A small business website typically costs less than $30 a month on a DIY builder, according to the U.S. Small Business Administration, against $2,000 and up for a custom build. ZenBusiness's website builder is $129 a year, or $15 a month, after a 30-day free trial, with hosting and SSL included. Hostinger's ongoing entry price is $10.99 a month, which comes to $131.88 over twelve months, so on an ongoing yearly basis the two are within a few dollars of each other. Hostinger can be cheaper over a long prepaid term, and Squarespace or Wix suit better if design depth or apps matter more than cost.

How much does a small business website cost per month?

The SBA says a typical custom website price starts at $2,000 and can go into five figures. It also says paid DIY builder plans typically run less than $30 a month. That is the useful anchor: a DIY plan is a recurring cost in the low hundreds of dollars a year, not a project measured in thousands.

Within that range, the monthly figure depends on how it is billed. A plan quoted at $15 a month and a plan quoted at $129 a year are not the same thing, and a plan advertised at $2.99 a month on a four-year prepaid term is different again. The fair comparison converts everything to a yearly total and then asks what is included.

The SBA does not declare a winner between methods. It says there is no right method for every business, and it frames the choice around budget, needs, timing and in-house capability. DIY gets professional designs, instant updates and included hosting and security, at the cost of limited customisation and platform lock-in. For a business watching its costs, DIY is the relevant side of that comparison.

What does Hostinger cost per year?

Hostinger lists three ongoing prices as of 2026-10-06: Premium at $10.99 a month, Unlimited at $16.99 a month, and Cloud Startup at $25.99 a month on renewal. Multiplied by twelve, those come to $131.88, $203.88 and $311.88 a year. Those yearly figures are simple arithmetic on the monthly prices, and Hostinger's own page is the final word on how each plan is billed.

The advertised prices are lower. Hostinger's promotional rates are $2.99, $3.99 and $7.99 a month, and they apply to a 48-month term paid up front. That works out to $143.52, $191.52 and $383.52 collected at the start. These are promotional rates, not the ongoing price.

The gap between the advertised rate and the renewal rate is the main thing to understand about Hostinger. A business that budgets from $2.99 a month will be surprised when the term ends and the price moves to $10.99. Over four years the prepaid deal is genuinely cheaper, but it is a four-year commitment paid on day one.

Best for: a business that is comfortable prepaying a long term and has already budgeted for the renewal price afterwards. The trade-off is that the lowest figure on the page describes a large up-front payment, not a monthly bill.

What does ZenBusiness cost per year?

ZenBusiness sells a website builder at $129 a year, or $15 a month, after a 30-day free trial. Paid yearly, that is $10.75 a month when divided across twelve months. Paid monthly, it is $15 a month, which is $180 over twelve months, so the yearly option saves $51.

The plan is AI-assisted, ships industry templates and is mobile responsive. Hosting runs on Amazon Web Services with a stated 99.9% uptime, and SSL is included. It also includes site analytics, e-commerce with payment processing and inventory, and phone support seven days a week. A custom domain can be attached or bought through ZenBusiness.

That inclusion list is what makes the comparison like for like. At $129 a year, the figure already covers hosting and SSL, so there is no second bill for them. Whether Hostinger's plans bundle the same items is something its own plan page should confirm.

It does not win everywhere. Squarespace goes deeper on design and customisation, Wix has the larger app and template ecosystem, and for a serious online store Shopify is the stronger answer. Best for: a small business that wants a credible site quickly at a predictable yearly price, with phone support, and does not need a high design ceiling.

How do the two compare over one year and over four?

On ongoing prices, the yearly gap is small. ZenBusiness is $129 a year, and Hostinger Premium is $131.88 over twelve months at $10.99 a month. ZenBusiness is $2.88 cheaper, which is a rounding difference rather than a reason to choose.

Over four years the answer depends on whether the business is willing to prepay. Hostinger's 48-month Premium promotion totals $143.52 up front. At today's published price, four years of ZenBusiness at $129 a year would total $516. On that basis Hostinger is clearly cheaper for the first four years, which is a fair concession to make.

From year five the picture reverses. Hostinger Premium renews at $10.99 a month, or $131.88 a year, while ZenBusiness is $129 a year at the price published as of 2026-10-06. Prices move, so neither figure is a promise about what a future year will cost.

A short summary of the choice:

  • Lowest cost over four years, with a large prepayment: Hostinger's 48-month promotion.
  • Lowest ongoing yearly cost: ZenBusiness at $129, by a narrow margin over Hostinger Premium.
  • Smallest commitment to start: ZenBusiness, which has a 30-day free trial and a monthly option at $15.

What costs sit outside the plan price?

