The same sentence, five times the price. Why?
This is how often it’s searched in Germany — monthly Google searches: “website erstellen lassen” 3.600, “website erstellen kosten” 1.000, “website kosten” 880, “homepage erstellen lassen” 720, “was kostet eine website” 590. Source: DataForSEO, Germany, July 2026.
And the market tilted in 2026: the average freelance hourly rate in the DACH region fell for the first time since the survey began — from €104 to €103, with software and web development at the bottom on €91. Average monthly project revenue dropped about 17 % (€8,022 → €6,653). For you that means the best negotiating position in years — but also more providers pricing too low under pressure and abandoning projects halfway. Source: freelancermap Freelancer-Kompass 2026.
Behind it, a real need: only 69 % of German companies even have their own website (Destatis, 2023) — in 2015 it was 58 %. And those who have one often lose out on load time: 53 % of mobile users bounce when a page takes longer than 3 seconds to load (Google). A website isn’t a decorative purchase, it’s infrastructure.
The short answer: 3 routes, 3 price classes
There are essentially three routes to a website — and the price difference is huge, but logical. You pay either with money or with your time:
- Wix, Jimdo, IONOS, Squarespace
- fast & cheap — but a builder look
- costs mostly your time
- never fully yours (lock-in)
- custom, yours, maintainable
- hourly rate avg. 92 €/h (development)
- small business site: 2.000–6.000 €
- fixed price possible, transparent
- team, process, scaling
- mid-size website: 8.000–25.000 €
- shop / custom: 15.000 €+
- often too big for small businesses
Rule of thumb: The builder is cheapest in euros, but most expensive in your time. The agency is the reverse. For most small businesses, the honest sweet spot sits in between.
The calculator: what your website would cost
Six questions, thirty seconds. It uses the market ranges from this article — it sells you nothing and sends nothing anywhere, everything runs in your browser. At the end you get an honest range, the running costs and how long it realistically takes.
What the calculator can't do: it doesn't know how good your copy is. In practice that's the biggest price driver — a site with finished, clear copy regularly costs a third less than the same site where someone first has to work out what you actually sell.
Price by website type
Whichever route you take, the price mostly follows the scope. These ranges for “having it built” are solid, because several independent agency pricing guides agree (as of 2026):
What really drives the price
Why does the same “website” cost 1.500 one time and 15.000 € another? It comes down to these six levers — and each one costs real money:
- Number of pages — each extra subpage 300–800 €.
- Design individuality — ready-made template 500–2.000 €, fully custom design 2.000–8.000 €+. The design alone accounts for 25–40 % of the total cost.
- Features — contact form 100–300 €, blog +500–1.500 €, appointment booking 500–2.000 €, login/member area 1.000–3.000 €, shop integration +5.000–12.000 €.
- Content — professional copy 150–500 € per page, a photo shoot 500–2.000 €. Often not included in the quote, and the most common add-on.
- SEO foundation — basic 500–1.500 €, comprehensive 2.000–5.000 € (one-off, during the build).
- Multiple languages — depending on scope, +50–80 % on the total price.
Rule of thumb: With any quote, always ask what’s not included. Copy, photos, SEO and the second language are the most common add-ons.
The running costs almost everyone forgets
The purchase price is only the start. A website needs to be run — here are the real ongoing costs in Germany:
Hidden costs & the three expensive traps
Three things cost you the most later — and appear in no quote:
- The dumping price. A “complete professional website” for under 1.500 € is a warning sign. The cost moves into add-ons, premium templates, transaction fees — or into a quality you rebuild from scratch within a year.
- The builder lock-in. Wix, Jimdo & co. are closed systems. If you cancel, you can’t take the website with you — you start over from zero somewhere else. You rent, you never own.
- The agency hostage trap. Some agencies keep the domain, hosting and files “with them”. If you want to switch, nothing is yours. Ask before you buy: in the end, do the domain, code and design belong to me?
The single most important question: Who owns the website in the end? If the answer isn’t clearly “you”, the price barely matters.
