Website Builder

How Much Does It Cost To Create A Website Builder? (In 2024)

Updated: October 5th, 2024

Looking to start a website builder?

But curious about:

  • how much it costs to start a website builder?
  • what are the typical website builder startup costs?
  • or the actual cost of starting website builders?

Well, we have the data to prove it, supported by real website builders and how much they actually cost to start.

Let's go over it.

What is the average cost of starting a website builder?

Based on our data reported by actual website builder founders, the average cost of starting a website builder is between $12 and $80,000.

Additionally, our data shows that the the median startup costs for a website builder are around $1.25K.

Remember, though, not all website builders are the same - and neither are people's budgets. It's important to distinguish between different levels or types of website builders

Real World Examples: How much does it cost to start a website builder?

We asked real website builder founders and business owners how much it actually cost to get started?

Here is what they said:

David Braun

Founder of Weblium ($37K/month)

"We did not raise the money and financed the development at our own costs. Our projection was - to build the product during the first year and reach the break-even point in the second. We hired CTO first who selected the stack of technologies, then we hired three independeте consultants to get second opinion, third opinion and fourth opinion too. The right choice of technology plays vital part in this kind of business success or failure."

David Braun is the founder of Weblium.com, a hybrid website builder that aims to create the largest web design agency brand in the world.

Read by 6,333 founders

Shai Schechter

Founder of RightMessage ($30K/month)

"We ended up raising a little over $500k, and used it to hire on both the marketing and the product sides to accelerate the journey."

Shai Schechter is the co-founder of RightMessage, a SaaS business that started in 2017 and has quickly grown to bring in $30k per month.

Read by 9,257 founders

Jason Correia

Founder of WP Manager ($6K/month)

"I decided (much to the annoyance of many around me) to not seek a job, but to instead invest the last £7.63 in my bank into purchasing a domain name and becoming a 'WordPress Manager' for anyone who needed help with their website!"

Jason Correia is the founder of WP Manager, a WordPress Maintenance Subscription Service that has built a well-respected reputation in the U.K. for being one of the most trusted WordPress site care and support providers.

Read by 6,144 founders

JB Kellogg

Founder of Madwire ($8.5M/month)

"We didn't start the company with any official funding. Thankfully, my Dad and I were successful in the brokerage industry and had some money saved to sustain us until we were able to start driving revenue. But I did not have a ton of runway."

JB Kellogg is the founder of Madwire, a business management and marketing solutions company that grew from just two people to over five hundred employees and a hundred million dollars in annual revenue in under 10 years.

Read by 14,129 founders

Samuel E Gordon

Founder of NextWave Social ($3K/month)

"The start-up costs were around $1,500. From getting the legalities sorted, logos, website, the team assembled, office setup, technology, etc. We were able to sign our first client for that monthly price before even officially being ready to roll."

Samuel Gordon is the founder of NextWave Social, a boutique-styled digital marketing agency that specializes in services such as SEO, social media management, web development, and Facebook ads.

Read by 5,006 founders

Alison Murdock

Founder of Trusted CMO ($75K/month)

"I landed on the idea of starting a firm that could be a marketing team before there was one and also support a marketing function when needed. I knew this was the right move when I got the domain trustedcmo.com for about $10."

Alison Murdock is the founder of Trusted CMO, a boutique marketing consulting firm that has grown at least 50% yearly over its 4 years in business.

Read by 1,144 founders

Yvette Adams

Founder of The Creative Collective ($200K/month)

"In terms of finance, in the beginning, I was very resourceful. As I mentioned earlier I had a three-year-old and a newborn and we were going backwards financially fast. So there was no startup capital to speak of. I simply did a lot of hard work, and any time I made a profit, we reinvested it all back into the business. In the early days, I took no wage, later I took a small wage, and it was probably around nine years into the business and two years after Kat and I became 50/50 shares in the business that we both finally started to pay ourselves the sort of wage we could command if we went out into the workforce."

Yvette Adams is the founder of The Creative Collective, a full-service marketing agency that started in 2007 and has since experienced significant growth and revenue increases.

Read by 5,541 founders

Lars Helgeson

Founder of GreenRope ($160K/month)

"It took 2 years of development before we had a minimum viable product (MVP)."

