The short answer: anywhere from a few hundred dollars a year to $15,000 or more up front. Where your business lands depends mostly on who does the work and how much you need the site to do.
Below are real 2026 prices for each option, taken from the providers' own pricing pages and from published Canadian guides. Every source is listed at the bottom of the page. We're a managed website service ourselves, and we've tried to be fair about when another option makes more sense.
Costs at a glance
| Option | Up front | Ongoing | Who does the work |
|---|---|---|---|
| Website builder (Wix, Squarespace) | $0 | About US$17 to US$49 a month on a yearly plan, plus the domain after year one | You |
| Freelancer | About $600 to $7,000 | Hosting and upkeep often extra, roughly $500 to $2,000 a year | The freelancer builds it; upkeep varies |
| Small agency | About $5,000 to $15,000 | Roughly $1,200 a year and up | The agency |
| Larger agency | About $12,000 to $80,000 and up | Roughly $2,500 a year and up | The agency |
| Managed monthly service | Often $0 | Published range of about $2,400 to $8,400 a year | The service |
| Varaico | Free preview. No build fee for one or two page sites; bigger sites get a flat quote up front | Starting at $115/month, month to month | We do |
Option 1: Build it yourself on a website builder
Website builders like Wix and Squarespace let you pick a template, add your own text and photos, and publish. Hosting and security come with the plan, and you can change things whenever you like.
- Wix: the Light, Core and Business plans cost about US$17, US$29 and US$39 a month when you pay for a year up front. Paying month to month costs more. Paid plans include a free domain for the first year.
- Squarespace: Basic, Core, Plus and Advanced cost US$19, US$29, US$49 and US$99 a month billed yearly, or US$25, US$39, US$65 and US$139 billed month to month. Annual plans come with one year of free domain registration.
- Shopify, if selling online is the main goal: the Basic plan is $37 a month billed yearly, or $49 billed monthly, in Canadian dollars.
Watch for the extras. The domain renews at the regular price after the first year, business email is usually a separate charge, and paid apps or add-ons build up over time. The biggest cost is your own time: writing the pages, choosing photos, learning the editor and keeping everything current.
When doing it yourself is the better choice
A builder is the cheapest way to get online, and it's the right call if:
- your budget is tight and you have a few evenings to spare;
- you enjoy this kind of work and want to make every change yourself;
- you mainly sell products online, where a store platform like Shopify is built for the job;
- you need something simple now and plan to upgrade later.
If that sounds like you, start with a builder. Plenty of good small business sites are made that way.
Option 2: Hire a freelancer
A freelance web designer builds the site for you, usually for a one-time fee. Two 2026 guides from Canadian web studios put freelance builds at about $600 to $3,000 and $1,500 to $7,000. North Star IT, in British Columbia, puts freelancer and small agency projects at $2,000 to $10,000 for a 5 to 15 page site. Clutch's September 2026 pricing data shows that designers who build on platforms like Wix or Squarespace often charge US$25 to US$49 an hour.
A good freelancer can be excellent value. What often gets missed is life after launch: who hosts the site, who fixes it when something breaks, and who changes your hours at Christmas. Some freelancers offer a maintenance plan (the same guides put this at roughly $500 to $2,000 a year, or $69 to $199 a month). Others hand over the site and move on to the next project.
Before you hire, ask:
- Who owns the domain, and whose account is it in?
- Where is the site hosted, and who pays for it?
- What does a small change cost after launch?
- If we stop working together, can I take the site with me?
Option 3: Hire an agency
Agencies bring a team: a designer, a developer, often a writer and someone for marketing. That costs more. Canadian guides put small agency sites at about $5,000 to $15,000, and larger agencies at $12,000 to $80,000 or more. Clutch reports typical agency rates of US$100 to US$149 an hour, the same range in Canada as in the United States, and says most web design projects reviewed on its platform cost less than US$10,000.
An agency makes sense when you need custom features, a large site, brand design or an ongoing marketing partner. For a local business that needs a few pages and a steady flow of enquiries, it's usually more than you need.
Option 4: A managed monthly service
With a managed service, you pay a monthly fee instead of a large bill up front. The service builds the site, then looks after hosting, security, updates and support for as long as you stay. A Calgary agency's 2026 guide puts managed subscriptions at $0 up front and about $2,400 to $8,400 a year.
This is how Varaico works. We build a free preview of your site first. If you want it live, pricing is simple: starting at $115/month. One or two page sites have no build fee, and bigger sites get a flat build fee quoted up front before any work starts. It's month to month, and you can cancel with 30 days notice.
The trade-off is real. Over several years, a monthly fee can add up to more than a one-time build. What you're paying for is not having to deal with the site at all. Before you sign with any managed service, ours included, check the contract length, what counts as an included update, and what happens to your site and domain if you cancel.
Costs every option shares
- Domain name. A .ca domain at Namecheap costs US$11.98 for the first year and US$14.98 a year to renew. Other registrars charge more or less.
- Hosting. Builders and managed services include it. If you or your freelancer host the site yourselves, HostPapa's shared hosting plans renew at US$12.99 to US$30.99 a month before tax.
- Business email. Usually a separate charge. A Toronto studio's 2026 guide estimates $6 to $12 per mailbox per month.
- Your time. Every option needs some: answering questions, sending photos, checking drafts. With a builder, it's all your time.
How to decide
- More time than money: a website builder.
- A one-time budget and someone lined up to handle hosting: a freelancer.
- Custom features, a large site or brand work: an agency.
- You want it handled and prefer a predictable monthly cost: a managed service like Varaico.
Still not sure? A free preview costs nothing and gives you something concrete to compare against other quotes.