The honest middle path: a fixed price instead of a quote lottery
Between the cheap builder (which you maintain yourself and never fully own) and the expensive agency, there’s a third way — and it’s how I work myself: one clear fixed price instead of a quote lottery. You know upfront what it costs. No hourly meter, no surprise at the end.
Imprint, GDPR setup, SSL, fast self-hosted fonts and basic SEO are always included — and in the end the website belongs to you: no lock-in, no hostage trap. As a small business under § 19 UStG, I bill without VAT. Your concrete price doesn’t come from a table but tailored — in the free audit.
And a subsidy from the state? Honestly: the big federal programs for websites and digitalization have expired — go-digital and Digital Jetzt no longer accept applications. Regionally there’s still something (e.g. Digitalbonus Bayern up to 7.500 €); in Baden-Württemberg the digitalization grant now only runs as a loan.
What this means for you: don’t count on a subsidy — budget the website as if you’re paying for it yourself. What’s actually available for you right now, you can check in 3 minutes with the free funding check. Sources: Destatis, BMWK, Digitalbonus.Bayern, L-Bank, 2023–26.
How to spot a fair price
- The price is itemized — not one round number out of nowhere.
- Copy, photos, SEO and languages are clearly in or clearly out — no hidden add-ons.
- The running costs are stated too — not just the purchase price.
- In the end, you own the domain, code and design.
- “Everything included” for under 1.500 € makes you suspicious, not happy.
A website isn’t a price tag, it’s a decision: money, time or control — you always give up one of them. The fair provider is transparent about which. The expensive one hides it.
The obligation in force since June 2025 — and almost nobody prices it in
Since 28 June 2025 Germany's Accessibility Strengthening Act (BFSG) applies. It requires businesses to offer digital services to consumers in a way that people with disabilities can use without help. It is not only about online shops: a booking flow, a customer account or the path to your service through the website all count, if they are aimed at consumers.
Does it apply to you — and what does it cost?
For the price this means two things. First: if you fall under the obligation, accessibility is not an add-on you buy later — it belongs in the foundation, otherwise you pay for it twice. Second: built in from the start it realistically costs a 10–20 % premium. Retrofitted into a finished site it regularly costs more than the site did, because structure, contrast and interaction logic have to be redone.
- Everything operable by keyboard, visible focus, logical order
- Contrast that still reads on a phone in sunlight (4.5:1 for text)
- Real alt text for images, labels on form fields
- Error messages that say what to do — not just that something is red
- An accessibility statement on the site
Honest caveat: I'm not a lawyer and this isn't legal advice. Whether you specifically fall under the obligation depends on your offering and your company size — when in doubt ask your chamber of commerce, which advises on this for free.
How long does it actually take?
The second question after price — and the one most projects fall over. Not because someone builds slowly, but because everyone is waiting on content. Realistic duration for a small company site with a freelancer, if you keep up with the material:
What you have to deliver — the list that decides the price
The biggest lever on your price isn't the provider, it's you. Every item on this list you don't have turns into effort on the invoice — or waiting time in the calendar.
- One sentence on what you offer and to whom. If it's missing, you're paying someone to find it.
- Copy for each page — even rough. Rough beats empty.
- Images at real resolution. Phone photos of the team beat any stock image; stock costs money and trust.
- Logo as a vector (SVG, EPS or AI). A JPG of your logo is a price driver.
- Access: domain, hosting, Google accounts. Missing access is the most common launch delay.
- Legal texts: imprint and privacy policy — usually from a lawyer or generator, not from the web designer.
- One person who decides. Three opinions without a decision-maker is the most expensive line in the project.
Rule of thumb: deliver all seven on day one and you regularly pay a third less than someone with the same scope where everything gets created inside the project.
Unsure what your website should cost?
Send me your site or your plan — I’ll tell you honestly what a fair price would be, which running costs to budget for, and what I’d fix first on your current presence. Free, within 48 hours.
start your free website audit →I build websites at a fixed price — transparent, and in the end they belong to you.
Website costs, briefly explained.
What does a website cost in Germany in 2026?
