2026 pricing guide
How much does a tradie website cost?
Real answer: anywhere from around $20 a month on a DIY builder to $15,000 for a premium custom build. Here's what you get at each price, what it costs to run, and what to check before you pay anyone.
What do tradie websites cost in 2026?
The honest answer is a range, because "website" covers four different products. Here's the Australian market at a glance:
- DIY builder $21-$75/mo
- Template build $800-$1.5k one-off
- Freelancer $1.5k-$3k typical
- Custom build $3k-$10k+ to $15k
The detail, from the platforms' own published pricing and Australian cost guides (sources at the end of this page):
| The option | Typical price | What you get | Best when |
|---|---|---|---|
| DIY builder | $21 to $75 a month | You build it yourself on Wix or Squarespace. Templates, hosting and a basic editor included; your nights do the building. | You're starting out and just need somewhere to point people. |
| Template build | $800 to $1,500 one-off | Someone sets up a pre-made template with your logo, colours and a few pages of standard copy. Some sell it as a $49 to $99 a month subscription instead. | You want it off your plate fast and looks matter more than leads. |
| Freelancer build | $1,500 to $3,000 typical | A one-person designer or developer builds a small site. Quotes run $800 to $5,000 and inclusions vary a lot, so check them line by line. | You have time to manage the project and chase the details yourself. |
| Custom build | $3,000 to $10,000+ | Designed and written for your trade and service area, with search structure, lead capture and speed handled. Premium and multi-location builds run to $15,000 or more. | The website has a job to do: bring in work, not just hold information. |
Ranges compiled from published Australian pricing pages and cost guides, retrieved July 2026. Full source list at the end of this page.
Asked what they paid, tradies in the Facebook groups say:
- "about 2k"
- "3k, overseas"
- "5g, depending"
- "6k, with our SEO guy"
- "$50 a month, did it myself on Wix"
Real answers from Australian tradie groups, anonymised. They sit right across the bands above.
Why do quotes range so much?
Two quotes can both say "five-page website" and be thousands apart, because the money is in what's included:
-
Budget build
$800-$1,500
- Pre-made template, your logo dropped in
- Standard copy, a few pages
- First-year hosting often thrown in
- Copy written for your trade and area
- Built to rank on Google
-
Freelancer build
$1,500-$3,000
- Small custom site, usually 3 to 5 pages
- You own it outright
- Some search setup
- Hosting (separate, $10 to $30 a month)
- Changes after launch (billed hourly)
-
Custom build
$3,000-$10,000+
- Design from scratch, around your brand
- Copy written for every service you offer
- Search structure, speed, treated photos
- Lead capture and tracking wired in
- Ownership, in writing
When is a cheap website the right call?
Honestly: often. A $25-a-month site is the right spend when:
- You're just starting out and every dollar counts
- Word of mouth already keeps you booked
- You only need somewhere to point people from your Google listing
"It'll be like that business card you give to the bloke down the pub. Straight in the wallet, never to be seen again."
He's not wrong. That's exactly what a site does when it only exists. The trap isn't buying cheap, it's expecting a cheap site to do an expensive site's job: showing up on Google, and giving a stranger a reason to call you instead of the business ranked above you.
What makes a website win work?
People hire the tradie they can find and trust in the minute they spend looking. Winning that minute takes work a template skips:
- Copy written for your services and suburbs, so Google has a page to rank for each job you actually want.
- Proof up front: your reviews, your photos, your licence, laid out so a stranger relaxes in the first look.
- A clear path to contact, with enquiries landing straight on your phone.
- Speed and structure that hold up on a phone on a job site, where most of your visitors are standing.
What does a website cost to run?
Whoever builds it, three ongoing costs are normal. Anything beyond these should be explained to you in plain English before you sign.
| Cost | Typical range | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|
| Domain name (.com.au) | $10 to $23 a year | Renewed yearly. Always registered in your name, not your web company's. |
| Hosting | $10 to $100 a month | What keeps the site online. Often bundled into care plans. |
| Maintenance / care plan | $50 to $350 a month | Updates, backups, small fixes. Optional on DIY, common on custom builds. |
What should you check before paying anyone?
Five questions sort the good operators from the rest, whatever the price band. Good ones answer all five without flinching.
-
Who owns the domain, the site and the content when it's done?
The answer should be you, in writing. If the domain sits in the builder's account, moving away later means starting again.
-
What happens if I stop paying?
On a subscription build, the site usually disappears with the payments. Know if you're buying an asset or renting one.
-
Is the copy written for my trade and my area?
Read a page they've done for another tradie. If you could swap the logo and nothing would change, that's template copy.
-
What does "SEO included" actually cover?
Ask them to name it: page titles, service pages, your Google listing, speed. "SEO friendly" with no detail usually means none of it.
-
What are the ongoing costs, in writing?
Domain, hosting, maintenance, edits. A cheap build with expensive ongoing fees can cost more than a dearer one inside two years.
Where does KINGTRADIE sit?
We do custom builds for Australian trade businesses. No price list: every build is quoted fixed once we understand the job, the same way you wouldn't price a renovation off a phone call.
- You own the site, the domain and everything on it
- No lock-in contracts
- You always know what you paid for, what was done, and what it brought in
Cost questions?
Quick answers before you talk to anyone.
Is a $500 website worth it?
It can be, if you treat it as a placeholder: somewhere to point people from your Google listing while word of mouth keeps you busy. It is not built to rank on Google or win a stranger's trust, so expect it to hold information, not bring in work.
How much should a tradie spend on a website?
Match the spend to the job. If the site just needs to exist, a DIY builder at around $25 a month covers it. If it needs to bring in work, budget for a custom build in the $3,000 to $10,000 range, because that is where copywriting, search structure and lead capture come in.
What does a website cost per month in Australia?
For a DIY builder, plans run roughly $21 to $75 a month with hosting included. If you own a custom-built site, expect around $23 a year for the domain and $10 to $100 a month for hosting, which many builders bundle with maintenance into one care plan.
Why do web design quotes vary so much?
Because the inclusions vary. One quote covers a template with your logo dropped in; another covers custom design, copy written for your services and suburbs, search setup, photos and lead tracking. Compare what is included line by line, not the totals.
How much does KINGTRADIE charge?
We don't publish a price list. Every build is quoted fixed once we understand the job, and the quote you get is the price you pay. No lock-in contracts, and you own the site, domain and content outright.
Do I need to pay for SEO on top of the website?
A well-built site should have the foundations baked in: proper page structure, service pages, speed and your Google listing wired up. Ongoing SEO is a separate decision for chasing rankings across more suburbs and services, useful but not mandatory on day one.
Where these numbers come from
- Wix AU published pricing, retrieved July 2026
- Squarespace AU published pricing, retrieved July 2026
- VentraIP published domain and hosting pricing, retrieved July 2026
- Band ranges compiled from eight published Australian tradie-website cost guides and providers' advertised pricing, December 2025 to July 2026
Figures retrieved July 2026. Providers change pricing; check the source pages for the current numbers.
Still weighing it up?
Take the five questions above to whoever quotes you, whatever you decide. And when you want a number for your own build, book a call and you'll get a fixed quote, not a pitch. No obligation.
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