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How much does it cost to build a website in 2026?

A 5-page business site costs about $35 to $264 in year one on official pricing: WordPress plus a host, a builder like Wix or Squarespace, or an AI builder.

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If you build it yourself, a 5-page business website on your own .com costs roughly $35 to $264 for the first year, as of October 2026. The low end is WordPress on a budget host (DreamHost Launch, $34.68 for a year with a free domain); the middle is a hosted builder (WordPress.com Personal $48, Wix Light $204, Squarespace Basic $228 on yearly billing); the top is an AI builder with a CRM and bookings built in (Durable Launch, $264). The bigger difference often comes in year two, when intro prices and free domains end.

The figures come from each company’s own pricing page, read on October 25, 2026, or from the prices AskGPU already lists on its tool pages, with the date they were checked. We haven’t built sites on these services ourselves. All prices are in US dollars, before tax, and assume you do the building; hiring a designer is a separate cost this guide doesn’t estimate.

What a 5-page business site needs

To compare like with like, every price here is for the same site: a home page, about, services, contact and one more page (a gallery, FAQ or menu), on your own .com domain, with HTTPS and a contact form. No online store.

That sounds simple, but each route bundles it differently:

  • A website builder (Wix, Squarespace, WordPress.com, Framer) charges one subscription that covers hosting, the editor, templates and security. A domain is usually free for the first year on yearly billing only.
  • WordPress plus a host splits the bill. The WordPress software is free: WordPress.org says it is “open source software” licensed under the GPL (version 2 or later). You pay a web host, and the host usually throws in the domain for the first year.
  • An AI builder (Durable, or the AI tools inside Hostinger, Wix and Squarespace) writes the first draft of the site from a prompt. You still pay a monthly or yearly plan, and the AI is a feature of that plan, not an extra.

Every route has the same hidden line item: the domain renews every year once the free year ends.

How much does each route cost in the first year?

The cheapest plan on each service that lets you use your own domain:

Route Plan Price Billing First year Free domain
WordPress + host DreamHost Launch $2.89/mo 1-year term $34.68 Yes, first year
WordPress + host DreamHost Launch $1.99/mo 4-year term ($95.52 upfront) $95.52 covers 4 years Yes, first year
Hosted WordPress WordPress.com Personal $4/mo Yearly $48 Yes, first year
Hosted WordPress WordPress.com Personal $9/mo Monthly $108 No
Builder Framer Basic $10/mo Yearly $120 Complimentary domain on yearly billing
Builder Wix Light $17/mo Yearly, paid upfront $204 Voucher, first year
Builder Squarespace Basic $19/mo Yearly $228 Yes, first year
Builder Squarespace Basic $25/mo Monthly $300 No
AI builder Durable Launch $22/mo Yearly $264 Connect yours, or register one free (up to $20 value)
AI builder Durable Launch $25/mo Monthly $300 Same
Builder + host Hostinger Website Builder Premium See current price 48-month term Yes, first year

Sources and dates: DreamHost, WordPress.com, Squarespace, Framer and Durable prices were on their pricing pages on October 25, 2026, and match the figures on our tool pages. Wix’s prices are from our Wix page, checked October 18, 2026; Wix’s plans page says prices and currency vary by location and that the final price shows on the purchase page. Hostinger is running a promotion that changes its intro price, so see our Hostinger page for the current figure.

What each first-year price includes:

  • DreamHost Launch: up to 25 websites, 25 GB of NVMe storage, daily backups, unlimited free SSL certificates, and its Liftoff AI builder, which DreamHost says creates a WordPress site from a few answers. Email is free for the first three months only.
  • WordPress.com Personal: 6 GB of storage, no ads, and plugin installation (the Free plan can’t install plugins and shows WordPress.com ads).
  • Framer Basic: your own domain, 30 pages, 2 CMS collections with 1,000 items, 50 GB of bandwidth and 1,000 AI credits a month.
  • Wix Light: 2 GB of storage, a free domain for one year and 2 site collaborators. Light can’t take payments; that starts on Core ($29/month billed yearly).
  • Squarespace Basic: a free custom domain for a year on annual billing, and built-in AI tools with 10 one-time AI credits. It doesn’t include Google Workspace email (Core and up include one account free for the first year).
  • Durable Launch: a built-in CRM, unlimited bookings synced to your calendar, and 1,000 AI credits a month.
  • Hostinger Website Builder Premium: up to 3 websites, hosting, a free domain for a year, and 2 mailboxes per website, also free for a year.

