How much does a WordPress site cost in 2026? A guide to setting your budget

$1,000 on your left. $4,300 on your right. And do you remember that one day you came across an offer to create a site for $7,500 not including tax?!

With all these widely differing prices presented online, it’s very difficult to answer this question: how much does a WordPress site cost?

After all, there are many factors involved. But don’t panic: the task is far from impossible.

In order to help you make sense of it all, this article will explain everything. First and foremost, we’ve put ourselves in the shoes of an entrepreneur, artisan, shop owner, or professional looking to launch a website using WordPress.

By the end of this post, you’ll know exactly what goes into pricing a WordPress site and what expenses to expect.

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How much does WordPress cost?

WordPress software is free, but…

Before detailing how much a WordPress site costs, let’s first look at a broader, more general aspect.

How much does WordPress cost? First of all, you need to know that the WordPress.org software, the one you download to create your site and put it online, is free.

WordPress is managed by a non-profit organization: the WordPress Foundation.

As a result, WordPress.org is an open-source project. Its code, open and accessible, is distributed under the terms of a specific license called GNU GPL.

Since it’s free to download, anyone can use, modify, and redistribute it as they see fit.

Basically, you can do whatever you want with it, and use it to create a showcase site, an ecommerce store, an intranet, or a members’ area.

On the other hand, there are additional costs to consider, otherwise it would be too good to be true. For example, even though WordPress.org is free, it can’t run itself.

At the very least, you’ll need a web host and a domain name to put your site online. This is one of the factors you need to take into account when determining the cost of a WordPress site. I’ll come back to this later in this article.

What about WordPress.com?

Over the past few lines, I’ve mentioned WordPress.org several times. Because in fact, there are two WordPresses, so to speak:

• WordPress.org, the software itself. It’s this version that we’ll be talking about throughout this article. The WPMarmite site, for example, runs on WordPress.org.
• WordPress.com, the hosting platform offered by Automattic, the parent company of WordPress. It offers a free, but very limited plan. Above all, it doesn’t allow you to own your data (unlike WordPress.org). To find out all the differences between the two versions, read our article on the subject.

All good? Then let’s get on with the rest.

What factors go into the price of a WordPress site?

To determine how much a WordPress site costs, you first need to consider a number of factors.

Here, let’s imagine you’re a service provider who wants to price a WordPress site and market it to your client.

This price will depend on many aspects, including the customer’s needs, the type of project, its complexity, and the features that need to be included.

To get a clearer idea, we can consider 4 main areas that will influence the price of a WordPress site.

The person creating the site

First of all, the price of a WordPress site will depend on the person in charge of designing it.

Broadly speaking, there are three options on the market:

• Develop the site yourself, like a pro. This is the most economical solution, but it can be very time-consuming if you don’t have enough technical knowledge.
• Hire a WordPress freelancer. You can find your ideal freelancer on specialized platforms such as Upwork or Codeable (affiliate link), a WordPress freelancer platform. On Upwork, rates often depend on the professional’s experience, whereas on Codeable, you get an estimate based on their $80–$120 hourly rate.
• Opt for a specialized agency. This is the most expensive solution, because the costs incurred by an agency are higher than those borne by a freelancer working alone.
  For example, an agency has to pay its employees, account for overhead costs if it has a physical presence, and so on. On the other hand, it has the advantage of offering a range of profiles in the same place, throughout the life of your project (web developer, web designer, SEO specialist, etc.). It’s trickier to find a freelancer who is experienced in all these areas.

The type of site to be created (and its complexity)

Trying to answer the question “How much does a WordPress site cost?” inevitably means taking into account the final product.

Depending on the type of site you want to design, the price will be higher or lower. By type of site, we mean (from least to most expensive):

• A blog to display your latest publications
• A showcase site to present your business online, with a business card available 24 hours a day
• An ecommerce site to sell physical and/or digital products.

The logic here is as follows:

The more complex and feature-rich a WordPress site, the higher the price, not least because the service provider will spend more time working on it. As you probably know, time is money. 😉

So it’s only natural that an online store designed with WooCommerce, featuring hundreds of products, should cost more than a blog of just a few pages. Size does matter.

WordPress site features and options

In addition to the type of site you need to create, you also need to take into account the functionalities you’ll need to implement when assessing the cost of a WordPress site.

