how much does a website really cost in canada? (2025 breakdown)

few things in business are as confusing as getting quotes for a website. you describe what sounds like a straightforward project — "a site for my business, maybe 8 pages, some photos, a contact form" — and you get quotes ranging from $800 to $25,000. how do you make sense of that?

this post breaks down what actually drives the cost of a website in canada, what you should expect to pay for different types of work, and the red flags to watch for when hiring someone to build yours.

the honest range by project type

these are real-world numbers for canadian projects in 2025, reflecting market rates in cities like ottawa, toronto, and vancouver.

template-based / diy platforms (squarespace, wix, shopify) cost: $0–$500 setup + $20–$60/month ongoing this is building on top of a pre-made template. great for sole proprietors and early-stage businesses that need something functional fast. limited customization, and you're paying monthly forever.

freelancer-built wordpress site (simple brochure site) cost: $1,500–$5,000 a freelancer using an off-the-shelf wordpress theme, customizing it for your brand, setting up pages, and handing you the keys. quality varies enormously depending on the person. this is where the market is most crowded.

custom wordpress or webflow site cost: $5,000–$15,000 a more deliberate process: custom design, proper development, performance optimization, seo setup, content migration. you're paying for actual strategy, not just template-filling.

custom web application (next.js, react, full-stack) cost: $15,000–$60,000+ when your site does something complex — user accounts, bookings, ecommerce with custom logic, integrations with other software — you're paying for engineering, not just design. these projects have real scope, real timelines, and real maintenance needs.

enterprise / ongoing retainers cost: $5,000–$20,000+/month large organizations with complex needs, multiple teams involved, continuous development. not the typical small business situation.

what actually drives the cost

understanding these levers helps you make smarter decisions — and ask better questions.

design from scratch vs. template designing a site from scratch means a designer is spending 20–60 hours thinking through layout, typography, colour, information architecture, and how it looks on every screen size. that work has value and costs money. using a template cuts that time dramatically. neither approach is inherently better — it depends on how much your visual identity matters to your business.

number of pages and content complexity a 5-page brochure site is genuinely different from a 40-page site with a blog, team directory, case studies, and a resources section. every page needs to be designed, developed, and populated with content. scope matters.

copywriting most quotes don't include writing the actual words on your site. that's a separate service, and good web copy is harder to write than it looks. if you're not writing it yourself, budget $150–$300 per page for a decent copywriter. it's often the most undervalued part of a website project.

ecommerce adding a store multiplies complexity immediately. product pages, cart logic, payment processing (stripe, paypal, etc.), tax handling, shipping integrations, order management — all of this takes real time to build and test properly.

integrations does your site need to connect to your crm, your booking system, your email marketing tool, your inventory software? each integration is a custom connection that needs to be built, tested, and maintained.

ongoing maintenance and hosting a website isn't a one-time purchase. you need to budget for:

• hosting: $15–$100/month depending on what you're running
• domain name: ~$20/year
• maintenance / security updates: $100–$500/month for managed care, or nothing if you're doing it yourself (and accepting the risk)
• content updates: varies

many businesses don't think about this until something breaks.

red flags when hiring someone

"i'll build your whole site for $500" this is almost always a template with your name slapped on it, minimal custom work, and a developer who won't be reachable in six months. not always — some good freelancers do affordable work — but a quote this low deserves serious scrutiny.

no contract or scope document if someone is building your site without a written agreement that specifies what's included (number of pages, revisions, timeline, what happens after launch), you are setting yourself up for a bad experience.

no mention of performance or seo a site that looks good but loads in 8 seconds and can't be found on google isn't a finished product. any serious developer should be talking about core web vitals, mobile optimization, and at minimum on-page seo basics.

they own your domain or hosting you should always own your own domain name, registered in your name. same with your hosting account. agencies and freelancers can manage these for you, but you should have access. this is a control issue that matters when the relationship ends.

no post-launch support plan what happens when something breaks? who do you call? clarify this before you sign anything.

the question to ask yourself

what's the right budget for your business? a rough rule of thumb: your website investment should be proportional to how much of your business runs through it. a restaurant that gets 20% of its reservations online is in a different position than a consultancy whose entire client acquisition happens through the web.

if your website is the front door to your business, treat it like one. a $1,200 website on a $500,000 revenue business is almost always a false economy.

if you're working with a limited budget, the right move isn't to underspend on quality — it's to narrow scope. start with fewer pages, build them well, and expand over time.

nanushi works with small and mid-sized businesses across canada on projects of all sizes. if you'd like a realistic quote with no pressure, we're happy to talk.