If you've priced out a website recently, you've probably seen numbers ranging from $200 template deals to $50,000 enterprise quotes for what sounds like the same thing. That range isn't arbitrary — it reflects genuinely different products wearing the same label.
What actually drives the price
Four variables move the number more than anything else: how custom the design is, how much functionality lives behind the page (bookings, accounts, inventory), how much content needs writing and structuring, and how fast you need it live.
- Template-based sites: $500–$1,500 — fast, cost-efficient, limited differentiation
- Fully custom marketing sites: $2,000–$6,000 — bespoke design, CMS, SEO structure
- E-commerce or web apps: $5,000–$20,000+ — checkout, integrations, custom logic
- Enterprise / multi-platform: $20,000+ — multiple teams, systems, and stakeholders
The real question isn't 'how much' — it's 'what's the cost of the wrong choice'
A $500 template site for a brand that needs to raise a Series A will cost more in lost credibility than it saved in cash. Conversely, a $20,000 custom platform for a solo consultant is money that could have gone to marketing. Match the investment to the stage of the business, not the size of the ambition.
We always start pricing conversations by understanding what the site needs to do for your business in the next 12 months — not just what it needs to look like on day one.