How Much Does Building a Website on WordPress Cost in 2024?
Everything you need to know about how much WordPress costs
Since WordPress powers more than 43% of the world’s websites, it makes sense to build a WordPress website. However, the question is how much does WordPress cost and which WordPress prices do you need to budget for on a one-time or ongoing basis?
This guide on WordPress website costs offers answers, and covers the following topics:
- How much does a WordPress website cost?
- Summary: WordPress website pricing by business type
- WordPress.org vs. WordPress.com comparison
- What determines WordPress website pricing?
- What are some alternatives to a WordPress website?
- FAQs about WordPress costs
Keep reading to learn more about WordPress prices now!
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How much does a WordPress website cost?
WordPress website pricing varies because every business’s design and development needs are unique. The average upfront cost for a WordPress website, though, is $100 to $100,000 or more. Ongoing maintenance costs for WordPress websites range from $50 to $10,000 or more per year.
Get a quick summary of WordPress website costs here:
Last Updated: May 1, 2024
| Expense | Cost | Frequency |
| Domain Name | $0.99 to $40 | Annually |
| Web Hosting | $3 to $800 | Monthly |
| WordPress Theme | $0-$200 | Annually or one time cost |
| WordPress Plugins | $0-$1000 | Monthly, annually, or one-time charge |
| Website Security | $50-$1000 | Monthly or Annually |
| Website Maintenance | $25-$10,000 | Hourly or Monthly |
See the Factors That Influence Your Cost
Your cheat sheet to WordPress website pricing by business type
Estimate your website costs in this breakdown of WordPress website pricing by business type:
| Business Type | Average Upfront WordPress Cost | Average Ongoing WordPress Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Small Business Website | $75 - $2500 / one-time | $300 - $700 / yr. |
| Ecommerce | $5000 - $55,000 / one-time | $1000 - $3000 / yr. |
| Mid-sized Business | $7500 - $35,000 / one-time | $2000 - $5000 / yr. |
| Enterprise Business | $10,000 - $115,000 / one-time | $5000 - $15,000 / yr. |
Keep in mind that your organization’s WordPress website costs will depend on multiple factors, like your:
- Number of pages
- Number of WordPress plugins
- Website traffic
- Website capabilities, like ecommerce functionality
- Design style
- Redesign frequency
- Whether you do the work in-house or hiring an agency
- And more
That’s why your business may pay more or less than these company-specific averages.
WordPress.org vs. WordPress.com comparison
The price ranges listed above are for WordPress.org, which is the open-source version of WordPress. Alternatively, you can use WordPress.com to build your website. While it doesn’t offer as much customization capabilities as WordPress.org does, it’s an option if you want to build a website quickly.
Here’s how they stack up:
Which is better: WordPress.org or WordPress.com?
WordPress.org is a better option if you want more flexibility and customizability for your website.
While WordPress.com can be a good option if you just want a basic website, it won’t scale with you as your business grows, and it can be limiting on what you can do with it. It functions more like a typical website builder (think Shopify or Wix), so it can be a good option if you don’t have a lot of web development skills and need a simple website.
If you want a website that’s more unique and customized, using WordPress.org is the way to go.
That being said, WordPress.org does require more skill and development experience for you to create your website. Since you’re creating it on your own (with the help of a template, if you choose), it requires you to have some web design skills or knowledge to create your website. It means you need to rely on the community forums or hire a web development company to create your website for you if you don’t have a skilled expert in-house.
The end result, however, is worth it –– you get a unique and custom website built just the way you need it.
Let’s take a look at six factors that influence WordPress website pricing.
1. Domain name (Cost: $0.99 – $40 / year)
WordPress requires you to obtain your own domain name for your website. The cost of your domain depends on where you purchase it from and what it is –– some domain names have a higher value than others.
Where you get your domain name can also impact what you pay. Some popular domain name buyer websites include GoDaddy or BlueHost. They charge different rates for domain names, which can cause the cost to vary significantly.
2. Web hosting (Cost: $3 – $800 / month)
Aside from your domain name, you must have web hosting. There are two options for web hosting: shared and dedicated.
With shared web hosting, you share a server with other businesses. This option costs less because different companies use the server, but the server may not perform as well. It can cause your website to load slowly.
When you use a dedicated server, you have your server for your business. A personal server will be more expensive, but you won’t need to share the server with other companies and will have a faster-performing website.
The cost will vary depending upon the type of web hosting you use and where you host your website.
3. Themes (Cost: $0 – $200 / theme or year)
WordPress offers numerous themes for your business that can help you personalize your online presence. WordPress is home to a wide variety of free themes, but you can also find free themes from third-party websites.
There are also premium themes available to your business. These themes do cost money, but they make your site appear more professional, add more functionality, and include plugins.
The cost of these themes varies — you may find a theme for $20, or you might find a theme for $100. The prices vary greatly depending on the style.
How you pay for these themes also varies. Some only have a one-time fee for the theme, while others will charge a yearly cost to keep it.
4. Plugins (Cost: $0 – $1000 / month, year, or one time)
Plugins are a crucial part of your WordPress site since they add functionality and make it more professional.
Some plugins will charge a yearly cost, while others charge a one-off fee. With over 50,000 plugins, you have dozens of options available to your company. There are multiple types of plugins you may use for your site, like anti-spam, SEO assistance, and site maintenance plugins.
The cost will vary depending on how many plugins you use and which ones you invest in.
5. Security (Cost: $50 – $100 / month or year)
One of the most important elements of your site is its security. You want people to feel safe if they’re browsing or shopping on your site. You’ll need to add security to your website to make people feel comfortable sharing their personal information and making purchases.
You’ll want to get an SSL certificate, which is standard technology that keeps websites safe. It helps keep the user’s Internet connections secure. Sometimes you can pay a one-time fee for security, but many security options require a monthly cost.