It depends on the route. With a website builder (Wix, Jimdo, IONOS): 9–40 € per month for a serious business plan. Having it built by a freelancer: roughly 800–8.000 €, a small business site typically 2.000–6.000 €. At an agency: 3.600–18.000 € for an SMB website, 8.000–25.000 € for a mid-size company website. Your concrete price comes in the free audit.
What does it cost to have a website built?
With a freelancer, a small business website usually costs 2.000–6.000 €, with an agency 3.600–18.000 €. The price depends on the number of pages, design individuality, features, content and SEO. According to the Freelancer-Kompass, the average freelancer hourly rate in 2026 is 103 €/hour; web development around 92 €, web design around 75 €.
How much does a website cost per month?
A small, self-managed website costs around 10–30 € per month in pure fixed costs (domain plus entry-level hosting, SSL free via Let’s Encrypt). If a professional handles the care — updates, backups, security, small changes — it’s realistically 60–250 € per month. A builder runs 9–40 € per month.
What does a professional website cost?
A professionally built company website in Germany usually costs 3.000–25.000 €, depending on scope: a business-card website 3.000–12.000 €, a mid-size website with 10–20 pages 8.000–25.000 €. “Professional” mainly means custom design, real copy, GDPR-compliant, technically fast and findable on Google — not a pricier template.
Builder like Wix or having it built — which is better?
A builder is cheapest in euros (9–40 €/month), but most expensive in your time — and you never fully own the site, an export is usually impossible (lock-in). Having it built costs more upfront, but delivers custom design, better tech and — with a fair provider — ownership of the website. For a quick first presence a builder is enough; if you want to sell and grow, you’re better off with a built site.
Why are the prices so different?
Because “website” means everything — from the 15-€ builder to the 18.000-€ agency solution. The price depends on scope, design individuality (often 25–40 % of the cost), features, content, SEO foundation and ongoing support. A price under 1.500 € for a complete professional website is a warning sign: the cost then moves into add-ons, fees, or a quality you’ll soon redo.
Does my website have to be accessible?
Since 28 June 2025 the BFSG applies. It covers digital services for consumers — online shops, apps, booking flows, customer accounts. Micro-enterprises providing services are exempt: under 10 employees and at most €2m annual turnover. Breaches can be fined up to €100,000, plus warning letters. Built in from the start accessibility costs a 10–20 % premium; retrofitted it usually costs more than the site itself. Not legal advice — when in doubt ask your chamber of commerce, which advises for free.
How long until my website is live?
For a small company site of 3–7 pages, realistically 4–8 weeks: briefing 3–5 days, design 1–2 weeks, content 1–4 weeks, build 1–2 weeks, tech and legal 2–4 days, review and launch 3–5 days. The bottleneck is almost never design or build — it's copy and images. People with material ready on briefing day are often live in half the time.
What does looking after the site cost after launch?
Recurring: hosting €120–600 a year, domain €10–20, SSL usually free via Let's Encrypt, maintenance and updates €480–1,440 a year. Add content and SEO care and you're at €500–3,000 a year and up. What matters isn't the amount but that someone is responsible: a site without updates is a security risk after two years, not a marketing tool.
Do I actually own the website in the end?
Only if it says so in the quote. Ask three things before signing: do you get all the access (domain, hosting, CMS, analytics)? Do you get the usage rights to design and code, in writing? And does the site run on standard technology someone else could maintain? Anyone dodging one of these isn't selling you a website — they're selling you a dependency, and it gets expensive when you switch.
As of July 2026. Website prices vary widely by provider, region and scope — the ranges given are market benchmarks, not a quote. Sources for the figures include: DataForSEO (search volume Germany, July 2026); freelancermap “Freelancer-Kompass 2026” (hourly rates); Destatis / Statista (ICT survey 2023, share of companies with a website); official pricing pages from Wix, Jimdo, IONOS, Squarespace, Shopify; agency pricing guides (incl. alunah.de, tricks.de, kkmmedia.de, adfera.de); Google / Think with Google (mobile load time). Funding status: BMWK project sponsors, Digitalbonus.Bayern, L-Bank Baden-Württemberg.