A website can cost $500 or $50,000 — and both can be the 'right' price depending on what the site has to do. The gap comes down to one question: is this a brochure, or a revenue engine?
The real 2026 price ranges in Canada
- DIY builders (Wix, Squarespace): $0 – $500 setup + ~$25–$50/month. Fine for a simple presence, limited for growth.
- Freelancer template site: $1,000 – $5,000. A customized template, decent for early-stage small businesses.
- Agency small-business site: $5,000 – $15,000. Custom design, proper SEO foundation, conversion-focused.
- Custom-built (Next.js / headless): $15,000 – $50,000+. Fast, scalable, bespoke — for businesses where the site drives real revenue.
What actually drives the cost
- Custom design vs. template: original UX/UI is the single biggest line item.
- Number of pages and content: 5 pages vs. 50 pages is a very different scope.
- Functionality: booking, payments, logins, dashboards, and integrations all add engineering time.
- Copywriting and photography: great content isn't free, and it's often what converts.
- SEO foundation: proper structure, schema, and speed baked in from day one.
The cheapest website is rarely the least expensive. A slow, generic site that converts poorly quietly costs you customers every single day it's live.
Don't forget the ongoing costs
A website is not a one-time purchase. Budget for hosting ($0–$50/month for most modern sites), a domain (~$20/year), maintenance and updates, and — if you want it to grow — ongoing SEO and content.
Template vs. custom: how to choose
If you need a simple, credible presence and budget is tight, a good template site is a smart start. If your website is where customers research, compare, and buy — where a one-second speed improvement or a cleaner funnel translates directly into revenue — a custom build pays for itself. We engineer sites in Next.js that load in under a second and are built to rank and convert from launch.
Want a real number for your project? Book a free consultation and we'll scope it transparently — no inflated 'enterprise' padding.