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How Much Does a Contractor Website Cost in 2026?
Short answer: A contractor website built on a do-it-yourself plan costs about $18 to $40 a month on the Squarespace and Wix price lists, plus your time. Our estimate for a hired build is about $1,500 to $5,000 for a freelancer and $5,000 to $15,000 or more for an agency. It depends on who builds it and who keeps it updated.
- Squarespace and Wix paid plans run about $18 to $40 a month, checked November 8, 2026.
- WordPress.com lists Personal at $4 a month and Business at $25 a month on annual billing.
- A $29 a month plan adds up to about $350 a year.
- Our estimate: most owners spend 20 to 40 hours writing pages and shooting photos for a builder site.
- Our estimate: a freelancer builds a small site for $1,500 to $5,000; an agency charges $5,000 to $15,000 or more.
- A full quote should cover five parts: domain, hosting, the build, content and upkeep.
What are you paying for?
A website has five cost parts. Quotes often hide one or two of them.
- A domain name. This is your web address, such as smithplumbing.com. You rent it by the year. Some builders include the first year free.
- Hosting. This is the computer that serves your pages. Builders bundle it into the monthly plan.
- The build. This is design, writing, photos and putting the pages together. It is the biggest variable. You pay with money or with your own hours.
- Content. Service pages, town pages, photos of real jobs and customer reviews. A site with no real content does not get calls, whoever builds it.
- Upkeep. Updates, fixes, security, and new pages. Someone has to do it every month.
If you are comparing quotes, ask for all five in writing.
What do the do-it-yourself builders cost?
These prices come from each company's own pricing page, which we checked on November 8, 2026. They change, so confirm before you buy.
| Builder | Plan | Price per month | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Squarespace | Basic | $19 on annual billing, $25 billed monthly | Free domain for the first year on annual plans. 14-day free trial, no free plan |
| Squarespace | Core | $29 on annual billing, $39 billed monthly | Marked "recommended" by Squarespace |
| Wix | Light | $17.77 | Free domain for the first year. Wix says prices vary by location and are for yearly plans paid in full |
| Wix | Core | $29.77 | Free domain for the first year |
| Wix | Business | $39.77 | Marked "recommended" by Wix |
| WordPress.com | Personal | $4 on annual billing | Free domain for the first year |
| WordPress.com | Business | $25 on annual billing | Plugins included on paid plans |
Sources: Squarespace pricing, Wix plans, WordPress.com pricing.
Wix and WordPress.com also offer a free plan. WordPress.com says its free plan uses a WordPress.com subdomain and has no custom domain. Wix's page was unclear on custom domains for its free plan, so confirm before you rely on it. A free plan with a stranger's name in your web address will not look right on a truck door.
For a contractor, the plan itself is rarely the big cost. A $29 a month plan adds up to about $350 a year. The bigger cost is the 20 to 40 hours it takes most owners (our estimate) to write the pages, shoot the photos and set up the settings. Count your hours at what an hour of your own work earns you.
If you want a fuller comparison of these tools, see the best website builder for contractors.
What do freelancers and agencies cost?
We could not find a fair published price survey for contractor sites, so these ranges are our estimates, not data from a study. Treat them as a way to sense-check a quote.
| Path | Up-front cost (our estimate) | Monthly cost (our estimate) | What you get |
|---|---|---|---|
| Template site you build yourself | $0 to $300 | $17 to $40 | Fast and cheap. You write everything |
| Freelancer builds a small site | $1,500 to $5,000 | $0 to $100 | A 5 to 10 page site. You may handle updates yourself |
| Local agency builds a custom site | $5,000 to $15,000 or more | $100 to $500 | More pages, custom design, some ongoing support |
| Monthly package: site plus ongoing Google and AI work | $0 to $1,500 | A monthly fee | The site stays up to date, with reviews and listings handled. Prices vary |
Two cautions on those numbers. First, the price is not the value. An expensive site with no town pages and no clear phone number loses to a cheap one that has them. Second, the cheap end often leaves out content. Ask whether the price includes writing and photos, or only a template with your name dropped in.
We do not list our own prices here. For what a site build and monthly plan would look like for your trade, see a free demo site.
What do you need on the site?
