How the website cost calculator adds it up
A website costs money in two ways. Some costs come once, when you build it: a theme or template, a custom design, setup work. Others come back every month or every year for as long as the site is online: the domain name, hosting, email, paid plugins and apps, and maintenance. The calculator keeps the two apart, so you see what the first year costs and what you pay in every year after it.
A monthly price counts 12 times a year, a yearly price once, and a one-time price only in the first year. The monthly equivalent spreads each year's total over 12 months, which makes the website easy to compare with other bills.
What to put on the list
The calculator starts with the usual lines. Change the amounts to the prices you are quoted, delete what you do not need and add anything else.
- Domain name: the address of your site. ICANN, which coordinates domain names, explains that you register a name for a set period, typically one to ten years, and must renew it before it expires to keep it; renewal fees vary by registrar (ICANN). Enter the yearly price and check the renewal price, not only the price for the first year.
- Hosting: the server space your site runs on, or a website builder plan if hosting comes with it. Enter the plan you would really choose.
- Design: a theme or template you buy once, or a design and build from a freelancer or agency. Enter the quote as a one-time cost; if it is paid in installments, add them up.
- Plugins and apps: paid extensions for forms, shops, search engine optimization, backups or security. Check whether each license is a one-time purchase or renews every year.
- Email: a mailbox on your own domain. If the plan is priced per user, multiply by the number of mailboxes.
- Maintenance: updates, backups and fixes, either as a paid plan or as your own monthly hours.
Other costs that can apply: stock photos, fonts, a logo, a premium form or booking service, a shop plan with transaction fees, and paid ads to bring visitors. Add a line for each one you expect to pay.
Why the first year costs more
With the build-it-yourself example, the first year comes to $2,387 including your time, and each year after to $1,327. The difference is the one-time part: the theme for $60 and 25 setup hours at $40, which is $1,000. If a provider offers a different price for the first year, enter it in the First-year price field. Hosting at $10 a month with a $3 first-year price then counts $36 in year 1 and $120 from year 2. That way an offer that ends after a year does not hide the real cost of keeping the site.
Counting your own time
Building and running a site yourself saves money but takes hours: choosing a theme, writing pages, installing plugins, testing on a phone, then keeping everything updated. Put a value on an hour, for example what you could earn in that time, and estimate the hours. The calculator counts setup hours once and monthly hours every month. Untick "Count my time in the totals" to see only what you pay to others. The hourly rate calculator helps you find a fair value for an hour of your work.
Building it yourself vs hiring help
The two example buttons load a starting set for each path. With their example values, building it yourself costs $427 in money in the first year, $2,387 with your time, and $1,327 a year after that. Hiring a freelancer or agency costs $5,437 in money, $6,237 with your time, and $1,917 a year after that. Over three years that is $5,041 against $10,071. These numbers only show how the comparison works; yours depend entirely on your quotes and hours. If you are the one sending the quote, the quote generator turns the line items into a document for your client.
| Example | Year 1, money | Year 1, with time | Each year after | 3 years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Build it yourself | $427 | $2,387 | $1,327 | $5,041 |
| Hire a freelancer or agency | $5,437 | $6,237 | $1,917 | $10,071 |
Example lines for building it yourself: domain name $15 per year, hosting $10 per month, theme or template $60 one-time, plugins and apps $100 per year, email $6 per month, maintenance and backups $5 per month, plus 25 setup hours and 2 hours a month at $40 an hour.
How to use the website cost calculator
- 1Pick your currency and start from the build-it-yourself or the hire-help example.
- 2Replace each example price with your own, choose whether it is billed once, per month or per year, and add a first-year price if it differs.
- 3Delete lines you do not need and add your own, like a logo or a booking service.
- 4Enter the value of an hour and the hours you will spend, or untick your time to see only money.
- 5Read the first-year cost, the cost of each year after and the monthly equivalent, then copy the result or download a CSV.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a website cost?
It depends on what you build, who builds it and which services you pick, so this calculator does not guess. Enter the prices from the providers you are considering and your own quotes, and it adds them up for the first year and every year after. The example values are there to show how it works, not what things cost.
Why is the first year more expensive?
One-time costs like a theme, a custom design or the setup work all fall into the first year. From the second year on, only the recurring costs remain: the domain, hosting, email, plugins and maintenance. In the build-it-yourself example, the first year comes to $2,387 with your time and each later year to $1,327.
Should I count my own time?
If you build and maintain the site yourself, your hours are a real cost, even if no money changes hands. Put in what an hour of your time is worth, for example what you could earn in that time, and the hours you expect. Untick "Count my time" to see only the money you pay to others.
What if the first year has an introductory price?
Enter the regular price as the amount and the first-year price in the First-year price field, in the same unit. Hosting at $10 a month with a $3 first-year price costs $36 in the first year and $120 a year after that.
How do I compare building it myself with hiring someone?
Tap one of the two example buttons to load a starting set, replace the values with your own quotes, and note the first-year cost and the cost per year after. Then load the other example and do the same. Keep your own hours in both, since even a site built for you needs some of your time for content and decisions.
Is anything I enter sent anywhere?
No. The calculator runs in your browser and does not send your numbers to a server. A copied link contains your line items, so share it only with people who should see them.