Know your custom website investment — before you commit.
Tick the features your project needs and watch the price range build in real time. No forms to fill in first — just an honest estimate.
The foundation features most custom PHP websites are built on. Pick whichever ones this project actually needs.
Turn website visitors into tracked, followed-up leads.
Extra account features beyond basic login — for sites where users come back often.
Everything needed to sell products online.
For clinics, consultants, salons, or any service that runs on appointments.
For agencies, consultants, and service providers who sell packages instead of products.
Speed and efficiency work — makes the site feel fast, not just look good.
On-page, technical, and structured-data SEO work.
Baseline and advanced protections for the site and its data.
Deeper content and site-management tools beyond the basic admin dashboard.
How the site talks to users — email, SMS, WhatsApp, chat.
Connecting the site to other tools and services.
For businesses that want to manage their customer relationships from the website itself.
For businesses with a physical presence or service radius.
For platforms where multiple sellers list and sell through one website.
For SaaS-style or recurring-revenue businesses.
For platforms delivering online courses or training.
For property listing and real estate agency websites.
For job boards and recruitment platforms.
Understanding what visitors actually do on the site.
Work the site does on its own, on a schedule or trigger.
Getting the site live and keeping it running.
Making the site usable for everyone, and pleasant for anyone.
For sites serving more than one country (multi-language & multi-currency already live in Custom Website Development).
Small touches that nudge visitors toward taking action.
How Website Cost Calculators Actually Work
Search for a website cost calculator online and most tools work the same way: type in "business website," get back one number, no context. A real website price calculator should work the other way around — it should ask what your site needs, then build a range around actual work, not a guess.
That's what the calculator above does. Every checkbox maps to a concrete task — a page template, a payment gateway, a custom integration — so the total reflects a real scope of work, the same way a website development cost calculator used inside a studio would. Whether you're comparing a quote from a freelancer, sanity-checking a proposal from an agency, or just want an honest website price estimate before you ask anyone for a formal quote, tick only what your project genuinely needs and the range updates instantly.
No email required and no sales call to unlock a number — it's a working website budget calculator you're welcome to revisit as your requirements change.
Custom Website Development Cost: What Actually Moves the Number
A custom website cost calculator behaves differently from a generic estimator because custom development isn't priced per template — it's priced per feature. Two "five-page websites" can differ by three or four times in cost depending on what happens behind those five pages.
The biggest swings we see when quoting the cost to build a custom website:
- Database-backed pages. A static page and a page that reads and writes data — accounts, bookings, inventory — are not the same job. Expect a database-driven build to cost noticeably more than a brochure site.
- Page count and complexity. Cost per page isn't linear; a contact form costs a fraction of a custom dashboard or a search-and-filter listing page.
- Integrations. Payment gateways, CRMs, third-party APIs, and custom admin panels each add development and testing time.
- Timeline. A tight deadline compresses testing and QA time, which usually pushes the estimate toward the top of its range.
Use the checkboxes above as a working website investment calculator — add only the features your first version actually needs, and treat everything else as a phase-two add-on rather than inflating the budget upfront.
WordPress Website Cost: A Different Set of Trade-offs
If you already know you want a WordPress build rather than a fully custom one, the pricing logic shifts. WordPress isn't automatically cheaper — a WordPress website cost calculator still has to account for:
- Theme approach. A page-builder theme customised to your brand costs far less than a bespoke WordPress theme built from a custom design.
- Plugins vs. custom code. Off-the-shelf plugins — forms, SEO, caching — are inexpensive to add. A custom-coded feature that no plugin covers pushes WordPress pricing closer to custom development.
- Online stores. A WooCommerce store adds product setup, payment gateway configuration, and shipping logic on top of the base build — usually the single biggest line item in a WordPress project.
- Migration and content entry. Moving off an old CMS, or having your content entered for you, is separate from design and development time and is often left out of quick online quotes.
