Learn · Pricing & costs
A freelancer usually costs less per hour and works well for focused, smaller projects. An agency costs more but brings a team (strategy, design, development, and project management), more capacity, and continuity if someone leaves. The right choice depends on the size and stakes of the project, not price alone.
Freelancers shine when the scope is clear and contained, and you can manage the work yourself. The trade-offs are limited bandwidth, a single point of failure, and gaps outside their specialty.
Agencies earn their premium on bigger, cross-discipline projects that need reliability and a range of skills. For a business-critical build you'll depend on for years, the continuity and accountability often justify the higher cost.
Updated July 2026
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Because "a website" isn't one thing. Quotes vary on scope (pages and features), whether the design is custom or a template, who's doing the work (freelancer, agency, or offshore team), how much strategy and content is included, and the level of ongoing support. Two quotes can differ tenfold and both be honest.
Budget for four things, not one: the build, the content (copywriting and images), the first year of running costs (hosting, domain, maintenance), and a buffer for changes after launch. A budget that only covers the build almost always runs over, because the other three are real and predictable.
As of 2026, a small business website in India typically runs about 20,000 to 60,000 rupees (roughly $250 to $700) for 5 to 25 pages. Template-based sites start lower, around 15,000 rupees, while a custom-designed site with advanced features ranges from 1,00,000 to 5,00,000 rupees or more.
It depends entirely on scope. A simple template site can cost a few hundred dollars, a professional custom business site typically runs a few thousand to low tens of thousands, and a large custom platform runs much higher. The price tracks how much design, custom development, and content the project needs.
A web app costs more than a website because it does more: user accounts, a database, business logic, and ongoing state. As of 2026, a simple MVP commonly runs in the low tens of thousands of dollars, while a full product with many features and integrations runs well into six figures.
Two costs: building the feature and running it. The build (designing it, connecting your data, testing for accuracy) is usually the larger, one-time figure, comparable to a web app project. Running it is the ongoing AI usage, billed per token, which is often surprisingly small for typical volumes.