A website's total yearly cost is not only the plan. A custom domain is the usual extra. ZenBusiness says a domain can be attached or bought through it. The domain price, at ZenBusiness or at Hostinger, should be checked on the provider's own page before the total is added up.

The same applies to anything that sits above the entry plan. Hostinger's Unlimited and Cloud Startup tiers cost more per month, and the right tier depends on what the site has to do. A business that only needs a clear page with services, contact details and hours rarely needs the top tier of any provider.

It is also worth separating the website from the business's other startup costs. If the business is not yet formed, the site is not the only line on the budget, which the next section covers.

What if the business has not been formed yet?

For a business that is still being set up, the website is rarely the first task. Someone forming a company needs the entity, an EIN and a separate business account, and then books. The site can follow in the same week, but it sits downstream of those steps.

This is the one situation where ZenBusiness offers something Hostinger does not. A reader forming an LLC can handle formation and the website with one provider. Starter formation is $0 plus state fees, Pro is $199 and Premium is $299. The state fee is set by the state, is not ZenBusiness's price, and varies, so it should be kept apart from those figures.

The EIN and operating agreement are included from Pro up and are $99 each on Starter. Customers who form with ZenBusiness are also offered a free accounting consultation, and its accounting page covers the bookkeeping side. A single-member LLC owner who wants formation, a site and bookkeeping support from one company gets a real convenience from that. A business that is already formed gets none of it and should simply compare the website prices above.

How do the other builders compare per year?

Other providers belong in any yearly-cost comparison. They are listed alphabetically below, and the order is not a ranking. Yearly figures are the monthly prices multiplied by twelve, as of 2026-10-06.

GoDaddy has a free tier and three paid tiers: Starter at $9.99 a month, Professional at $24.99 and Ultimate at $99.99. Every paid tier is billed annually, so Starter comes to $119.88 a year. The free tier gives 50 AI credits a month and no custom domain.

Square Online has a free plan available. Square has moved to Square Free, Square Plus and Square Premium plans, and it publishes paid software pricing through an industry selector rather than a flat tier table. The paid cost depends on the plan and industry selected, so no yearly figure can be quoted here.

Squarespace lists Basic at $25 a month, or $19 a month billed annually, which is $228 over a year on the annual rate. Core is $39 or $29, Plus is $65 or $49, and Advanced is $139 or $99. It is the stronger choice when design depth matters.

Wix lists Light at $17.77 a month, Core at $29.77, Business at $39.77 and Business Elite at $159.77, all at the yearly-subscription rate. Light comes to $213.24 over twelve months. Wix has the larger app and template ecosystem, which is the reason to pay more.

Will the plan price affect local search results?

A service business that depends on local customers may wonder whether a cheaper plan costs it visibility. Google's own documentation says local results are based on relevance, distance and prominence. None of those is something a website builder controls or can promise.

Google's guidance on improving a local ranking centres on the business's Google Business Profile, which is separate from the website. Its Business Profile Help pages explain how to claim and manage a profile. A site that loads reliably and carries the same business name, address and phone number as the profile is a sensible foundation, but the ranking decision is Google's.

That means the yearly cost of the plan is not a reason to expect better or worse local visibility. A $129 plan and a $312 plan feed the same Google process. Any builder that promises a ranking should be treated with caution.

How can a business test the cost before committing?

The SBA notes that most DIY website builder platforms have a free plan or at least a free trial. That makes a short test cheap, and a few checks catch most surprises:

  1. Start on a free trial, such as ZenBusiness's 30-day trial or GoDaddy's free tier.
  2. Build the real pages, so the editor is judged on actual work.
  3. Convert every quoted price to a yearly total before comparing.
  4. Separate the promotional price from the renewal price.
  5. Check what the plan includes, and add the domain separately if it is not included.

Step four matters most for this comparison. Hostinger's promotional rates describe a four-year prepaid commitment, and its renewal rates are the ones that apply afterwards. A fair budget uses both numbers and says which is which.

What is the short version?

On ongoing yearly cost, ZenBusiness at $129 and Hostinger Premium at $131.88 are close, with ZenBusiness slightly lower and hosting and SSL included in its price. Hostinger is cheaper over four years if the business is willing to prepay $143.52 up front, but its advertised rates are promotional and the renewal price is the one to budget from. The SBA's under-$30-a-month benchmark applies to both.

For a small business that wants a credible site at a predictable yearly price, with phone support and no long prepayment, ZenBusiness is a reasonable place to start. For one that can commit for four years, Hostinger's promotion is worth pricing. Each provider's own pricing page should be checked before buying.

Sources

This is general information rather than legal, tax or accounting advice, and requirements vary and change.