How much does a website cost in Australia?

On This Page

1. Building it yourself
2. Paying someone to build it
3. Three years, side by side
4. GST: compare like with like
5. Is a website tax deductible?
6. Grants
7. What’s in the quote?
8. What bdog costs
9. Questions I get asked

Search "how much does a website cost in Australia" and you'll get ranges like "$3,000 to $25,000", "$750 to $7,500" or "$300 a year to $100,000". They differ by a factor of ten because nobody is measuring. Every result on page one is a web agency or platform quoting its own price list, and I couldn't find a single independent survey of what Australian small businesses actually pay. So instead of another range, this guide gives you the real prices that are published, explains the costs a quote often leaves out, and lets you compare three years of each option side by side, including mine.

One disclosure: I sell websites on subscription, so I'm one of the options here, and I've put my prices in the calculator next to everyone else's. Everything else comes from the platforms', hosts' and registrars' own Australian pages, the ATO and auDA, read on 11 October 2026.

Building it yourself

Website builders are the cheapest way to get a site, if you have the time. Watch two things: whether the price includes GST, and whether it's an introductory price.

Scroll the table sideways to see every column.

I've compared the builders in more detail in the best website builder for a small business in Australia. The cost you don't see on any pricing page is your own time, building it and keeping it up to date.

Paying someone to build it

There's no credible Australian survey of website prices. The two published datasets I found are both global and in US dollars: Clutch, which reviews agencies, puts Australian web design firms at US$100 to $149 an hour, and Upwork's worldwide freelancer median is US$15 to $30 an hour. Neither describes what a local small business pays.

What I can tell you is what Australian studios advertise. The "from" prices I found for a small business site ranged from under $600 for a one-page site to about $3,900 for a small multi-page site, usually plus GST and plus hosting. GoDaddy's own design service advertises a one-time build fee of $431.77 plus annual hosting. These are starting prices, not averages; the final quote depends on pages, copy, photos and features.

The costs a quote often leaves out

• Hosting, and its renewal price. Australian WordPress hosting can start under $10 a month and renew at two to five times that. SiteGround's entry plan, for example, is $4.99 a month for the first year and renews at $26.99, both before GST.
• Updates and security. business.gov.au says if your website is self-hosted, "you'll need to keep your CMS and other tools up-to-date". Published care plans I found ran from about $50 to $200 a month plus GST, more if edits are included.
• Your domain. A .com.au needs an ABN or ACN. First-year deals are common; after that, expect about $20 to $25 a year at an Australian registrar.
• Email. Google Workspace Starter is $9.90 per mailbox a month on an annual plan, before tax. Microsoft 365 Business Basic is $10.50, paid yearly, before GST.
• Edits after launch. How many, how fast, and at what rate.
• Paid plugins and themes, and who holds the licence.
• SSL. Most hosts include it free. A quote that charges separately for a basic certificate is charging for something you shouldn't need to pay for.

Three years, side by side

Change any number to match the quotes in front of you. Everything is before GST. The starting numbers for the one-off build are examples from published Australian prices, not an average.

To be straight with you about the result: on these inputs, a $3,500 build with a $59-a-month care plan comes to about $6,036 over three years, and my Full Site plan to about $7,216. The one-off build is cheaper if you have the cash up front and the care plan covers what you need. Our plans include edits whenever you need them, within reason, and you see your homepage before you pay anything. Whether that's worth the difference is your call. A DIY site is cheapest of all, if your time really is free.

GST: compare like with like

Prices are shown every which way. Wix includes GST; Squarespace, Shopify, Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 exclude it; Hostinger says its prices are "listed without VAT"; WordPress.com shows US dollars before tax; some registrars and hosts don't say. Convert everything to the same basis before you compare.

• Overseas platforms charge GST to Australian consumers. If you're GST-registered, the ATO says to give the supplier your ABN and state you're registered, and then you account for GST yourself under the reverse charge rules. It also says "Unless a supplier has an ABN, they cannot issue a valid tax invoice to you."
• Australian freelancers and agencies add GST once they're registered, which is required at $75,000 in GST turnover. A sole trader under that may charge none. If you're registered, ask for a tax invoice so you can claim it back.

Is a website tax deductible?

Partly, and how depends on what you're paying for. The ATO's ruling TR 2016/3 says building or developing a commercial website "is capital expenditure", generally depreciated rather than deducted at once (small business rules may let you write it off sooner). Hosting, registration and licensing fees are revenue expenses, deductible over the period they cover, and so are subscriptions to off-the-shelf builders. A website you lease with no right to own it is deductible as you pay. A subscription that ends with you owning the site sits between those, so ask your accountant how to treat it.

Grants

Grants for websites come and go. The state programs I checked weren't open, and the federal Digital Solutions program offers advice (free workshops and low-cost one-on-one sessions), not money. Check business.gov.au's grant finder before you assume there's one.

What's in the quote?

What bdog costs

For the record, all plus GST: Single Page is $249 a month for 12 months, then $89. Full Site is $349 a month for 12 months, then $109. Full Site + Service Pages is $449 a month for 12 months, then $129. Every plan includes hosting, security, backups, counted calls, a performance dashboard and edits on a fair-use basis. Your domain and content are yours from day one, and the design files and a static export are yours at month 12. You can also pay the build up front and go straight onto the lower rate. Business email and your booking system's own subscription are separate.

Questions I get asked

How much does a website cost in Australia?

There's no reliable average. Builder plans cost about $17 to $70 a month; advertised starting prices for a small business site built for you run from under $600 to about $3,900, plus hosting and upkeep. Compare three-year totals.

Is there a monthly fee to have a website?

Almost always, even after a one-off build: hosting, the domain renewal, email, and usually someone to keep it updated. A builder or subscription puts most of that in one monthly price.

What is the average cost of a five-page website?

Nobody publishes a reliable figure. Australian studios advertise five to seven page sites from roughly $800 to $3,500 plus GST, plus hosting.

How much does it cost to host a website per month?

Australian WordPress hosting starts under $10 a month for the first year and often renews at $18 to $27 a month. Builders like Wix and Squarespace include hosting in the plan.

Is a website tax deductible in Australia?

Running costs like hosting, domains and builder subscriptions generally are. The ATO treats the cost of building a website as capital expenditure. Ask your accountant how your arrangement is treated.

Are there government grants for small business websites?

Not that I found open. Check business.gov.au's grant finder and your state's business website.