Nearly every website cost calculator online quotes you a build price and stops there. That is the least useful number in the whole decision, because the build is a one off and everything else recurs. Hosting, maintenance, a builder subscription that never stops: those are what make the cheap option in year one the expensive option by year three.
So this one costs three years, not three weeks. Answer four questions and you get the market range for your job, the running costs, and what each route actually totals over the life of the site. It works for the UK and the US, because the two markets are nothing alike on price. No email address, no call, no follow up.
What will your website actually cost?
Four questions. You get a real range, the running costs most quotes leave out, and the three year total, which is the number that decides it. No email required.
UK website costs at a glance
| Route | Build | Running cost | At the end |
|---|---|---|---|
| Do it yourself on a builder | No build fee | £120 to £360 a year | You own nothing |
| Freelancer | £300 to £1,200 | £70 to £220 a year | You own it |
| UK agency | £1,500 to £6,000 | £300 to £1,500 a year | You own it |
What people forget: running costs
- Domain: £10 to £20 a year
- Hosting: £60 to £300 a year
- SSL certificate: Should be free and included
- Maintenance and updates: £20 to £100 a month, or your own time
- Builder subscription: £10 to £30 a month, and it never stops
UK market ranges plus our own published fixed prices, reviewed September 2026.
The reasoning behind every number is in our website cost guide. Our own prices are fixed and published on the packages page.