What you pay on a website builder
Builders bundle hosting, security certificates and software updates into one subscription. When we checked in November 2026, Wix listed its Light, Core, Business and Business Elite plans at $17, $29, $39 and $159 a month on yearly billing. Squarespace listed Basic, Core, Plus and Advanced at $19, $29, $49 and $99 a month when paid annually, or $25, $39, $65 and $139 month to month.
Both offer a free custom domain for the first year with most annual plans. After that the domain renews at the normal rate, so budget for it. Wix also has a free plan, but it keeps Wix branding and a wixsite.com address instead of your own domain.
The subscription is not the whole cost. Someone still has to write the service descriptions, choose or take the photos, set up the forms and test everything on a phone. On a builder, that someone is usually you.
What drives the price of a custom build
A custom website has no list price, because two quotes for a website can describe very different jobs. These are the items that move the number up or down:
- Page count. A plumber who needs separate pages for drain cleaning, water heaters and sewer repair, plus pages for the towns they serve, needs far more writing and layout than a five-page brochure site.
- Content. Writing every page, gathering real job photos and collecting reviews is often more work than the design itself.
- Features. Booking tools, quote forms with photo uploads, payments, financing applications and connections to your CRM each add build and testing time.
- Moving an old site. Redirecting old addresses to the new ones protects the search traffic you already earn, and it takes careful mapping.
- Tracking. Connecting calls and form submissions to analytics so you can see which pages bring in work.
- The quality bar. A site built to pass Google's Core Web Vitals on a phone takes more care than a template dropped onto a page builder.
Running costs after launch
Every website has recurring costs, whoever builds it. Expect a yearly domain renewal and some form of hosting. The certificate that gives you HTTPS can be free: Let's Encrypt, a certificate authority run for the public's benefit, issues them at no charge and lets servers renew them automatically. Business email on your own domain is usually a separate bill; Google Workspace Business Starter listed at $7 per user a month on an annual plan when we checked.
WordPress sites add their own line items. Premium plugins and page builders are usually sold as yearly licenses. Elementor's Pro plans, for example, started at $60 a year when we checked. Someone also has to apply updates and confirm nothing broke afterward.
The cost that never shows up on the invoice
A cheap site that loads slowly or buries the phone number can cost more than an expensive one that brings in jobs. The HTTP Archive's 2025 Web Almanac found that only 48% of websites gave phone visitors good Core Web Vitals, and its authors note that pages taking longer than three seconds to load tend to have much higher bounce rates. If your site falls in the slower half, some of the people who tap through from Google leave before they learn what you do.
Your time counts too. An owner who spends weekends dragging blocks around a builder is paying for the site in hours that could have gone to estimates and jobs.
How to get quotes you can compare
Ask every provider to put the same things in writing, then compare them line by line. For context on how we work: Modern Apex hand codes each site, you own the site and the domain, and Nick sends an itemized quote within 24 hours of a free 30-minute strategy call.
- The full list of pages, and who writes and photographs them.
- Who owns the domain, the site files and the analytics accounts.
- How speed will be measured, and on which device.
- How calls and form submissions will be tracked and tested before launch.
- What is included after launch, and what changes cost.
- What you take with you, and what it costs, if you leave.
| Cost | Website builder | Custom build |
|---|---|---|
| Building the site | Your time, working from templates | One-time project fee set by scope |
| Hosting and software updates | Included in the monthly plan | Separate hosting, or included in a care plan |
| Domain | Free the first year on annual plans, then renews | Yearly renewal at your registrar |
| HTTPS certificate | Included | Free through Let's Encrypt or your host |
| Business email | Separate, for example Google Workspace | Separate, for example Google Workspace |
| Extra features | Payments and scheduling need higher plans | WordPress builds may need yearly plugin licenses |
Related questions
Is a free website builder plan good enough to start?
It works for testing an idea, but a free Wix site shows Wix branding and lives on a wixsite.com address rather than your own domain. For a service business that wants to look established and run ads, a paid plan or a custom site on your own domain is the practical minimum.
Why do web design quotes vary so much?
Because they rarely describe the same job. One quote may cover five template pages you write yourself; another may include fifteen written service and area pages, photography, call tracking and redirects from your old site. Ask for a page list and a plain description of what is included before comparing prices.
Should I pay a one-time fee or a monthly fee for a website?
Either can be fair. A one-time fee usually buys the build, with hosting and later changes billed separately. A monthly plan spreads the cost but can mean you never own the finished site. Whichever you choose, get in writing who owns the domain and files and what happens if you stop paying.
Do I need to budget for my website every year?
Yes, though it can be a small amount. Plan for the domain renewal, hosting or your builder subscription, email, and any plugin licenses. Set a little aside for content updates, such as new service pages or fresh job photos, so the site keeps matching what you sell.