How much does it cost to pay someone to build a website?

How much does it cost to pay someone to build a website? The typical quoted ranges: a freelancer charges $500 to $3,000, an agency charges $5,000 to $15,000, and subscription website services run $75 to $399 a month with the build included. The spread is that wide because you are buying three different things. A freelancer sells you their hours. An agency sells you a process, with discovery calls, mockups, and revision rounds. A subscription service sells you an outcome and keeps owning it, so hosting, edits, and upkeep sit inside the monthly price instead of being billed later.

The sticker price is also not the whole bill. A $1,500 freelancer build still needs hosting, a domain, and someone to make changes when your phone number or service list changes, and those edits get billed hourly once the freelancer moves on. Agency contracts often put hosting and maintenance on a separate retainer. Ask every bidder the same question: what does month thirteen cost me?

For a local service business, the honest math usually favors the low end. A five-page site that ranks for your services and towns does not need a $10,000 process. We broke down what a contractor website costs with real numbers for each option, plus what to check before you hire someone to build your website outright. Our own answer is $75 a month, including hosting, domain, lead capture, and edits.