Website cost in India by type
| Website type | Typical cost (one-time) | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Basic site, 1 to 5 pages | ₹5,000 to ₹50,000 | Freelancers, portfolios, small local shops |
| Small business site, 5 to 15 pages | ₹10,000 to ₹80,000 | Clinics, coaching centres, consultants, restaurants |
| Professional business site, custom design | ₹80,000 to ₹1,50,000 | Growing companies that need branding and lead generation |
| Ecommerce store (agency-built) | ₹1,50,000 to ₹4,00,000+ | Online stores with payments, inventory and shipping |
| Custom web application | ₹2,50,000 to ₹10,00,000+ | Startups, portals, SaaS products |
Ranges reflect market pricing reported by Hostinger India in February 2026.
Cost by who builds it
| Approach | Typical cost | Good for | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|
| DIY website builder | ₹2,000 to ₹6,000 a year | Simple sites on a tight budget | Limited flexibility; you do the work |
| Self-managed WordPress | ₹3,000 to ₹15,000 a year | People comfortable with some tech | Plugin costs and security updates |
| Freelancer | ₹10,000 to ₹1,00,000 one-time | Small business sites | Support after launch varies widely |
| Agency | ₹50,000 to ₹4,00,000+ one-time | Custom design, ecommerce, integrations | Higher price; check who owns the code |
Yearly costs most quotes leave out
| Item | Typical yearly cost |
|---|---|
| Domain (.com or .in) | ₹500 to ₹1,500 |
| Hosting (shared or managed WordPress) | ₹2,000 to ₹8,000 |
| Premium plugins and themes | ₹3,000 to ₹15,000 |
| Maintenance, backups and security | ₹1,500 to ₹15,000 |
| Payment gateway fees (ecommerce) | About 2% to 3% per transaction |
What a 3-year budget really looks like
The build price is only part of the cost. Here is an illustrative three-year total using mid-range figures from the tables above:
| Option | Build cost | Running cost per year | 3-year total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Website builder (DIY) | ₹0 | ₹5,000 | ₹15,000 |
| Freelancer WordPress site | ₹40,000 | ₹20,000 | ₹1,00,000 |
| Agency custom business site | ₹1,20,000 | ₹24,000 | ₹1,92,000 |
The cheapest option is not always the best value. A site that loads slowly or cannot be found in Google costs you enquiries every month.
What pushes the price up?
- Custom design instead of a template: often ₹50,000 or more extra.
- Number of pages and content writing: each page needs layout, copy and testing.
- Ecommerce features: payment gateway, GST invoicing, shipping and inventory.
- Integrations: CRM, booking systems, WhatsApp, ERP or payment links can add ₹5,000 to ₹50,000 each.
- Multiple languages: Hindi and regional-language versions need translation and extra setup.
- Search and AI readiness: fast loading, clean code, structured data and crawlable pages, so Google and AI assistants can find and quote you. Ask whether this is included or billed later.
How long does it take to build a website?
As a rough guide: a basic site takes 1 to 2 weeks, a business site 3 to 6 weeks, an ecommerce store 6 to 12 weeks, and a custom application 3 months or more. Delays usually come from late content and photos, not from development.
10 questions to ask before you sign a website quote
- Is GST included in this price?
- Who owns the domain, hosting account, design files and code?
- How many revision rounds are included?
- Is content writing included, or do I supply it?
- Which plugins or paid tools will I need to renew each year?
- Is basic SEO included: titles, meta descriptions, sitemap, speed and schema?
- What page speed score will the site meet on mobile?
- What support do I get after launch, and for how long?
- Can I edit text and images myself without a developer?
- If I’m redesigning, how will you protect my existing Google rankings?
