Website cost calculator.

Compare responsibilities before totals

A website budget describes both a deliverable and who is responsible for it afterward. Writing the content yourself is different from paying someone to prepare it. A contact form differs from a live booking system. This tool keeps those distinctions visible instead of turning a few checkboxes into a confident-looking quote. Use the comparison to prepare questions, then give each provider the same brief. Prices are in US dollars; this is not a survey of Los Angeles businesses.

What your selections change

Business type changes the planning guidance, not an invented industry premium. Page count and features become a scope brief. The route selector highlights the provider you are considering while leaving the alternatives visible. None of our public sources prices every combination of pages, features and business type. We therefore do not apply unsourced multipliers. If you need booking, specify whether visitors request an appointment or reserve an available slot. For a shop, describe products and fulfillment before comparing proposals.

DIY means platform fees plus your work

Squarespace’s official pricing page lists Basic through Advanced at $19–$99 per month when billed annually, as accessed November 4, 2026. Multiplying those endpoints by twelve gives the displayed $228–$1,188 annual platform range. It spans different plans, not a recommendation for a selected feature. Your design and setup time is unpriced, so build cost and the complete first year say “varies.” Verify checkout currency, billing term, taxes and add-ons before purchasing; a monthly-billed subscription has different rates.

Freelancer and agency benchmarks have limits

Upwork’s public hiring guide, accessed November 4, 2026, gives a general web-designer rate of $15–$30 an hour. We show that benchmark without inventing hours or converting it into a project total. It does not establish development, content or ongoing support costs. Clutch’s published agency guide, accessed the same day, describes a broad $2,000–$100,000 project range. That spans very different scopes and locations. Neither source supplies a defensible annual-care range for your brief, so those cells say “varies.”

Small studios are not one price category

We have not verified a comparable public small-studio price range, so that route also says “varies.” We do not relabel an agency range as a studio range or use our own price to represent competitors. Size alone does not tell you whether content, design, development, hosting or revisions are included. Ask how many people handle the work, who reviews it and what happens if maintenance changes hands. Compare written scope rather than assuming every provider uses the same package definitions.

CMMM’s published starter, with the math shown

Our published One Page terms and Los Angeles cost guide give the same starting commitment: $499 build plus $39 monthly care, required for three months. That is $499 + (3 × $39) = $616 minimum. If care continues at that rate for twelve months, ongoing care is $468 and build plus care totals $967. This longer scenario is not a twelve-month minimum. A one-to-five-page selection does not make five pages eligible for the One Page price.

A first-year scenario is not a renewal quote

The build belongs in the launch budget, while ongoing costs belong in the period you expect to keep the website. Do not count the same build again when planning a later year unless you commission another build. Equally, do not treat a platform subscription as the entire first-year cost when someone still has to create the site. The table separates those categories deliberately. An unknown recurring cost leaves the complete first year unknown; it does not become zero. A source’s broad range is useful context, but its lowest endpoint is not a promise that a provider will accept your project at that price.

Get exclusions and ownership in writing

The starter reference is not a quote for the features selected above. Additional pages, bilingual content and custom integrations need an agreed scope. Confirm domain renewal, licensed content, third-party subscriptions, payment fees, tax, hosting and maintenance responsibilities; do not assume an unspecified cost is included. Essential Care does not include text or photo updates. Ask who owns the domain and files, how inquiries are checked and what cancellation changes. Public prices can change after the access date. Save the provider’s actual proposal before making a decision.