A basic security plan will run about $50 a year, but you can easily climb up to hundreds of dollars a year for more advanced security options.
6. Website maintenance ($25 - $10,000/ hour or month)
A WordPress website isn’t a once and done endeavor. It requires continuous maintenance and updating to ensure you deliver the best experience for your audience. Not to mention, plugin providers will continually release updates to fix bugs and improve performance, which means you’ll need to update them if you’re using them.
So, when trying to determine if WordPress pricing is in your budget, don’t forget to factor in the cost of maintenance for your website. If you have someone in-house that can manage your website, you won’t need to worry about this factor as much.
If not, you’ll have to consider how much it’ll cost to have someone do your website maintenance for you. A freelancer will typically charge you an hourly rate, while an agency will charge monthly fees. The size and work needed for your website may also affect these rates.
Got additional questions about WordPress costs? Browse our FAQ:
Does WordPress cost money?
Yes and no. Technically, WordPress is free for users who select the “Free” plan. Most businesses, however, require one of WordPress’s paid plans. WordPress prices for these plans range from a couple of dollars a month to over $1000 a month.
Even if you opt to create a WordPress website through your team, you’re still paying for it through wages, benefits, and other employee costs.
WordPress may not be free, but it does offer controlled cost opportunities. You decide how much you want to pay for your theme, plugins, and other features. It gives you some control over what you’re spending on your WordPress design.
What WordPress costs do I need to budget for?
Companies should budget for the following ongoing WordPress costs:
- WordPress subscription
- Website hosting
- Domain name
- Website security
- Website maintenance
- WordPress plugins
- Additional file storage
As you finalize your plan, like whether you’ll maintain your site in-house or with an agency’s help, you can better estimate your WordPress website costs. You should always include a buffer in your budget, though, so you can respond to unexpected costs throughout the year.
How much does WordPress cost per year?
Per year, WordPress websites cost around $75 to $15,000. How much your business pays will depend on features unique to your website, like the number of pages, functionality, overall design, plugin usage, and more.
How much does WordPress cost per month?
Per month, WordPress websites cost around $7 to $1250. How much your business pays will depend on your website and its unique features. For example, your number of pages and plugins, as well as your website’s design and traffic, will influence your monthly WordPress cost.
How much does it cost to build a WordPress website?
The cost to build a WordPress website is $100 to $100,000 or more, which includes designing, developing, and launching your site. Keep in mind that your custom WordPress website costs will vary and depend on your unique wants and needs.
How much does WordPress website design cost?
WordPress website design costs depend on whether your business designs your website in-house or hires a freelancer or web design agency to create your site. In-house WordPress website design prices range from $0 to $300, plus wages of employees, while freelancers cost $500 to $5000 and agencies cost $3000 to $100,000.
How much does WordPress website maintenance cost?
WordPress costs for website maintenance depend on who performs the maintenance. In-house website maintenance costs $0 to $25 per month, while freelancer website maintenance costs $50 to $100 per hour. Website maintenance services from an agency cost $119 to $449 per month.
Is the cost of WordPress worth the money?
WordPress is an excellent option for building your website, but there are good and bad features of this service. Let’s take a look at a few pros and cons of using WordPress and whether the cost of WordPress is worth it.
Pros
WordPress offers a lot to businesses looking to create their website. Let’s look at the three pros of using WordPress to build your website.
- Options: WordPress gives you the freedom to build any website for your business. From a basic blogger site to a complicated ecommerce site, you have the opportunity to create what your business needs. With all the available plugins, you can continue to expand your website as your business grows.
- SEO-friendly: WordPress creates very SEO-friendly websites from the start. While you can add plugins to help with SEO, WordPress’s site structure is great for SEO to start with. This structure means you’ll rank better in the search results and drive more traffic for your business. And at WebFX, we offer SEO services to boost your WordPress website’s visibility and traffic!
- Affordable: WordPress can be affordable for your business if you only have basic needs. As you add more to your site, it can get more expensive, but overall, it’s relatively affordable for businesses that need a standard website.
Cons
While WordPress has a lot to offer to your business, there are cons to using this service. Let’s look at three cons of building your website on WordPress
- Complicated to learn: WordPress has a steep learning curve. It’s not as easy to use drag and drop website builders so that it can cause headaches for inexperienced website builders. WordPress takes time to learn and requires a bit of coding knowledge, so it can end up making matters more complicated for people who aren’t familiar with it.
- Many moving parts: WordPress doesn’t hand you everything you need on your website and tell you to build it. You have to pull at the pieces together, like your hosting, theme, plugins, and more. This setup makes it a more daunting practice for busy businesses.
- May require help: Since WordPress has many moving parts and is challenging to learn, you may end up hiring someone to create your site.
How much does it cost to host a WordPress website?
The cost to host a WordPress website is $24 to $10,000 per year — if your business chooses to self-host vs. allow WordPress to host your site. WordPress website costs for hosting will depend on your hosting plan. Companies can choose between a shared server or a dedicated service, for example.
Build your customized website with WebFX today
After looking at the WordPress cost, you may find that it’s doesn’t offer enough for the price. If you want to get the most bang for your buck, your best option is to hire a web design company. At WebFX, we have over a decade of experience building customized websites for our clients.
Our award-winning team of over 500+ web design experts will help you build the website of your dreams. With Best of Web and Horizon Interactive Awards under our belt, you can count on our team of professional designers to create a functional and well-designed site for your business.
We’ll help you build a fully customized website that’s unique to your business. With our program, RainmakerFX, we’ll help you create a great website in just 30 days.
If you’re ready to learn more about how you can build a custom website, contact us online or call us today at 888-601-5359 to speak with a strategist about our custom web design plans.