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Ask five developers what a website costs and you may get five very different numbers, because each one is pricing a different thing. This guide gives you the published price ranges, the running costs people forget, and the questions that make two quotes comparable.
Prices and features were verified on 7 November 2026, so check the official sites for the latest. Quoted prices may or may not include tax. This is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice.
How much does a website cost in India in 2026?
A small business website usually costs between ₹10,000 and ₹1,50,000 to build, depending on its size and who builds it. An online store usually starts around ₹1,50,000 when an agency builds it. There is no official rate card, so these figures are market estimates.
| What you are buying | Published build price | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Small static site from a freelancer | ₹10,000 to ₹40,000 | Hostinger |
| Starter site of 3 to 5 pages | ₹15,000 to ₹50,000 | upGrowth |
| Dynamic business site from a freelancer | ₹40,000 to ₹1,50,000 | Hostinger |
| Small business site from an agency | ₹50,000 to ₹1,50,000 | Hostinger |
| Corporate site of 8 to 15 pages | ₹50,000 to ₹2,50,000 | upGrowth |
| Online store from an agency | ₹1,50,000 to ₹4,00,000+ | Hostinger |
| Online store or custom platform | ₹2,50,000 to ₹10,00,000+ | upGrowth |
Read these as rough guides. Hostinger sells hosting and upGrowth sells marketing services, and the ranges overlap because they define each category differently. We sell websites too, so ask for several quotes and judge ours the same way.
Why do website quotes vary so much?
Quotes vary because the same words can describe very different work. "Five-page website" could mean a purchased template with your logo added, or a site designed, written and built around how your customers decide to buy.
These usually move the price the most:
- Design: adapting a template costs less than designing from a blank page.
- Content: someone has to write the words and supply the photographs. Check whether that is you or the developer.
- Features: a contact form is simple. Bookings, logins, payments and connections to your billing software add cost.
- Languages: each language means more content to write and maintain.
- Testing and launch: some quotes include real-phone testing, page metadata and analytics, and others cover the build only. Neither is wrong, as long as you know which one you are buying.
- After launch: the support period, and what a later change costs, are often left out.
Hourly rates also differ. Hostinger's guide lists freelancers at ₹800 to ₹3,000 an hour, while upGrowth lists ₹500 to ₹2,000. A fixed price for a written scope is easier to compare than either. Our guide to planning a business website covers what to decide before you ask for one.
What does a website cost per year to keep running?
Expect at least a yearly domain and hosting bill. Hostinger's guide puts the two together at ₹3,000 to ₹8,000 a year. A domain is your address, such as yourbusiness.in. Hosting is the rented computer space that keeps the site online.
| Running cost | Price | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| .in domain from Hostinger | ₹899 for the first year | Renews at ₹899 a year |
| .com domain from Hostinger | ₹1,499 for the first year | Renews at ₹1,499 a year |
| Hostinger Single hosting | ₹69 a month | ₹3,312 paid upfront for 48 months, then ₹289 a month |
| Hostinger Premium hosting | ₹139 a month | ₹6,672 paid upfront for 48 months, then ₹449 a month |
| WordPress.com Personal | US$4 a month | Billed yearly, before tax |
| WordPress.com Business | US$25 a month | Billed yearly, before tax |
| Shopify Basic | ₹1,499 a month | Billed yearly, or ₹1,994 billed monthly. 2% fee if you use a third-party payment provider |
| Shopify Grow | ₹5,599 a month | Billed yearly, or ₹7,447 billed monthly. 1% fee if you use a third-party payment provider |
| Razorpay payment gateway | 2% per transaction | 18% GST on the fee. No setup or yearly charge |
| Google Business Profile | Free | Your listing on Google Search and Maps |
These are examples of published prices, not recommendations. Hostinger's page does not say whether its prices include tax, so check the total at checkout. Wix also has a free plan and paid plans, but says its prices vary by location.
Payment fees add up with sales. At Razorpay's standard rate, a ₹1,000 sale costs ₹20 plus ₹3.60 GST, or ₹23.60 in total. Check Razorpay's pricing page for the current rate on your payment method, because some carry a different fee.
Maintenance means updates, backups, small fixes and someone to call when the site breaks, and our website maintenance guide covers what it should include. The published figures are far apart: Hostinger lists retainers of ₹1,000 to ₹5,000 a month and upGrowth lists ₹5,000 to ₹20,000 a month. A simple site may not need a monthly plan at all, so ask what you would actually receive for the fee.
What do website quotes usually leave out?