Lars Helgeson is the founder of GreenRope, a CRM and marketing automation platform that started in 2000 and has grown to serve over 1,000 customers in more than 20 countries.

Read by 12,035 founders

Stephen Freeman

Founder of Kairos Digital ($65K/month)

"We estimated initial startup costs and he provided the initial seed money to get started and acts as a business coach and mentor for the big picture parts of Kairos Digital."

[FOUNDER NAME] is the founder of Kairos Digital, a marketing agency that focuses on clear messaging and digital strategies for businesses.

Read by 5,708 founders

Jonathan Moore

Founder of PageGuard ($200/month)

"All in all, it was about a hundred bucks to get the things I needed to launch the business."

Jonathan Moore is the founder of PageGuard, a WordPress website maintenance business that launched in mid-2020.

Read by 3,342 founders

Enjoyed reading these real world examples?

Our platform is full of case studies of successful website builders that you can learn from.

Starting a website builder - what you should know:

When it comes to launching your own website builder, there are several critical factors you must consider that directly affect the costs.

Development and Initial Setup Costs

The initial development phase is usually the most expensive part. Hiring a proficient team of developers can cost anywhere from $50,000 to $150,000, depending on complexity and functionality. If you opt for a minimum viable product (MVP), this might reduce initial expenses to around $20,000 to $50,000. However, the more features (such as templates, drag-and-drop interfaces, and e-commerce capabilities) you want, the higher the cost.

Ongoing Maintenance and Updates

After your website builder is launched, ongoing maintenance is crucial to keep it secure and up-to-date. Budgeting for this can vary greatly but typically will fall in the range of $1,000 to $5,000 per month. Regular updates, bug fixes, and new features can add significantly to these figures, potentially bringing your yearly maintenance costs to around $20,000 to $60,000.

Marketing and Customer Support

To attract users, marketing is essential. Online ads, SEO efforts, and social media campaigns can cost between $10,000 to $50,000 annually, depending on your scope and reach. Coupled with customer support services—whether in-house or outsourced—this can add another $20,000 to $60,000 per year, as quality user support is key to retaining customers.

Hosting and Operational Costs

Hosting your website builder requires robust and reliable servers. Costs for cloud services like AWS or Google Cloud can range from $500 to $2,000 per month, based on user base and storage requirements. Don’t forget other operational costs, such as domain name fees (about $10 to $15 annually) and SSL certificates (around $50 to $200 annually). Collectively, hosting and operational costs can sum up to $10,000 to $30,000 per year.

Final Thoughts

Starting a website builder is a substantial but manageable investment. Understanding these cost components can help you make informed decisions and allocate your resources efficiently.

Potential Costs of Starting a Website Builder

Starting a website builder comes with various costs, including software, hosting, labor, and other tools necessary for development and operation. Here’s a detailed overview of the potential costs involved.

Category Description Estimated Cost
Domain Name Purchase of a domain name $10 - $15 per year
Hosting Fees Web hosting services $100 - $500 per month
SSL Certificate Security certification for websites $0 - $200 per year
Development Team Salaries for developers and designers $50,000 - $200,000 per year per person
Software Licenses Tools for website building and design $50 - $1,000 per month
Content Management System (CMS) CMS platform $0 - $300 per month
Third-party Integrations Additional plugins or APIs $50 - $500 per month
Marketing Online advertising and SEO $1,000 - $10,000 per month
UI/UX Design User interface and experience design $5,000 - $50,000 one-time fee
Legal Fees Legal consultations and compliance $200 - $500 per hour
Customer Support Salaries for customer support staff $30,000 - $70,000 per year per person
Office Space Physical office space $500 - $5,000 per month
Utilities Internet, electricity, etc. $100 - $500 per month
Hardware Computers, servers, office equipment $1,000 - $10,000 one-time fee
Backup and Security Backup services and security tools $50 - $200 per month
Training Employee training programs $500 - $5,000 per year
Contingency Fund Reserve for unforeseen expenses 10% of total budget

This table provides a comprehensive view of the various expenses you might incur while starting and maintaining a website builder. It’s crucial to budget adequately to ensure the smooth operation and scalability of your business.