How Much Does It Cost to Build a Website in 2026?

"How much does a website cost" doesn't have one answer, because "website" covers everything from a five-page business site to a custom e-commerce platform. But most small businesses fall into one of three approaches, and each has a pretty predictable price range.

Hiring a freelancer or agency

A freelance web developer or small agency typically charges anywhere from a few hundred to several thousand dollars for a small business site, depending on scope, design complexity, and how much custom functionality is involved. You're paying for someone else's time, which is genuinely worth it for a complex or highly custom project — but it's the slowest and most expensive path for a standard business site.

Traditional DIY website builders

Most traditional drag-and-drop builders run somewhere between roughly $15 and $40 a month once you're past their most limited free tier, plus your domain (typically $10–20/year). You're doing all the design work yourself, which costs you time even though the monthly price is low.

AI website builders

AI-first builders tend to sit in a similar or lower monthly price range as traditional builders, but the real cost difference is time, not money — an AI draft can save hours of layout and copywriting work compared to starting from a blank template. Many, including Buildgen, offer a genuinely usable free tier for a single published site.

Hidden costs to watch for, regardless of approach

• A custom domain name, usually $10–20/year, separate from your builder or hosting plan.
• Premium templates, stock photos, or plugins that aren't included in your base plan.
• Ongoing maintenance and security updates — a real cost if you're self-hosting rather than using a managed platform.
• "Removed branding" fees — many free tiers show "Made with [Builder]" until you upgrade.

What it costs with Buildgen

The Free plan publishes one site with 5 AI credits (a one-time allowance) at no cost and no credit card required. Paid plans add more published sites, more AI credits that renew every month, removed branding, SEO and AI-answer-engine meta generation, and visitor analytics — pricing is shown in your local currency automatically.