Website costs
How much does a website cost per month?
The short answer: a small business website costs about $4 to $1,000 a month, depending on who runs it.
- A website builder such as Wix or Squarespace: about $12 to $40 a month on the standard plans. Store plans cost more.
- Your own site on your own hosting: roughly $4 to $15 a month for hosting and a domain, before anyone maintains it.
- Maintenance: about $50 to $150 a month from a freelancer, $100 to $1,000 from an agency.
- An all-in monthly plan (design, hosting and upkeep in one fee): ours is $99 to $499 a month, $0 upfront.
Below: where those numbers come from, what a monthly fee covers, and the extras added later.
Monthly cost by route
Prices come from the providers' own pricing pages or published cost guides, listed at the end.
| Route | Monthly cost | What it covers | Who does the work |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wix | $17.77 to $159.77, on plans billed yearly | Builder, hosting, first-year domain on paid plans | You |
| Squarespace | $12 to $36, depending on the plan and whether you pay yearly or monthly | Builder, hosting, first-year domain on yearly plans | You |
| Shopify (online store) | $19 to $299 billed yearly, or $27 to $399 month to month | Store software, product pages and checkout | You |
| Your own hosting | About $4 to $15 (hosting $40 to $150 a year, plus a .com at $12 to $25 a year) | Server space and your domain only | You, or someone you pay |
| Freelancer maintenance | About $50 to $150 | Updates and fixes; varies widely | One person |
| Agency retainer | About $100 to $1,000 | Updates, support and often more, depending on the deal | A team |
| All-in monthly plan (ours) | $99 to $499, $0 upfront | Design, build, hosting, updates and Google setup | Our team |
Watch the small print: the low monthly figure is often a yearly plan. Wix says its displayed prices are for yearly subscriptions, paid in full upfront.
What a monthly fee usually includes
A fair monthly fee covers what keeps the site online and safe:
- Hosting: the server space your site lives on.
- The domain: your web address. Builders often include it free for the first year only, then bill it separately.
- An SSL certificate: the padlock in the browser bar. Many hosts now include a free one.
- Backups: a copy of your site you can restore if something breaks.
- Updates: keeping the software current and secure.
- Support: someone to call when something breaks.
On a builder, the last four are mostly your job.
What it usually does not include
New pages, a redesign, writing, photos, ads and social media are normally extra, as are changes beyond the monthly allowance.
The hidden monthly extras
The headline price is rarely the whole bill. Watch for these:
- Premium plugins and apps. Forms, reviews and other add-ons often carry their own fee.
- Business email. A mailbox at your own domain is usually extra. Wix sells Google Workspace email separately; Squarespace includes one account free for the first year on Core and Advanced only.
- Booking tools. Appointment booking often needs a higher plan or a paid add-on.
- Transaction fees on store builders. Squarespace takes 2% of store sales on Basic, 0% on Core and Advanced. Shopify takes 2%, 1% or 0.6% by plan if you use another payment provider. Card fees come on top.
- Renewals. Domains bought through a builder renew at about $15 to $30 a year, and builder plans can renew at $18 to $60 a month once any introductory price ends.
How to compare two monthly quotes
Two quotes of $99 a month can be very different deals. Check:
- The total for 12 and 36 months, including any setup fee.
- What each includes, line by line: hosting, domain, SSL, backups, updates, support, email.
- How many changes a month are included.
- Whether the price is a yearly plan paid upfront, and what it renews at.
- Whether the domain is registered in your name.
- What happens when you cancel: do you keep the site and domain?
The last matters most. Some monthly plans are rent: stop paying and the site is gone. Others end with you owning the site. Weighing a monthly fee against one payment? Our guide to paying once or paying monthly works through the numbers. For build prices, see how much a small business website costs.
What we charge each month
At KN Services our team designs your website, puts it live and looks after it. Pay monthly with $0 upfront, or pay once if you prefer.
| Plan | Pay monthly | Or pay once | Pages |
|---|---|---|---|
| Launch | $99 a month | $499 | 5 |
| Business | $179 a month | $899 | 10 |
| Pro | $329 a month | $1,650 | 20 |
| Store | $499 a month | $2,490 | Online store, up to 100 products |
Pay monthly is $0 upfront and you can cancel anytime. Stay 12 paid months and the site and domain are yours; cancel earlier and the site comes down. Pay once includes the first year of hosting, domain, mailbox, Google setup and small updates. From year two it is $39 to $129 a month to keep us running it, or you take your files.
Sources (checked 31 October 2026)
- Wix, "Wix Pricing Information | Upgrade to a Premium Plan", undated, checked 31 October 2026: plan prices on yearly billing, free first-year domain, email sold separately.
- Squarespace, "Squarespace Pricing Plans & Features", undated, checked 31 October 2026: plan prices, store transaction fees, domain and email offer.
- Shopify, "Shopify Pricing: Find the Right Plan for Your Business", undated, checked 31 October 2026: plan prices and third-party payment fees.
- WebsiteSetup.org, "Small Business Website Costs (What to Expect in 2026)", last updated 22 November 2025: hosting, domain and renewal prices, free SSL.
- Levitate, "Average Website Design Cost for Small Businesses in 2026", 24 February 2026: maintenance and retainer ranges.