How much does a website cost per year after that?

Year two is where the routes separate. Intro prices end, and the free domain starts renewing at the registrar’s normal rate.

Plan Year-one price Price from year two Plan cost per year, year two
DreamHost Launch (1-year term) $2.89/mo $10.99/mo $131.88
DreamHost Launch (4-year term) $1.99/mo $7.99/mo after 4 years $95.52 already paid for years 1-4
WordPress.com Personal (yearly) $4/mo $5/mo $60
Hostinger Website Builder Premium See current price $10.99/mo $131.88
Wix Light (yearly) $17/mo Not shown as different $204
Squarespace Basic (annual) $19/mo Not shown as different $228
Durable Launch (yearly) $22/mo Not shown as different $264

“Not shown as different” means the pricing page lists one price and doesn’t advertise an intro discount; prices can still change before you renew. WordPress.com’s renewal at $5 a month is from our WordPress.com tool page, checked October 17, 2026.

Then add the domain. The plans above don’t include it after the first year: DreamHost says “domain renewal is charged separately,” Squarespace says the free domain renews “at our standard rate, plus applicable taxes, after the first year,” and Wix’s free domain voucher comes only with the first purchase of a Premium plan and isn’t included on renewals. A .com renews at $10.46 a year at Cloudflare Registrar, which sells at cost, $20 at Squarespace Domains and $22.99 at GoDaddy, per our domains data, checked October 18, 2026. Durable’s pricing page doesn’t say whether its free domain covers more than the first year.

Worked example: three years of the same 5-page site

Here is the same small business site over three years on each route, paying yearly where that’s cheaper. For the domain, assume it renews at $10.46 a year (Cloudflare’s at-cost .com price) in years two and three, except on Squarespace, where we use its own $20 renewal price. Your registrar may charge more.

WordPress + DreamHost Launch, renewing yearly

  • Year 1: 12 × $2.89 = $34.68 (domain included)
  • Years 2 and 3: 2 × (12 × $10.99) = 2 × $131.88 = $263.76
  • Domain, years 2 and 3: 2 × $10.46 = $20.92
  • Three years: $34.68 + $263.76 + $20.92 = $319.36

WordPress + DreamHost Launch, 4-year term paid upfront

  • Hosting: 48 × $1.99 = $95.52, which covers years 1 to 4
  • Domain, years 2 and 3: $20.92
  • Three years: $95.52 + $20.92 = $116.44, with a fourth year of hosting already paid

WordPress.com Personal, billed yearly

  • Year 1: 12 × $4 = $48 (domain included)
  • Years 2 and 3: 2 × (12 × $5) = $120
  • Domain: $20.92
  • Three years: $48 + $120 + $20.92 = $188.92

WordPress.com also sells Personal at $2.75 a month on a 3-year plan, which is 36 × $2.75 = $99 upfront. With the same domain renewals, that’s $99 + $20.92 = $119.92 for three years.

Wix Light, billed yearly

  • Plan: 3 × (12 × $17) = 3 × $204 = $612
  • Domain: $20.92
  • Three years: $632.92

Squarespace Basic, billed annually

  • Plan: 3 × (12 × $19) = 3 × $228 = $684
  • Domain at Squarespace, years 2 and 3: 2 × $20 = $40
  • Three years: $724

Durable Launch, billed yearly (AI builder)

  • Plan: 3 × (12 × $22) = 3 × $264 = $792
  • Domain: up to $20.92 more if the free domain covers only the first year
  • Three years: $792 to $812.92

So the same 5-page site costs between about $116 and $813 over three years before tax, depending only on the route and the billing term. The two cheapest results both rely on paying for three or four years upfront. Paying monthly costs more everywhere: Squarespace Basic is $25 a month (12 × $25 = $300 a year) against $19 on annual billing, and monthly plans at WordPress.com, DreamHost and Squarespace don’t include the free domain.