We're asked fairly often how much a WordPress site should cost, or how much to charge a client for building one — the honest answer is that it depends more on the feature list above than on WordPress itself. Tick the WordPress-relevant options above for a range built around your actual scope. (A plugin version of this calculator, for pricing WordPress projects directly inside wp-admin, is on our roadmap — for now, use the version above.)
What Affects Your Website Price
Beyond the specific features you tick above, four broad factors decide where your final number lands within its range.
Design complexity
A customised template moves faster than a fully bespoke UI built from a from-scratch design. Both are valid — they just sit at different points on the price range.
Functional scope
Static pages cost less than interactive features — logins, dashboards, search, bookings. This is usually the largest single driver of total cost.
Content & SEO
Who's writing the copy, how many pages need on-page SEO, and whether existing content needs migrating all affect the estimate independently of design and development.
Ongoing costs
Hosting, maintenance, and future feature requests continue after launch. A build estimate and a website's ongoing running cost are two different numbers — budget for both.
Website Cost Calculator: Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to have a website built?
It depends on scope more than anything else. A simple informational site costs a fraction of a site with logins, payments, or a custom database. Rather than quoting an average, tick the features your project actually needs in the calculator above for a range built around your specific site.
How much should I charge to build a website for a client?
If you're a freelancer or agency pricing your own work, build out the client's feature list above first, then price your time on top of that development range rather than quoting a flat number from memory.
Is it cheaper to build your own website than to hire someone?
It depends on your time and skill level. DIY tools lower the upfront cost but usually cost more in your own hours, and a custom build gives you more control over performance, design, and future features than most do-it-yourself options at a similar price point.
How much does it cost to start your own website from scratch?
Starting cost depends on how many pages you need and whether any of them require custom functionality. Select your core pages and one or two must-have features above to see a realistic starting range for your project.
How much do freelance web designers typically charge?
Freelance pricing varies by experience and location, and usually covers design plus a portion of development. Use the design-related options above as a starting reference, then add any development-specific features separately.
How much does a business website cost compared to a personal site?
Business sites usually cost more because they need more pages (services, about, contact, sometimes booking), stronger SEO setup, and often a CMS so your team can update content without a developer — all of which you can add individually above.
What is the average cost to build a website?
Averages are misleading, because "website" covers everything from a single landing page to a full web application. Instead of an industry average, the calculator above reflects current, feature-based pricing for your exact scope.
How much should I budget for redesigning or rebuilding an existing website?
A rebuild estimate should account for content migration, which features you're keeping versus rebuilding, and whether you're changing platforms. Select your target features above as if starting fresh — that's usually more accurate than assuming a flat discount off a new-build price.
How much should I charge (or expect to pay) to set up a website?
"Setup" can mean very different things — a five-minute domain and hosting job, or full design and development. Clarify scope first, then use the checklist above to price the development portion specifically.
How much should I spend on a website for my business?
A reasonable website budget balances your current needs against what growth will require over the next 12–18 months. Building slightly beyond your day-one requirements — without chasing the full wish list — usually gives the best return.
Does the number of pages change the total cost?
Yes, but not in a straight line. A handful of simple content pages costs far less than one page with custom functionality. Page count matters, but what each page does matters more — that's why the calculator prices by feature, not by page.
Does a website with a database cost more than a static site?
Generally, yes. Anything that stores or retrieves data — accounts, bookings, a product catalogue — needs backend development, testing, and usually more hosting resources, which raises the cost compared with a purely static site.
What does it actually cost to have a website professionally designed?
A fully professional build — design, development, content, testing, and launch — costs more than a template but comes with code you own, no platform lock-in, and a design built around your brand rather than a generic theme.
Is there a minimum price for a genuinely "good" website?
There's no fixed floor, but a solid small-business website — responsive design, real content, basic SEO setup, working contact and lead-capture — needs a certain amount of design and development time no matter who builds it. Below that, quality drops fast.
I build websites for others — how do I price a project instead of guessing?
Most experienced freelancers price projects the same way this tool does: list every feature the client actually needs, estimate build time per feature, apply your rate, then add a margin — rather than quoting a round number out of habit.