What a website costs over three years.
The build price is the number everyone compares, but it isn't the only bill. Here I add up what a site costs over three years, three different ways.
When a small business looks for a website, it usually asks one thing: what does the build cost. A fair question, but not the whole one. A site lives for years, and every year someone pays for the domain, the hosting, the changes and the work of keeping it running. Those bills come later, so they are easy to forget when comparing offers.
So I put together a three-year comparison. The figures for other providers are not mine. I took them from Croatian price lists and articles on website prices for 2026, and each one has a link to its source. The ranges are wide because the offers differ too. I last checked the figures on 23 September 2026.
Route one: a WordPress site by a freelancer.
Freelancers charge roughly 200 to 2,000 euros to build a site, depending on its size and whether it's an online shop (a 2026 price overview, a price list). Small agencies charge more, roughly 800 to 5,000 euros (the same price list). After the build come the costs that keep coming back:
- Hosting: roughly 50 to 300 euros a year, depending on the type of hosting (price overview, price list)
- Domain: roughly 10 to 50 euros a year (price overview)
- WordPress maintenance: updates to the system, the theme and the plugins, plus security. One price list gives 75 to 150 euros a month (price list)
- Changes: 30 to 80 euros an hour, depending on the provider (price overview)
Why does WordPress need maintenance at all? It's a system that runs on a server, with a theme and plugins written by different people. Each of them gets updates over time, and someone has to check that everything still works after an update. That is work that gets paid for, whether you do it yourself or pay someone else.
You can skip the maintenance. But one of the sources says it plainly: without maintenance a site becomes slow and insecure over time and can stop working. Then the cost is only postponed and paid as a repair. Maintenance alone at that price list comes to 2,700 to 5,400 euros over three years.
Route two: renting a site.
With a rented site you don't pay for the build separately, or you pay a little, but you pay a monthly subscription that covers the build, hosting and maintenance (how the model works). Subscriptions run at roughly 50 to 150 euros a month (a rental price overview). Over three years that's 36 payments, or 1,800 to 5,400 euros.
The model is simple and predictable: you know what you pay each month. Before you sign, it's worth asking what stays with you when you stop paying: the copy, the photographs, the design and the domain.
Route three: Sorich.
With me the build costs from €500, and the care plan €150 a year from the first day. The care plan covers the domain, hosting, small changes within 24 hours, visitor statistics and monitoring. Over three years that's the build plus three yearly care plans at €150, with no separate hosting bill and no bill for every small change.
My sites are a folder of finished files, with no system and no plugins that need regular updates. That's why my bill has no separate line for maintaining a system. Whenever you ask, the content, the code and the hosting are yours, and the domain if it's yours. More on that in who owns your website.
To be honest about my own bill too: larger changes and out-of-scope work cost €35/h or are priced by agreement, always before the work. Deep optimisation for Google and AI is a separate service, SEO and AI visibility. And my price is a "from" price as well: a site with more languages or features costs more, and that is written in the offer before anything starts.
Add it up yourself.
The calculator below adds up three years of cost for all three routes. Adjust the amounts to the offers you have in hand and see the total.
Calculator: three years.
An empty field counts the range from the sources. Type the amount from an offer you hold and the total becomes exact.
The figures for other providers are ranges from public sources, not anyone's offer. My prices are for information too: we always agree the scope and price before I start work.
What to check when you compare.
- Is hosting included, and from which year do you pay for it?
- Who does the updates, and what do they cost?
- What does one small change cost, and how long do you wait for it?
- What do you get if you leave: the content, the code and the domain?
- Is the build price final, or a "from" price?
The cheapest build isn't always the cheapest site. Add up three years before you decide, whoever you work with.
What I can make of this for you.
If you want to see your own bill with me, with the build and the care plan on paper, send an enquiry for a website. I reply within 24 hours.