Free · No signup · 9 engines · 600+ real projects
Get a realistic website cost in two minutes. Nine separate calculation engines run on your scope across WordPress, Shopify, Magento, and custom builds — calibrated against real 2026 pricing from 600+ projects. Same numbers an agency would quote, minus the sales call.
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Realistic 2026 website prices, by project type and pricing tier. Numbers below are base ranges before market-rate adjustment (US agencies are roughly 1.45× the freelancer range; Eastern European freelancers run 0.55× the base).
Ranges before geographic-market multiplier. Run the website cost calculator to see your exact number.
Most free website cost calculators are educated guesses dressed up as a tool. Project Cost Estimator is built on actual quote and invoice data from 600 real projects: ecommerce stores, web apps, custom CMS builds, marketplace platforms, content sites. Every multiplier is calibrated.
That means when you select “Shopify, 50–200 products, multi-currency, agency tier, US market”, the result isn’t a hypothetical. It’s the price band our calibration set actually paid for that exact scope, give or take 18%.
Full methodology with every multiplier and source is published at /methodology. Aggregate cost data by project type and market lives at /cost-index.
A website quote is rarely a single line item. The breakdown below is what drives the number — every category is a separate slider in the calculator.
Discovery & design
Wireframes, mockups, design system, brand application. 15-25% of total project cost.
Development
Theme work, custom code, integrations, infrastructure. 40-60% of project cost.
Content
Copywriting, photography, video, asset preparation. Often forgotten in initial quotes — adds $500-$5K.
Hosting & infrastructure
Hosting plan, CDN, backup, security. $0-$300/mo ongoing.
Maintenance & support
Updates, security patches, small content edits. $50-$500/mo ongoing.
Training & handover
Documentation, video walkthroughs, live training. $200-$2,000 one-time.
Project management
10-20% of all the above. Buried in agency quotes, separate line on freelancer invoices.
Contingency
5-15% buffer for scope changes. Honest agencies list it; sketchy ones hide it then bill change orders.
Platform choice is the second-biggest cost driver after scope. Same project on a different platform can be 2–3× cheaper or 4× more expensive. Quick reference:
WordPress
$1,200 – $12,000
Most flexible CMS, biggest plugin ecosystem. Use for content-heavy sites, blogs, business sites. Hosting $5-$50/mo.
Shopify
$2,500 – $25,000
Easiest ecommerce setup, but app costs add up at scale. Best for stores under 200 SKUs. SaaS fee $39-$2K/mo.
WooCommerce
$3,000 – $20,000
WordPress + ecommerce. More flexible than Shopify, more setup work. Hosting needs upgrade at scale ($25-$80/mo).
Magento (Adobe Commerce)
$15,000 – $100,000+
Enterprise-grade. Avoid for stores under $5M revenue — overkill cost AND complexity. Hosting $80-$500+/mo.
Custom build
$10,000 – $250,000+
When platforms can't do what you need. Highest cost, highest flexibility. For SaaS, marketplaces, complex apps.
The same scope priced by a freelancer versus an agency typically lands at a 2–3× spread. The freelancer isn’t cheaper because they’re worse — they have lower overhead (no project manager, no account exec, no office). The agency isn’t more expensive for nothing — they ship faster, handle multi-stakeholder coordination, carry liability.
Pick freelancer when
Pick agency when
Toggle between pricing tiers in the calculator to see your specific spread: run the calculator →
Three actual projects from the calibration set, anonymized. Same scope priced by both a freelancer and an agency.
Small business site, WordPress
7 pages, premium template, contact form, basic SEO, GA4. Western Europe market.
Shopify store, fashion DTC
120 products, premium theme customised, Klaviyo, multi-currency for EU/UK, basic SEO. UK market.
SaaS marketing site + dashboard
Custom Next.js, Stripe billing, role-based auth, analytics dashboard, 12 marketing pages. US market.
Ranked by impact, from the calibration set:
Platform choice
WordPress vs Shopify vs Magento vs custom is a 2–10× cost spread on the same buyer outcome.
Geographic market
US agency at $150/hr vs Bucharest freelancer at $40/hr = 3.75× spread.
Pricing tier
Agency is 2–3× freelancer for the same scope due to overhead + project management.
Scope complexity
Multilingual + advanced search + multi-currency synergy = ~1.4× more than the sum of parts.
Design type
Premium template vs custom design = 2–4× spread on design cost.
Urgency
Rush delivery (under 6 weeks for $20K+ scope) adds 15-25%.
Content readiness
Buyer-provided content = base. Agency-produced content adds $1K-$10K.
Compliance
HIPAA/GDPR/WCAG audit + remediation can add 20-40%.
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