Learn · Pricing & costs
A standard domain (like a .com) usually costs about $10 to $15 a year to register and renew. Some extensions and short, in-demand names cost more, and premium domains already owned by someone can sell for far higher. The renewal price matters as much as the first-year price, which is sometimes discounted.
Watch two things. First, cheap first-year offers can jump at renewal, so check the ongoing rate. Second, make sure the domain is registered in your name and account, not the agency's, so you keep control of it.
SSL, the certificate that gives you the padlock and https, is a separate item but is now free from most hosts and platforms. You rarely need to pay for a basic certificate in 2026.
Updated July 2026
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As of 2026, shared hosting runs about $5 to $20 a month and suits most small sites. A VPS or managed cloud plan runs roughly $15 to $70 a month for busier sites. Modern platforms like Vercel and Netlify have a free tier for small projects and paid plans starting around $20 a month.
Beyond the build fee, budget for hosting, a domain renewal, SSL (usually free now), premium plugins or licenses, professional content and photography, ongoing maintenance and security updates, and future changes. These are easy to forget at quote time and add up across the first year.
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.
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.
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.