Quotes most often leave out content, tax, renewals and changes after launch. Ask about each of these before you sign:
- Photographs and writing: good product photos and clear text often take longer to prepare than the build.
- Tax: ask whether the quote is before or after tax, and ask for the final amount in writing. If you are unsure how GST applies to you, check with the seller or a tax professional.
- Renewals: ask what the domain and hosting cost in the second year, not just the first.
- Paid add-ons: ask whether any theme, plugin or tool has a yearly licence.
- Changes: ask how many rounds of changes are included, and what the next one costs.
- Ownership: the domain, hosting, code and analytics accounts should be in your business's name, or easy to transfer to it.
Is the cheapest website quote really the cheapest?
Not always, because the build is only part of what you pay. Here is a three-year comparison of two made-up quotes. The numbers are only there to show the arithmetic, and they exclude GST.
| Example over three years | Quote A | Quote B |
|---|---|---|
| Build price | ₹25,000 | ₹60,000 |
| Monthly plan | ₹3,000 × 36 = ₹1,08,000 | ₹1,000 × 36 = ₹36,000 |
| Domain and hosting at ₹5,000 a year | ₹15,000 | ₹15,000 |
| Total | ₹1,48,000 | ₹1,11,000 |
Quote A looks ₹35,000 cheaper on the first day and ends up ₹37,000 dearer. The result flips if Quote A's monthly plan is optional and you do not need it, which is exactly why the question is worth asking.
Which type of website should a small business choose?
Choose the cheapest option that can do the job your website exists to do. These are our recommendations, and they are opinions rather than rules.
- Start with a free Google Business Profile if most customers are local and find you by searching your name or service. Our guide to adding your business to Google Maps shows the steps.
- Use a builder or template if you need something simple soon, you are happy to edit it yourself, and your design does not need to stand out.
- Hire a freelancer or small studio if the website has to win enquiries, or you want someone else to plan the structure, the words and the search setup.
- Look at a hosted platform such as Shopify for a standard online store. In our e-commerce development work, we recommend this whenever it fits, and our Shopify and WooCommerce comparison can help you choose.
- Pay for a custom build only when your rules or integrations cannot fit a ready-made product.
At Criza Labs, we build sites from a blank page, so a template may suit you better if it does what you need, and that is a perfectly good outcome. We do not publish a rate card, because the price depends on the pages and integrations you need. Our web development work is priced as a fixed quote, agreed in writing before work starts.
A short brief makes any quote easier to compare. Our free project brief builder turns your answers into a document you can give to any developer, including us.
Brand names and trademarks belong to their respective owners. Criza Labs is not affiliated with the companies mentioned unless stated.
Sources
All pages were accessed on 7 November 2026.
- How much does a website cost in India in 2026?, Hostinger, updated 26 February 2026
- Website Design Cost Guide in India, upGrowth
- Web hosting plans, Hostinger
- Domain name search and prices, Hostinger
- Pricing, WordPress.com
- Plans, Wix
- Pricing, Shopify India
- Pricing, Razorpay
- Business Profile, Google
Frequently asked questions
Can I make a website for free in India?
Yes, with limits. Wix and WordPress.com both have free plans, and WordPress.com's free plan uses a WordPress.com address instead of your own domain. A Google Business Profile is also free, and for a small local business it is often the most useful first step.
Is a ₹5,000 website worth buying?
It can be, if it does what you need and you know what you are getting. It is below the ranges in the guides cited here, so ask whether the price covers the domain, hosting, content, changes and support. Also ask who will own the site if you stop paying.
How much does a website cost per year after it is built?
Hostinger's guide puts the domain and hosting together at ₹3,000 to ₹8,000 a year. Maintenance is extra if you buy it, and the published figures vary widely. An online store on a hosted platform has a higher running cost: Shopify's Basic plan alone comes to ₹17,988 a year on annual billing.
Does the quoted price include GST?
Not always, so ask. Request the final amount you will pay in writing, with any tax shown separately, so that two quotes can be compared fairly. Whether GST applies depends on the seller and the work, so confirm the details with the seller or a tax professional.
How long does a small business website take to build?
It depends on the scope and how quickly the content is ready. As a guide, a focused site of five to eight pages at Criza Labs usually takes two to four weeks from approved scope to launch, and sites with a lot of content take longer. Any developer should confirm the timeline for your project in writing.
Should a small online store use Shopify or a custom build?
For a standard catalogue, we would normally look at a hosted platform such as Shopify first, because it is often quicker and can cost less to start. A custom build starts to make sense when your pricing, B2B terms or fulfilment rules cannot be handled cleanly with add-ons.