Whether you’re choosing a packaged or a customized offer, the following elements will come into play:

• Hosting and domain name
• Number of pages to be created
• Whether or not to integrate a premium theme OR to create a custom theme
• Whether or not to use a page builder such as Elementor, Divi Builder, or Beaver Builder
• Website architecture and design
• Level of graphic customization
• Content to be included: photos, text, videos, contact form, etc.
• Site security (switching to HTTPS, adding a backup system, using WordPress security plugins to block spam, malicious scripts, plugin vulnerabilities, and brute-force attacks, etc.)
• Multilingualism (translating your site into other languages)
• Developing an SEO strategy (keyword research, link building, internal linking, SEO audit, etc.)
• Working on the loading speed of WordPress pages: setting up a WordPress caching system, code minification, database optimization, etc.
• Possible webmarketing actions: sharing buttons for social networks, Google Ads or Facebook Ads advertising, organic publications on social networks, creating a newsletter, adding registration forms for an email list, adding an analytics tracking code, etc.

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How much a WordPress site costs: the importance of “side” costs

Obviously, the above list is not exhaustive. Finally, you’ll need to take into account what are known as “parallel costs” when estimating how much a WordPress site costs.

Consider the costs that correspond to the time spent on the project, outside the period of pure creation (creation of the WordPress site) and the safety margin. These elements are typically included in the service provider’s quote (if you choose to have your website created by a service provider). For example:

• Time spent defining the project: discussions between the service provider and you, drawing up specifications, expressing needs, analyzing the competition and your customer’s target audience, producing mock-ups, a logo, etc.
• Margin (if the project goes off track or has been incorrectly estimated)
• The correction of bugs and anomalies in the days following official delivery of the site, to ensure that everything is working properly
• Your training, either in person or by videoconference. Your service provider may also need to create written or video tutorials to explain how your website works.

How much does it cost to create your own WordPress website?

If you choose to build your website yourself, there are a number of costs you’ll need to cover, which will affect the price of a WordPress site.

Broadly speaking, there are 5 essential elements to consider. Let’s break them down.

The domain name

The domain name represents the address of your site on the Internet (e.g.: wpmarmite.com is the domain name of WPMarmite). It’s an essential element for deploying a site online.

To get a domain name, you’ll need to spend an average of around $10 per year. This is only an average, given as an indication. The price may vary depending on a number of factors:

• The extension you choose (.com is more expensive than .online or .xyz, for example)
• The registrar you use: SiteGround (affiliate link), Domain.com, Google Domains, NameCheap, etc. A registrar is an approved entity that manages domain names. Each one sets its prices as it sees fit.
• When you buy your domain name. If you purchase it at the same time as your hosting, you’ll often be offered a free domain name for the first year.

Note also that the price of a domain name will increase according to its rental period, which generally ranges from 1 to 10 years (you can’t buy a domain name permanently).

The longer you rent it, the more you’ll pay up front (although sliding-scale rates are often available).

To choose a domain name like a pro, I refer you to our complete guide on the subject, which will tell you everything about it.

Hosting

Next, you’ll need to purchase hosting space. A hosting company rents you space on its servers to host (position) your site and all its files (+ its database).

Without this, you won’t be visible on the Internet. Broadly speaking, there are 5 hosting packages:

• Free hosting. Yes, it’s possible, but I wouldn’t recommend it. The performance often leaves much to be desired, as do server security and maintenance.
• Shared hosting, the most affordable way to get started because you share hosting space with other sites.
• VPS hosting
• Dedicated hosting
• Dedicated WordPress hosting

Find out more about all the differences between hosting offers in our post on WordPress hosting.

Once again, prices will depend on the type of hosting you choose. For example, dedicated WordPress hosting costs on average between $20 and $30 per month.

For shared hosting, expect to pay between $30 and $100 on average, but this time per year. In most cases, you’ll also get a free SSL certificate, which is essential for enabling HTTPS on your WordPress site.

The theme

To shape the design of your next WordPress site, you’ll need a theme.

You can opt for one of the options offered on the official WordPress theme directory.

Of course, you can start with a free theme. However, premium themes are often more “advantageous” in the long run, for the following reasons:

• You’ll have access to support and updates, so you can benefit from new features and security patches
• You’ll get more features with the paid version of a theme than with the free version

It’s up to you to decide where your needs lie. Among the themes we recommend most are:

• Ollie
• Astra
• Kadence
• Blocksy
• GeneratePress

You can also find other nuggets on our page dedicated to the best WordPress themes.

The price of a premium theme starts at around $50/year. This price often varies according to the use you intend to make of it. Basically, the more sites you plan to install it on, the higher the price.

Plugins

Alongside themes, plugins are a key part of the panorama of a WordPress site. They allow you to add functionalities to your sites without coding.

