"What does a website cost?" is the first question almost every small business owner, club or freelancer asks – and the one that seems hardest to answer. Answers range from a few hundred to several thousand euros, and that creates uncertainty. In reality, the price depends less on luck than on the billing model: is it calculated at a fixed price or at an agency hourly rate? Both routes lead to a website, but they differ fundamentally in predictability, transparency and risk. According to Bitkom, around 73 percent (Bitkom) of small companies in Germany have no website of their own or an outdated presence – often because the costs are perceived as opaque. This guide shows what lies behind both models, where hidden costs lurk, and why a clearly defined fixed price from 390 euros is the more honest calculation for many.
Key takeaways
- With an hourly rate you pay the working time actually spent and learn the final price only on the invoice. With a fixed price the scope is defined upfront and the price is binding in the offer; extra effort is then borne by the provider, not the client.
- Agency hourly rates commonly run at around 80 to 150 euros (market observation), putting a website between 1,600 and over 6,000 euros (market observation). The range comes from page count, design, special functions and multilingualism.
- Hidden costs sit in add-ons for extra pages and corrections, in running items for domain, hosting and care, and in closed systems from which content can hardly be taken along. Ask about all three before signing a contract.
- A fixed-price package from 390 euros (Webstart) covers design, the home, services, about and contact pages, mobile optimisation, accessibility basics and the technical foundation for being found. Hosting and care stay optional and are listed separately.
- Compare offers across at least the first year: 30 hours at 80 euros make 2,400 euros, 45 hours already 3,600 euros. A low entry price with a mandatory subscription can end up dearer than a fixed price with optional care.
- The fixed price suits clearly outlined projects of small firms, clubs and the self-employed; the hourly rate suits open-ended custom work. 73 percent (Bitkom) of small companies still have no website or an outdated one.
Fixed Price and Hourly Rate: Two Billing Worlds
In the hourly-rate model, an agency bills the working time actually spent. A typical hourly rate in Germany ranges, depending on region and specialization, from roughly 80 to 150 euros (market observation). Sounds fair – after all, you only pay for what is really delivered. The problem: before the project starts, no one knows exactly how many hours will be needed. A small business-card website might take 20 hours, a somewhat larger project quickly 60 or more. At 80 euros per hour, this turns into 1,600 to over 6,000 euros – and the final sum only appears on the invoice.
The fixed-price model works the other way around: the scope is defined upfront and the price is set before the first line of code is written. You get a clearly outlined starter package or an online shop package at a price you can already read in the offer. The risk that the project becomes more expensive than expected is borne not by the customer but by the provider. For small and medium projects – exactly what small businesses, clubs and the self-employed need – this is usually the more honest and predictable model.
The distinction by project size is important. For highly individual, multi-month large projects with an unclear end state, an hourly rate can make sense because the scope develops during the work. For a professional, mobile-optimized website with the usual pages – home, services, about, contact – the scope is, by contrast, easy to predict. Here the fixed price plays to its strengths because the effort can be estimated seriously. Which model fits your project is something we clarify in advance in a personal conversation.
| Criterion | Hourly rate (agency) | Fixed price (Webstart) |
|---|---|---|
| Price before project start | Estimate, often a range | Binding in the offer |
| Budget predictability | Difficult, depends on the course | Clearly calculable |
| Risk of extra effort | Borne by the customer | Borne by the provider |
| Changes during the project | Billed additionally | Defined scope included |
| Typical range | 1,600 to 6,000+ euros | from 390 euros |
| Suited for | Highly individual large projects | Small businesses, clubs, the self-employed |
The Typical Agency Range: 1,600 to 6,000+ Euros
Anyone researching prices for an agency website comes across a wide range. A simple website on an hourly basis often starts at around 1,600 euros (market observation) and quickly reaches 6,000 euros and more (market observation) for more extensive presences with individual design, many subpages and special functions. This range arises not because one agency is more expensive than another, but because the term "website" is so elastic. Ten subpages cost more than three, a fully individual design more than an adapted layout, multilingualism more than a single-language site.
The real problem for small business owners is not the level of the range but its vagueness. Whoever budgeted 1,500 euros and ends up with an invoice for 3,200 euros because the project was "more complex than expected" feels caught off guard – even if it was formally billed correctly by the hour. This is exactly where the fixed-price model comes in: it shifts the uncertainty away from the customer. You see the typical content and functions included in a professional website package and know what you pay for it.
On top of that: a high price is no proof of quality, and a low price no evidence of poor work. A lean, fast and accessible website can bring a small trade business more customers than an expensive, overloaded presence. What matters is that the website fits the need – not that it has consumed as many hours as possible. For most small projects, a clearly defined package fully suffices, covering the essential pages, mobile optimization and discoverability on Google.