This is where the money should go. A contractor site wins on a short list:
- Your phone number at the top, tappable on a phone
- Each main service on its own page, in plain words
- The towns you serve
- Your license number, insurance and warranty
- Photos of real jobs
- Real reviews with names
- A simple quote or call form
Our full list is in what a contractor website should include. A site with these seven items beats a flashy one without them.
Google says there are no special requirements for its AI features. A page needs to be indexed and able to show with a snippet. (Google Search Central: AI features and your website) So you do not need to pay extra for "AI-ready" markup. You do need a site that loads, reads clearly and lets search crawlers in.
What costs surprise people?
- Renewals. Builders often give a free domain for the first year only. Wix and WordPress.com both say the free domain is for the first year, and Wix says the voucher cannot be used to renew. Plan for a domain fee after that.
- Monthly billing. Squarespace's monthly price is higher than its annual price. Paying monthly on the Basic plan costs $25 instead of $19.
- Add-ons. Booking, payments and extra storage can move you up a plan.
- Content. Photos and copy cost time or money in every path.
- Moving later. Some builders make it hard to take your pages with you. Ask who owns the site and the domain, and make sure the domain is registered in your name.
- Maintenance. A freelancer who builds and vanishes leaves you with a site nobody updates.
How do you decide?
Ask three questions.
How much is a lead worth? If your average job is a $500 repair, a site that brings two extra calls a month pays for a $40 plan quickly. If your average job is a $12,000 roof, one extra job a year pays for a custom site. Use your own numbers.
How much time do you have? If your hours are booked, a $29 plan that takes 30 hours of your time is not cheap.
Who will keep it fresh? Reviews, new photos and new pages feed both Google and the AI tools. Our guide to how contractors get recommended by ChatGPT shows what to keep updated. And if you are weighing what an outside company would charge, read how much companies charge to build a website.
Also think about whether a site alone is the right spend. A site with no reviews and no Google profile will not get named by anyone. See is SEO worth it for a small contractor.
How do you check a quote?
Before you sign, ask for these answers in writing.
| Question | A good answer |
|---|---|
| Who owns the domain? | You do, registered in your name |
| Can I take the site if I leave? | Yes, or the pages and text are yours |
| How many pages are included? | A number, with service and town pages listed |
| Who writes the text and takes the photos? | Stated, with the cost |
| What is the monthly fee for? | A named list of work |
| Can I cancel, and when? | Yes, with notice stated plainly |
| What is the contract length? | Stated, with the cancel terms |
If the answers are vague, the price will probably grow later.
Common questions
How much should a small contractor pay for a website?
A small contractor can start for under $40 a month on a builder plan, plus a few weekends of work. If you hire it out, our estimate is about $1,500 to $5,000 from a freelancer and $5,000 to $15,000 or more from an agency. What you spend should depend on the value of one new customer, so work that out first.
Is a free website good enough for a contractor?
Usually not. WordPress.com says its free plan has no custom domain, so your address carries the builder's name. Check the same on any other free plan. Customers trust a name like yourcompany.com more. A paid plan with your own domain is a small cost for a business that sells jobs worth hundreds or thousands.
What is the cheapest way to get a contractor website?
A template on a builder plan, with you writing the text and adding photos. The prices above run from $4 a month on WordPress.com Personal to about $40 for the higher Squarespace and Wix plans. The cost is your time and the skill to make it clear.
Do I pay monthly for a website after it is built?
Yes, in nearly every case. Builders charge monthly or yearly for hosting. Freelancers and agencies often charge for hosting, updates and support. Ask what the monthly fee covers, and whether you can stop it and keep the site.
Does a more expensive website rank better?
No. Price does not rank a site. Google says local results are mainly based on relevance, distance and prominence, and that there is no way to pay for a better local ranking. (Google Business Profile Help: improve your local ranking) A clear site, a finished profile and good reviews matter more.
Sources
- Squarespace: pricing (checked November 8, 2026)
- Wix: plans and pricing (checked November 8, 2026)
- WordPress.com: pricing (checked November 8, 2026)
- Google Search Central: AI features and your website
- Google Business Profile Help: improve your local ranking
We build your new website free, before you pay, then work every week to get you named when homeowners ask Google and AI who to call. Get your free demo site.