How much does a business website cost in 2026?
In short
A professional marketing website costs between €4,000 and €12,000 for five to ten custom pages. Below €2,000 you are buying an adapted theme. Above €20,000 you are paying either for many pages or for features that belong in a web application. Content is almost always the largest hidden cost.
The question always comes up on the first call, and the honest answer starts with bad news: "it depends" is true. But it depends on identifiable things, and those can be listed.
Real market ranges
Here is what we see in 2026 for a European business website.
| Type of site | Range | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Adapted theme | €1,500 – 3,000 | An existing template, your colours, your text supplied by you |
| Custom marketing site | €4,000 – 12,000 | 5-10 pages, proper design, guided copywriting, analytics installed |
| Multi-offer or multilingual | €12,000 – 25,000 | Several silos, two languages, case studies, structured blog |
| Site plus application | €25,000+ | Client area, booking, payments, business logic |
These figures assume suppliers billing €400-700 a day. Below that range you are often working with an early-career freelancer or a team outside Europe, which can work out well but demands more management from you.
What actually moves the number
Content, nearly always
This is the line item quotes cost least and that costs most. Writing five pages that clearly explain an offer takes several days of work, whether you or a copywriter do it.
One project in two slips for this reason alone: the site is ready, and it waits six weeks for the text. If you do not budget for copywriting, budget the time.
The number of templates, not the number of pages
Twenty pages using the same layout cost barely more than five. Five pages each with their own layout cost four times as much.
That is why a serious quote will ask for your site structure before giving a price.
Review rounds
Two rounds of revisions is normal. Unlimited is unmanageable and nobody really offers it. A quote silent on this point is hiding a future negotiation.
Signs of a quote that will cost you later
- Ownership of the code is not mentioned. Ask explicitly who owns the code, the domain and the hosting accounts at the end.
- A mandatory three-year subscription. Over the term you often pay triple the purchase price, and you keep nothing when you leave.
- No mention of performance or analytics. A site that is not measured cannot be improved, and you will have no way to tell whether it works.
- "Guaranteed first page" SEO. Nobody can guarantee it. It is the single most reliable signal to walk away.
What it should cost for you
A simple way to frame your budget: estimate what a client is worth to you, and how many extra clients a year the site should bring.
If a client is worth €8,000 and you expect three more per year, a €10,000 site pays for itself in five months. If your average order is €200 and you sell in a shop, a €10,000 site probably makes no sense — one well-built page and an up-to-date Google listing will serve you better.
That question is more useful than comparing quotes, and it is the one a good supplier will ask you first.
Frequently asked questions
What is the average cost of a business website?
For a custom five to ten page marketing site, the real market range is €4,000 to €12,000. A site built from an existing theme drops to €1,500-3,000, and a multilingual site with several offers easily reaches €15,000-20,000.
Why do some agencies charge €1,500 and others €15,000?
The gap is rarely about code. It is about whether copy is written for you, whether the design is custom or adapted, how many review rounds are included, and whether any real structural and analytics work happens. A €1,500 quote almost always assumes you supply the text and images.
Should a website require a monthly subscription?
Hosting and a domain cost between €0 and €30 a month. Be wary of €80-200 monthly deals over three years that leave you owning nothing- over the term you pay three times the price and walk away empty-handed.
Is content included in the price of a website?
Rarely, and it is the leading cause of budget and timeline overrun. Having five pages written costs an extra €1,500 to €4,000. Writing them yourself is possible, but it is what stalls most projects for months.