A small business website on a DIY builder typically costs less than $30 a month, according to the U.S. Small Business Administration, while a custom-built site starts around $2,000 and can run into five figures. Within the DIY range, the price depends on billing term, included hosting, and how much design and app depth the plan offers. ZenBusiness sits at the low end at $15 a month, or $129 a year, after a 30-day free trial, with hosting and SSL included. Squarespace or Wix suit better if design depth or a large app ecosystem matters more than the lowest price.

How much does a small business website cost per month?

The SBA gives the clearest anchor. It 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, which is an order of magnitude cheaper.

The SBA does not declare a winner between the two methods. Its position is that there is no right method for every business, and it frames the choice around budget, needs, timing and in-house capability. Custom work gets exact specifications and professional support. DIY gets professional designs, instant updates, and included hosting and security, at the cost of limited customisation and platform lock-in.

So the answer to the monthly question is a range. Entry plans in this category run from about $10 to about $25 a month, and the top tiers of some builders run far higher. The rest of this page explains what moves a plan from one end to the other.

What makes one builder cheaper than another?

Five factors account for most of the difference. They are worth separating, because a low headline price can come from any of them.

The first is the billing term. A plan priced at a monthly figure but billed annually, or prepaid over several years, shows a lower number than a month-to-month plan would. The second is whether the advertised price is promotional or ongoing. A first-term discount is not the price the business pays afterwards.

The third is what is included. Hosting, SSL and support are bundled into some plans and billed separately on others. The fourth is the tier. Moving from an entry plan to a business or ecommerce tier can multiply the monthly cost. The fifth is the ceiling: design depth, customisation and app ecosystems cost more to build, and the plans that offer them usually cost more.

How do billing terms change the price?

Billing term is the biggest source of confusing numbers. The same plan can appear at two or three prices depending on how long the business commits.

Squarespace shows both. As of 2026-10-06, its Basic plan is $25 a month, or $19 a month billed annually. Core is $39 or $29, Plus is $65 or $49, and Advanced is $139 or $99. The lower figure assumes a year's commitment.

Wix publishes its yearly-subscription rates. Light is $17.77 a month, Core is $29.77, Business is $39.77, and Business Elite is $159.77. A business that wants to leave after a month should not expect those figures.

The most extreme case is Hostinger, which is covered below. The general rule is to convert every quoted price to a yearly total before comparing, and to ask what billing term the quoted number assumes.

Why is the promotional rate not the real price?

A promotional rate is a first-term discount, and it is not the ongoing price. Hostinger shows the gap most clearly. Its ongoing prices as of 2026-10-06 are Premium at $10.99 a month, Unlimited at $16.99 a month, and Cloud Startup at $25.99 a month on renewal.

Its promotional rates are $2.99, $3.99 and $7.99 a month, on a 48-month term paid up front. That is a four-year commitment collected at the start, not a monthly bill. A business that budgets from $2.99 will face a much higher price when the term ends.

The sensible approach is to budget from the ongoing price and treat the promotion as a bonus. The gap between the advertised rate and the renewal rate is the single most useful thing to check on any pricing page.

What does the plan price include?

Two plans at the same monthly price can differ in what they cover. The things to check are hosting, SSL, a custom domain, support and e-commerce.

ZenBusiness is a clear example of bundling. Its website builder is $129 a year, or $15 a month, after a 30-day free trial. 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, and the domain price should be checked on its own page.

Free tiers are the other case. GoDaddy's free tier gives 50 AI credits a month and no custom domain, so a business on it cannot use its own web address. The SBA notes that most DIY platforms have a free plan or at least a free trial. Free is useful for testing, and it usually means a platform subdomain and platform branding.

When does a cheap builder become expensive?

A plan stops being cheap when the business outgrows the entry tier. Wix Light at $17.77 a month is inside the SBA benchmark, but Business Elite at $159.77 is not. GoDaddy Starter at $9.99 a month is cheap, and Ultimate at $99.99 is not.

This is the practical trap. A business may start on an entry plan and need a higher tier once it wants more features. Before choosing a builder, it is worth looking at the price of the tier the business is likely to need in a year, not only today's.

Square Online adds a different wrinkle. It has a free plan, and Square has moved to Square Free, Square Plus and Square Premium plans. Square publishes paid software pricing through an industry selector rather than a flat tier table, so the paid cost depends on the plan and industry selected. No single figure can be quoted for it.

How do the main builders compare?

The providers below are listed alphabetically, and the order is not a ranking. Prices are as of 2026-10-06, and each provider's own pricing page is the final word.

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. Best for: a business that wants a low paid entry price and can commit to a year.

Hostinger lists Premium at $10.99 a month, Unlimited at $16.99, and Cloud Startup at $25.99 on renewal. Its promotional rates apply to a 48-month term paid up front. Best for: a business willing to prepay a long term and budget for the renewal price.

Square Online has a free plan available, with paid pricing that depends on the plan and industry selected. Best for: a business that already takes payments through Square.

Squarespace lists Basic at $25 a month, or $19 a month billed annually, up to Advanced at $139 or $99. Best for: a business where design is a selling point, such as a studio or boutique.

Wix lists Light at $17.77 a month up to Business Elite at $159.77, all at the yearly-subscription rate. Best for: a business that expects to add apps and templates over time.

ZenBusiness sells a website builder at $129 a year, or $15 a month, after a 30-day free trial. It is AI-assisted, ships industry templates and is mobile responsive. Paid yearly, it is $10.75 a month, with hosting and SSL included rather than billed separately.

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 price, and does not need a high design ceiling.

What if the business has not been formed yet?

A website is only one cost for a business that is still being set up. Someone forming a company needs the entity, an EIN and a separate business account, and then books. The site sits downstream of those steps.

This is the one situation where ZenBusiness offers something the standalone builders do 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 business that is already formed gets none of this and should simply compare the website prices above.

Does a more expensive plan help local search?

A service business that depends on local customers may assume a pricier plan buys 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.

That means a $10 plan and a $40 plan feed the same Google process. Any builder that promises a ranking should be treated with caution.

How can a business keep the cost down?

A short process avoids most of the expensive surprises:

  1. Start on a free plan or trial and build the real pages, not a demo.
  2. Convert every quoted price to a yearly total before comparing.
  3. Separate the promotional price from the ongoing price.
  4. Check which plan connects a custom domain, and what the domain costs.
  5. Price the tier the business is likely to need in a year, not only the entry plan.

Steps two and three remove most of the distortion in headline numbers. Step five is the one most businesses skip.

What is the short version?

A builder looks cheap or expensive because of its billing term, whether the price is promotional, what the plan includes, which tier is needed, and how much design and app depth it offers. The SBA's under-$30-a-month benchmark for paid DIY plans, against $2,000 and up for custom work, is the useful anchor. Most entry plans sit well inside it.

For a small business that wants a credible site at the low end of that range, ZenBusiness at $129 a year is a reasonable place to start. For one where design or apps matter more, Squarespace or Wix is the better fit. 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.