Why the Range Is So Wide
Hidden Costs: What to Watch For
The biggest source of frustration is not the openly communicated prices but the costs that only appear during or after the project. In the pure hourly-rate model, the most common hidden item is the add-on: an extra subpage, a text correction, a new photo in the header – each of these seemingly small changes costs additional hours. What sounded cheap in the first conversation adds up. That is why, before signing a contract, it always pays to ask: what exactly is included in the price, and what is billed separately?
A second cost trap is the ongoing running costs. A website is never fully "finished": it needs hosting, a domain, regular security updates and occasional content changes. If these are not discussed upfront, the unpleasant surprise comes after handover. A fair offer discloses the running costs – for example for hosting and website care – separately and transparently, instead of concealing them. This way you see the real total costs over the first year and beyond.
A third, often overlooked item is dependence on the provider. Some presences are built on closed builder systems from which content can later only be moved with difficulty. Whoever wants to switch effectively pays twice. We deliberately rely on open, common technologies and – where an online shop is wanted – on Shopware Community Edition as an open-source basis. This way your content and your website remain your property, and you are not chained to a single service provider.
- Is the scope described in writing and in full in the offer?
- Are change requests during the project included or do they cost extra?
- Are running costs for hosting, domain and care shown separately?
- Is there a subscription lock-in or long minimum terms?
- Do content and website remain your property after the project ends?
- Are mobile optimization and accessibility already included?
What Is Included in a Fixed-Price Package
A serious fixed price is only fair if it is clear what it covers. With a starter package from 390 euros, this usually means the basics of a professional presence: a clean, modern design that fits your industry, the most important pages such as home, services, about and contact, mobile optimization for smartphones and tablets, and the technical foundation for being found on Google. This is exactly what most small businesses need to be visible and contactable online.
Professional Design
A modern layout that fits the industry instead of a builder look. Your colors, your logo, your texts – cleanly designed and clearly structured.
Mobile Optimized
The website looks good on smartphone, tablet and desktop. Since most visitors arrive on mobile, this is no longer an extra but a standard.
Findable on Google
Clean technology, correct page titles and fast loading times as the basis for your site to be captured and classified by search engines.
Accessible
Good contrasts, legible fonts and a clear structure. This helps all visitors and meets the expectations of a modern presence.
Hosting in Germany
On request, secure hosting on servers in Germany including a domain – transparently billed and without a hidden subscription lock-in.
Care Optional
You can book content changes and security updates as plannable care – or handle them yourself. You decide what you need.
Whoever needs more, such as an online shop, a booking system or additional subpages, chooses a larger package or defines the extra services upfront. The fixed-price principle applies here too: first the scope is discussed, then the price is set. This turns an elastic "website" into a concrete, delimited project with a number you can rely on. An overview of the different tiers is given in our package and price overview.
Start Small, Expand Later
Calculating the Total Costs Realistically
Anyone comparing offers should never look only at the one-off creation sum but at the total costs over at least the first year. The one-off costs cover concept, design, implementation and content work at launch. On top of that come the running costs: domain, hosting and, where relevant, regular care. Only when both items are openly on the table can two offers be compared honestly. A seemingly cheap offer with an expensive mandatory subscription can in the end be more expensive than a clear fixed price with optional care.
A simple example makes the difference clear. In the hourly-rate model with an assumed 80 euros per hour and 30 hours of effort, you land at 2,400 euros – but only if the estimate holds. If it becomes 45 hours, it is 3,600 euros. In the fixed-price model, the number is set from the start, and extra effort within the agreed scope does not come at your expense. For a plannable budget – and that is decisive especially for small businesses and clubs – this certainty is often worth more than a theoretically lower hourly rate.
The time factor counts too. A website that drags on for months costs not only money but also lost visibility. Studies on digital presence show that a significant share of purchase decisions today begins with an online search (Bitkom). Whoever goes online early and predictably benefits sooner. A lean fixed-price package that is quickly ready therefore often delivers more than an elaborate large project that goes live only late. Concrete examples and project approaches are shown on our references page.
Transparency Is the Real Service
Which Model Pays Off for Whom
The fixed-price model fits everyone who has a clearly outlined project and needs a reliable budget. This applies to most small businesses that want to become visible with a professional presence, equally to clubs and associations with limited budgets, and to the self-employed and freelancers who want to go online quickly and predictably. Businesses in hospitality and trades also tend to fare better with a clear package price than with an open hourly account.
The hourly rate has its place where the scope is genuinely open: in long-term, evolving projects, in elaborate custom development, or in ongoing support with changing tasks. In such cases, a rigid fixed price would be artificial and would disadvantage either the customer or the provider. For the typical business-card or services website of a small company, however, this rarely applies – here the scope is well delimitable from the start.
Ultimately, the model question is also a question of trust and communication. A good provider explains openly why they recommend one model or the other for your project, and does not push an oversized package on you. We discuss honestly with you which scope is really needed and name a fixed price you can plan with. This turns the initial question "What does a website cost?" into a clear, answerable statement – before the project even begins.