How much does a custom website cost?

A custom website typically costs $15,000-$40,000 for the initial build, depending on complexity. A simple marketing site with 5-10 pages, CMS integration, and responsive design sits at the lower end. Complex platforms with user authentication, API integrations, multi-language support, and custom functionality push toward $40,000 or higher.

The real comparison isn't initial cost — it's 3-year total cost of ownership. A $2,000 template site accumulates $15,000-$47,000 in plugin licenses, hosting upgrades, security patches, performance optimization, and the eventual migration to custom when the template can't scale. A $20,000 custom site costs $16,000-$28,000 over three years including maintenance.

Factors that increase cost: custom CMS, e-commerce functionality, API integrations (CRM, ERP, payment), multi-language support, accessibility compliance (WCAG AA/AAA), and complex forms or calculators. Factors that keep cost down: static-first architecture, headless CMS with existing content model, and clear scope before development starts.

The break-even point is usually around 18 months. After that, custom is cheaper to maintain and dramatically faster to iterate on.