Website prices online swing by an order of magnitude, because the word “website” covers five completely different products. A simple one-pager, a full company site, a campaign landing page, an online store and a custom build made to measure - each is a different amount of work, so each carries a different price. That is why “how much does a website cost”, asked without saying which website, always gets the same answer: “it depends”.
Below I break that “it depends” into specifics: the types of sites and their real ranges, what the price is actually made of, when a free builder makes sense, and how to read quotes so you compare like with like. One note up front: every figure here reflects real market rates in Poland, not a price list - the actual number always follows the actual scope.
Five products under one name
The biggest reason for the confusion is simple: someone compares a quote for a single-page site with a quote for a company site with a blog and forms, then wonders why one is several times more expensive. They are not the same product. Before you look at any numbers, decide which of these you actually need:
| Type of site | What it usually covers | Rough market range (Poland) |
|---|---|---|
| One-pager / business card site | One page or a few simple subpages, offer in a nutshell, contact | around 1,500-4,000 PLN with a freelancer |
| Campaign landing page | One page with one goal - contact, signup or quote request | similar range to a one-pager |
| Company site on WordPress | A handful to a dozen subpages, services, blog, forms, SEO basics | around 4,000-15,000 PLN |
| Online store | Products, payments, couriers, the whole buying path | from around 5,000 PLN up |
| Custom build / non-standard features | Individual design and development around a specific process | quoted case by case |
A store is enough of its own topic - payment gateways, courier integrations, product imports - that I cover it in a separate piece: what a WooCommerce store costs. Here I stay with websites.
How much a company website on WordPress costs
This is the most common case: a service or manufacturing business, a handful to a dozen subpages, WordPress, a contact form. The market range of around 4,000-15,000 PLN is wide because it holds two different approaches: a stock theme with the content swapped out at the bottom end, and an individual design built around the brand at the top. Beyond design itself, your place in that range comes down to the number of subpages, whether you or the developer supply the copy and photos, and integrations - bookings, maps, multiple languages. If your customers are other businesses, there is one more layer on top: content that has to convince a professional buyer - what a site like that needs I set out in the piece on a website for a B2B company.
Rather than hide behind someone else’s ranges: I work fixed-bid, meaning a concrete quote in writing before we start, no hourly billing and no surprises along the way. Typical website projects with me land in the range of around 5,000-10,000 PLN net - and where exactly yours falls depends on precisely the factors above.
What the price is actually made of
A good quote is not one number pulled out of the air, it is the sum of several separate jobs. When an offer lands in your inbox, check which of these it includes:
- Design - an individual layout and look, or an adaptation of a ready-made theme; this is the line item with the widest price spread
- Build - putting the site together, configuration, mobile layout, testing
- Copy - who writes the text for each subpage; “client supplies the content” is the single most common reason a project stalls for weeks
- Photos and graphics - a shoot, stock library or material you already have
- Analytics and technical basics - visitor stats, sitemap, domain hookup, SSL certificate, backups
What helps: before you ask for a quote, write down the list of subpages, mark what you already have (logo, copy, photos) and what you do not - and send the same brief to everyone. Only then do price differences start to mean anything, because everyone is pricing the same scope.
A free site, a builder or an AI generator - when it makes sense
You can have a website without paying for the build: drag-and-drop builders and AI generators run from zero to roughly 150 PLN a month. And honestly: for a one-person business getting started, for testing an idea before you invest more, that makes sense.
The hidden cost is threefold. First, time: assembling a site yourself in the evenings can eat weeks, and those are hours taken out of your actual work. Second, ownership: in many builders the site lives on someone else’s platform on someone else’s terms - stop paying the subscription and the site is gone. Third, portability: you usually cannot take that site with you to your own hosting, so when the business grows you rebuild from scratch instead of extending what you have. A WordPress site on your own hosting is fully yours - and that is one of the more important things you are actually paying for.
Monthly and yearly running costs
The build is a one-off cost, but a site also generates fixed, recurring expenses worth knowing before you set a budget:
- Domain - roughly 50-150 PLN a year, depending on the extension and first-year promotions
- Hosting - roughly 200-800 PLN a year for a server suited to a company website
- Maintenance - updates, backups, monitoring; a separate decision and a separate topic, which I cover in what website maintenance costs
One detail that matters: the domain and hosting should be registered to you, not to the developer. It is your company and your address on the internet - changing developers must not turn into discovering you have no access to either.
How to read a quote so you compare like with like
Two offers with different numbers are usually two different scopes, not two prices for the same thing. Before you decide one is “expensive”, ask both the same questions:
- Individual design or a ready-made theme - and what exactly does “individual” mean here?
- Are copy and photos included, or do I supply them?
- Whose name are the domain and hosting registered under?
- After launch, can I edit the site myself, and will someone show me how?
- What happens after go-live - fixes, updates, support - and at what price?
If the cheaper offer suddenly “grows” with add-ons after those questions, it was not cheaper - it was just described in fewer words. The full scope of what I do when building websites is written out separately, so you have a reference point for that kind of comparison.
FAQ
How much does a simple website cost? A one-pager or business card site with a freelancer runs roughly 1,500-4,000 PLN. That is the market, not a price list - the exact figure depends on the number of sections and whether copy and photos are on your side.
How much does a website cost per month? A running site is mostly annual costs: a domain at roughly 50-150 PLN and hosting at roughly 200-800 PLN a year. On top of that, optional ongoing maintenance if you do not want to watch updates and backups yourself.
Can I get a website for free? You can - in a builder or an AI generator. You pay not with money but with your time, the platform’s limits, and the fact that the site is neither fully yours nor portable.
How much does a website with a store cost? An online store is a separate product - the market starts at roughly 5,000 PLN and goes up from there, and the breakdown of that price is its own topic.
Already have a site and wondering whether fixing it is cheaper than rebuilding it? Send me the address - I will look and tell you honestly which route pays off better.
Need something like this on your side? I design and build websites for B2B companies - from scratch or as a rebuild of what already stands. Send me the scope and a quote with a date comes back.