WordPress cost guide
How much does a WordPress website cost in 2026?
WordPress itself is free software. The price of a site is the design, build, content, hosting and upkeep around it. Here is the market data, what drives it and how to scope a quote you can compare.
In short
According to Clutch market data, web projects typically cost under $10,000, with an average of $66,499 across all web work. A WordPress site sits wherever its scope puts it: a brochure site near the low end, a custom or WooCommerce build well above. The drivers are page count, design, integrations, languages, store features and upkeep. Liftup gives a fixed quote after a short call.
What the market data says
Clutch, a directory that surveys agencies and clients, reports that web projects typically cost under $10,000 and that the average is $66,499. Both figures are in US dollars and cover all kinds of web work, not only WordPress. The source is listed at the bottom of this page.
Notice the gap. The average is more than six times the upper edge of the typical band, because a smaller number of very large builds pull it up. If you are planning a brochure site, a small blog or a simple service business site, the typical band is the more useful guide. If you need a store, a membership area or a custom integration, expect to move toward and beyond the upper edge.
We do not publish prices for our own work. You get a fixed quote after a short call; start on the contact page.
What moves the price of a WordPress site
WordPress is the platform. The cost sits in the decisions around it. This table shows the main drivers and the question that settles each one.
| Driver | Pushes cost down | Pushes cost up | Question to settle |
|---|---|---|---|
| Design | A tuned existing theme | A custom design built from brand guidelines | Do you have brand rules, or does the site define them |
| Pages and templates | Few pages sharing one or two layouts | Many page types with their own layouts | How many different page layouts exist, not how many pages |
| Content | You supply final text and images | Writing, photography, migration from an old site | Who produces content, and by when |
| Integrations | A contact form and email | CRM, booking, payments, ERP or membership | What systems must the site talk to |
| Languages | One language | Several languages with separate SEO | Which markets need their own pages |
| Store features | No store | WooCommerce with variants, shipping rules, subscriptions | How many products and which payment methods |
| SEO and speed | Basics at launch | Redirect mapping, schema, Core Web Vitals work | Is there search traffic to protect |
| Accessibility | Sensible defaults | Audited against WCAG 2.2 with fixes | Is it a legal or procurement requirement |
Score your own scope: a worked example
Give each driver above 0 for the cheaper description, 1 for in between, and 2 for the costlier one. The maximum is 16. The score does not give a price. It tells you which part of the market range to expect, and it helps you compare quotes written on different assumptions.
| Site | Description | Score out of 16 | Where to expect it |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | Eight-page brochure site, theme-based, contact form, you supply the text | 2 | Inside the typical band |
| B | Forty-page site, custom design, two languages, CRM integration, redirects from an old site | 10 | Upper part of the typical band or above |
| C | WooCommerce store with 300 products, subscriptions, shipping rules, ERP sync, a second language and an accessibility audit | 13 | Above the typical band; expect a larger project |
This is our rule of thumb for planning, not a price list. Real quotes depend on details a score cannot capture.
Costs after launch
The invoice for the build is not the whole cost. These recurring items belong in the budget.
- Hosting. Shared plans suit small sites; a store or a busy site may need a better plan.
- Premium plugin and theme licences, which usually renew each year.
- Updates, backups and security checks. WordPress core, themes and plugins all need regular updates. See website maintenance and the website maintenance cost guide.
- Content changes, new pages and campaign landing pages.
- SEO work after launch, if search traffic is a goal.
How to scope a quote so quotes compare
- Write a short briefUse the website brief template. List goals, audience, pages, features and examples you like.
- List every integrationPayments, email tools, CRM, booking, analytics. Each one adds testing time.
- Decide who supplies contentLate content is the most common cause of delay on any build.
- Ask for itemized quotesDesign, build, content, SEO setup, training and launch as separate lines make vendors comparable.
- Choose the contract typeFixed price suits a clear scope. Time and materials suits a changing one. The fixed price vs time and materials page compares them.
- Check ownershipMake sure you own the domain, hosting account, code and design files at handover.
Where Liftup fits
Our WordPress development work covers new builds, rebuilds and WooCommerce. Two real projects show the range. The A'YUCO case study is a WordPress online store for a matcha brand. The Edunova case study is a WordPress site for a German language school, delivered in a two-month timeline and reported at +40% new visitors and +30% course registrations. Interakt's landing pages went live in two weeks, as described in the Interakt case study. Timelines depend on scope, and yours will be stated in the quote.
WordPress is not always the answer. For a design-led marketing site with a small team, see the comparison of Webflow vs WordPress.
Sources: Clutch: web development pricing guide (market data).
Updated 30 October 2026
Questions, answered
Is WordPress really free?
Why do WordPress quotes vary so much?
Is a template site always cheaper?
How long does a WordPress build take?
Do I need a maintenance plan?
Can you give a price on this page?
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Get a fixed quote for your WordPress site
Share your brief on the contact page and we will reply after a short call with a fixed quote.