These totals cover the website only. Business email, premium themes or plugins, and paid apps are extra, covered below.

What else adds to the bill?

  • Email on your domain. Most routes don’t include it for long. DreamHost’s email is free for three months, then billed separately. Hostinger’s 2 mailboxes per site are free for the first year. Squarespace includes one Google Workspace account free for the first year on Core and above, not on Basic, and it then renews at the standard annual or monthly rate. If you need mailboxes for staff, compare business email prices separately.
  • Taking payments. A 5-page brochure site doesn’t need a store, but bookings or deposits do. Wix Light and Free can’t accept payments; Core is $29 a month billed yearly. Squarespace Basic can sell but charges a 2% transaction fee on store sales (0% from Core, $29 a month annually, or $39 monthly). On WordPress.com, payment buttons are listed from Premium, $8 a month billed yearly.
  • Taxes. Wix says its prices don’t include taxes, which depend on your billing address. DreamHost charges “the full term plus taxes” at checkout.
  • Extra editors and pages. Framer Basic is capped at 30 pages, and extra editors cost $20 a month each. Wix Light allows 2 site collaborators.
  • Your time. A builder or AI tool is the faster start. WordPress on a host asks you to install it (DreamHost includes a WordPress builder and migration tool) and keep plugins updated yourself.

What to watch for

  • Long terms behind the low prices. DreamHost’s $1.99 needs four years upfront, WordPress.com’s $2.75 needs three, and Hostinger’s builder price needs 48 months. The per-month figure is the total divided by the months.
  • Renewal jumps. DreamHost Launch goes from $2.89 to $10.99 a month after a 1-year term, close to four times as much. Hostinger Website Builder Premium renews at $10.99 a month. WordPress.com Personal rises from $4 to $5.
  • Free domains are first-year only. DreamHost and WordPress.com exclude them on monthly plans. Wix’s voucher must be redeemed within 60 days of purchase and can’t be used to renew an existing domain.
  • Moving later. Durable says transferring your domain out “takes a couple of weeks” and has a minimum subscription time it doesn’t state on the pricing page. WordPress content is portable between WordPress hosts; builder sites on Wix, Squarespace, Framer or Durable are tied to that builder’s editor.
  • Refund windows. Wix gives a 14-day money-back guarantee on the first Premium upgrade. DreamHost and Hostinger list 30 days. Squarespace starts every site with a 14-day free trial instead of a free plan.
  • Prices change. Wix says prices vary by location, and every company here can change prices before your renewal date. Check again before you’re charged.

Which should a small business choose?

  • Lowest total cost, comfortable with WordPress: WordPress on DreamHost Launch with a 4-year term, or WordPress.com Personal on a 3-year plan. Both come to about $116 to $120 over three years in the example above. Pick WordPress.com if you don’t want to manage hosting; pick a host if you want room for more sites (DreamHost Launch allows 25).
  • Lowest yearly bill without a long prepay: WordPress.com Personal, $48 the first year and $60 after, on yearly billing.
  • Easiest drag-and-drop builder: Wix Light ($204 a year) or Squarespace Basic ($228 a year). Choose Wix Core or Squarespace if you’ll take payments soon; Squarespace Basic can sell from day one, with a 2% fee. See how they compare to cheaper builders in our Wix and Squarespace alternatives.
  • Design-led site with a small CMS: Framer Basic, $10 a month billed yearly, as long as 30 pages is enough.
  • Service business that wants AI to build the site and handle bookings: Durable Launch, $264 a year. It costs the most here, but includes a CRM and calendar bookings you would otherwise pay for separately.
  • One bill for site, domain and email: Hostinger Website Builder; check its current intro price on our Hostinger page and plan for $10.99 a month on renewal.

More options are on our website builders and web hosting pages, and the step-by-step setup (domain, site, email) is on build a website.

Sources