2026-06-15 · 6 min read

What Does a Website Cost in 2026? Fixed-Price vs. Hourly Explained

The honest answer: somewhere between €500 and €15,000, depending on what you actually need. That range isn't useful on its own — so let's break it down.

The three realistic price tiers

Simple landing page (€500–1,200). One page, all the essentials: hero, services, contact. Perfect for a product launch or a new small business that needs to be online fast. Delivery: usually 3–7 business days.

Multi-page business site (€1,200–3,000). Up to 5–10 pages, a custom design system, maybe a blog or CMS. This is the sweet spot for most established small and mid-sized businesses — hair salons, trades, clinics, law firms.

Custom web app (€3,000+). Once databases, user accounts, payments, or complex logic enter the picture, you've left "website" territory and moved into software development. Pricing here varies a lot depending on scope.

Why fixed-price almost always wins

Hourly billing sounds fair — until the invoice arrives. The problem: you carry the risk, not the developer. If the work takes longer than planned (and it almost always does), you pay for it.

With a fixed price, the developer carries the estimation risk. That forces them to define scope clearly upfront — which also helps you, because you know exactly what you're getting before you sign anything.

The one downside: changes outside the agreed scope cost extra. That's not a bug, it's a feature — it prevents the classic "scope creep" where a 5-page site quietly turns into a 20-page one without anyone explicitly agreeing to it.

What to check in a quote

  • Is the scope written down? Number of pages, features, number of revision rounds.
  • Is the timeline realistic? A quote promising "2-day delivery" for a complex site is a red flag.
  • What happens after launch? Bug fixes, hosting, domain — who's responsible long-term?
  • Is there a support option? Most sites need small tweaks after launch. A clearly priced support package beats a surprise invoice.

The rule of thumb

If a provider can only give you an hourly rate but no estimate for total hours, keep looking. An experienced developer can almost always quote a fixed price for a clearly defined project. If they can't, it either means the scope is still unclear, or they'd rather shift the risk onto you.

At Nordbüro I only work on fixed prices — landing pages from €799, business sites from €1,499. No timesheets, no surprises.