever our underlying rate and complexity configuration changes, not on a fixed calendar promise, and each recalculation is dated.
From $300 (basic landing page, freelancer, template design) to $50,000+ (custom web application, agency, Western Europe baseline rates). The exact figure depends on project type, geographic market, and whether you hire a freelancer or an agency.
Identical scope swings 4.27× across our 6 markets: South/SE Asia is the cheapest at 0.30× baseline ($12–$47/hour), followed by Eastern Europe at 0.51× ($22–$72/hour), Western Europe at 1.00× baseline ($50–$130/hour), the UK and Australia both at 1.10× ($58–$145/hour), and the US at 1.28× ($65–$175/hour), the most expensive.
Realistic all-in monthly running costs by platform: WordPress $115–$165, Shopify $95–$140, WooCommerce $145–$210, Magento $320–$450, custom builds $200–$300 — covering hosting, SaaS fees, security, backups, plugin licenses, domain, email, and basic maintenance (excludes SEO or marketing spend).
Yes. The 2026 Website Cost Index is free to cite, quote, and republish under Creative Commons BY 4.0 — just link back to projectcostestimator.com/cost-index. The same figures are also available as machine-readable JSON at /api/cost-data.
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