How much does a website cost in Canada?

How much does a website cost in Canada? The honest answer is a range, not a number, because "website" covers everything from a single page that collects phone calls to a 60-page catalogue with a booking system. With my prices, a landing page starts at $1,300, a multi-page business website at $3,000 and a large site on a custom CMS at $11,900. All amounts in this article are in Canadian dollars.

The useful question is not "how much" but "what am I paying for, and what will it bring back". A $3,000 site that produces two extra jobs a month is cheap. A free template that nobody contacts you through is expensive, because it costs you time and missed customers. Below I break the price into parts so you can read any quote, mine or someone else's, with confidence.

The four ways to get a website, and what each really costs

Most Canadian small businesses end up choosing between these routes. The money is only half of the comparison; the other half is whose time goes in and who owns the result.

None of these is wrong. A hobby project or a side business testing an idea can live happily on a builder. A business that expects the website to bring in steady enquiries usually outgrows that stage quickly, and that is when the question of cost turns into a question of return.

What actually drives the price

Two sites with the same number of pages can differ in price by a factor of three. These are the things that move the number:

1. Purpose. A site that has to sell (with clear offers, prices, proof and a form that lands in your inbox or CRM) takes more thinking than a digital business card.
2. Copy. Who writes the text matters more than most owners expect. Good copy is research plus writing, and it is the part that persuades.
3. Number of unique layouts. Ten service pages built on one template cost less than ten pages that each need their own structure.
4. Functions. Online booking, calculators, multi-location pages, a blog, a customer area or a store add real work.
5. Languages. An English and French site is close to two sites in terms of copy and testing. My own sites are in English; French versions come from someone who works in French.
6. Integrations. Sending leads to a CRM, a phone system or an email tool, plus analytics that shows which ad brought which enquiry.

When a quote looks surprisingly low, one of these items is usually missing: the copy is "provided by client", the analytics is not set up, or the form sends emails nobody reads.

My prices, so you have real numbers

I build sites either hand-coded or on a custom CMS I make for each project, so there is no page-builder subscription and you own the code and the content. Here is what my work costs:

Prices are final, payment goes in stages (30/40/30), and three rounds of revisions are included. The full breakdown sits on the website pricing page, and the cost calculator lets you add services and see a rough total before any call.

Costs that come after launch

The build is a one-time cost, but a website lives for years. Budget for these too:

• Domain. A yearly renewal, usually modest. Make sure it is registered in your name, not the developer's.
• Hosting. Depends on the site and traffic. I agree hosting and domain individually with each client instead of hiding them in a package.
• Changes and updates. New prices, staff photos, a seasonal offer. Some owners do this themselves in the edit panel; others prefer to send a message and have it done.
• Traffic. A site does not bring visitors on its own. Either you invest in SEO and Google Maps, or you pay for ads (I recommend about $1,000 a month minimum for ad budget, paid directly to Google or Meta), or both.

The last point catches many owners off guard. A website is a shop window; traffic is the street in front of it. Budget for both or the window stays empty, however nice it looks.

How to compare two website quotes

Put the quotes side by side and ask each provider the same questions:

• Who writes the copy, and is it included?
• How many rounds of revisions are included?
• Will the domain, hosting account and code be in my name?
• Is analytics (GA4, Tag Manager, ad pixels) set up and tested?
• Where do form enquiries go, and how fast will I see them?
• What happens if the deadline slips? Is it in the contract?
• What does it cost to change a price or add a page after launch?

If an answer is vague, that is the answer. In my agreements the deadlines are written down, late-delivery penalties can be added, and every account sits in the client's name from day one.

So what should you budget?

Start from the job the site has to do. If you need leads from one service and plan to run Google Ads, a landing page is often the smartest first step. If people will compare you with three competitors before calling, a full business website with prices, examples of work and answers to objections pays off. If you run several locations or a large catalogue, a custom CMS saves you hours every month.

A quick sanity check: estimate how many extra customers a month the site needs to bring to pay for itself within a year, and whether that is realistic for your market. Most service businesses in Canada need only a handful. If you would like help with that calculation, send me a short website brief or book a free 30-minute consultation, and I'll tell you which option makes sense, even if it is the smaller one.