What should a freelancer actually pay for a website in 2026?

Nobody gives you a straight answer to this, which is exactly why people end up overpaying. So here's mine, with real numbers, including my own.

The short version: for a normal freelance business — a trainer, a tradesperson, a consultant, a therapist — you should be looking at roughly £60–£250 once to get a site built and set up properly, and £50–£150 a month to keep it running, updated and looked after. The important part is the second number, and specifically whether it's buying you actual work on the site or just a slot on a server.

Now the longer version, because the reason those numbers surprise people is worth explaining.

What you're actually paying for

A website bill is usually three separate things bundled into one number:

• The build. One-off work: writing and laying out the pages, setting up the forms, making sure it works on a phone.
• The running costs. Hosting, your domain name, an SSL certificate. For a small site, the genuine cost here is low — a few pounds a month, sometimes less.
• The upkeep. Someone changing your prices when they change, adding a service, fixing what breaks, keeping an eye on how you're doing in search.

That third one is where the honest money is, and it's also the bit most people are paying for and not receiving. If you're on £90 a month and nobody has touched your site in a year, you're not paying for upkeep. You're paying rent on a page. Pay a similar figure and get regular changes, new content and a straight report on how it's doing, and it's an entirely different deal for the same money.

Rough market rates in 2026

Broadly, here's what's out there:

• DIY builders (Wix, Squarespace, GoDaddy and friends): around £15–£35 a month, plus your own time. Genuinely the cheapest option on paper. Fine if you enjoy it and have a weekend spare, but most freelancers I speak to built theirs in a rush three years ago and haven't logged in since — at which point the cheap option has quietly become the expensive one.
• Small agencies: often £1,000–£3,000 up front, or £150–£300 a month on a contract. Sometimes worth it. If you need brand work, photography, ad campaigns and a proper strategy, that's a real service and it costs real money.
• Someone like me: £60–£250 to build it, £50–£150 a month after, with the updates and the blog posts included in that rather than billed as extras. Cheaper than an agency because I'm not one and I'm not pretending to be.

All of those can be reasonable. What isn't reasonable is paying agency money and getting DIY-builder service, which is the situation I run into most.

What I charge, plainly

Because it would be a bit rich to write this and be vague about my own prices:

• Starter — £60 to build, £50 a month. One page covering who you are, what you do and how to reach you, 3 blog posts at launch, fortnightly updates, a monthly round-up email, hosting included.
• Growth — £100 to build, £80 a month. Everything in Starter, but a multi-page site (Home, About, Services, Contact and more as needed), 6 blog posts at launch, and simple extras like galleries, social links or an embedded map.
• Complete — £150 to build, £100 a month. Everything in Growth, plus online booking built in and 10 blog posts at launch aimed at topics that help you turn up in search.
• Shop — £250 to build, £150 a month. Everything in Complete, plus a full online store: product listings, cart and secure checkout.

And the offer that sits over the top of all of it: if you're already paying for a website, tell me what it costs and I'll aim to match or beat it. Not as a gimmick — it just means you're comparing like for like instead of guessing.

The full list is on the pricing section of the homepage if you want it side by side.

When paying more genuinely makes sense

I'd rather tell you this than have you find out later. Spending more is the right call when:

• Your website is the business — you sell online and every hour of downtime costs you money.
• You need proper marketing behind it: ads managed, content produced regularly, someone accountable for lead numbers.
• You need something genuinely custom — booking systems that talk to your calendar and your invoicing, memberships, that sort of thing.
• You want a designer's eye on your brand, not just a tidy website. That's a real skill and it isn't mine.

If any of those are you, a £50-a-month site isn't a bargain, it's the wrong tool.

When you're being overcharged

The signs are fairly consistent. You can't get hold of anyone to make a small change. You don't know what your monthly fee covers. You've never had a report, an update, or a conversation about how the site is performing. You asked for a price change in April and it's still wrong. Or you're being charged separately for "SEO" and can't point to a single thing that's been done for it.

A useful test: if your site vanished tomorrow, how long before you noticed, and how much would it actually cost you? If the honest answer is "a while" and "nothing", you're paying too much whatever the number is.

What I'd do if I were you

Find out exactly what you pay a year — monthly fee, domain, any add-ons. Most people are surprised by the total. Then ask what you got for it in the last twelve months. If the answer is nothing, that's not a reason to panic, but it is a reason to either get more for the money or pay less for it.

I'm not a website designer by trade and I don't hide it. What I'll give you is a straight answer, a fair price written down in public, and a site that does the basics properly.

Want the honest comparison for your site?

Tell me what you're currently paying each month. If I can do better for the same money, I'll show you how. If you're already getting good value, I'll tell you that instead.