What different businesses usually need
| Business type | Typical pages and features | Likely tier |
|---|---|---|
| Clinic or doctor | Services, doctor profiles, timings, appointment booking, location map, reviews | Small business site |
| Coaching institute | Courses, faculty, results, fee enquiry form, WhatsApp chat, blog | Small business site |
| Restaurant or café | Menu, photos, location, table booking or delivery links | Basic site |
| Real estate developer | Project pages, floor plans, galleries, lead forms, CRM integration | Professional business site |
| Manufacturer or B2B supplier | Product catalogue, enquiry forms, certifications, downloadable brochures | Professional business site |
| D2C brand | Product catalogue, cart, payment gateway, shipping, GST invoicing | Ecommerce store |
Use the tier to find the price range in the first table, then adjust for custom design, content and integrations.
What a good website quote should include
A clear quote protects you from surprises. It should list:
- Scope: number of pages and templates, and what each contains.
- Features: forms, booking, payments, WhatsApp, CRM and any integrations.
- Design: template-based or custom, and the number of revision rounds.
- Content: who writes the text and supplies photos.
- SEO basics: titles, meta descriptions, sitemap, schema, redirects and speed targets.
- Hosting and domain: who buys them and in whose name.
- Timeline: milestones and dates.
- Payment terms: amounts at each milestone, and whether GST is included.
- Ownership: confirmation that you own the domain, content and code.
- Support: what’s included after launch, for how long, and the cost after that.
Payment terms and milestones
Many agencies and freelancers split payment into stages, for example an advance to start, a payment on design approval, and the balance at launch. Avoid paying 100% upfront, and tie each payment to a clear deliverable you can review.
Is a cheap website a false economy?
A very low quote can make sense for a simple online presence. It becomes expensive when the site:
- loads slowly and loses visitors before they enquire;
- can’t be found in Google or read by AI assistants;
- breaks after plugin updates, with no one to fix it;
- has to be rebuilt within a year or two.
Compare quotes on what you’ll get and what it will cost over three years, not just the first invoice.
Domain and hosting: what to buy
Your domain is your address; hosting is where the website lives. A .com or .in domain typically costs ₹500 to ₹1,500 a year. Choose the extension your customers expect: .in signals an Indian business, while .com suits businesses selling across countries. Register the domain in your own name or company’s name, never only in a developer’s account.
| Hosting type | Typical yearly cost in India | Suitable for |
|---|---|---|
| Shared hosting | ₹2,000 to ₹5,000 | Small brochure sites and blogs |
| Managed WordPress hosting | ₹3,000 to ₹8,000 | Business WordPress sites that need speed and support |
| Cloud or VPS hosting | ₹6,000 to ₹20,000 | Growing sites, stores and higher traffic |
| Dedicated server | ₹80,000 or more | Large, high-traffic or complex sites |
Most hosts include a free SSL certificate, which every site needs for HTTPS.
Website builder vs WordPress vs custom code
| Website builder | WordPress | Custom code | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Upfront cost | Lowest | Low to medium | Highest |
| Ongoing cost | Fixed subscription | Hosting, plugins, maintenance | Developer time for every change |
| Ease of editing | Easiest | Easy once set up | Depends on the build |
| Flexibility | Limited to the platform | Very high with themes and plugins | Unlimited |
| SEO control | Basic to good | Excellent | Excellent if built well |
| Best for | Very small businesses, quick launches | Most business websites and blogs | Web apps and unique requirements |
For most Indian small and mid-sized businesses, WordPress offers the best balance of cost, control and SEO.
Budget for traffic, not just the build
A website without visitors is a brochure in a drawer. Plan a marketing budget from day one:
- Freelance digital marketers in India commonly charge monthly retainers of about ₹8,000 to ₹30,000.
- Agencies typically charge about ₹20,000 to ₹75,000 a month, depending on scope and competition.
- Google Ads clicks often cost ₹5 to ₹80, and more than ₹100 in competitive fields such as finance, real estate and education.
- SEO and content take three to six months to build momentum, so start early.
A realistic first-year plan for a small business pairs a modest website with a steady monthly budget for SEO, Google Business Profile and a little advertising.