As with themes, there are several categories of plugins. Some are totally free. Others are either freemium (offering both free and paid versions) or premium.

Plugins are available for a wide range of needs, from SEO and security to webmarketing and backup.

You can find them on specialized premium sales platforms, such as CodeCanyon, and especially on the official WordPress plugin directory. The latter currently lists 58,833.

There are various possibilities among plugins:

• Case no. 1: Their free version will suffice in many cases. This is the case for Yoast (for working on the on-page SEO of your content), UpdraftPlus (for backing up your site), Redirection (for managing your redirects — it doesn’t have a premium version), or Mailchimp for WordPress (for adding subscription forms to your newsletter).
• Case no. 2: Their free version may be able to provide you with certain services, but you’ll quickly be limited if you want to go further. In this case, it’s often a good idea to switch to their premium offer. Examples include the Elementor Pro page builder (affiliate link) or the SecuPress security plugin.
• Case no. 3: Some must-have plugins will only be available in a premium version. Such is the case with WP Rocket (affiliate link), indispensable for accelerating page loading speeds.

Of course, you can make do with free plugins. But as with everything else, you’ll quickly find yourself limited if you want to set up a professional site.

The final cost will depend on the number of premium plugins you purchase. If we were to give an average range, count on an investment of between $50 and $300/year for plugins.

As with themes, some plugins offer either an annual payment or a one-off payment (lifetime purchase), which helps to reduce the bill over the long term.

How much does a WordPress site ultimately cost, if we add up the 4 elements developed above (domain name, hosting, theme, and plugins)? On a yearly basis, count between $30 and $50 on the very low end (without the use of premium themes and plugins), and around $350 to $500/year for a site including a premium theme and several premium plugins.
Finally, don’t forget to take into account the costs associated with the annual renewal of your domain name, hosting, theme and plugins, as well as any third-party tools you use, such as a newsletter-sending service like Mailchimp or ActiveCampaign.

Security and maintenance

Finally, don’t neglect the security aspect of your site. This begins with following best practices, such as the use of a multi-functional security plugin like SecuPress or iThemes Security.

But it also includes preventative maintenance of your WordPress site. This often means:

• Theme, plugin, and WordPress Core updates
• Site backups
• Monitoring (checking site availability)
• Performance optimization
• Site restoration in the event of a problem

If you prefer to delegate this task, keep in mind that, on average, preventive maintenance packages are invoiced by service providers at $40 to $100/month, not including tax.

In most cases, the higher the price, the more extensive the maintenance options on offer.

How much does a third-party WordPress site cost?

If you’d rather outsource the creation of your website, you now know that you can choose between two options:

• Hire a freelancer
• Use the services of an agency

You also know that the price will depend on the type of site to be created, its complexity, and the expected functionalities.

On the other hand, you’re probably keen to know how much you’ll have to pay, aren’t you?

Find out through Google and freelance platforms

To get a clearer idea, you can start by using a search engine like Google.

For example, type in “WordPress agency + your location.” For example, “WordPress agency Kansas City” or “WordPress agency San Diego” (or “WordPress developer Kansas City” if you’re looking for a freelancer).

Then browse the sites that come up and check out their Services page. Not all of them display their prices (often because they prefer to create tailor-made quotes for their customers), but you’ll sometimes come across ready-made offers with a price displayed.

In many cases, you should expect to pay at least $1,500 before tax for a 5-page showcase site, and at least $2,000 before tax for an ecommerce site.

For freelancers, go to dedicated platforms such as Upwork or Codeable (affiliate link). Enter “WordPress developer” in the search bar and add the city of your choice (e.g. Kansas City).

Whether you opt for a freelancer who charges by the day or by the hour, you’ll then need to multiply the rate by the number of hours or day(s) spent creating your site.

You should expect to pay at least $1,000 to $1,500 before tax for a classic, professionally rendered showcase site.

Conclusion

Answering the question “How much does a WordPress site cost” is no easy task, but you now have all the information you need to set your budget.

Whether you choose to build your site yourself or hire a professional, your budget depends primarily on your needs: type of site, desired features, level of customization, etc.

In addition, you need to take into account certain expenses such as:

• Domain name
• Hosting
• The purchase of a theme and premium plugins

How far along are you with your WordPress website project? Are you planning to handle everything yourself or outsource it? Let us know in the comments.

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About the author

Thibaut | WPMarmite

Content manager and independent copywriter, I help my clients to develop their online presence. Freelance since 2011 and former sports journalist, I am passionate about webmarketing, WordPress and SEO on the professional side. On a personal level, I love series, reading and sports. I'm a huge football fan.