Build
Short answer: Price a website with a simple formula: your costs + the hours it really takes × your hourly rate + a value bonus when the site directly brings the client money (online bookings or a store). Then add a monthly care plan for hosting, updates and small changes, and ask for about half up front. For example, a five-page site with online booking at $35 an hour comes to about $1,020 to build plus $75 a month. Use our free website quote calculator to run the same math with your own rate.
Updated November 7, 2026: Hostinger lowered its Black Friday price. The Hostinger numbers on this page are from our new cart check that day (US, before tax).
💼 Host every client site on one plan
Hostinger Web Hosting Unlimited hosts unlimited websites with free SSL and daily backups, so each new client adds income, not hosting cost. Use code LEARN2EARN at checkout for an extra discount.
Our free calculator: a site with online booking at $35/hour comes to $1,020 to build, a $510 deposit and a $75/month care plan.
Why "how many hours did AI save me?" is the wrong question
With AI website builders and AI-written code, you can build a good draft in an evening. If you only bill the hours you spent, you give away the value the client is buying: more calls, more bookings and more customers. The client does not pay for your hours. They pay for a result.
That does not mean you should invent a big number. It means you price from three honest parts that you can explain to any client.
The formula: costs + time × rate + value bonus
- Costs. The domain for year one, stock images and any small paid tools. In our calculator this is a flat $35.
- Time × your hourly rate. Count everything: calls, writing, building, rounds of changes, setting up the domain, email and forms, and testing. Be honest. Revisions always take longer than you think.
- Value bonus. Add it only when the website directly makes the client money: +$150 for online booking and +$250 for a small store in our calculator.
Then round up. That is your build price.
A worked example: a site with online booking
Here is the exact breakdown our quote calculator shows for a five-page site with online booking, the text written by you, basic SEO setup and two rounds of changes, at $35 an hour:
Every hour is listed, so the client can see where the price comes from.
| Line | Hours |
|---|---|
| Setup: calls, domain, hosting, email, forms, testing | 2 |
| Site + online booking (5 pages included) | 12 |
| Writing the text (0.75 h per page) | 3.75 |
| Basic SEO setup | 3 |
| 2 rounds of changes (1.5 h each) | 3 |
| 23.75 h × $35 | $831.25 |
| Costs (domain year one, images, small tools) | $35 |
| Value bonus (bookings bring the client money) | $150 |
| Build price (rounded up) | $1,020 |
The hour estimates are starting points, not rules. If you are fast at WordPress, your hours drop. If the client keeps changing their mind, add rounds of changes. Change the numbers in the calculator and the price updates.
Turn it into three packages
When you offer one price, the client asks "should I hire you?". When you offer three, they ask "which one?". At $35 an hour the calculator gives:
Three ready packages from the same hourly rate.
| Package | What's included | Build | Care plan |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starter | One-page site: contact info, map, click-to-call | $350 | $40/month (Basic) |
| Business | 5 pages, text written for the client | $630 | $75/month (Standard) |
| Pro | Online booking + basic SEO setup | $1,080 | $110/month (Pro) |
Most clients pick the middle option, so make Business the package you would most like to sell.
Monthly care plans: where the real income is
A build pays you once. A care plan pays you every month. It covers hosting and the domain renewal, updates and backups, a few small edits, a short monthly report and fast replies. Our calculator prices it as:
- Your running cost per site: about $3.76 a month (a hosting share of about $2.51 a month on Hostinger Unlimited over 4 years with LEARN2EARN, plus a .com renewal of about $15 a year spread over 12 months).
- Plus the hours you include each month at your rate: 1 hour (Basic), 2 hours (Standard) or 3 hours (Pro).
At $35 an hour, Standard comes to $75 a month, and you keep about $70 of it. Ten clients on Standard is steady income without finding new clients every month. No income is guaranteed, but this is a service small businesses already understand and pay for.
The low hosting share only works on a plan that hosts many websites. Here is how we host multiple client websites on one plan and its limits. To check what any host really costs after renewal, use our true hosting cost calculator.
🌐 One hosting bill for all your clients
Hostinger Unlimited: unlimited websites, free SSL, daily backups and an AI website builder for fast first drafts. In our cart it came to about $121 for 4 years with code LEARN2EARN.
Deposit, scope and revisions
- Ask for about 50% before you start. The calculator rounds the deposit for you ($510 on a $1,020 build).
- Put the scope in writing: how many pages, how many rounds of changes, and what is not included. Extra pages and extra changes are quoted separately.
- Keep the client's domain in the client's name when they want full ownership, and explain what your care plan covers.
- Raise your rate after every few clients. Your first price is not your forever price.
Common pricing mistakes
- Charging only for the time AI saved you. Price the result with the value bonus.
- Unlimited revisions. Two rounds is a fair default; more is paid.
- No care plan. Without it, every month starts at zero.
- Hosting every client on a plan with a site limit. Check the website limit before you sell care plans: Hostinger Unlimited allows unlimited websites. Comparing hosts? See Hostinger vs hosting.com and our Hostinger review with real cart prices.
- Promising results. Sell the website, the speed and the support. Never promise rankings or a number of new customers.
Build the site you just priced
Need the build itself? Our step-by-step guide shows a complete five-page client-style website with WordPress and AI, including the mistakes the AI made and how we fixed them: how to make a website in 2026. For finding clients, what to sell and more, start with our guide on making money building websites with AI.
Ready to set up hosting for your first client? Get Hostinger Unlimited and use LEARN2EARN at checkout.
Sources: Hostinger pricing (hosting share used in the care plan math).
FAQ
Is $1,500 a good price for a website?
Yes for a site with online booking or a small store, written text and SEO: our calculator gives $1,290 to $1,710 at $35 to $50 an hour (full breakdown).
How much can I charge for a basic website?
A one-page site came to $350 to $490 in our calculator at $35 to $50 an hour; a 5-page business site with written text to $630 to $880.
How much should I charge for a small business website?
Use your costs plus your hours at your rate plus a value bonus for features that make the client money. At $35 an hour, our calculator gives about $350 for a one-page site, $630 for a five-page business site with the text written, and about $1,020 for a site with online booking. These are formula estimates from your own rate, not market prices.
How much should a website care plan cost?
Your running cost per site (hosting share and domain renewal, about $3.76 a month in our example) plus the hours of work you include each month at your rate. At $35 an hour that is about $40 (1 hour), $75 (2 hours) or $110 (3 hours) a month.
Should I charge less because AI built the first draft?
No. The client pays for a working website that brings them customers. AI makes you faster, which lets you take more clients or spend the saved time on the details that matter.
How much deposit should I ask for?
About half before you start, with the rest when the site goes live.
What hourly rate should a beginner use?
It depends on your city, niche and experience. Start with a rate you can explain, test it with a few clients, and raise it after every few projects.
