How much does a website cost per month for a small business? In most cases, between $30 and $700 a month. A DIY website builder costs $30 to $60 a month if you do the work yourself. A site built by an agency usually costs $50 to $300 a month to host and maintain after you have paid for the build. A done-for-you website subscription, where one company designs, builds and runs everything, typically costs $100 to $700 or more a month with nothing to pay upfront.
The right number depends less on the website itself and more on who does the work: you, a freelancer you call when something breaks, or a team that looks after it every month. This guide breaks down every monthly cost, shows real three-year totals, and helps you decide what your business should actually pay.
The quick answer: monthly website costs by option
| Option | Typical monthly cost | Upfront cost | What you get |
|---|---|---|---|
| DIY website builder | $30–$60 | $0 | Template, hosting and tools. You design, write and update it yourself. |
| One-off build + care plan | $50–$300 | $2,000–$15,000 | Custom site, then hosting, backups and some updates. Bigger changes billed extra. |
| Website subscription | $100–$700+ | Usually $0 | Design, build, hosting, security, updates and often SEO in one fee. |
What you are actually paying for each month
Whichever route you choose, the same building blocks sit underneath every small business website. Knowing what each costs on its own helps you spot a fair price and avoid paying twice.
- Domain name: about $10 to $20 a year for a .com or .co.uk, so roughly $1 to $2 a month. It should always be registered in your name.
- Hosting: $5 to $50 a month. Cheap shared hosting is fine for a brochure site; booking systems and online stores need faster, more reliable hosting.
- SSL certificate: often free with good hosting. Without it, browsers warn visitors your site is not secure.
- Business email: about $6 to $7 per mailbox a month with Google Workspace or Microsoft 365.
- Maintenance and security: $50 to $200 a month for backups, software updates, uptime and security monitoring. Skipping this is how small business sites get hacked or quietly break.
- Content updates: agencies and freelancers usually charge $50 to $150 an hour for changes such as new prices, photos or pages.
- SEO and Google Business Profile: ongoing local SEO is commonly a separate retainer of $300 to $1,500 a month.
- Apps and add-ons: booking tools, forms, chat widgets and review apps each add $10 to $100 a month.
Add those up and a typical small business that buys everything separately spends $100 to $400 a month after launch, before any SEO, even though the website itself was already paid for.
Option 1: a DIY website builder ($30–$60 a month)
Builders such as Wix, Squarespace and Shopify are the cheapest way to get online. The monthly plan covers hosting, security and the editing tools, and many include a free domain for the first year.
The real cost is your time. Designing the site, writing the copy, setting up SEO and keeping it up to date can take 20 to 40 hours to start, and a few hours every month after. A DIY site makes sense if you have more time than budget, you need a simple site, and you are comfortable with design and writing. It struggles when you need custom booking, quote calculators or strong local search rankings in a competitive area.
Option 2: a one-off build plus a care plan ($50–$300 a month)
This is the traditional agency model. You pay $2,000 to $15,000 upfront for a custom website, then a smaller monthly fee for hosting and maintenance. The site is usually yours outright once it is paid for.
The catch is everything outside the care plan. Text changes, new pages, fixes after a plugin update and SEO are often billed separately. Many small businesses end up with a website that looked great at launch and is out of date two years later, because every change came with an invoice. Most one-off sites also need a redesign every three to five years, which means paying the upfront cost again.
Option 3: a website subscription ($100–$700+ a month)
With a website subscription, sometimes called website as a service, one company designs and builds your site and then runs it for a single monthly fee. Hosting, security, backups and content updates are included, and higher plans add booking systems, SEO and reporting. There is usually no upfront cost.
The trade-off is that you keep paying for as long as you use the service, and you need to check the contract carefully: how long is the minimum term, and what happens to the website if you cancel? We compare both models in detail in web design subscription vs one-time payment.
Real example: an 8-page website for a local plumber
Here is what the same website might cost over three years with each approach. Figures are typical, not quotes.
| DIY builder | One-off build + care | Subscription | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Upfront | $0 | $6,000 | $0 |
| Monthly | $45 + $15 apps | $100 care + ~$50 changes | $199 |
| Year 1 total | $720 | $7,800 | $2,388 |
| 3-year total | $2,160 + your time | $11,400 | $7,164 |
| Who keeps it updated | You | You request and pay per change | Included |
The DIY site is the cheapest in money but not in time. The one-off build costs the most in the first year. The subscription spreads the cost and includes the updates, but over five years or more a one-off site with light maintenance can work out cheaper, as long as you do not need many changes or a redesign.
Hidden monthly costs to watch for
- Booking and marketplace fees: some booking apps charge per appointment or take a commission on new clients.
- Payment and app fees: online stores pay transaction fees on top of the plan, plus monthly fees for each app.
- Renewal price jumps: introductory hosting and builder prices often double on renewal.
- Exit costs: some providers charge to transfer your site or keep the design when you leave. Ask before you sign.
- Lost enquiries: a slow or outdated website costs you customers every month, which rarely shows up on an invoice.
How to decide what your business should pay
Start with what the website needs to do. If it is an online business card that rarely changes, a DIY builder or a simple one-off site is enough. If it needs to win enquiries every week, take bookings and rank in local search, budget for ongoing care, because a website like that is never really finished.
A useful rule of thumb: your website should pay for itself with one or two new customers a month. For a plumber, cleaner or clinic where a customer is worth hundreds of dollars, a $200 to $400 monthly plan that brings in even a few extra jobs is easy to justify. For a hobby business, it is not.
Ask any provider these questions: What exactly is included each month? How many changes can I request? Is there a minimum contract? Who owns the domain, content and design? What happens if I cancel?
What about the UK?
UK prices follow the same pattern: roughly £25 to £50 a month for a DIY builder, £2,000 to £10,000 upfront for an agency build, and £75 to £500 a month for a pay monthly website. See our guide prices for pay monthly websites for UK small businesses.
What a website costs per month with Velaris
Our plans start at $199 a month for a custom website up to 5 pages with hosting, security, a business email and 10 content updates a month. Growth at $399 adds online booking, unlimited updates, on-page SEO and Google Business Profile management. Scale, from $699, adds custom software and AI. There is no setup fee and you can cancel with 30 days' notice.
Compare everything side by side on our small business web design packages page, or see how our web design subscription works.
Frequently asked questions
What is a reasonable monthly cost for a small business website?
For a site you run yourself, $30 to $60. For a professionally built and maintained site, $100 to $400 is typical, and $400 to $700 or more when it includes SEO, booking systems or custom software.
How much is website maintenance per month?
Usually $50 to $200 a month for hosting, backups, security and small updates. Content changes beyond that are often billed hourly.
Is it cheaper to build a website once or pay monthly?
Paying once is often cheaper over five years or more if you rarely change the site. Paying monthly is cheaper in the first few years and includes updates and support, which matters if your website needs to keep winning customers.