It's the first question almost every business owner asks, and the honest answer is: it depends — but here's exactly what it depends on.
Free – $500: DIY builders
Wix, Squarespace, and similar tools let you build something yourself for free or a low monthly fee. You're doing the design, the copy, and the tech yourself. The result is usually functional but generic, and the ongoing platform fee never stops.
$500 – $2,000: Entry-level custom
This is where a small studio or freelancer builds you a real, custom-coded single-page or small multi-page site. No templates, clean code, mobile-first. For most US small businesses — trades, local services, consultants — this range gets you everything you actually need to compete online.
$2,000 – $6,000: Multi-page with functionality
Booking systems, online stores, complex content structures, multiple revision rounds. This is the range for established businesses with specific requirements and a real need for conversion optimization.
$6,000+: Agency builds
Large agencies with account managers, project managers, strategy teams, and developers. You're paying for process, brand, and scale. Often worth it for larger organizations — often overkill for a small business.
What's actually worth paying for?
Speed, clean code, and SEO fundamentals. A $800 site that loads in under 2 seconds and shows up on Google is worth ten times more than a $4,000 site that's slow and invisible to search.
At Loit, our sites start with a free demo so you can see the quality before spending anything. That's the right way to buy a website.