Hidden costs to ask about upfront
| Cost | Why it surprises people | What to ask |
|---|---|---|
| Renewal prices | First-year hosting and domain deals often renew at higher rates | “What will hosting and domain cost from year two?” |
| Premium plugins | Some features need paid plugins with yearly licences | “Which paid plugins or tools will we renew?” |
| Content and photos | Copywriting and photography are often excluded | “Is content writing included? Who supplies photos?” |
| Extra revisions | Changes beyond the agreed rounds are billed | “How many revision rounds, and what does extra work cost?” |
| Small changes after launch | Even minor edits may need paid developer time | “Can we edit pages ourselves? What’s your hourly rate?” |
| Email accounts | Business email is often a separate subscription | “Is business email included or extra?” |
How long should a website last?
A well-built business website typically stays useful for three to five years with regular updates. Plan a redesign when the site looks dated next to competitors, is slow on mobile, is hard for your team to edit, or no longer matches your services. When you do redesign, protect your rankings: map old URLs to new ones and redirect them, as explained in our website redesign SEO checklist.
Compare quotes with a simple scorecard
Website quotes are hard to compare because each one is written differently. Put them side by side and score each from 1 (poor) to 5 (excellent) on the points that matter most:
| What to score | What a 5 looks like |
|---|---|
| Scope | Every page, feature and integration is listed |
| Ownership | Domain, hosting, design files and code are in your name |
| SEO and speed | Titles, sitemap, schema, redirects and a mobile speed target are included |
| Content | It’s clear who writes the text and who supplies photos |
| Support | The support period, response time and hourly rate after launch are stated |
| Portfolio | Live sites you can open on your phone and test yourself |
| References | Two or three past clients you can call |
| 3-year cost | Build, renewals, plugins and maintenance are all shown |
Add up the scores, then look at the price. A quote that scores high and costs a little more is usually better value than the cheapest quote with gaps you will pay to fill later. If two quotes score about the same, ask both to explain what they would do in the first month after launch. The answer tells you a lot about how each one works.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a 5-page website cost in India?
A 5-page business website typically costs ₹10,000 to ₹40,000 from a freelancer and ₹50,000 or more from an agency, depending on design and content.
Is ₹10,000 enough for a business website?
It can cover a simple template-based site of a few pages. Expect limited custom design, little SEO work and basic support at that budget.
What is the monthly cost of running a website in India?
For a small business site, about ₹500 to ₹2,500 a month covers domain, hosting and basic maintenance. Ecommerce stores and sites with paid plugins cost more.
Should I choose WordPress, Shopify or a custom build?
WordPress suits most service businesses and blogs. Shopify suits product stores that want a managed platform. Custom builds make sense only when you need features no platform offers.
Is GST charged on website development?
Most agencies and registered freelancers add 18% GST to their quote. Ask for the GST-inclusive total before comparing quotes.
Do I have to pay for my website every year?
Yes, for the domain and hosting at minimum, typically ₹3,000 to ₹8,000 a year combined for a small business site. Add premium plugins and maintenance if you use them.
Can I build a business website myself?
Yes. Website builders and WordPress let you build a simple site yourself for a few thousand rupees a year. It costs you time, and design, speed and SEO depend on your skills.
How much does website maintenance cost in India?
Outsourced maintenance for a small site typically costs about ₹1,500 to ₹15,000 a year. Ecommerce stores and larger sites cost more because they need more frequent updates and monitoring.
Is it better to pay one-time or monthly for a website?
One-time builds suit businesses that want to own everything and can manage updates. Monthly plans, offered by builders and some agencies, spread the cost and usually include hosting, maintenance and small changes. Compare the total over three years and check what you own if you stop paying.
Who should own my domain and hosting accounts?
You should. Register the domain and hosting in your business’s name with your email, and give your developer access rather than ownership. This protects you if you change providers.
Planning a new website? See our website development service or request a custom quote.
Sources
- Hostinger India: How much does a website cost in India in 2026? (updated 26 February 2026)
